August 30, 2005

Yankee Boy Basin

At ten feet per minute, our rebuilt Jeep is no Sportster. But the drive is as exhilarating as 85mph on a Harley! Especially if the road leads to Yankee Boy Basin in Colorado's San Juan Mountains.

Yankee Boy is the Taj Mahal of Rocky Mountain wildflowers, a cathedral of colorful blooms paying homage to the past and promising a future. "Growler" carried us on tracks carved by men who sought gold and silver in the stony crags. Their memories etch the mountains with switchbacks, with pilings of red and yellow dirt, and with rusting iron pulleys. Occasionally, a windowless cabin stares from between pines, the cracks beneath its porch now housing families of Hoary Marmots.

Yankee Boy would feel like a miners' graveyard if it weren't for the flowers.

A Marmot watches warily from behind Scarlet Paintbrush. The blooms of Chiming Bells, Columbines, Stonecrop, and Poison Delphinium grace the stones beside a cold stream. Entire meadows glow gold with the autumn shades of False Solomon's Seal. And a magic carpet of blue, red, pink, yellow, and purple flowers climb from the waterfalls toward the peaks.

"The angels sure have been busy here," Dave says as he focuses his video camera on yet another cluster of Showy Daisies.

Busy indeed! It is as if the Johnny Appleseed of flowers scattered his entire backpack here beneath Mount Sneffels.

Just below a rock face that even "Growler" cannot climb, another floral surprise awaits us. A trickle of clear water flows from a miner's ancient diggings, nourishing thousands of plants, each vying for God's "most beautiful" award. Bumblebees lurch from blossom to blossom, drunk with nectar, their visits pollinating and promising even more beautiful summers to come.

The only sounds are bees, wind, and distant thunder. "Closer to the Creator," is how the Ute Indians described these high mountain meadows. David the Shepherd-singer looked up into the hills and sang, "This is where my help comes from."

Some folks find solace at the beach, but for me, this is where my heart slows down, where life's values realign, where the wave of each Sunflower affirms God's promises for tomorrow.

**Yankee Boy Basin is accessible on an 8-mile, "four-wheel-drive only," road above Ouray, Colorado. You can rent a jeep for the day in Ouray, or take a jeep tour to the craggy gardens. Dress warmly, as the next cloud can add a snowstorm to any beautiful mountain day. August is the best month for flowers. The roads usually close in early October.

Dick Duerksen
Assistant Vice President
Mission development
Florida Hospital