Road Trip ‘23 … Day 1.5 … Getting Emotional

A Garden … a place of beauty. Or maybe it’s a verb … to garden … when someone works the area. Was this a place where beauty was planted? Was this a place where God continues to work, displaying His glory? Maybe both

1300+ acres. A park for over 100 years, ever since a family gave it to the city to be free access to all for perpetuity. It has 21 miles of trails – with the main 1.5 miles of paved, handicap accessible trail that gets millions of visitors a year. This is a beautiful place that has delighted all ages for all ages.

This area was first called ‘Red Rock Corral’ by the Europeans. One of the first surveyors called it a capital place for a ‘beer garden.’ I am glad he didn’t win the day. His companion said it was a great place for the Gods to assemble. Thus the name was born. (Hollywood stole the name and named the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth after ‘Garden of the Gods’.)

Native Americans report a connection to the location … many Native Americans. Evidence shows people have been visiting there 1300 years before Christ. Since about 250BC, evidence is that many Native Americans camped there.

And most importantly to this story – a beautiful young high school graduate visited Garden of the Gods and left photographic evidence. This lady’s name is Carolyn Bradford – my most beloved wife’s mother. Carolyn took a road trip over 60 years ago – just out of high school. Our road trip was also about following the footsteps of Carolyn.

Road Trip ’23 brought us to Colorado Springs in the early afternoon. We entered the southern gate of GoG and began our exploration. We hiked some of the Ute trail, we stopped and explored the rocks, we took many photos and we finally found a parking spot to walk into the heart of the Garden. It was almost 100 degrees outside and we felt it.

Plot Twist – Before we left, we parked near a particular structure called Balancing Rock. At his spot, I pulled out the only picture on my phone that I had from my wife’s mother’s photo collection. I showed her the phot and positioned her almost exactly where the original photograph had been taken. My wife paused, stared and got a little emotional. You see, my wife’s mother passed away almost 10 years ago.

She was standing exactly where her mother had stood. She was photographing the exact formation her mother had photographed.

But … this moment, this particular location, this view of a particular formation of rock, this aged-fading-discolored photo … bridged 60 years … bridged a generation … and even bridged a separation between the physical the and hereafter. That deserves a little emotional expression.

On a personal note, that moment made the entire trip worth it. 87 hours in a car means little when compared to that moment. And no matter what I would do out of stupidity, and I do a lot of that, that moment makes up for them all.

Later that afternoon, we arrived any Glen Eyrie, the retreat center for the Navigators. This was adjacent to the GoG and had similar rock structures, but also more landscaping. Glen Eyrie is the home of a castle built by former Civil War general who led the Pennsylvania Calvary, and after the war, designed/engineered the railroad expansion in this part of the country. The castle he built is now a hotel for the Navigators. We actually got booked into the General’s room – General William Jackson Palmer. Then we studied and did some reading in his original tea room.

The castle was like stepping back a hundred years. Maybe a bit of Brighton Abbey. Words could not express, so just enjoy these photos …

LESSON – Connection can come in a variety of ways. Connection is important between so many, especially generations … like a mother and daughter in this situation. This Garden of the Gods is a place that God worked in a beautiful way to connect a generation – a mother and daughter.

Make connections now. 60 Years is really too long. Sweet even that long – but still – too long to wait for a deeper connection.

Sleep … oh so welcome. As we laid our heads down, we look forward to a ride up the mountain tomorrow – in a train. And then to then to a haunted hotel.