My soul has finally caught up with my body. There is nothing like a 3000 mile, 13 day road trip,to test a 75 year old body. I got to see a number of sites that I had only heard about. The Salton Sea in California should not be there… but it is—all 30 miles of it. Google it up and discover a strange man-made anomaly that was created 100+ years ago by accident. This week I read an article that a 560 billion dollar lithium deposit has been discovered there under the lake—the debates begin. It’s well worth a side trip if you are on I-10 near Indio.
In terms of nature our day long journey through Joshua Tree National Park was a gift. The mixture of Ice Age geology and desert flora has no peers. The desert can be so full of life, I find it reassuring. What I love about both Joshua Trees or Saguaro Cactus is that they each have their own personality.
On day 13, MK had heard of a labyrinth project in Conejos, Colorado at the oldest church in the state. I knew that once she heard of it, we were going to stop there. I admit I had pretty low expectations so I was actually blown away by what we discovered.
We were greeted by Fonse Abeyta, aged 86, who has been the leader of this remarkable five year project. He gave me an hour of his time telling the story of how this structure came to be. The short synopsis—A woman left the church she grew up in $46,000 to be spent to “honor the settlers”. Fonse told the story that this pastor could appreciate. “We formed a committee and everybody had a different idea as to what would be best. We got nowhere. Somebody suggested that we contact two professors who grew up in Antonito, who taught architecture at Berkley. They got back to us with an idea. They had been to Spain where they had discovered a most unique labyrinth. They submitted a basic plan and four years and 55,000 adobe bricks later, they are nearly done. Over $100,000 has been contributed by the community.
As I finished the last five hour segment back to Arvada through The Valley, I was filled with gratitude for the 11 years of life there. In the next years this holy place will host tens of thousands of visitors. The woman whose gift was to honor those who came there nearly 200 years ago, has built a legacy of art, architecture and an ancient spiritual practice.
It was reassuring to be reminded that much of what we recognize as genius comes from the most unlikely places. Three “Must See”s in southern Colorado— Bishop’s Castle, The Stations of the Cross in San Luis, and El Santuario de los Pobladores. Each one began with a single vision and years of work.
Onward and Upward,
Mark
Lyfting Me Up 