To celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary Bud and I drove from Georgia to Colorado and Wyoming. Our five-week round-trip spring journey was the highlight of the year.

We first had a great visit with Jacqui and Abrie, my sister and brother-in-law, in Littleton, CO and at their beautiful cabin on Indian Mountain near Fairplay.

Next we camped at Rocky Mountain National Park’s Moraine Park where herds of elk grazed along the Big Thompson River in a beautiful valley. The park’s towering mountain peaks, rolling alpine meadows, pristine lakes, dense forests and abundant wildlife was spectacular.

In Wyoming we camped at Jenny and Jackson Lake at the base of the granite peaks of the Grand Teton mountains. The twelve snowy white summits form a magnificent backdrop to deep blue lakes, streams, tumbling waterfalls and meadows.

Yellowstone, our final destination, was stunning. We were fascinated to learn that Yellowstone is an active volcano that has had many eruptions in the past two million years. The highlights included a frozen Yellowstone Lake, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone with its spectacular upper and lower falls and viewing the many geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots from the boardwalks and trails.

Lamar Valley, the prettiest and wildest area in the park’s northeast corner became our favorite hangout. While watching wolves, bears, coyotes, bison and other animals we learned their ways from other wildlife enthusiasts who were generous with their telescopes and knowledge. We could see why Lamar Valley has been dubbed the “Serengeti of America.”

In the presence of Colorado and Wyoming’s beauty we not only felt closer to our Creator but the ordinary became extraordinary and the everyday became sacred.

Bud continues to be active in civic, hunting and conservation activities. He remains president of the High Falls Towaliga Watershed Alliance, is a member of the EPD Rivers-Alive-Program Advisory Board and leads numerous Georgia Wilderness Society trips. He also won a tandem canoe and a private conference with President Jimmy Carter, the keynote speaker, at the conclusion of the Georgia River Network’s 2008 96-mile Flint River Canoe-A-Thon. He was the second highest fundraiser and contributed $1,228 towards the more than $11,000 the GRN raised this year.