Close, But No Cigar

When my sister Susan and I visited the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs this past Thursday afternoon, I took the photograph on the left of the popular rock formations that you drive between on your way through the park. There is always a crowd there climbing onto the rise next to it to take selfies and family portraits. When I got home and looked at this photo, it reminded me very much of a family photograph taken in the late 1930s. After searching through my computer for a few hours, I finally found that classic old photo.

That photograph, seen on the right, was taken during a road trip from Chicago to Colorado by my mother Mary, her best friend Peggy, my father Nelson - who was engaged to my mother at the time - and her parents (my Grandfather and Grandmother Spillard). My mother and Peggy are the small figures standing in front of that rock formation. Sadly, it is not the same rock, but at least it looks similar, and located in the same ballpark. On that trip, my Grandfather Spillard did all the driving. My mother told me the trip took forever. My grandfather would drive for a bit, start thinking of something, slow down to almost a crawl, and then speed up again. Over and over again. This before the advent of interstate highways and air conditioning in cars, making for a very long and hot journey. They visited the Garden of the Gods, nearby Seven Falls, the Will Rodgers Monument, as well as Rocky Mountain Park. My mother said she actually enjoyed that vacation, even with all the drawbacks. The power of the magical Colorado landscape, no doubt.