Well, we have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is truly a gorgeous place. When we first got here, we headed to Manitou Springs after setting up our tent at a KOA and found this wonderful little restaurant that was open late--The Heart of Jerusalem Cafe. Their food was so delicious, and the waitress was very friendly. Manitou Springs is a really cute hippie town--of course, my kind of place. We actually visited there a few times. We went to church on Sunday at New Life Church, which is a megachurch with several church plants. I won't lie--I'm not a fan of the megachurch in general, but I can feel God's presence anywhere, so it was a good experience. The person who spoke was Ross Parsley, a man who just started a church plant in Austin, Texas a year ago. It was really cool to hear stuff about Austin because we were just there not too long ago and loved it. One thing I'll mention that's been a blessing on this trip is that every time I feel compassionate towards a group of people in a certain place and so helpless to do anything but pray (which is powerful though!), God somehow shows me another believer who is working in that place. It's a consolation that He hasn't forgotten the people we meet and see along the way. Anyway, Mr. Parsley's sermon was about taking risks like Peter did when he got out of the boat. It was a cool message, and the central theme is one that has been coming up for me a lot since I bought my one-way plane ticket to move to Honduras. (I am getting so excited about that, by the way. I only have two months and less than a week left before I move.) We returned to the church that evening for another service and were provided with a free live music opportunity. There was a concert put on by Whitney Fenimore and The Brilliance, so we stayed. They have really beautiful music. Whitney Fenimore's voice is clear and absolutely beautiful, and The Brilliance sings quiet, orchestral worship songs. We liked them both a lot.
Yesterday we headed to Garden of the Gods and Seven Falls to see the wonders of Colorado. Garden of the Gods was so beautiful! It's hard to even put it into words! My favorite rock was one called the Sleepy Giant because I just took a minute to rest in a shadow made by the rock hovering above and over me. In that moment, God reminded me of Isaiah 51:16: And I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, that I may fix the [new] heavens as a tabernacle and lay the foundations of a [new] earth and say to Zion, You are My people.
The whole concept of God as our rock has such much more of a drastic impact and carries more weight when the rocks you associate with that concept aren't pet rocks in your pocket but ones hovering over you with enough power to crush or protect you. After Garden of the Gods, we headed to Seven Falls, which honestly, for $9.95 was a bit of a bust. I will say, however, that we did climb 409 steps altogether for the full experience. We had to laugh after we hiked for 20 minutes to what they called Midnight Falls which really just looked like someone taking a leak. We've seen bigger falls on the side of the road in West Virginia, but it made for a funny experience.
Today, we head to Moab, Utah for just one night. I can't believe how fast time has flown and how quickly we're going to have to move to cover everything left we'd like to see before we have to be back. There's no way we can see it all, so we've both made peace with just telling God that this is His trip, and we just want to follow wherever He leads.
Just for funzies, I want to include some road trip lessons learned so far:
1) Always keep silverware handy and in a reachable place. I now keep a spoon in my purse for all of those times when we eat from grocery purchases. When in a bind and silverwareless, I have been known to eat with a pocket knife or make a spoon from the tin foil on a yogurt cup.
2) Be flexible. When you haven't made your reservation for camping near the Grand Canyon a year in advance, you have to improvise and be cool with constantly changing plans.
3) We love wi-fi, GPS, and hostels.
Wi-fi has pretty much made this trip possible. We take a couple days at a time, so finding places to camp, etc. has only been possible because of wi-fi. We have been known to jack internet in hotel parking lots.
GPS is great; I really used to hate GPS before this trip because I felt like it made people dumb and lazy. I will, however, say that now I am a believer. While, yes, there are times when the GPS does make a dumb navigational call, and we have to be alert and savvy enough to correct it, more often than not, it's right. It's made us a lot more independent because we don't have a fear of getting lost.
Hostels don't receive nearly as much love as they should. In our experience, they are cheap and convenient. So many of them are much more helpful than hotels, and in many cases, it's possible to get a cheap, private room at a hostel. The biggest difference between that and a hotel is the need to share a bathroom and a kitchen.
4) Keep stuff organized and consolidated. Because we're living in our car essentially, it's easy to get sloppy and just put items in the easiest place for the moment. This is fine for a while until you can't find anything in your car any more. Every couple of days, I generally completely reorganize the car so that even though it's full, I know where everything is.
5) An electrical car converter is a wonderful tool for a road trip. We use ours all the time to charge our electronics. It's so convenient to have especially when many campsites to do not have electric hookups.
6) If you ever go on a road trip, be wise about who you pick to go with you. Gabrielle and I are cousins. We were roommates this past year of college, and we're best friends. But, even best friends can get tired of spending 24/7 with each other, so we've learned to be very forgiving, patient, and honest (when need be). Overall, I am so glad that she's with me on this trip. Just as we occasionally get tired of always being together, we love being able to share all of these memories and grow together.
I may add more as time goes on, and I think of them.
Lots of love,
Sarah
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