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July 10, 2005
May and June were helter-skelter months of working, practicing, playing and planning for July. After a fun day of
volleyball and music with Guthrie's Church of God Outreach Tera, Anna, Mom, Dad and I all took off for Colorado to
paint Grandma and Grandpa's house in Georgetown.
It was a work trip and we had to focus on our painting to be sure
it was completed before we had to go home...but we found enough time to leave a surprise for Grandma on her historical
mining shed. It was hard to keep it quiet, but we didn't want her to find out till she came up here for the Fourth of
July. Now she knows, so I can publish the picture. It was so fun, and she loved it!!!
We were home in time for a couple of day's practice before we played in the Children's Tent at Edmond's Acousticadia Music Festival. Set in a grassy field right by Arcadia Lake, it was a wonderful location, and the featured musicians were fabulous. We especially enjoyed listening to and meeting the Kruger Brother Trio and Andy Leftwich, the fiddle player for Kentucky Thunder, and of course, the Byron Berline Band was a real treat. It was a super nice festival that we all hope to enjoy next year. I have some incredible photos taken by Mark Voyles, but I left them at home, so I'll have to share them with you later.
Then we scrambled around trying to get caught up and ready for July...it's no small thing for the 10 of us to leave
town...especially for so long!!! We are 10 days into our month in the mountains, and loving every minute of it. Locals
say it has been really warm here, but even 90 degree temperatures are refreshing without the 99% humidity that we were
experiencing before we left home.
We headed straight for Buena Vista and our dear friends George and Julie Robinson's
inviting log home. On the 2nd, George and Dad took John and Jeremy to a nice climbing rock while the rest of us went down
to the Arkansas River and watched the rafters and kayakers in the play hole just at the edge of downtown.
That evening we had a concert at the Snowy Peaks RV Park, and really enjoyed meeting our hosts Joanna and Gene Farrar and visiting with them as we enjoyed hamburgers and potato salad that they prepared for us. We also met some fellow Okies...three of them even became "groupies" and made it to the other two concerts we did in that area!!! What a compliment to us!!!
The next day we drove up to Cottonwood Lake and walked around a bit...a very pretty spot, and then we all went down to the Arkansas again - it's such a relaxing time to just sit by the river or wade in to the cold water as far as we dared. Jesse and Caleb made it all the way in, but not for very long! The other appealing features of the area are the volleyball courts and soccer field, perfect for Ultimate frisbee.
We enjoyed the parade in Buena Vista on the morning of the Fourth...an old-fashioned sort of parade, with horses and jeeps, children on decorated bicycles and Uncle Sam on a unicycle.
George and Julie served us a delicious cobb salad for lunch and then we headed for Salida, about half an hour away, to meet up with the Sons and Brothers band for a joint concert that night at the Presbyterian Church's 125th birthday celebration. Such a fun evening that was!!! We visited with special friends, made some new ones, played music, ate ice cream and watched fireworks. It was a blessing for all of us to be a part of!
After the stage and sound system were taken down we followed the Wolkings to their home in Westcliffe. It was dark when we pulled in, but I hope to never forget waking up Tuesday morning to that awesome view of the Sangra de Cristos and the Wet Mountain Valley. For those of you who don't know Frank, Val, Mike, Aaron and Joe, or who are unfamiliar with the Sons and Brothers band, check out www.sonsandbrothersband.com. You'll see an extraordinary family, incredible musicians (we love all of their CD's and they have a brand new one out just last month!), and friends very dear to our hearts. We so enjoyed our time with them and hope to meet up again before we leave Colorado. The guys all left Tuesday morning to set up five tents for the High Mountain Hay Fever Bluegrass Festival happening this weekend. Wow, was that an experience!!! The tent was huge and when the wind came up it was all those guys could do...almost 20 of them...to hold the tent down! It was a fabulous location, though, and such festive looking tents!!!
We girls, the four of us, Mom and Val, all had lunch at a little cafe in Westcliffe, enjoying every minute of our "girl talk", helped the guys out when we could and then went home and made apple and blueberry pies for a special treat for the guys when they came home. It was a good day, a very good day!!!
Wednesday we drove leisurely back to Buena Vista, enjoying the sights along the way...even a couple unintentional scenic routes when we took a wrong turn.
Thursday, Jesse and Jeremy had a "blast" with the power washer at George and Julie's and we all sort of hung out till it was time for our concert in the park. Nice park, great crowd...crazy concert!!! Jesse broke three strings in one hour!!! THREE STRINGS!!!! and all the tuning that went along with that!!! But the audience was very understanding and an adorable little girl danced almost the entire concert right in front of us, so we ended up having a great time in spite of the difficulties. There are so many nice people out there, you know? The evening ended up very nicely with shakes and malts at Punky's, which we all remembered from last year as having very good ice cream.
The next morning George and Julie took us on a hike up to Ptarmigan Lake. It was amazing!!! The wildflowers were blooming and probably at their peak, and the entire hike was breath-taking! (not just because of the lack of oxygen, either!) Most of the 3.3 miles up were below tree line, so we were walking through pine scented forest, across a couple of rock fields. Then just at tree line there were these meadows just full of flowers and a couple of small lakes. The view from Ptarmigan Lake was a glorious monument to God's handiwork and goodness to us - beautiful..the lump-in-your-throat-tears-in-your-eyes beauty that I simply can't describe with words, no matter how hard I try. I am so thankful to be able to experience that and wish I could take the feeling of humbleness and awe with me and have it in front of me forever. Maybe that is what heaven will be like...
It was a 6.6 mile hike round trip, and well worth every bit of effort, but I have to say, I was wiped out by the end... not my little brothers and sisters, though. No sooner were we back from our excellent Mexican dinner, but they were gone down to the river to play volleyball and frisbee. They ended up meeting some really nice young people and stayed out till after dark, and they were all still going strong. Good thing, cause we were up early yesterday morning and off to breakfast and then River Runners for a half day of rafting. The weather was perfect, and the water quite refreshing, especially after a game of volleyball while we were waiting for the departure.
Julie and the 8 of us "kids" had a great time with our guides Stacey and Gordie, and the rapids were so much fun!!!! Stacey even let John guide for a while, and now he's ready to move up here and become a professional river man. We all managed to stay in the rafts, except for when several of us got out and jumped from a high rock into the river. On the bus on the way back to meet George, Mom and Dad, one of the guides asked us to sing a song, so we did the Parable Song, our new a cappella. That was a neat opportunity for us, and motivated us to want to learn some more a cappella pieces.
Then it was back to the Robinson's one final time to have lunch, a birthday cake for Jeremy, pack up and say goodbye. Not many people can comprehend having our family over for dinner, let alone to stay for 9 days, but George and Julie showed such hospitality, and spoiled us all thoroughly. They are an amazing couple and we are ever so thankful that we know them, and have been blessed by their amazing generosity and love. Thank you both!!!
Now we are in Georgetown with Grandma and Grandpa. We have a couple of days of "down" time before GospelGrass begins, and this is an excellent place to just hang out, or play tennis and volleyball, or visit my favorite bookstore in the whole world, take a hike, or just be still. Jesse already found a horse to ride, and everyone is happily enjoying themselves.
Everywhere we go up here, I am struck by God's goodness...in the beauty of the mountains, the coolness of the air, the fragrance of the pines, and the people that He has caused to cross our paths. Our God is good!!!
May He bless each of you today, as well.
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