BEAUTY IN UNEXPECTED PLACES
Happy Friday everyone. I can’t believe the week is over already. Well, almost. I’m so looking forward to the weekend. I’m heading up to beautiful Sedona with a good friend of mine for some hiking. It’ll be a blast.
I was up early this morning to go out biking. It’s getting lighter, later and later each morning, so I had to pull out my little blinking lights so I wouldn’t get clipped by a car on the narrow shoulders. Yeah, it’s a little nerve wracking, but let me tell you about the magnificent payoff I got this morning.
Now, just a little history first — I moved to the desert from Colorado. So, I don’t have to say much other than THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS for you all to understand my definition of a mountain. I even had a panoramic view from my old house.
See, this just happens to be Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs….from my back porch in Castle Rock, CO! Had a great view…..Off to the right is another set of mountains.
Anyway, back to my “payoff” for getting up early, having to bike with a light, and braving the cars speeding to work. Well, I’m no stranger to having a good view (see pics above) and when I moved here to the desert, I was worried I would miss it. I really haven’t much, because I’m surrounded by foothills…I live in a valley.
Yes, most people around me call these foothills mountains, but I beg to differ, for the obvious reasons listed above.
As I’ve settled into my new life here in the desert (which I love by the way), I’ve really grown to appreciate the foothills. Sure, the Rockies are amazing, right? But, they were always so far from me. We had to drive a couple hours to get somewhere good to be IN the mountains. Not here. I can drive just ten minutes and I’m at a trailhead for three different “mountains” to go get lost in. Plus, they do play their part into some spectacular views….
I was riding this morning, and as I peddled East on a road, the sun began to peak over the distant horizon. Its rays shot up over a little foothill and set the hovering clouds afire. I seriously almost had to stop my bike to watch it. No camera though. Gosh darn it. I was awestruck.
Talk about a great payoff, huh? Getting to see the breathtaking rising sun for fighting traffic, the fatigue of biking 20 miles alone without someone to draft from, and so on…
One Comment
Donna Alice
Those are beautiful views! I didn’t realize you lived in such a scenic area. I can’t even imagine being up that early doing ANYTHING! LOL