I drove out into the mountains for the first time since I came out to Colorado Springs. My thoughts were troubling me and I figured a long drive would get me back on track. Forty miles out and 7000 feet, that's 2133 meters for the rest of the world, above sea level I find a stretch of dirt where I can park and look at the stars.
Being a city slicker the night sky that I'm used to is made up of the brightest stars and planets which struggle against the surrounding light pollution. There have been times where I've seen hints of the firmament in southern New Jersey and a cold but rushed stop on a drive back from Monument.
You couldn't swing a dead cat without smacking some obscure magnitude ten star or disturbing the Milky Way. This particular moment was burned in my mind next to the sunrise on the mountains, the thunderstorms and the way the cloudtops are luminous fading to a deep blue in the presence of a full moon.
I sighed to myself. How can some place so beautiful be so lonely?