Trails, Snakes and Vacation

The sun is hot, the humidity bearable; even for a moss-encrusted Washingtonian like me.   I could feel the wetness of our summer back home drying out as I ran the trail in central Oregon.   Sunshine feeling good on my skin.

Standing at the top of the switchbacks, I pause to look at the vista before me.  A few homes carve themselves into the cliff’s rock, which stand above the Deschutes River.  I leave the top of the canyon and make my way down.  The high desert sand and rock feel different under my feet.  Several hundred feet later I am running alongside the river.

Squiggle lines in the dusty trail tell me snakes are part of the landscape.  Grateful the early morning is too cool for the rattlers to be sun bathing, I thank God and ask Him to keep the snakes hidden.  A quail stares at me as I run by.   River water falls over large boulders changing the sound of peacefulness. 

The trail no longer drops and the lazy current of the Deschutes returns.  A deer nibbles on the leaves from a low laying branch of a tree.   He doesn’t move as I run by despite me coming within 3 feet of it.   Majestic.

3000 feet of elevation makes my body struggle to breathe.  Leaving the river I must make my way out of the canyon.  The trail’s steep climb, mixed with the elevation, burn my lungs as I try and run up the trail.  The craziness of running this portion sinks in and I walk my way to the top.  A startled jackrabbit takes off at a speed that makes me jealous.

A bike path waits for me once the trail meets the road.  I follow it across the highway to the backside of a golf resort nestled in a rather tall butte.  Once I reach the top, I turn around to capture the view.  The rising sun glistens on the city below.  It’s beauty is breath-taking. 

Leaving the barrenness of the high desert landscape, the path leads me into a neighborhood of beautiful homes and well manicured lawns.  Though the weather is warm, I see no one enjoying morning coffee on their patio.  Such incredible outdoor living spaces and no one is enjoying them. How often I do this in my own life? 
 
I find a main road and decide to turn toward my home for the week.  My first run on vacation brought me views I would not have experienced inside a car.  A tough 7 miles coupled with beautiful scenery has left me feeling rejuvenated. 
 
Quietly I open the front door to find the household awake.  The smell of freshly brewed coffee greets me; my mother in law hands me a cup.   Taking a banana from the counter and with coffee cup in hand, I head out to the patio.  My mother in law follows.  We sit and enjoy the simplicity of the morning, taking nothing for granted but the pleasure of each other’s company.