Sacred Places, Trees, and Songs

  Our group was incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to visit the Ute Tribe's most sacred place, (Sleeping) Ute Mountain, in August. The tour came together after months of meetings with the Council of Elders of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, submitting requests and forms, and making sure all visitors were aware of the protocols. The women donned colorful shawls and everyone piled into two vans for the journey.  We stopped near the entrance to the mountain where a large "No Trespassing" sign was posted. The mountain is off-limits to anyone who is not a member of a Ute tribe, unless they are under the guidance of a tribal member. We circled around and received instruction and a prayer. I realized that this would be an experience that would help me in my everyday life. Overhead, a golden eagle passed by.  Making our way up the mountain, we circled around the central area and headed for the Sun Dance grounds. Suddenly, the van ahead of us stopped by a small tree on the sou...

It takes nearly an hour of driving before you can really feel like you have left Denver. I was at that place, well away from Conifer and past Pine but not yet to the mountain towns of Bailey and Santa Maria. The road emerged from the tree-lined canyon into an open meadow and I saw something out of the corner of my left eye. It was the profile of a hawk, wings outstretched, flying parallel to my car. Then my spirit lifted. I was not in Denver anymore. There were five mountain passes ahead of me. I zoomed over Kenosha Pass and down into South Park, heading straight south through that wide valley. Then came Poncha Pass which brought me to the San Luis Valley, the largest high-altitude valley in the world. In the northern half of this valley, there is no drainage. Water that falls, and snow that melts stays in this valley and nurtures the many crops and livestock growing there.  The Southern half of the valley is home to the Rio Grande that flows from its headwaters in the San Juan F...