C O L O R A D O !

Hello again. Back, like a bad penny. I took a vacation from everything--work, responsibility, and even the blog. Time off does that to you. But oh, what a good time we had. And ultimately it is good to get back.




Hallet Peak's reflection in Bear Lake

Since that last post on July 3, we made our annual journey to Colorado. Mary Ann and I left on the 9th, after much fretting over who will do what for Grandma, and at what time and how effectively. There was the usual family angst from hurt feelings and things said in haste, but all finally rested gently. Disruption in the life of a frail senior person is nothing with which to be trifled, I relearned.

We left easily, in mid-morning, choosing not to escape the city into the setting sun or in the early hours of darkness as has been our custom. It was just the two of us, to start with at least, so we chose the path of least resistance and drove to Hays, enjoying some gourmet turkey sandwiches for lunch as we drove. At Hays, it was hot but dry and the sky was nearly cloudless. We checked into the Fairfield Inn there, a superior example of a modern hostelry. We enjoyed the pool and the quiet, being hours ahead of the rest of our kind. It was nice to sit alternately in the sun and cool off in the pool, wondering what the poor people were doing.

Kirches rolled in as we left the pool, and the Sharps were not far behind. The nine of us went to Gella's Diner and Mini-Brewery for dinner in downtown Hays and had a great time. Even the little kids were pretty good. The food was great; the beer they make is some of the best you will have, and my endorsement doesn't come lightly. I don't drink beer often, or much alcohol at all, but I must say it was well done.

Back at the Fairfield, we turned down the air so low that the camera fogged up outside the next morning. Our six A. M. walk was thwarted by a thunderstorm's passing so we walked on the treadmills in the health / exercise room adjacent to the pool. They have a nice and very adequate little breakfast bar with waffles, oatmeal and juice which served me nicely.


Loading the car, as seen with a foggy lens.

We were on the road at 0930 and paused for fuel and rest at the big truck stop at Colby. There you can select from two or three food franchises and a Starbuck's Coffee counter, of all things. Liz fed the kids some lunch and let them play at the playground there. We dawdled too long as we wanted to stop at the City Park in Flagler, Colorado, and had to pick Katie up at the Denver airport later in the day.

Steve learning the ways of a truck stop

We pressed on to the west, with the stop in Flagler and a confusing pick-up at DIA. It took three trips through the arrivals area to recover Katie, but she finally found us. With her safely in the car we traveled the last hour up through the foot hills at the edge of the Front Range, and into Estes Park.

The nine of us were joined by Greg and Michele Plumb for our traditional pizza dinner on the first night in Colorado. The Plumbs were on their way back east, so it felt good to know we had the week out in front of us.

Annie, learning to manipulate Mommy.

For the next few days we doted on Annie, Steve and Rob; ate in our favorite places; hiked at Bear Lake; and spent a lot of time at the pool or walking through town. Kirches and Sharps left Thursday, leaving Mary Ann, Katie and I to wander aimless.

On our last night there, walking through town, is when Mary Ann met the bear.

Basically, she came out of a store to wait at the curb for Katie and I to come for her with the car. As she waited, a bear ran toward her from across the street. This does not happen to her very much.

The bear walked right by, within her reach, and headed for a nearby restaurant with outdoor dining. The bear found an entrance and went in, but was thwarted by an inner glass door. I continue to wonder what some of the more alert of the diners might have thought, seeing a shaggy looking bear watching them eat with only a thin piece of window glass separating them.

Bear was not given to breaking glass and came out to the street again, and loped up an alley. Mary Ann watched stunned as several people charged up the alley in hot pursuit. When we recovered her, she wanted to go look for the bear. It sounded like an interesting activity, so we did. And sure enough we found him wandering through some back yards. With people alarmingly close to him flashing their Kodaks and Nikons in his annoyed-looking bear eyes, he sauntered up close to the back of our car, crossed the street and waddled his fat bear butt up over a retaining wall and headed for the timber.

Later that night, our last in the cabin for this year, another bear made a terrible racket trying to break in to the dumpster across our road. The lodge owners have been chaining them shut at night to keep the bears out, so this bear--a different one from his restaurateur cousin, we assume--simply pulled the whole thing over on its front out of frustration. He then bent open a heavy sheet-steel lid on one side and sorted through some of the trash at his leisure.

Even at that hour, close to two A. M., other lodgers were out flashing pictures in the pitch dark. The bear was gone, probably on to the next group of cabins to sample their trash.

So we got up and left, a day behind Kirches and Sharps. We headed back down to the flatlands in the dim morning light, secure in our knowledge that we had seen the bear and they had not.

It has barely been a month since we left. I am ready to go again.