A contemplative weekend

Such a contrast to the eventful month was our contemplative weekend.

I started Thursday with a sore throat ... and then did two tours of Mesa Verde. Guess what? My throat was even sorer by nightfall and I felt rotten, went to bed instead of going to either of two scheduled meetings.

Not feeling good the next morning, either, but decided to go to the retreat Durango Friends Meeting had scheduled for the weekend. I wasn't going to feel any better staying at home, and I felt inclined to "trust the process" that it would be worthwhile.

So, off we rolled with "Condo," our Casita travel trailer tagging along behind. Dove Creek is about 50 miles from here, and then the fun began for the last third of the trip. Following just about every section line, we went west and south and west and south and then both ways a few more times, all out in the dryland farming area, going past fields of wheat, beans and lots of sunflowers. Out in that area, on the Colorado/Utah state line, it feels like you get to the end of the world and then drop off into canyons. The great expanse of earth is bounded by the La Platas on the east, Ute Mountain and the Chorrizo Mountains on the south and the Abajos north of west.

We made it without mishap or mistake and pulled into the trailer parking area of Peacewhisper retreat center. This was our first time really dry-camping with Condo ... we even put the awning out for the first time (which flapped all night and kept me awake, along with my snotty nose!).

The retreat is located a few miles into Utah, on the rim of Lake Canyon. The view across the canyon to the Abajos and the Bears Ears is stupendous ... real big sky country, with vast sweeps of clouds and rain showers and spotlights of sunshine. Twisted junipers and building storm clouds added drama to the setting.

The Peacewhisper facility is new, off the grid and very comfortable. Hosts Rick and Barbara Kollenkark are from the Catholic tradition, which is very different from Quaker. Yet we meet and join when it comes to contemplation. Our theme for the weekend was "Letting Go" and it was a good setting for doing that. We cooperatively handled the meals and the program, with Barb facilitating some sessions. It was clear that "the process" worked; many of us were moved to tears at points during the weekend.

Still, some were moved to tears just by the adventure of getting there Friday night. Some Friends from Durango found themselves trying to navigate unfamiliar country roads in growing darkness and, eventually, rain. While I regret the discomfort they were experiencing, perhaps the most stirring part of the weekend for me was the trips I made Friday night with Rick, keeping him company as he went out looking for lost pilgrims to guide them to the retreat.

The rainbows were brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! Sometimes fragments of rainbow intersected with shafts of sunlight coming through the storm clouds. Other times the openings in the clouds let the sun spotlight features of the landscape. Veils of rain moved across the land in the distance. When the sun finally outran the clouds and shone across the earth beneath the clouds, everything turned red-gold ... trees, earth, fields, weathered buildings. Stunning! A perfect setting for letting go and letting God! tv