We have a winner!

For a few moments I thought we would have a tie for the February Favorite Friday Foto, but fortunately one more vote came in to keep that from happening. And the winner is. . .

Light of the World

I have to admit I'm very fond of this photo. While Dennis painted in the Endo Valley picnic area last September, I looked for photo ops. One doesn't have to go very far to find them. The bright morning light at the end of this black tunnel of trees astounded me. It spoke of the world's darkness and how Christ is the light that dispels it. I'm glad I got this shot.

Later that same morning we hiked up the Alluvial Fan. I took this photo of Dennis painting near the top. . .

Then I hiked up a little farther to get this shot. . .

Isn't the sky the most incredible shade of blue? It's one of the best things about living here.  


Thanks to everyone who voted over the weekend. I put all your names in a baseball cap and Dennis pulled out Anonymous, aka Deb. Your Starbucks card is on its way, Deb.


This Friday I'll post the winning photos from the past three weeks for a final vote. See you then!

Blahg, Blahg, Blahg

A man I met at a New Year's Eve party asked, "What sort of things do you write?"  

"Oh, I'm working on a novel. And I blog and write daily devotionals."

He politely asked what my book is about, and I described it.

"So about blogs. Would you say they're like an ongoing Christmas letter?"

His question took me by surprise. Christmas letter?

I've never considered Joyful Altitude akin to the continuation of a letter sent to friends and family at Christmas. Certainly it's a type of journal; a recording of my life. But somehow I've hoped it would be more. That it would entertain the reader, as well as enlighten. Give inspiration and offer comfort. And that my words and photos would give glory to God. But maybe I think more highly than I ought to about my writing and photography. Maybe it's just "yada-yada-yada" or "blah-blah-blah". 

But then, again, over Sunday lunch a friend mentioned to me that I'm not blogging enough. She's a faithful reader and would like to see more frequent posts. I appreciate the fact that anyone would willingly read what I write, so for someone to actually ask for more makes me fairly delirious with joy. 

Speaking of delirious joy, that's what I felt last Wednesday morning while driving through Big Thompson Canyon with Dennis. This stunning sunrise took my breath away. . .

I never take for granted the beauty of my surroundings. Yesterday I thought about how dramatic the seasonal changes are in RMNP. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, so they say, here are photos I've taken of the Alluvial Fan in. . .


July

October

December

When Spring arrives, I'll take another photograph to complete the Four Season set. Then I think I'll make prints and frame them. Better yet, maybe I can get Dennis to paint them for me.

In the meantime, I'm going to  keep on blahging.

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; 

   wisdom and power are his. 

 He changes times and seasons; 

   he deposes kings and raises up others. 

He gives wisdom to the wise 

   and knowledge to the discerning."

Daniel 2:20-21

Life Like a Vacation

Yesterday's morning jaunt to Rocky Mountain National Park reminded me, again, why I love living here.

Barely in the Park ten minutes, we spied these two bucks on the mountainside.

The gloriously gold aspen greeted us.

Majestic snow-capped mountains tower over Endo Valley.

The Alluvial Fan showed its lovely Autumn colors.

Not to keen on being photographed, this spike made a run for it.

This bull elk didn't seem to mind the camera at all.

When I came back a little later, he watched me from his resting spot in the grass. 

A magnificent fenced-off area of Endo Valley soothed our souls. 

Mallards, nestled in a far corner of the water, pleasantly surprised us.

Trees clothed in Fall finery lined the drive back to Estes Park.

This morning we ate breakfast at The Other Side restaurant. Our twenty-something server, from Texas, has resided in Estes five years. We asked him how he likes living here. He grinned, looked out the window next to us, and waved his hand toward the mountains. "It's a great place to live," he gushed. "Every morning I wake up and get to see all this.  I feel like I'm on vacation every day."


I couldn't have put it better myself.