Off The Beaten Track and Out of the Car

"Tom you just missed the exit," my friend Chloe said. In disbelief I quickly looked away from the road and behind me and sure enough I was leaving behind the St. Francis Drive exit. I cursed and slammed my hand down on the wheel. It had been a long day and the incredibly greasy and fattening Chinese food I had consumed only a few minutes earlier was not settling well with my digestive system. Chloe reassured me that the world was not going to combust into a fiery ball of destruction because I missed the exit.
"We'll just take the next one and loop our way back. Santa Fe's a small city, we're gonna get back to school sooner or later," she said.
I responded by saying. "Yeah, or maybe we'll just end up back home . . ."
Chloe sighed, we were both missing our homes. I glanced up and saw the next exit sign: SANTA FE OPERA NEXT RIGHT. "Hmm," I thought. I've always wanted to see that, My friend from Lubbock, Josh, told me his grandfather directed the Opera years ago, before it burned down. I pointed the exit out to Chloe and we both agreed to go.
Once we weaved our way up a small road we came to the gate of the opera house just as a man was coming out, who graciously allowed us to drive into the parking lot. We parked and gazed upon the Opera House, which was beautiful even from the outside. I heard Chloe gasp and say, "Look! Oh, Tom look!"
I followed her gaze and witnessed the beautiful scene before us. The tall, green mountains east of Santa Fe were being clothed in purple clouds, the light cast from the setting sun. The contrast of colors and landscapes of the mountains and the clouds both astonished and surprised me. We had been driving next to those mountains for many minutes and it was only now that I realized how beautiful they looked. The radio in my car suddenly began playing "The Edge of Glory," by Lady Gaga. Chloe and I laughed, looked at each other and we silently agreed. We climbed up on top of my truck and sang along to the song as we stretched out our arms, looking up at the royal giants in the distance.
I had forgotten about my desire to go home for a moment, and for an even shorter moment the indigestion of bad Chinese food left me.
This was what beautiful was.