Rocky Mountain High

Back in 1972, I purchased the album "Rocky Mountain High" by John Denver. I still have that LP, it's a little scratched and fuzzy sounding, well actually, I have 2 copies, and one is still pretty good. I thought the title song was the coolest song ever, and still do. There's something in the words, to me, that talk about getting a clear vision of life, of your life, and following that dream.
We have vacationed and camped in Colorado over the years. We would often leave in the middle of the night with the boys asleep in the back, as we tried to get across half of Kansas before daylight. Usually our goal was to be at the edge of Colorado, in Garden City Kansas or maybe Burlington Colorado,  in time to camp at the end of the first day.
Then, early the next morning, we would enter "Colorful Colorado" and begin the ascent to the mountains. We always commented on the city limit signs which changed from displaying population numbers to declaring the elevation of said town. After everyone was awake and the first round of snacks had been passed around, we began to anticipate the first hint on the horizon of the far blue horizon that would be the Rockies. Over the years it became a tradition and later an annoyance to teenagers, that with the first sighting of the mountains, I would play on the tape deck or just spontaneously begin to sing "Rocky Mountain High". It was always an inspirational moment. Seriously, it was. There is something in that far off horizon of snowy peaks that has beauty, mystery and the promise of adventure.
Camping and hiking and driving to see the sights. Garden of the Gods, peering over the edge of the Royal Gorge, or the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, or climbing the tallest dune at the Great Sand Dunes National Monument (getting the Great Sand Dune Sunburn), were all fine vacation things to do.
The Rockies are, for us, a place to run away to. A place that is both, in physical placement and spirit, far from the everyday life we live.
Three weeks ago Regina and I headed to Colorado for the end of summer vacation. 7 days in the mountains to get away from it all. We had a great time, staying in an unheated cabin in Grand Lake CO, on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park.We saw historic sites, ghost towns, rushing rivers and of course snow and road construction.
We came back relaxed and ready to get back to real life. Real life? As we drove home on Thursday, with the blue horizon of mountains in the rearview mirror, I wondered about real life. Some of the pictures we took could be post cards, and we wondered if this were where you lived, if this were YOUR real life, would it be just a boring or ho hum as living in the Ozarks can be to us?
Real life? The question is just that. What is it? When we got back, real life kicked in, Regina has 2 jobs and mine had just grown in responsibility by more than double. Real life was here, waiting. But you know, I have tried to keep that Rocky Mountain High in my hip pocket to pull out and remember and use to refresh. Mini trips with John Denver singing in the background while I eat a burger in my car, or starting the day looking at pictures we took while there, remind me that, even though it was only a few days, it was for those days, my real life. I believe dreams and memories are the same in our lives. One is the life we have lived, the other the life we will live, if we only catch the vision.
As I have thought about our mountain vacations I was reminded of how many times in the Bible references to the mountains occur. I guess a mountain high has always had it's spiritual aspects. Moses, Abraham, Elijah, and Jesus all had mountain top experiences. Think about yours!
Peace my friends.