Yesterday I confirmed that one of those old fears that I had as a child still hangs on out there! FEAR OF HEIGHTS!! When I was growing up and would ride in the car with my family, we rarely drove anywhere other than in the area between Fort Worth and Hillsboro. There were a few times when we got to take a vacation and one of those vacations that I will always remember was to the GRAND CANYON.
There was something about viewing the Grand Canyon from the edges of it that absolutely scared me to pieces! I can remember getting mad at my two younger brothers for getting too close or what I thought was too close to the edge.
And then there was the simple drive to Arlington to swim with the family at Lucas Park. On the way home my dad drove us west on Arkansas and rather than going home the way we came down Spur 303, he drove us across the dam of Lake Arlington. I was in the floorboard praying silently that we'd make it across and not fall into the hole in the lake that was visible to anyone who didn't ride across hiding her eyes in the floorboard of the back seat! I was truly scared and didn't appreciate that trip route home. Well....
...as you can read from the sign, yesterday those fears were again brought out when Jim and I drove to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado. The scenic views were breathtaking but it was all I could do to keep from crawling over the back seat of the car and getting down in the floorboard with my eyes tightly closed. At first, it wasn't too bad, but at about Mile 8 of 19 I was looking away from the window with tears streaming down my face.
Luckily the digital cameras of today can take pictures (although not always great ones) without the camera owner having to look through the view finder!
It's about at that spot that the paved road becomes a dirt road and it seemed that each hairpin curve our vehicle was just about to spin out as we turned around each corner. Luckily for us and for all of the other hundreds or maybe thousands of visitors to that famous mountaintop, we arrived at the top safely and then later descended to the base of the mountain without anyone getting hurt. I thank God for keeping us safe and giving us the chance to make that trip even though it scared me to pieces!
It's no wonder that the composer (whose name escapes me at the moment) of "America the Beautiful" was inspired to write that beautiful patriotic hymn when she visited the summit of that mountain! It is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to see the pictures that Jim took yesterday. My pictures are not quite as sharp as I'd hoped- a little blurry. But as you can see here -- some turned out ok.
We are blessed to be able to travel and take in the views that others have shared with us...
Thank you, God, for bringing us safely back to our hotel. I know that I will most likely always have that fear of heights at times. Help me, God, to be a lot less nervous so that whoever is with me doesn't end up with a crick in the neck as Jim did yesterday due to my own fears making him uptight too! Thank you, too, God, that Jim is the safe and self-confident driver that he is---getting us both to the top and back-- without letting my fears infect him.
The views from the top were awesome!!
3 comments:
I feel the same way and did almost the same thing on our trip up that mountain long ago.
Your pictures are great...isn't America beautiful?
I'm glad you two are getting to travel so much, and, I'm jealous! HAHA
enjoy and have a safe trip!
I can just picture you with your head down and your arm sticking up, snapping away with your camera. Haha!
I remember the same trip as my dad. I was inching toward whatever side of the car was closest to the mountain (away from the drop-off two feet from the car), and my dad was laughing the whole way, "Isn't this great?! Look at that. Woohoo!"
It's not that much fun to ride to the top of the mountain with someone who is not afraid of heights and keeps saying things like, "Woohoo! Look at that!" as we go around the hairpin turns. Such a kidder is not so funny at times like that!
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