The PCUSA Pilgrim Pastor

I was recently asked how I would define “home.” I’ve often thought about that question, especially when I started my first job in Knoxville. Is home where I grew up in California? Is home where my parents were in Colorado? Is home where my current residence is even though I felt like a stranger at the time? Although I never lived in Colorado, when I think of “going home” I think of where my parents live. So the next stop on my reconnecting sabbatical journey is to go home.

I really enjoy visiting my parents who have always been supportive, encouraging, and loving. We spent some wonderful time together with daily walks, watching season 4 of The Chosen (we have already seen the first 3 seasons together in previous years) and a couple of outings. I went with dad to his weekly golf tournament and met a few of his golf buddies. The week before he made his first hole in one! I wanted to see for myself how good he really is. His swing wasn’t bad.

Not surprising, dad is a great golfer making some difficult putts. At least they would have been difficult for me. Watch these two beauties!

One day we went to Georgetown, an old mining town in the mountains of Colorado.

Wouldn’t you know, it was Sasquatch days!

One even posed with me.

We took some wonderful pictures in the beautiful mountains.

The highlight of our trip was the old refurbished train.

The train over the bridge was classic.

The weather, river, sky, and trees all came together for stunning pictures.

So we boarded the train in the outdoor boxcars.

And the scenery was beautiful.

The train went to Silver Plume, only about a 20-30 minute ride.

We spotted a guy who had been camping a VERY long time.

And a Sasquatch…

Then another one….

And an extremely friendly one that gave the bicyclists high fives and had some great dance moves.

The train stopped at Lebanon Tunnel, an old silver mine.

We had the chance to put on our hard hats and go inside.

The tunnels had very low ceilings which is why we wore hard hats. Funny though, I didn’t have to bend down at all the entire tour!

Although not a working mine anymore, many of the tools were left in their original locations such as ladders and pulleys that took the men to the different levels of the mine.

The men worked 10 hour days in the mud and rats exploding unstable dynamite in closed quarters. They were completely stripped search when they left work each day to make sure they didn’t steal any silver. And for the “facilities,” well a straw box was all you got. Here is one of them.

It was a wonderful day in the mountains and a great outing with my parents.

The project that took most of my time was putting together a family history photo book of my dad’s side. Last year I completed one for my mother’s parents and family and this year I wanted to complete one for the Berwanger side. We looked at old photos like this one when my parents were dating.

I learned a lot about my grandmother and how hard she worked to raise two kids as a single mom.

It was fun to look through old pictures of my grandmother holding my brother and my brother and me when we were young.

So in a way I wasn’t just reconnecting with my parents, but with my ancestors as I piece together their complete story in one photo album. Talk about reconnecting with my roots! Thanks mom and dad for spoiling me this week!