mmmmm . . . sooo lovely

This last weekend I went out with one of the churches here to the Mountains in Colorado for Sabbath services and fellowship. My students invited me to go, and though I wasen't feeling all that great (some yucky virus or flu bug that's going around), I'm glad that my family and I went. It's so amazing what only an hour north of here has. Well, it is the Rockies!

So we went to the La Plata Mountains and I got a few good shots of the area with my 35mm slr that I need to develope, I can hardly wait to see! However, I did get a few on my digital camera.

The differance in landscape from an hour north of this little town in the high desert to an hour south. Both so unique and beautiful.

Here's a picture from the drive to the La Platas.


Here is a shot I got as we entered the La Platas



We had a nice informal worship service with about 20 others who came up this weekend, and had a lovely picnic like lunch. It was very cold though, and the wind . . . wow! I had several layers on, and wished for a few more. It's only September!!! My brother though . . . yikes! I don't know how he missed me mentioning that it was going to be cold up there, he got it in his head that it was going to be warm. (not used to sunshine and cold I guess, or he forgot what it is like to go up into the mountains) He didn't bring a coat, and only had a shortsleeved shirt and thankfully jeans. Crazy boy! he brought shorts to change into. Oh I laughed when he said he probably wouldn't be changing. I tried to share my windbreaker at least with him, but he said no. All the church family there were asking if he wanted a blanket, a jacket, a sweater . . . he just said no.

A portion of the group decided to then drive up to the top. At first I wasen't sure if I should. You see, you can only go up if you have a four-wheel drive vehical, and not a low riding one at that. So with that in mind, I had a feeling it would be a bumpy ride, and so my aching back (that wierd bug thing we think) didn't realllly want to go, but my heart did! Then one of the guys mentioned his was probably the most cushioned vehicle, I was there, and in the front passenger seat! Mom came in the same vehicle and the three of us, and the suv made our way up the mountain. What a ride!

A pic half way up, looking back a ways, you can't see the road more then that, it zig-zagged up. This is probably the last place that we had that was a childs rollercoaster, after this stop, it was a VERY bumpy ride :)

There's my brother in his thin, shortsleeve shirt as well. Oh yeah, after this place, you prayed you didn't run into anyone coming down the mountain in a truck. The road was barely wide enough for one to go up.

Here's another shot of some of the scenery going up the mountain.
A little waterfall, that actually eventually made it down and crossed the road we were on.



We finally made it to the top of the mountain area, well, as far up as I thought we could go in a car and we walked down to this area that was just spectacular. I wish I had the pictures from my other camera to show, but this will do I suppose.



That picture with Tim, well where his right heal is , that is the end of the world! Well, it is actually a drop off to several hundred feet of sheer rock face. It is a little scary in a way. You can go around a little bit and see part of it.

Here's my 9th graders sitting at that place where Tim is standing in the above picture on the cliff.


As we got back to the trucks, I thought oh, we're going to go back down. Then my 9th graders hopped in the SUV I was riding in, and said they were driving. I laughed, thinking they were kidding. Shoot! thier only 15, and maybe have thier permits. And then the driver got in on the passenger seat and said we're going up to Notch, the highest point you could drive on this mountain side, and on of the girls was driving up there. I don't have any pictures of that drive, I was VERY nervous to say the least, but I will describe it for you.

On the left, the rocky mountainside went strait up a few hundred feet, on the right, strait down. And the width of the "road" . . . barely wide enough for narrow truck.

Well, with careful guidance by the driver, and one bump on the head on the side of the car (my head :p) we got to the Notch. Three vehicles, I wish I had a picture of that, but I don't have it on my digital camera, it was amazing to watch them turn the vehicles around.

Here's my girls on the top of the Mountain. (for some reason, all my pictures are coming out dark on here, but they aren't on anything else)

Both of them took turns driving down the mountain, back to the campsite. I was nervous at times, but they both did a very good job. A little practice, and they will be excellent drivers someday.


And one last picture. Similar to another, but slightly more colorful and . . .