Opening the Door of the Imagination

Have you ever wondered what the door to your imagination might look like? If I could create such a door, it would be similar to the one in my featured image. This is the door to creativity, a place for writers and painters. Inside is a library of books, works of art, and maybe even the internet!

Where do you receive inspiration? Many people find it in nature, listening to music, or spending time with God in prayer. If you’re a creative person you know the importance of taking time to breathe in. By taking time to inhale the creativity around us, we become more creative.

Author, E.M. Forster wrote, “In the creative state a man is taken out of himself. He lets down, as it were, a bucket into his subconscious, and draws up something that is normally beyond his reach. He mixes this thing with his normal experiences and out of the mixture he makes a work of art.”

So what keeps us from accessing these places beyond our reach? For some of us it’s the busyness of life. For many of us it’s fear. When we are unsure how the finished product will look, or how it might be received by others, we quit even before we begin. We never access the areas of the imagination beyond our reach.

Some people experience writer’s block. This might happen when we rely too much on ourselves for ideas. If we step back and take time to do something which inspires us, we can find new inspiration. A wonderful book to read on this subject is The Creative Call by Janice Elsheimer.

Where do you get creative ideas? In your sleep? In the shower? When you’re taking a walk? Sometimes when we allow our minds to relax fresh ideas come to the forefront of our brains. I love the “Aha” moment!

Writing is not just about hitting the keys. It means taking time to recharge and reenergize ourselves. It means taking time to play and imagine like we did as children. Make a bucket list of places you might go to for inspiration. You don’t need to travel far. Visit a local garden or gallery.

The door in my feature image was created by Colin Woley. It’s part of the Enchanted Fairy Door Exhibit at Leu Gardens in Orlando. This whimsical exhibit will delight your imagination. The tiny doors are placed in various locations throughout the fifty-acre garden. The exhibit is on display until September 23, 2018.

 

Gold Fever

“The desire for gold is the most universal and deeply rooted commercial instinct of the human race.” Gerald M. Loeb

As the elevator dropped one thousand feet into the Mollee Kathleen Gold Mine, I took a deep breath. What if get stuck down here?  After a two minute ride, the elevator opened and our guide welcomed us. I was inside a mountain, just like the old time miners who worked here one hundred years ago.

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What is it that drives people to mine for gold? What makes them search the deepest recesses in the black darkness of the earth?  Valued by all civilizations, gold is golden. In addition to being rare and portable, gold never corrodes.

After Bob Womack discovered gold on his property near Cripple Creek in 1891, the Colorado gold rush began. During the next nine years the population of the town grew from five hundred to 55,000. Unfortunately for Womack, he died a poor man. After squandering his money on alcohol, he never saw his fortune come to pass.

The same year Womack discovered gold, Mollie Kathleen Gortner took a walk. She sat down to rest and noticed an interesting rock formation. Using another rock, she broke off a sample. It was pure gold laced with quartz. She became the first woman in Cripple Creek to discover gold and strike a claim in her name. Her family operated the mine for over fifty years. The Mollee Kathleen Gold Mine Tour is America’s longest continually operated gold mine tour.

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Lucky for us, our tour was conducted under electric lights. The early miners pounded their way through rock by candlelight. Our guide demonstrated the evolution of mining tools throughout the 1900’s. The work was extremely dangerous for little pay. Seventy percent of the workers attempted to steal gold, but few succeeded.

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The Mollee Kathleen Mine, together with other area mines, produced over ten billion dollars of mined gold. The old timers carried out the large pieces of ore. Significant underground deposits remain which are now being surface mined by the Newmont Mining Company near Victor.

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The Newmont Cripple Creek and Victor Mine offers public tours of its’ modern mining operation. Unlike the old time miners, Newmont’s employees are geologists, engineers, and environmentalists. The ore goes through a process of being crushed then leached with cyanide. We took a tour of this operation as well, and learned the company pours anywhere from seven to twelve bars of gold a week. Each bar weighs sixty-five pounds and is worth one million dollars. The company is required to restore the land to the way it was before the surface mining began.

