Three days – 640 photos – and Remington
I recently had the good fortune to spend three days in Estes Park, Colorado. Granted, three days is not a very long time, but I was incredibly grateful for that time. The last time I was there was in 2005 when we were driving to Seattle from Dallas for a cruise; we got to spend maybe two and a half hours there, and that really was not enough time. Because of other obligations and complications, I almost did not go, but I am very glad I was able to, and convinced to go.
The weather over the three days I was there was gorgeous, which allowed me time to get out and about and take some photos. I had never seen elk before and seeing them roaming around town at will was a treat. I saw a lot of chipmunks and prairie dogs, too, but I had seen those before. One of the most interesting things I had seen while there was a female Stellar Jay, which is so incredibly blue.
I stayed with some friends at The Elkhorn Lodge and was basically given complete access for photo taking there, as well as at The Elkhorn Stables (O’Dells). The lodge was built in 1871 and had its first guests in 1874. The old lodge is still in use today.
Yes, I actually did take 640 photos, which is a low number of photos for me, even for a mini vacation. But, my friends, Beverly and Betty, have a store at the lodge which they needed to clean up and organize, so I helped them as much as they would allow, which was not as much as I would have liked; given my back problems it was probably good that I was shooed out to take photos because I would have done a lot of things I shouldn’t and would not have been able to take photos for a long time, much less walk.
Most of the photos I took were just for me, for remembering a very good time in a beautiful town in the Colorado Rockies. I did get a lot of great photos, but there were two out of them all that have become my favorites. One is the “obligatory” Colorado mountain/stream photo and the other is one most wouldn’t consider. It is 
a black and white I took of a black and white 10-month old Springer Spaniel named Remington. I know this sounds strange because Estes Park and the surrounding area have a lot of fantastic photo opportunities, including that of wild life, buildings and people.
It’s no secret I love dogs and I have taken hundreds upon hundreds of mine in the last six years. Remington was a chance to take photos of someone else’s dog and he gave me a chance, even if for a very short time.
This mini-vacation was not just about photo taking, however. It was a chance to get close to nature again. My first night there, as the sun was setting, I sat down in the rocking chair on the front porch of the Lodge and listened to the wind blow through the tall trees. For some this might be a lonely sound, but for me it was like being touched by God, and peace and contentment washed over me. As the temperature dropped and the stars came twinkling out I was really reluctant to move from my spot but knew at some point I would have to go inside. And then, just as the sun faded into twilight, the howl of the coyotes sang across the hills. With nightfall all became quiet. It was a special moment in time given to me as a gift from God and good friends. A gift I will always treasure.
Although way too short, this was a trip I won’t soon forget. Memories may fade, but I have good photos to remind me of this fantastic trip. I hope I get a chance to return to Estes Park sometime, but it will not hold the enchantment this trip did. I found, here, something I had buried long ago and needed to rediscover within myself, and that I will always cherish and remember.
Posted in Reflections, Vacation by Jason with no comments yet.
Going home
“They” say you can never go home again. “They” are correct. Oh sure, you can physically go back to the place that you call home, usually the place you grew up, but it isn’t the same as when you once lived there. Many of us that have journeyed home after many years away discover that new businesses have sprung up, new restaurants have opened, and many new houses have been built. Home has changed in that it has progressed forward. Maybe not in ways that you would like, but it has moved forward and is no longer the place that you remember. Old buildings are gone, adults you knew growing up have passed away, fields that you once played in are now shopping centers. Nestled in all of the change is the home you once remembered, only memories for you and history for the “newcomers”.
But even though your hamlet, town, city, metropolis has moved forward and grown, it is really you that has moved on and grown beyond the boundaries of the place you grew up and remember. Home has now become the place you rest your head each evening, the friends you meet on the street or in your living room, the place you worship, the place you work and shop and make memories. Sure, you can go back to the place you think of as “home” and rekindle old friendships and revisit old places of haunt, but you must start anew at making this once again home, just as you did when you moved away in the first place.
Home is where the heart is, where you rest your soul, and where you make your memories; memories captured in your mind or captured behind the digital lens.
Posted in Vacation by Jason with no comments yet.