Canon City to Boone, Colorado
Trees by Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
Today I noticed this poem on the back of my rhubarb oak tree painting, which is really weird because when I bought it last Thursday, I thought I examined every single part of it. Almost a week later as I reflect on that day for this blog post, I'm realizing how many things I miss every single day on this trip no matter how hard I try to remain in the present.
The painted rhubarb leaf I bought, poem attached.
We try our best to cherish every moment and stay alert to everything that might be changing around us, but when nothing is static, it's a challenge to notice the little things, like a poem about trees that's attached to a hand-painted rhubarb leaf frame you bought at a roadside farmer's market in Florence, Colorado.
I find myself already mourning the things on this trip I don't remember and the things I forgot to take notice of. Joyce Kilmer is right to be astonished by the beauty of the trees and the nest of robins they may hold, which makes it all the more devastating to think of all the trees with nests of robins in their hair that we didn't stop to notice along the way. We've passed thousands of trees and thousands of people, all with so much character and life, and without a moment to think about it all.
I wonder if the most transformative part of this trip will come after it’s over, possibly several years from now, when things start to make more sense in the larger context of things.
I want to thank Diana vonHoldt of Juniper Creek Country Crafts and Special Orders who made me stop for a second to reflect on trees and Colorado. We met her at the Florence farmer's market and nearly cleared out her entire stock of artwork. Along with her, we met many wonderful people and vendors at the farmer's market, whose names I do not know, but we still appreciate just as much.
At some point while we were sampling Palisade peaches, one of the vendors stopped to ask us if we were that Stanford cycling group. This was the first time we were recognized! It felt like we were C-list celebrities, as Will likes to say.
She knew about us because she had been at the Canon City library with her daughter the day that we taught. It is so amazing to know that our impact reaches far wider than we think. Hopefully, we can reach more educational hubs and create an even bigger impact.
We then made our way to Pueblo, Colorado, the road to which was visually pleasant; however, I cannot say that it was topographically pleasant. The entire day before, Hunter swore up and down that the elevation profile was nice and that there would be minimal uphill. He lied. There were so many small hills back-to-back, but I couldn't complain since it was a gorgeous route.
The rest of the ride was mostly uneventful. The weather was nice and the roads were kind. The only mishap occurred right as we were ending our ride when I fell over my handlebars. What could have been a very bad accident ended up being a pretty good fall. My bike was completely fine except for ripped bar tape and an unaligned handlebar + shifter. And I walked away with just a gash on my elbow, a scrape on my knee, and one bruise. Considering I fell forward over my handlebars, this is as well as the fall could have gone. So I'll give this fall an 8.5/10 on the fall scale. Pretty good.
We ended our day in Boone, Colorado, and headed up to Colorado Springs (in a vehicle) to stay with Jonathan's grandparents. We were met with a gorgeous house, generous hosts, and a candlelit dinner!
Beautiful candlelit dinner (food not pictured). Thank you CB!
Jonathan's grandparents were so lovely to us and we appreciate everything they did for us. If you guys are reading this, thank you so much for your hospitality!!
Jonathan’s grandparents and us!
- Kawther