Patricia Craig Johnson --- Searching for My Ancestors --- Sharing My Life Stories

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Friday, September 5, 2014

A Beautful Day At Soapstone Prairie -- 4 September 2014


If you are a "prairie person" like I am, you would have enjoyed my short visit to Soapstone Prairie yesterday.  A good friend suggested we take a sandwich, some water and drive north of Fort Collins, Colorado to this very special place and enjoy it before the summer gets away.  It was a gorgeous September day and just perfect for the drive north, almost to the Wyoming border.  It was even more perfect because I didn't have to drive and could play the sight seer role, and I enjoyed doing that so much. Not that I can't drive and sight see at the same time, it is just a treat to not have to watch the road all the time.  
This is land that has not been subjected to modern civilization, except for being a cattle ranch called the "Lindenmeier Ranch".  Thank goodness the ranch was deeded to the City of Fort Collins to preserve its pristine landscape from development.  It has a few shelters built on it for visitors to use for eating picnic lunches, etc, and a few trails for hikers to use but other than that is pretty much as it has been since the beginning of our time period.  I can't describe the feeling this place holds for me every time I visit it.  For just a short while I can see in my imagination the many people that have come here for various reasons in the last 10,000 years and picture the activities that may have happened here.  And yet it still retains its original look.  It is a fragile yet enduring landscape that should last another 10,000 years ---- if we leave it alone that is.














It was a wonderful respite from the daily noise pollution we have grown so accustomed to, and the continual hustle and bustle we have grown so accustomed to, and the hectic driving and deadlines we subject ourselves to.  I am so blessed to live so close to a perfect retreat like Soapstone Prairie.  My wish for you is to find a place like that in your neighborhood, and hope that you can go there and visit occasionally.



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