Splendid!
“I believe fairies live here.” I nodded in agreement with this comment made by a passing fellow hiker, smarting a huge grin. The beauty and tranquility of the Colorado mountains always manages to take my breath away and this day was no exception. A visit to my Colorado family, who are adventurous hikers, was not complete without experiencing their favorite alpine trails. We started at a turnout parking lot near Berthoud Pass and wound our way up to the glaciers, I, huffing and puffing, my lungs not used to the high altitude.
At one with nature.
Inhaling the thick, aromatic pine-spiked air awakened my senses. Time stands still.
Each curve of the trail revealing Mother Nature’s allure. Only the sounds of a trickling stream and occasional chirp interrupt the silence
Fallen timber and dusty gray pinecones scatter the ground amidst tufts of lush summer grass and pockets of tall white daisies. A sapphire sky watches over it all.
Nearing the glacier, we make a turn and are greeted by a soft spoken and terraced, winding stream. My eyes had to refocus to drink in the clusters of vivid magenta wildflowers, Parry’s Primroses, hugging the water’s edge. Pristine and breath taking.
Where the fairies live.
We were nearing the glacier’s icy edge and made one last push upwards. The views were our reward. How did we climb up so high in the sky? 
This forest, that offers so much hope in all stages of life, leaves me speechless and seduces me into becoming one with nature. At this moment I recognize that I am not a separate entity but an integral part of this living, breathing planet. The fairies know a good thing when they see it.
“When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.”
― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
Ciao for now,
Mary
