In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, beauty can escape us.
It is only by living in the moment that we can experience our
wondrous environment. Sometimes traveling to a new and exciting
place helps us to take notice of our surroundings.
Christmas Away From Home
My husband and oldest daughter, Angie, were my traveling
companions as we left Grand Rapids, Michigan on the morning of
December 24. It was the beginning of the first snow storm of the
year. At 7 a.m. we had about 3 inches of snow and more was on
its way. I kept thinking Oh, please just let us get out of
Michigan! If we can just get off the ground in Michigan, we'll
probably escape the storm and get safely to our destination -
Las Vegas. Sure enough, the flight was on time and we arrived in
Las Vegas by 11 a.m. We had a great lunch (in 60 degree weather)
and did some sightseeing.
It felt fun and exciting to be spending Christmas away from home
for the first time. The travel plans were well organized – by
me, of course! We planned to drive to drive to Koosharem, Utah
on Christmas day to pick up our youngest daughter, Vanessa, from
school. It was a five-hour drive from Las Vegas but we planned
to spend three days with her at a hotel not far from her school.
We would then return her to school, drive back to Las Vegas,
spend two days there, and fly home to Michigan. Knowing we would
be driving most of Christmas day, we went to Christmas Eve Mass
in Las Vegas. That was a new and interesting experience - the
church was very modern in design (a bit unusual for a Catholic
church) but beautiful, bright, and colorful. There was a male
soloist who had a wonderful voice - we could have listened to
him all evening! He really helped create the tone of the whole
mass. I can still hear his deep voice singing praise to the
Lord. The Drive Through Nevada And Utah
We went to bed early that night because we had to get up at 5
a.m. on Christmas day. The drive through Nevada and into Utah
went fine - no snow or ice! The Nevada mountains looked like
large haystacks from a distance. There was a lot of barren
highway but the mountains lined the sky like a painted picture.
As the sun rose on Christmas day it was a beautiful sight to
behold! The three of us were in awe as a small shimmer of
sunlight popped up over a mountain peak. It then rose higher
until it shown brightly over the highest peak.
In Utah the temperature was in the single digits. It didn't
matter, the scenery was beautiful - our God is a wonderful
artist. Entering Utah we were greeted by huge rock formations.
Several times while driving we spotted bald eagles perched atop
the jagged rocks, surveying their territory. We drove through
mountains that looked like rainbows – stripped colors of pink,
gray, and orange rock.
We reached Vanessa's location by noon, picked her up, and then
drove a half hour to Richfield, Utah. We spent three days there
in a cozy hotel. Not much to do so we............shopped! That
was fun. For three days we shopped, went to movies, ate out, and
relaxed. It was good to see Vanessa again. A Test Of Fitness In
The Nevada Mountains
The next leg of the trip began after returning Vanessa to
school. We drove back to Las Vegas and, again, the weather was
in the 60's. Our evenings were spent on the Strip but we decided
to spend a full day hiking and rock climbing in the Valley of
Fire state park. The park was located about 45 minutes from Las
Vegas. This was so beautiful I think of it almost daily. I now
understand why that area of the United States is called “God’s
Country”. We admired the huge caverns and layered rock
formations; boulders with colors of pink, gray, blue, and
yellow. It looked like one big rainbow that stretched toward the
horizon. We went off the beaten path of the trails, made our way
straight down the mountain, and spent almost five hours rock
climbing and crawling within the caverns. Up and over boulders
we went, squeezing between the narrow passes in the rock. The
boulders and jagged rocks went on for miles – and so did we!
It was so amazing! We took video, pictures, and tried to store
whatever we could in our memories. We had our gear on our backs
so that our hands were free for climbing. Our supplies included
water, food bars, jackets, cameras, and maps. (Well, the maps
were no good because we were off the trail!). We hiked, climbed,
and crawled for hours - over huge boulders, slippery, loose
rocks, and through colorful layered crevasses. It seemed that
the more we climbed, the closer we could get to the horizon - so
we kept going. Using stones we chalked arrows on the rocks, so
that we could find our way back up the mountain. The stones were
loose so we had to be extremely sure footed. Also, there was no
one else around for miles – so getting injured was not an
option.
I had never seen such beauty – nature in its rarest, most rugged
form. I was enjoying every bit of the adventure. It began to get
late so we decided to turn around and make our way back up the
mountain to the main trail. We followed the chalked arrows but
climbing back up was tough duty. The three of us felt victorious
as we emerged over the top of the mountain. We were happily
exhausted once we got back to our car - and only a little sore
the next day! A New Awareness
The flight back to Michigan was uneventful and we arrived to
face 3 feet of snow. However, we had a new appreciation of its
beauty. Actually, there was a deeper awareness of everything.
What a euphoric feeling – to be able to slow down, look around,
and soak in the splendor of the environment! For me, this
adventure validated that nature puts me in touch with myself and
with my surroundings. That’s a feeling I intend to cherish
forever.
(c) 2002 Monique Rider
About the author:
Monique Rider is a Life Coach and Personal Trainer. She owns
Trinity Coaching Services, a company that offers fitness
training and personal growth services to clients worldwide. To
learn more about Monique please visit her website:
http://home.talkcity.com/workoutpl/trinitycoachingservices/ or
email her at: Monique_Rider@msn.com
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