He Stole My Blog...

A Younger Stern Family Hiking Above William's Creek

I happened to mention to my husband that I have been thinking about writing a blog about my favorite place to go. Next thing you know, he had written about his favorite place to go. Next to home, my favorite place is in the mountains outside of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. When Fraser and I had been married only two years, we decided to take a trip to Colorado and go camping. My family had only taken vacations to the beach and never to the mountains. I remember how excited I was to go see real mountains. As we drove out of the flat lands of Houston, I discovered hills; Wow! The further we drove north the bigger the hills got. Fraser reminded me that those were still hills, not mountains yet. I was totally enthralled with the beauty I was seeing. We had gone on vacation at the end of September because it was the only time we could get off of work at the same time. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There were shades of yellow and orange all over the trees. The leaves on the aspen trees would shimmer in the breezes and it was so beautiful. I had never seen such beauty. As we drove up threw northern New Mexico, you could see the mountains, with snow on top of them. Everything around me was like a dream world, mountain streams, wildlife, fresh air, winding roads, meadows and more. I couldn’t have been happier. We found a place outside of Pagosa Springs called William’s Creek camp ground. (If you ever want to go there take Hwy 180 to Pagosa Springs. Go west through town, up the hill to Piedra Road and turn right (north) on Peidra Road. It’s about 23 miles up and start looking for the signs that say, “William’s Creek Campground.” ) A nice creek goes through the campground and they have wonderful camp sites.
One year while we were there I ventured down to the creek and found a huge boulder on the edge of the water. I climbed out onto the boulder and actually sat there for two hours. The sound of the water rushing by had me hypnotized. I could feel life surging all through my body. I closed my eyes and felt like I had left this world. What a powerful feeling. I did some deep thinking and thanked my Heavenly Father for the experience. I love going there. A few miles up the road from the camp ground is a beautiful lake called William’s Lake. Mountains completely surround it and you can see the reflections of the trees in the lake. At the base of the lake is a spillway where the lake ends and the creek begins. We enjoyed taking a hike around the lake and we would rest near the spillway. Just above the lake the road goes for a few more miles and ends with a parking area that takes you to a trial for a hike up to the Continental Divide. We would pack light and take to the trail. There was a certain place that I would stop because it would just get too steep for my dad. (Did I mention that after my mom died, that my dad would go camping with us, just like he were one of the kids. I think he loved it more than we did.) Fraser and the kids would go up to a large meadow a few more miles and then come back down. We absolutely enjoyed exploring and taking in all we could.
I can see it in my dreams and one day we plan to build a log house on the land we own in Pagosa Springs. That piece backs up to Martinez Canyon with Pagosa Peak in the background. If I close my eyes I am there.