Echo Lake
We woke up early and headed west to Denver.
My eyes kept scanning the horizon for the first glimpse of the Rockies and I cheered with glee when I saw them.
Much to my chagrin, everyone thought it was just clouds and that I was seeing things again.
Fair, given that I thought the sunset the night before was actually a fire in the distance.
Don’t judge. It was all very confusing on those flat plains.
Anyway…
But I was right! And man, seeing those mountains rise up for the first time…what a sight to see.
We skipped the city itself and headed straight to Red Rocks Park and Ampitheatre to park the rv and unhitch so we could go drive the Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway (formerly Mount Evans).
Don’t worry. We came back to the Red Rocks to explore!
Mt. Evans is the highest paved road in North America and while we drove to it, Justin did his best homeschooling dad talk about elevation and oxygen levels and it being a famous “fourteener” of Colorado. I enjoyed his Ted talk :)
We were all excited to be in the mountains.
Well, all except me and Avett. He was now worried about not being able to breathe up there due to oxygen levels and I was scared we’d fall off the side of the mountain, because that’s how my brain works.
Unfortunately (or not), the actual byway was closed due to snow and ice and we couldn’t go up. Needless to say, Justin was pretty bummed.
Avett and I both gave a sigh of relief until Justin turned off the road onto a secondary road a local had said to try.
Seriously???
Unfortunately (or not depending on who you ask, ie. me), we couldn’t go very far down that road because of a van stuck in the middle of it. (See why I was a little nervous?)
So we turned around again and headed back down.
This time, we stopped at the lake we had passed going up and decided to walk around.
Y’all, I kid you not.
As we drove up to the lake, a bald eagle circled above and landed on the ice. Right there in front of us!
We started then keeping a list of things we’ve never seen before - a flying eagle, a frozen lake, an eagle landing on a frozen lake. I love this list and can’t wait to add to it!
Echo Lake was gorgeous and the kids loved grabbing ice out of the lake and smashing the crystals on the ground. Despite the sunshine, there was plenty of snow for the kids to play in.
And then a hawk.
Might not mean anything to anyone else, but hawks always mean something to me.
When I was in my first year of sobriety, a friend shared how he believed God sent him cardinals to show him He was there.
This idea seemed strange at the time, but it stuck with me for some reason. I wondered if I could steal his cardinal idea and use it as my own, but that seemed not right so I moved on.
And then I had my God moment in College Grove where I realized God and spiritual warfare were real.
No joke.
And God sent me hawks.
Lots of them.
I don’t know how many hawks I saw that week or how to explain the hawk screams I heard, but wherever I went, there they were.
Maybe it was a coincidence, I don’t know, but ever since then, whenever I see a hawk, I thank God for being present. And it is amazing how they always seem to show up at just the right moment. It’s like a tangible reminder to me that He is always there. I don’t know how to explain it other than to say when I see a hawk, I instantly thank God and thank Him for reminding me where my focus should be and to be grateful.
So here on the bank of Echo Lake, I watched this hawk circle us for minutes. My kids weren’t impressed and I don’t know if Justin even noticed (there’s a lot going on with 4 kids next to a lake with snow).
But I saw. I took notice. And I thanked God that even though the day wasn’t going totally to plan, we were able to stop and see this beautiful sight and take it all in. Together.
And isn’t what this trip is all about?
