LanaG's Journal

Reflections on a day to the past…..

Was an uneventful flight into Denver. I met Yvonne and Jonas without a problem. We then drove about 2 hours south of Denver to stay with Yvonne’s girlfriend. The original plan was to camp but the weather was not very nic­­­e. Jennys’ house is very nice and looks out onto the mountains. She has 35 acres…not a soul around.

We left her house around 10:30 am and stopped in Salidas for a quick breakfast. Then off to The Great Dunes National Park. We were to meet the ranger at 1 pm. And we arrived at just the right time! The weather was becoming more and more ominous. The winds were high and it looked like either rain or snow….probably temp in the mid 50s. The ranger was late to meet us because he had help another ranger who was stuck in the sand. The Dunes are truly awesome and amazing. I hope to go back there in the summer and really explore!

So we finally got going …and of course it started raining even harder. We drove to the trailhead ….about 3 miles from the National Park but the road was terrible so we had to drive very slowly. When we started hiking, it was raining but not too bad. Then it stopped. Zapata falls are about ½ mile from the trailhead. It is a steady uphill climb…and very rocky. Then when we were near the falls, the trail became narrow and basically you had to walk in the river. The water was moving quickly and the rocks were very slippery. And it became much steeper. You could clearly hear the falls. And the canyon became narrow with tall walls. There was a sign that a trail was closed. That trail went above the falls. It was very dangerous trail and that is why it was closed. We got to pretty much the top of the river and you had to really go through the water around a corner to see the falls. The rock ledges above the actual falls overhung the river. Even if a rock did fall from those ledges, it would not hit anyone walking in the river…that is how much it overhung the river. But before you get the falls, the canyon walls do not have an overhang. If someone slipped up on top of the walls, rocks could easily fall and hit someone below. But the thing is…NO ONE was supposed (or allowed) to be up there. The trail was officially closed. We took pictures of the walls and the signs.

So now my questions were finally answered. I was able to see the last things Alicia saw. And I can now understand how it could have happened. But it should NOT have happened. That boy was not supposed to be up there. And had he simply followed the rules, my daughter would be alive today. I envision that she and her cousins were walking in the river bed. It was mid-July and probably quite hot. I am sure they were playing in the water. The boy who went off the trail was above them and it looked quite dangerous up there. I have no doubt he slipped and as he slipped he accidentally dislodged some rocks. He yelled “rocks!” but there was no way anyone under the ledge could possibly hear him. The falls are very noisy. I am sure Alicia NEVER saw it coming. The ranger said she died instantly. I could see his heart break for me.

I feel a certain peace for finally going. I can now see alicia’s last days in my mind. And I can now understand the situation. What to do about the negligence on the part of the other family…well, I am not sure what to do. They are definitely negligent. Their child should not have been where he was and my daughter died as a result of that.  Why should I not only lose my only child but have to pay $20,000 in funeral expenses? I guess I have to pray about this. But it should not fall on MY shoulders. And why did the authorities not find that in their investigation? The fact that the young man was off the trail should have been reported.

But for the moment, my sadness is contained. Thank you God for letting me finally understand a little about what happened to my precious angel. And thank  you God for sending new angels to care for me. I would be lost without all of them…and I can feel them carrying me on this difficult journey.