Chase this light with me: Horsetooth Hike #2

I love Colorado. Anyone who knows me at all knows this about me. My brother and his family live up there so I have a fantastic excuse to go visit a couple times a year. It's just such a great place to get away. Away from the jobs, away from my phone, away from facebook. My brother always feels like he has to apologize for the fact that they don't do much, but that's a huge part of the appeal. We don't watch a lot of TV (except Cinderella and the Incredibles on a loop in the playroom) and there aren't a ton of people to see. Whenever I visit, I go to the library and pick out a few books that I will inevitably finish before my trip is over, and I love it.

Last October when I visited, I went on a hike for the first time by myself, and it was amazing. It was a gorgeous afternoon, and as I set off down the trail I came upon a little family of deer, just meandering around the path. We just stopped and stared at each other for a few seconds, until I slooooowly got my camera out of my bag. They just kept staring as I started snapping a few pictures, and then started inching closer...

and closer...

until finally they decided I was close enough and they started moving into the brush on either side of the trail. I just stopped and watched them, until this doe turned around to get one last look at me, and *CLICK*... I got this picture.

It's one of my absolute favorites! The picture is precious, and it also just reminds me of a beautiful day. That whole afternoon was just an incredible time for me to be alone with the Lord in the middle of His Creation. When I got to the top of the trail, a place called Horsetooth, I was able to just sit for a while and marvel at the view. I had a lot going on in my head and in my heart that day, and it felt so good to get to the top and just rest. It wasn't a long hike at all, but I had rushed to get to the top because it was late and I wanted to get to the top before the sun went down.

It was worth the rush.

Like I said, this was not a long hike at all, but I was still pretty winded when I got to the top (let's face it, this "city" girl doesn't have much practice climbing mountains, however small they may be.) I was thankful for the opportunity to just sit and marvel at Creation, and rest my shaky little legs. I was just overwhelmed by the beauty of it, and the fact that the Lord made it all for us. And I wasn't the only one up there-- I happened to turn around at the right moment and see this little guy sneaking out to check me out and grab some snacks...

After having some time to sit and enjoy the view, I was so rejuvenated by the beauty of everything that energy just started spilling out of me. If you happened to be on the Horsetooth trail in early October and saw a crazy girl running down the trail, camera in hand and bag bouncing all over the place, you saw me. And this wasn't good, steady, athletic-type running. No no, this was me running like a giddy little kid downhill at unsafe speeds on rocky, uneven terrain. I would start steady and just get going faster and faster until I finally skidded to a stop to take pictures of some random plants or trees that caught my eye.