Today was an amazing day! Since I am in the Aspen area on a layover, I took the rental, a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited, off-roading to Crystal Mill, which is outside of Marble, Colorado. This time of year is spectacular. The trees are changing and the contrast of their bright yellow leaves against the green of the evergreens and the red rock of Colorado is something beyond description. I am glad my phone has a decent camera.
It was a very different day than I thought it would be when I set off from my Glenwood Springs hotel this morning. I thought I would spend most of the day alone. When I walked out to the Jeep, I already had in mind that I wanted to figure out how to get the top off. I thought maybe taking the top off a rental is a bad idea but then had the idea that if the company didn’t want the top coming off, they really shouldn’t rent out this spectacular beast of a vehicle. In fact, the only reason I planned to go off-roading was because the company gave me this vehicle in the first place! I digress. So, I walked out to the Jeep, loaded my pack, sat in the driver’s seat and pondered. It looked like the canvas ran on a track. “No way,” I thought. Yes, way. With the push of one button, much like opening a sunroof, I watched the magic of this Jeep turn into a convertible! You would have no way of knowing this but I have wanted a convertible for years, along with a Mercedes S550. Since I am closer to minimalist than car collector, I doubt both will be in my future, but one, likely.
I sat in the driver’s seat with a huge smile on my face, “this is going to be a very good day,” I said out loud to the open sky as I pulled out of the parking lot.
The drive to Marble, again, this time of year is stunning. If I were here a week ago or a week from now, it would be different. As I neared the small town of Marble, the colors were getting closer and closer to their peak time. Thinking about the intricate timing of being here on this weekend made me wonder.
I am not going to lie. When I found out that the owner of the jet I fly wanted to fly on this weekend, the weekend of the U.S. National Peruvian Horse Show in Oklahoma City, I cried. This is a huge weekend for my family and for the breed of horse that we love so dearly. Since I had taken vacation last month in order to spend time with my brother and family across the country, I knew taking vacation for the show would be a no-go. After I let sink in the inevitability that I would not be joining my family, I settled into the everything-happens-for-a-reason curiosity. Me, being me, I prefer to figure out ahead of time the reason something is happening against my will and why it is somehow better that way or meant to be. Unfortunately, there is a reason the saying “hind site is 20/20” is apropos. Now I am living this weekend and it feels like magic. The colors of the leaves on the trees, the smell of the mountains, the cool fall air with the sunshine on my face taunts me and tells me, this is where I supposed to be.
I have been checking in on the live stream of the show and love watching my family ride our horses. I have heard from several friends saying they miss me and wish I was there. I miss them too. Despite how beautiful it is here, given a choice, I would still choose to be there. So, remember when I said I thought I would spend most of the day alone? Let’s let serendipity make her influence on the day. After I stopped at The Marble General Store to shop the most spectacular marble statues, I started the trek toward the road to Crystal Mill.
Once I arrived to the place where I was obviously going no further until I shifted the Jeep into 4-wheel drive, I stopped, engaged the gear and began. I am super grateful I texted my brother, Forest, yesterday with a picture of all the fancy crap in the cockpit of the Jeep. He responded with instructions of what I was supposed to do with it today to accomplish my goal of going fun driving off-road. When we were younger, we took trips with our parents, grandparents and sometimes, cousins. Grandpa would bring us off-roading. I will never forget when we arrived to a huge round rock we could not summit without locking the hubs. Forest looked at grandpa and excitedly asked, “Is it time now!?” Grandpa said with a bright smile and the chuckle that those of us who loved him will never forget, “Yes, it is time.” Forest hopped out and locked all four hubs, so we would be in 4-wheel drive. I knew that Forest, not Google, was the answer to my success in the Jeep Rubicon today.
Hot-diggity-dog! Driving up to Crystal Mill is a blast! I am not sure how much I would have appreciated being a passenger but plenty of other people seem to enjoy it. There is little room to pass. 
At certain points, the outside wheels of your vehicle are less than a foot from the cliff that would bring you a couple hundred meters down to the Crystal River. I made sure I was concentrating during that bit! During a particularly tight stretch of the “road”, another vehicle was coming back out and I needed to back down that road 50 meters and perch myself steeply sideways on the side of the mountain for the truck to pass. It ended up being two ladies and they said, “You must have driven this road before!” I smiled and said, “No, this is my first time.” One of them said, “Dang!” The other said, “You drive like a boss lady!”, then they continued. I chuckled to myself wondering if I drive like a boss lady because I am a pilot, or if I am a pilot because I drive like a boss lady.
About five minutes later, I happen upon a couple of hikers. Any time I passed, which is nice way of saying “drove by without running over”, hikers, I would ask if they wanted a ride. I, after all, had this amazing 5-seat vehicle and it was just me. Every one said “No” until I asked Gabriel and Scotty. They hopped in the back and we enjoyed the next half hour of conversation and getting to know each other. When we arrived to the small parking area near Crystal Mill, I invited them to ride with me on the way back. They were thrilled because they had a long drive to complete after what would have been a grueling 12-mile roundtrip hike. Something Gabriel said, struck me as blending with my theme of being exactly where I am supposed to be. She said that she had seen several vehicles pass with only one or two people and she said out loud to herself, “I wish one would offer a ride.” The universe brought me to her.
You can’t hike down to the Crystal River anymore without paying a fee and signing a waiver. It is located on private land and I imagine they don’t want to be liable for Humpty Dumpty falling off the wall. We walked up to the Crystal Store which is one of the original buildings built around 1880. Gabriel and Scotty bought my $10 ticket to descend to the river and when I expressed my gratitude, they said they were grateful for the ride, and the friendship.
It is only a couple of minutes to hike down to the river from where we parked, but oh man, the view. There were a couple of minutes where I just watched, in awe, at the picturesque waterfall and the 142-year-old mill that is improbably propped on the side of a cliff.
These are the moments in life where words fail us in any language and only the beating of our heart gives us the feeling that something more than just blood is radiating from it.
The six-mile drive back to Marble was as enjoyable as the way in. We stopped along the way to take more pictures. 
I dropped them at their vehicle and continued the half-mile drive to Slow Groovin’ BBQ. OK, folks. You BBQ goers out there, you haven’t lived until you have eaten at Slow Groovin’ BBQ. It is the only restaurant in Marble, which is barely large enough to call a town. The locals love it. It basically answered the locals’ prayers to have a restaurant in town and it is a delicious place to feast after coming back out from the Crystal Mill.
I rarely eat meat these days, but an also almost-vegetarian friend of mine told me the ribs are to die for. After that drive, I maybe should use different analogy. Anyway, she was right! The environment dispelled joy. The employees obviously loved what they do. The locals and travelers alike seemed to be happy. I know I was happy to eat there, with the view of the mountains, and my Jeep 🙂
I do not know exactly why this trip is perfect timing despite being away from my family during an excellent family time. But I do know that these mountains are changing me. I have been holding back for a long time. I have been choosing to not tell you the whole story. I have been choosing to not tell more than the highlights. My life, though, like these photos that accompany an exquisite experience, are made up of shadows and light. They would not be nearly as spectacular without both. One of my biggest fears is that a teenage girl is going to latch on to me as a mentor and only see my shining moments. My fear is that she will then look at herself, maybe judge who she is and sometimes not like what she sees and feel discouraged. She will not know that I was just like her and she can do anything she sets her mind to. All because she sees what I let her see.
So, maybe this perfect timing is me stepping into the light to allow you to see more of the contrast of my life. The shadow along with the color and light. It is time.
I am Aura Austin. It is nice to meet you.
