Story behind the image: The mountains welcome you home

Photo taken May 2010

To be honest I forgot about this picture after I took it, but stumbled across it on my external hard drive of photos years later. After some searching through the date stamp and other photos in the file I figured out what this picture was of. This is clearly a picture of the mountains at sunset, but there’s more.

There is only one place I know where such a view is possible. There is a bend in the I-70 Interstate just west of Limon, Colorado where travelers can first see the tips of the mountains over the rolling hills of the eastern plains of Colorado. This particular spot means I am almost home, but still have some time is that vast openness some people this is boring before running into the commotion of Denver.

This was a view I saw often growing up on road trips to and from seeing relatives that live out east. The date stamp on this particular photo informed me it was Memorial Day weekend. School was done for the year. Summer was official starting. The entire family would be gathering at the grandparents house to celebrate. And the Bolder Boulder 10K race would be bright and early Monday, so if we want to make it back in time, we will have to drive some in the dark. But first we witnessed the heat of summer as the sunset sky hovers the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Road trips are great times to observe the natural beauty of the world. They are times when you can go beyond the limits of your everyday life to see what is right on the other side and everywhere in between. Yes, some of it might be boring watching the yellow and white lines of the road zip by as the distant lands don't seem to change no matter how far you go, but there is some much more to see, learn, and reflect on during the journey.