​by T. Duren Jones
​

Gold Nuggets

We had a lot of fun, made wonderful memories, took tons of treasured photos. But most important, we saw glimpses of heaven from this earth.

I’m pleased, if not somewhat surprised, to report that all my children survived our family’s outdoor adventures. They scampered up large boulders and didn’t slide off. They moved dangerously close to cliff edges but didn’t fall over. They climbed up trees and didn’t fall out (well, sometimes they fell out, but lived). All under my supervision. It’s a wonder no onlookers called child protective services.

I believe that the benefits outweighed the risks of taking our children out into the wilderness when they were young. Our family always enjoyed the outdoors together. We went on local hikes, and we sent trout darting from the banks of a slow-moving mountain creek in our clumsy attempt to sneak up on them, half a fat worm wiggling on a fishing hook. We took long bike rides, and we camped under a broad canopy of stars. The open air was our playground and nature’s classroom. It was how I grew up exploring with friends in the San Gabriel Mountains east of Pasadena in Southern California.

Tim and Cary traversing the sawtooth ridge to Mt. Bierstadt.

I hadn’t intended to climb all of these “fourteeners,” but what started as a mild interest turned into a passion, then an obsession with a checklist.

Whatever weekend adventure we planned, I was my children’s recreational event planner, guide, outdoor mentor, playmate and sometimes mule. I will never forget the time when our two oldest were around six and four years old. I had over ambitiously decided to take them on a three-mile round trip summer hike down to a scenic stream with several small waterfalls and natural swimming holes. Their enthusiasm was high when we started, and they had a fun time splashing around in the cool, crisp water in their underwear. But I hadn’t anticipated their waning energy level for the steep climb back out of the canyon, and I ended up huffing and puffing, carrying them both uphill the last mile (one on the front, one on my back).

Our children developed a genuine love and appreciation of nature. But they were also “schooled” that all this was a gift and that these experiences should turn our eyes upward. We had a lot of fun, made wonderful memories, took tons of treasured photos. But most important, we saw glimpses of heaven from this earth. Enos A. Mills wrote, “A climb in the mountains will develop a love for nature, strengthen one’s appreciation of the beautiful outdoors, and put one in touch with the Infinite.”

Our move to Colorado proved to be a perfect fit for our outdoor lifestyle. The kids could slide off boulders, fall over cliffs or drop out of trees just as easily here as in Southern California, but in clean air, with fewer crowds, and in less time. In Southern California we often had to drive an hour to get away from the noise and chaos of the city. Here in colorful Colorado, the foothills of the eastern front range of the Rocky Mountains are in our backyard. Leaving civilization and getting into the wilderness takes just minutes.

The Rocky Mountains are a broad mountain range in western North America. They stretch more than 3,000 miles from the Rio Grande in New Mexico to the Liard River in British Columbia, Canada. The backbone of the Rockies in Colorado is the Continental Divide, which winds its way north and south through the state. Babbling brooks turn to streams, and streams to rivers, as snowmelt runs west down one side and east down the other.

Purple mountain majesties. In 1893, Katherine Lee Bates took a long, bumpy wagon trip up a rough dirt road to the top of Pikes Peak and wrote the poem that became “America the Beautiful.” Whether viewing the Rockies from the top or from the plains, it’s easy to see why they are a drawing force for exploration and inspiration. 

This is the High Country. Seventy-five percent of the area in the United States over 10,000 feet is in Colorado. There are more than 1,000 two-mile-high mountains. And Colorado has 54 peaks over 14,000 feet in elevation. I hadn’t intended to climb all of these “fourteeners,” but what started as a mild interest turned into a passion, then an obsession with a checklist.

I started climbing the fourteeners as another way to bond with my son when he turned 16. He may have enjoyed the outdoors and hiking even more than my other kids, and this activity provided a way for us to spend quality time together around mutual interests. We had many great “peak” experiences together. Later in high school, Cary got so busy with schoolwork, friends, a part-time job and church activities that he was forced to bail on invites to climb. And spending time with Dad just wasn’t “cool” anymore. It wasn’t until years later that we resumed climbing together. Now my granddaughter, Maren, joins us to make her own memories.


The Colorado gold rush—the largest in American history—was in full swing by 1859, with about 100,000 hopeful prospectors heading to the hills in search of adventure and fortune. Cowpoke Bob Womack discovered gold in Cripple Creek that sparked the “last great gold rush” in 1890. He had followed his dream and a creek bed for years before he finally made his find.

Gold nuggets of a different, eternal kind can still be found on the mountains. My simple stories are from a simple guy—just a fellow traveler in this shared journey of life. Wherever you live, life lessons from nature will connect you to something greater than yourself. It’s not all that complicated, if even I can get it. But there are things we might miss if we’re not out there looking.

I enjoy sharing some of the wonderful experiences I’ve had in the higher country. Times of exploration, adventure, endurance and elation. Intimate moments with creation. I will admit, these discoveries were not so much searched for as stumbled upon. 

I hope you’ll be inspired by these stories on this site to go out and find “gold nuggets” for yourself, your family and friends.

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