Mountain Sea Shells

Amazing.  How do we explain the incomprehensible in nature?  It is unexplainable and leaves me in wonder.  

How did the body of an elk wind up on the path toward the Strawberry Fields Hot Springs near Steamboat Springs?  When did these monstrous boulders fall?  Why did these “Old Growth” Aspen trees sustain their growth so low in altitude and near the city?  How did that deer hoof get into the tree? 

Where did these seashells come from on the side of a mountain path near Avon Colorado? The smallest remnant of a living organism slowly pushes its way out of the mountain soil.  It is found on the side of a deep valley pierced by a creek. 

Praise the Lord! I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people. How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them.  Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. Psalm 111:1-3 New Living Translation

This was a new trail for me after twenty years of visiting this area.  The sun is beginning to heat the day and blaring the beams above the mountains to the east.  The first sign we see is a Mountain Lion Warning.  It is a great way to start the descent into the valley. 

I like to climb up at the beginning of a climb in order to get my legs acclimated to blood flow.  My lungs expand and pumping my blood is a visceral feeling for at least fifteen minutes.  But not on this hike.  We descended quickly below seeing humanity into a deeply cut creek valley.  Down and down.  The end of this hike will be brutal. 

There were houses above us in the distant hills.  The ski town of Beaver Creek was in the distance.  The eagles floated over the telephone wires destroying the vista of nature across the valley.  We must climb out.  We must acclimate to 9,000 feet above sea level. Slowly, up we climb and climb and climb.

What experiences have you had in nature that are unexplainable? Where have you seen strange things in nature?

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