Beautiful Colorado Drive near Larkspur

Once upon a time just over a year ago I was out for a drive with my brother and his wife. We were off the beaten path (not on the Interstate), and found ourselves winding through hills and valleys that did not seem like Colorado to us, but maybe more like Sweden or somewhere old and less industrial where sheep may bleat down the path. It was greener than Colorado usually is. 

I tried to go back a few weeks later, but couldn’t find our route. I still found some unfenced fields, which blows my mind in America, and I took some pictures. 

This year I did more research on Google, and I am still not sure if I found the same special sights, but it was lovely. Obviously experience is better than pictures, but I wanted to share them, because in searching for evidence we weren’t just dreaming, the internet had precious little to show for this part of the world. I think it is partly in Greenland Open Space, or near there, and the especially beautiful parts (to me) were on Upper Lake Gulch Road. Some of the earlier route was also near Castlewood Canyon south of Franktown. And the later section is a long north-south road called Perry Park (maybe Highway 105). The towns I drove between to get my photo journal were Franktown, Larkspur, Sedalia, and Littleton/Englewood. 

After the pictures I am putting the directions for the route I traveled. Go in early spring for better green, but after winter or else Upper Lake Gulch Road might be closed. 

Mainstreet & Parker in Parker, Colorado

Parker to Hilltop, turn east

Hilltop to Flintwood, turn south

Flintwood to 86, turn north

Short stint on 86 to 1st left on Deerfield, turn west

Deerfield to Russelvile, turn south

Russelville to 83, turn northwest

83 to Lake Gulch, turn west

Lake Gulch 3.3 miles to Garton, turn south

Garton 1.8.miles to Upper Lake Gulch, turn south

Upper Lake Gulch turns sharply west

Upper Lake Gulch under 1-25 to Spruce Mountain Rd, turn south

Larkspur, Colorado

Spruce Mountain to Perry Park, turn northwest

Perry Park Ave to 105 (Perry Park Rd), turn north

105 18 miles to 67/Manhart Ave, turn north

Sedalia, Colorado

67 .6 miles to 85, turn north

85 16 miles to Hampden, turn east

Englewood, Colorado

To God be all glory,

Lisa of Longbourn

Read Full Post »

Books Read in 2010

Your God is Too Safe by Mark Buchanan – A well-written book about Christian living.  Dare to believe in a God who is not about rules, whose way is not comfortable or easy or popular.  Practice His presence.  Wait on Him and don’t give up, taking matters into your own hands.  It took me a while to read this book.  But every time I picked it up, it echoed the very lessons God was driving home in my lived-out life.

The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning – All about grace.  And grace is always good.  I knew before I read it to be wary of some of Brennan Manning’s ideas, so that didn’t hang me up.  Even when I disagreed, I talked to my Jesus about it, and *that* made my week.

Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo – Was not a great story, not great writing, and not a great ending.  But I read it anyway, my first venture into Austen fan-fiction.  The title was the best part.  (To be Austen purist, I am pretty sure the author mis-identifies the inhabitants of Mansfield Park.  She should have said Bertram, but she said Rushworth.)

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (see full review)

Castles in the Sand by Carolyn A. Greene – A novel about the subtle ways pagan spirituality and eastern mysticism are becoming accepted in evangelical Christian organizations.  Focuses on the teachings and life of Teresa of Avila.

Annotated Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and David M. Shapard – The classic Jane Austen novel with lots of extra commentary as well as notes about history, economics, and fashion.  I liked it a lot!

Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul – Explanation of Calvinism especially versus Arminianism.  Focuses on the doctrine of predestination.

Tristan and Isolt, A Play in Verse by John Masefield – A short play telling a story of thoughtless love leading to tragedy.  What is real love?  How does Destiny figure in?

Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Patillo – Another adventure in England with the Formidables, this time featuring a codependent heroine who has the chance to reinvent her life for a couple weeks without worrying what anyone needs her to be.  The exercise reveals her insecurity and causes her to confront her life choices.  Can a woman build a life on other people?

Green by Ted Dekker – Book 0 of the Circle Series, the beginning and end of the Thomas Hunter story.  I haven’t read any of the other books in the series, which Ted Dekker says is ok.  But it was confusing.  And I don’t think I like reading the end before the beginning.  I did like all the talk about hope.  And remembering that spiritual realities are real, even if they are unseen.

Miniatures and Morals: the Christian Novels of Jane Austen by Peter Leithart – A wonderful look at the beloved authoress’ use of satire, contrast, irony, and very good story-telling to communicate a morality originating in a deeply Christian worldview.

The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary by Peter Gilliver, Jeremy Marshall, and Edmund Weiner (see full review)

Why Pro-Life?  Caring for the Unborn and their Mothers by Randy Alcorn – A short summary of the major points of pro-life Christianity.  Pro-life is also pro-woman.  The “choice” is a moral one.  Preborn babies are people, too.  Pro-life ministries also help women after the babies are born.

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis (see full review)

To God be all glory,

Lisa of Longbourn

Read Full Post »