To me, heading to the Rocky Mountains is a spiritual experience. A cathedral of peaks tower over us mere mortals; peaks snow-covered except for the short summer months. Moraine Park (elevation 8,000+ ft.) is the valley that runs through Rocky Mountain National Park. This valley is often full of elk herds, except for the summer when they, like lots of humans, head for higher ground and cooler temperatures.
Moraine Park also has a meander running through it. A zigzagging snake of water carrying snow-melt from the high peaks that eventually ends up in the reservoirs that feed the plains below. It is a magical place. To meander along the meander is to imitate the water leaving its impression upon the land and to imagine the force and determination the water has taken to follow its course and fulfill its purpose in the big scheme of things.
Until I lived in Colorado, I didn’t realize that the word meander was not only a verb, but a noun. (Okay, so I’ve led a sheltered “city” life and have no excuse.)
If you look up the definition of meander at Dictionary.com, it reads like the definition of a single individual’s life journey.
1. to proceed by or take a winding or indirect course
2. to wander aimlessly; ramble
–verb (used with object)
3. Surveying. to define the margin of (a body of water) with a meander line.
–noun
4. Usually, meanders. turnings or windings; a winding path or course.
5. a circuitous movement or journey.
We don’t always know where we’ll end up, but we’re on a journey, nonetheless. And perhaps we take a winding or indirect course to where we’re going (most of us do). Or perhaps we even wander aimlessly and ramble. (Yes, I’m guilty of this, as well.) But in the big scheme of things, I believe we have a purpose and any route we take to fulfill it works out in the end.
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You picked the right place from about a raffle in a hat. Hope you can see spirits there. Good luck on your search and yes it is beautiful. Many indians were living with the earth there until they lost their family’s. One man’s experience at home is truley spiritual. Maybe the ghost in the land will scare you away. Have meaning or courtesy before you step foot in a teritory. ignorant? Maybe you can truley appreciate the life there. Otherwise take your meandering self away from the area and wander around another place.
Thanks for your comment, Daniel!
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