It was in late October, 1960, when Jack and I first met at a company- sponsored square dance. A week or two later on our first date we discovered we both had visited Colorado and loved being in the mountains.
On October 6, 1962, we were married,
My parents are on the left, and Jack's are on the right.
My mother made my wedding dress from a picture that
I found in a bridal magazine.
And the next day we headed West to Colorado. On our honeymoon Jack showed me a place that he had discovered when he and some of his friends had gone there a few years before. This place has become a "favorite" place for us and our children.
Some say it is the most photographed place in the US; however, it is not a National Park. The road to get there lays between Snowmass and Aspen Colorado off of Highway 82--Maroon Creek Road.
We have been there in the Summer and the Fall, but our favorite time is the Fall because the Aspen trees are spectacular.
The drive back off the main highway is filled with splashes of golds and greens of the Aspen and pine trees.
This very special place is called Maroon Bells.
It is so breathtaking....
The awe and wonder of God's creation surrounds you...
You feel like you are standing on holy ground.
I took the picture below when we went back
to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary.
Maroon Lake is positioned just perfectly at the front of those three magestic peaks and reflects a mirror image of the mountains...however, it is good if you can be there at just the right time as the sun is coming up over the mountains to the east. Many photographers rush out there early in the morning to be there at just that perfect moment.
When we were raising our children, we loved taking them there and sharing this place that we loved with them. We hiked on some of the surrounding trails and took lots and lots of pictures.
This picture was taken
in the summer of 1996.
On our 40th Anniversary Jack and I went back by ourselves.
When we were there, we decided to hike a little (that's an understatement) farther than we ever had before. If you look straight down from the tallest peak in the picture below, you can see a darkened area that resembles a cave.....That is where we are headed. It doesn't look that far away, but you need to hike up and over some lower parts of the mountain to get there. The trail is off to the right.
This is a little lake that is a short way up the mountain trail.
The scenery along the way is brilliant and beautiful, but it is a steep climb. The path is not even so you need to watch every step you take; and at our age, we stopped often, just to catch our breath at such a high altitude.
As we neared our destination, we came to a rock field where there had been a slide at one time. At this point, it was really difficult walking.
Finally we arrived at Crater Lake.
Do you remember the dark area that looked like a
cave in the picture I previously mentioned….Well here it is!
We made it!
Going down was somewhat easier; however, you still had to watch your step.
Our 50th Anniversary is just three years away,
maybe, God willing, we will go back.
Listed below are some websites that explain more about the Maroon Bells and Crater Lake.
http://www.americansouthwest.net/colorado/maroon-bells/crater-lake-trail.html
http://www.americansouthwest.net/colorado/maroon-bells/index.html
