05 July 2010

Riding Through the Garden

While hiking through the Garden of the Gods was incredible, seeing them from the comfort of our trikes was truly unforgettable.  It was so much more comfortable than walking.
Just ahead of Ken is the path that goes through the Garden.  To get to it we had our own bike lane, just the right size for trikes.  Our campground is only a mile or two away from this beautiful place.  An easy ride.
Connie (Ken's Dad's wife) is right - it looks as though Ken is riding into a big painting.  It's hard to get your mind around all of this and know it's real.  Being here is a surreal experience for sure.
We found this little chapel and I thought it might be a good place to leave some of Alex's ashes, but it was locked so I just said a prayer asking to find the right place to sprinkle them, and we rode on.
The dirt path led to this road where we took the loop all the way around.
We saw some of the same stuff as on our hike, but from the other side.
Scenery like this makes you shut up.  And when you are quiet the answers to your prayers are easier to hear. I saw this place up on the hill a bit so we parked our trikes and I climbed up to let some more of Alex go.
I placed the ashes in my hand and blew.  They seemed to hang there for a moment and then blended in with the terrain just perfectly.  It was the perfect place, if there is such a thing.
I got sad after that.  But the beauty surrounding me held me together.
And so did he.
Our trikes looked so little and cute from up there.
And speaking of little and cute, Simon liked walking around this part of the Garden but we needed to get back to pedaling.
See that mountain directly above me?  That is Pike's Peak.  Weird to know we were just on the top!
Before we left the Garden we stopped at the Trading Post where the trikes got all kinds of looks.  Simon barked at some people and we looked at some ice cream but decided to wait.
I am going to miss this place when we leave.  Denver will be awesome too though!

3 comments:

  1. "And when you are quiet the answers to your prayers are easier to hear."

    I absolutely LOVE that! As it says in the Bible; Be still and know I am God.

    Beautiful pix!

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  2. What a beautiful place. There is no greater chapel then that created by nature.

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  3. Ken and Jen,
    I did not see any other way of contacting you, so I figured leaving you a comment here would work. I work at UNOS and have been following your journey since you left Richmond, VA. You are featured twice in this months Update magazine, our bimonthly magazine for the transplant community. If you would like, I will gladly send you a few copies, just let me know where you would like me to mail them to. Good luck on the rest of your journey!

    Thanks,
    Mandy
    amesmank@unos.org

    ReplyDelete