Yesterday, we went for a family outing to Mueller State Park. It is west of Colorado Springs, on the west side of Pikes Peak. By now, all of the aspens had lost their leaves, but the park had a unique beauty to it. The evergreens, the dried grass, the crunching leaves underfoot. It was a beautiful day, temperatures in the high 50s, sunny, and blue skies.
We have three young children, so they come to the world with a perspective all their own. As we hiked several trails, they noticed all of the animal scat along the trails. No, we're not talking about jazz here. We're talking excrement -- aka "poop." The park has a display with model poop so you can identify which pile belongs to which animal -- elk, bear, mountain lion, coyote.
You might think this is a little weird, but, you might want to know if a bear or mountain lion could be nearby.
After a while, it became quite the adventure. Lots of laughs noticing the signs of life left along the trail. And maybe that's one of the most unappreciated blessings. Nothing is ever wasted. Even what we leave behind is a sign of life that can bring laughs and joy to others.
PS: In case you're wondering, we saw more signs of elk life than any other animal. The picture is one we took on our hike. You can see Pikes Peak (or Sun Mountain as the Ute tribe called it), and in the foreground is a place called Elk Meadow. And as of tonight, the whole park is forecast to be snow-covered.
