Garden of the Gods

September seems unusually warm. Often I forget from year to year, it seems that September should have temperatures in the 70's and low 80's. Yesterday, we went hiking in the Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs. We hiked through the park on one of the many trails and it was close to 90. But there was alot of shade and the scenery was beautiful.

                                         As we

entered I expected to pay a fee but was quickly reminded by the above placard that Charles Elliott Perkins gave this park to the people in 1901on the condition that it would be free to the public. He bought 480 acres for $22 an acre. And he never set his eyes on it.

I was thinking as I hiked through these hills that some of the ground is rocky and you bake in the hot sun. But then a breeze comes by and you find a patch of shade and it takes on a new persona. You can't stay in the shade for long. But the shade is refreshing. In order to make it to the end, you must
 keep walking. Sometimes you look up and see amazing sights. Sometimes you are crowded by trees and bushes. But you make it through and are so glad you took the time to wander about on this earth.

Writing a little everyday is so much like hiking. Sometimes, I see amazing sights. A paragraph or a chapter comes alive. Other times, I'm just plodding through and see very little forward progress. But in time, I will finish it and then it is up to others to take the hike and then they get to decide if it was worth it.