America the Beautiful

We spent last week in Colorado Springs at a family camp. The first day we toured Garden of the Gods.

The family tried, and failed, to tip over the balancing rock. I guess if thousands of years can't do it, the Jones clan probably can't.

Tom, Henry and Maggie like to hike as far and high as possible while I hang with Lucy down low. She sang about the rocks and mimicked bird calls until the others returned.

We took another hike on Pike's Peak, to a place called The Crags. This is the view from the top where we had our picnic lunch. The air smelled like Christmas trees and felt clean and crisp to breathe. Over and over I kept thinking, I can't believe places like this exist, for free. It seems like we should have to pay for viewing and experiencing so much beauty and fresh air and happiness, whether it is swimming with whale sharks or sitting on the top of the world.