Wet Mountain Valley and Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado
Photo credit: Carolyn Matteson
In 2003 my wife’s sister and brother-in-law, Linda and Bob Warren, whom I like to call my “bonus siblings,” drove us out from Buena Vista, Colorado in their four-wheel drive vehicle into the dense San Isabel National Forest, and over Cottonwood Pass. Bob and Linda have resided in the Wet Mountain Valley (pictured above) for over twenty years and should by now become accustomed to the stunning beauty of the mountains and forests of south central Colorado. But not so. They were as enraptured as were Carolyn and I, the visitors from the flatlands.
Beholding the autumn foliage in the pass, I was inspired to pen the poem below that not only exalts in the beauty of the place but also marvels at the extravagance of a God who would create such scenes for His own pleasure. What a gift to glimpse it, too, almost incidentally.
“The mountains are fountains of men as well as of rivers, of glaciers, of fertile soil. The great poets, philosophers, prophets, able men whose thoughts and deeds have moved the world, have come down from the mountains – mountain dwellers who have grown strong there with the forest trees in Nature’s workshops.”–John Muir (1938)
Sam Matteson 
I rather enjoyed both the poetry and the photo,of ‘Cottonwood Pass,’ Sam. beautiful, indeed, brother!
I came across your poem ‘Cottonwood Pass’ in my search for some devotional material to take on a canoe trip this week to a remote interior lake in Algonquin Park in northern Ontario with our church group of a dozen campers.
We paddle where no motorized boats have access, and fall asleep in our tents listening to the haunting call of the loon and distant wolf howl. And along our journey we feel so blessed to encounter the outrageously extravagant beauty of a landscape that few will ever see, but that God nevertheless delights in gifting to this world.
I will be honored to share your beautiful poem with our group. It so perfectly captures our sense of wonder. Thank you!!
Best regards,
Jennifer