The Real Secret of Life

Four times this summer, coming and going, I traversed I-25 along the front range of the Colorado Rockies. Each time it was socked in with clouds and rain. The last time, on September 2nd, I could see the contours of Long's Peak, but that was it. That rain was just a portent of what was soon to come.

Below are photos of the Big Thompson River and Highway 34 taken by the Air National Guard during the flood. I've driven that road up to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. These images are representative of the incredible amount of damage across a great swath of Colorado. You don't think it could happen in a hundred years, and then the "Hundred Year Flood" happens to hit.

Each time I passed along the front range this summer I thought about the Mysteries Internal blog, and Erin Block. Her canyon is up there somewhere. When the floods came I was concerned for her and Banjo and Jay and her neighbors. Thanks to Erin's writing, I feel like I know them.

I was happy to receive a comment from Erin today on my inconsequential post facetiously titled "The Secret of Life." I replied, asking how she and her canyon had fared. She responded with this:

We got hit pretty hard. Main road out is washed out and just got gas turned back on today after two weeks. But all in all we really lucked out and property/cabin is ok!

That is good news. My thoughts and prayers go out to Erin and her neighbors and all who are living through this disaster.

Oh, and I think I've learned a little something about the real secret of life from Erin, from the fact that she commented on a humorous post, from her previous writings about her mid-western farm upbringing, and from the above reply: be strong, keep a sense of humor--and count your blessings.