A Special Day in the Mountains

Well, the title is kind of funny, because we LIVE on a mountain, but still.... my husband and I have a favorite thing to do together, and that is to get in one of our mountain rambler vehicles and go out into the hills and mountains around our place, exploring, and just enjoying being together.

Snow capped mountains embraced the views as we traveled along a dusty little road that curved back into the mountains.

Our drive turned into a detour because of mudslides that had shut down the road we planned to take.

But we love detours on this kind of day, because we get to travel down roads we might have missed. We encountered this quaint one lane bridge on the detour.

Someone had put Christmas lights on the bridge and left them there for the season.  We must come back at Christmas to see them lit up!

The cold waters of the river carrying snow melt rushed below us.

We found a trail along the river and followed it as it meandered along.

Trillium were in bloom throughout the forest, their happy faces announcing springtime's arrival.

As we walked along the river, the soothing melody of the rushing waters was music to our souls.

We found an old rotten log to sit on and just sat by the river, drinking in the beauty of the moment, and the music of the stream as it rushed past us.

In our own little paradise, it seemed time itself stopped as we took the time to listen, and to feel the very heartbeat of the Lord in that place.

After soaking in the beauty of our little spot in paradise until it seemed our very souls would burst with the joy and peace we felt, we continued our hike through the woods, thankful for the the glorious moments sitting by the stream had given us.

We came to a bridge crossing the stream, and stood amazed to see a tree that had grown out of the side of the bank, turned, and lifted itself straight up towards the sun.  I knew the lesson from that little tree well.  

Don't let adversity hinder you from finding your way to the SON.  

He can take your brokenness, your mistakes, and your misguided efforts, 

and turn them into something beautiful, 

when your face and life looks to HIM. 

What a beautiful thing you can become, 

because of the SON. 

For if that little tree had not tried to lift its life towards the sun, 

it would have perished in the cold waters of the stream, 

but because it looked upward, 

instead of out, around, or down... 

it survived by looking up

and remains a lesson for us all to see. 

Many trees have perished during the storms passing their way along this little stream. But the amazing thing is that the brave little tree was a survivor.

An incredible lesson that blessed our hearts as we pondered it.

Here is a video of the little stream that blessed our hearts. I hope it is a blessing to you too!

We got back into our vehicle and headed deep into the heart of the mountains, winding our way, up and around an old logging road.  Privacy is never an issue here in these mountains... so vast is the terrain that seldom do you ever see anything or anyone except for the wildlife.

Many mountain streams were encountered throughout our drive... tiny one-lane bridges crossing them.. built by the logging companies who once logged this area.  We stopped to enjoy each one of them.

The roads wind and move us on, deeper and deeper into the forest, all grown up since being logged many years ago.  We stopped and hiked several little "deer trails".  On one of them we saw huge amounts of moose droppings.  In fact, you couldn't even walk the trail without stepping in them.  We hiked for a while, clapping our hands, and making lots of noise.  We stopped for a minute to look at the view spread before us.  And then we heard a crashing heavy sound behind us.  We turned and saw a large flash of fur in the trees.  It was time to go!  We made our way quickly back down the trail, keeping a close eye around us.  We did not want to meet this moose on her terrain!  Back in the truck, we paused to see if she would come out, but she didn't.  But we were glad to leave her be, alone in the place she calls home.

The cool stillness of the mountain air and the darkening hues of the sky let us know night was coming, and that it was time to head back home.

We passed by a local buffalo farm, and stopped to watch them.

He was quite unimpressed with me. We stared at each other for a moment or two, and then I slowly raised my camera to take a picture.  He went back to grazing, there was more important things to do than watch me, lol.

The mountains were shadowed in the distance, with shades of pink drifting across the skies.

A close-up showed he really wasn't thrilled about my attentions at all.  Just as well, we enjoyed watching them graze as the daylight faded away.  

Looking at the family's little cabin who owns this farm, we thought it an idyllic spot to live... we loved the front porch, and simple design of the cabin. But the views remained the most spectacular part of it all.

Soon our adventure came to an end as we finished the day back at home, sitting outside in our lounge chairs, watching the moon come up, and thankful for the little getaway that we had together, in the midst of all the work we needed to be doing.  But sometimes... a day away like this is just what you need to get your "batteries recharged" for the long days of work ahead.  :)