Raptor

Rocky Mountain High, Colorado-Ponderosa Pine, 2007.

Near the entrance to the Cal-Wood Retreat Center northwest of Boulder, CO stands a sentinel that had to be seen by all who traveled the road into the camp, but remained hidden during the entire Rendezvous. A few people suggested that when viewed from a distance it resembled a head of broccoli, but it could be easily lost in the forest behind.
Since I had driven from Kansas to attend the event, I volunteered to be the taxi to haul us around to the different groves, so I found myself out alone on a recon mission of the property.

Weaving slowly back and forth across the gravel road with my head hanging out the window, I had my eyes peeled and my antenna up scanning for signals of trees that were beckoning. I had no problem finding many great trees in the short time I had. But when I saw the Falcon on wing I was stopped in mid-step. Seeing that magnificent raptor circling while on patrol made me long for wings of my own so I too could fly. I watched him circle and then land onto a bough in one of the greatest Pondos on earth.

Standing alone in a high alpine meadow stood “Raptor” a 100 foot Ponderosa pine, and it was calling loudly. I expect that I must have walked down the road and hiked up the steep meadow but doubt that my feet touched the ground. The falcon saw me coming and was gone in a flicker of wings but as he left I thanked him for sharing his tree with me, and I couldn't wait to share his perch. While standing in awe of this great tree, savoring and studying every limb and needle, I set two pilot lines, ready for my return.

The next day was the last day for Abe’s Basic Tree Climbing Class. His two students, Becki and Greg were in need of a “Graduation Tree” so I was glad to suggest to Abe that I found one that would be a memory maker.

Don Stanford and Polly Mullin are quite the shutter bugs; if that still applies to digital cameras. Don told me that they had not found the quintessential Colorado image of a Pondo with the Rocky peaks behind. I told Don that if I was to elect a Colorado state tree this one would win over any Blue Spruce and I would have this one photographed for the postage stamp. So our climbing party was formed: Abe and his two students Becki and Greg; Don and Polly to record the moment, and myself.

Since I already had two pilot lines at the ready, we sent up two climbers to set our other lines. Don decided to bushwhack uphill to get the best pose of the five of us. Using a telephoto lens and a gazillion pixel camera, he was well supplied. Abe and I were asked to summit at the top and give Don a big wave and of course we had to oblige. Don’t tell anyone but we might have climbed above our anchor points just a little but the canopy of Raptor embraced us both tightly in its boughs.

Once Don was done he joined us aloft for a picnic lunch that we brought with us.
Nestled about the limbs after lunch we lounged around absorbing as much of the narcotic essence that we could, and we all declared “Rapture in Raptor”. As a token of their appreciation, Becki and Greg presented Abe with a children's book titled \"Once There Was A Tree\" by Natalia Romanova that they had found in Boulder. It told the story of all the different creatures (including man) that try to claim a tree for their own, but ultimately the tree belongs to the earth which is home to us all. Abe read the story to us and we were captured by his voice and moved by the images painted by the words.

We learned just how appropriate this gift was when Abe shared the details of his famous “Read in the Trees” program that he and the county library has started back at his home grove. On the first day the children are taught the basics of climbing, but they have to take a book up with them. The next day a parent comes and the children then show the parent how to climb, and together they go aloft to take turns reading to each other while sitting together on a limb. What a great way to not only get kids outside AND reading books, but sharing time with their parents? Too Cool.

I was lucky enough to be able to share this tree with five friends, and Don sent me this nice photo of Abe and I waving at the summit, just a little above anchor... our feet way, way, way off the ground, almost where falcons soar. A most memorable Rocky Mountain High!

Thanks for sharing your report with us

I love Once There Was A Tree! We use it as an educational tool with 2nd graders. It's quite popular. Eli Wallach even read it on Reading Rainbow back in the 90's.
http://pbskids.org/readingrainbow/parents_and_teachers/activity_104.html