In the winter of 2001, I went camping and hiking with my cousin in Colorado at Taylor Reservoir Park in San Isabel National Forest. We set up camp in one of most beautiful spots on the planet at 11,400 feet next to Mirror Lake at the base of the Sawatch mountain range including Fitzpatrick Peak which soared in front of us reaching 13,114 feet.
One morning, we came up with the idea to hike a snow covered road that took you to the top of Tin Cup Pass right at 12,000 feet. From the base camp, it was quite daunting to look up at our destination and picture myself up there wondering what I would have to do and encounter as "steps" to get to the top.
Sure enough, our trek included several road hazards and last-minute decisions that just had to happen in order for us to make it. There were snow drifts to walk through; some of which were deeper than they appeared and a nice icy cold surprise at the bottom that kept my boots soaked. Tall weeds and brush were unavoidable as was the thick mud that they hid. Steep inclines (at least steep to me) allowed me to feel burning, piercing pain in my thighs and calves that made me tear up like a 9-year-old boy falling off his bike and landing on a cactus. There was no way I was going to cry as my pride and manliness came to the rescue. I wasn't about to let all of this stop me as my goal was crystal clear.
And then, I turned around just short of the peak.
Becoming a father, nailing a very important interview, and buying your first home are well-deserved feelings of accomplishments, but I have to admit that this sensation is ranked way up there as I looked over what appeared to be half the state. Our tent looked like it belonged on a miniature scale of a Civil War battlefield. The lake that we were camped near was a pool of drool, and the trees seemed like a blanket of clover leaves.
The view was more than breathtaking. It just about knocked me backwards.
When the 2007 season began, the Dallas Cowboys had their sights set on the ultimate goal which was a trip to Glendale, AZ to compete for a world championship. In order to reach that pinnacle, they would have to go to war sixteen times while experiencing all kinds of weather, injuries, and intense pressure in the midst of executing plays and looking for opportunities to lasso a "W."
Along the way, they would obviously have to reach certain points just before the peak to give them a sense of accomplishment.
One of those heights was taken last Thursday when they mastered the Green Bay Packers and reached an unforeseen 11-1 record for the first time in team history.
To their benefit, the Pack came out with an odd gameplan as they went to the air looking for the big pass play over and over without trying to establish a running game. The result was an offense that couldn't get in sync and created turnovers for the Cowboys defense, the last of which proved very costly in more than one way to Green Bay. Brett Favre took a licking by Nate Jones that knocked him out of the game early and denied all who were in attendance and able to watch it on TV an all-out battle between two of the best field generals in the league this season.
Aaron Rodgers provided some fireworks, but it was Tony Romo's night to shine as he blasted the Cowboys single-season TD pass record by throwing 4 of them and reaching 33 for the year breaking Danny White's 29.
The Dallas defense also dominated and took advantage of Rodgers inexperience while showing the rest of the league and the Cowboys faithful that they are much better than they were the beginning of the season.
Combined with the Cowboys running game, which kept the clock running and made it difficult for the Green Bay offense to stay on the field consistently, Dallas notched another victory and clinched that playoff plateau that is one of the "stops" on the way to the peak.
From where they stand now, there's an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, but there's six or seven games to go including playoffs so in order for it to take their breath away they'll have to reach Glendale.
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