The Colorado gold rush of 1891 still continues on Battle Mountain. After all, “gold is money; everything else is credit.” J. P. Morgan

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A Cruel Joke of Nature

First of all fellow Floridians, do not fear. The sun is shining today and no hurricane warnings are upon us. But it’s August, and we all know the next two months can be dicey at times. Dangerous weather damages Florida communities every year. As an Orlando resident, I’m fortunate to live in an area that hasn’t experienced the wrath of very many  hurricanes. The worst storm I can remember happened in 2004 when Charley came through.

Still, I’m aware of the tough times communities encounter when their power is out for days. This poem, entitled A Cruel Joke of Nature is dedicated to you.

When Charley came to town

the city lost all power.

The stagnant, stifling air

Weighs heavy every hour.

Mornings with no coffee

No bacon, no warm toast.

Yet, inside the kitchen…

the smell of rotten roast.

The radio is silent.

My phone is out of juice.

The TV screen is blank

and Google sheds no truth.

I snuff the candles out

to rest upon my bed,

Swatting at mosquitos

Which whine around my head.

A Cruel Joke of Nature

this taunting serenade.

Escaping to the shower,

I think I’ve got it made.

My triumph is short-lived

Icy water hits my side

The bugs attack my legs

There’s nowhere left to hide.

Illuminated world

Advanced technology

Unequal to the storm

which brought me to my knees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pikes Peak, America’s Mountain

Pikes Peak has inspired people for hundreds of years. I first learned about “America’s Mountain” after my mom and dad visited the summit forty years ago. I’ve always been curious about Pikes Peak, and wondered how it came to be so famous. My husband became interested as well, so we booked an excursion with Manitou Springs Adventures.

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Taking a jeep excursion is a great way to climb the mountain, especially since the Cog Railway is closed. Bear, our guide and driver, expertly maneuvered our jeep through all the twists an turns up thirty-eight miles of highway. My husband and I were free to enjoy the scenery while we sipped the complimentary bottled water and munched on trail mix. (Protein and water prevent altitude sickness.)  Throughout our drive, and during rest stops, Bear gave us plenty of time to take photos. His narration provided me with a plethora of info about Pikes Peak. For more information follow my links.

  • Pikes Peak stands at 14,115 feet. It ranks 31 among the tallest peaks of Colorado.
  • Zebulon Pike led the first American exploration to scale the mountain in 1806. Unfortunately, he never made it to the summit because he started in November. The harsh Colorado winter forced him to turn back.
  • Edwin James was the first American to reach the summit in the summer of 1820. Good planning, Ed. He called the mountain Pike’s Highest Peak out of respect for Zebulon. Eventually the name was shortened and the apostrophe dropped.
  • People can hike to the summit on the Barr Trail. It generally takes from eight to twelve hours to get to the top.

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  • The view from the summit is so spectacular it inspired Katherine Lee Bates to write the song “America the Beautiful” in 1893.
  • The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is an annual high speed car race which began in 1916. This year Romain Damas broke the record by climbing 4,720 feet in under eight minutes. He drove an electrically powered vehicle manufactured by Volkswagon.

IMG_4354Several Big Foot sightings near Pikes Peak prompted the locals to post a sign on the highway warning visitors to be on the alert. At this pull-off Bear took our picture doing what he called “The Big Foot Shuffle.”

After we arrived at the summit, Bear gave us ample time to look around, take photos, and buy souvenirs at the gift shop. He bought donuts for all of us from the Summit House. Bakers use a special high-altitude formula to overcome the challenges of creating a cake donut at 14,000 feet. Served up warm and fresh, Pikes Peak donuts are a real treat. Since Bear drives two tours a day, he’s one of their best customers.

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Thanks for everything, Bear!

 

 

 

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