Weekend in Westcliffe
After spending the last days of July with my family in mourning over my grandpa's death, I got to attend a wonderful wedding in Westcliffe, Colorado. Again, I realize that I experience a full range of emotions on a regular basis. (Maybe this range and the realization of it is due to the fact that my hormones are no longer regulated...?)
Anyways, we left Boulder after work on Friday and drove to Westcliffe. When we arrived at Hermit Basin, no one was there! There was a note on the front desk that said, "If you are here for a room please go behind the desk and call us." So I went behind the desk and called and the person who answered (I can't remember his name right now) told us to take a room. All the rooms were left unlocked at night and the key was on the TV just in case we wanted to lock up when we left. We chuckled at the apparent crime-free and worry-free aspect of small mountain town life.
In the morning we got up and rode our bikes 8 miles to town. The ride was downhill and I had an encounter with a small mountain town cow. As I sped along on the dirt road I saw a brown cow on the shoulder on the left side of the road. We watched each other as I approached but something was peculiar in her stance. She didn't just keep her head down to eat the grass. She stayed facing me. Just as I passed she lunged toward me! I was going about 15 miles per hour and didn't intend to stop to see what happened. I continued about a half of a mile before I slowed down to let Mike cruise up next to me. When he joined me he exclaimed that the cow had chased me before crossing the road and entering the pasture.
We arrived in downtown Westcliffe and found a little Mexican place that had been recommended to us. We had a quick lunch and then meandered up the road to a local cafe/fudge store for a little dessert and digestif before getting back on the bikes to return to Hermit Basin to get ready for the wedding.
Bud and Cath arrived at Hermit Basin just in time to change and hop in our car to go back into town for the ceremony. The wedding was in a small chapel; we sat with the rest of Laura and Joel's "Colorado friends" in the intimate space. I fanned myself with the program and noticed that people were quiet, most likely to avoid creating too much excess body heat. :)
The ceremony was lovely. Laura was beautiful; Joel made me cry when he said his vow. During the ceremony, an excerpt from "the Prophet" was read. While I listened, I thought it was a lovely metaphor for the give and the take of relationships. Here is an excerpt that I found online:
The Prophet by kahlil gibran
"What of Marriage, master?" [Master] answered saying: You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days. Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Five one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
The reception was at the Alpine Lodge. I had so much fun! The food was delicious, catching up with old friends was fun, and the dancing kept me moving and tired me out early. I was surprised when I looked at the clock, exhausted, to learn that it was only 9:30PM. We left the party with plans to meet the rest of the gang for breakfast.
We had breakfast at the only place in town that was open. I laughed when I pulled in to the gas station. The evening prior, when people were giving directions, the description of the place was entirely lacking the fact that the restaurant was in the gas station! We were told about how for east of town it was located and its name. The hostess was acting as the sole waitress and the place was hopping with people coming from church. Despite how hectic things were she still managed to serve us with a smile. At breakfast, we all decided to go to Bishop's Castle.
After posing for a group picture, we got in our cars and drove the winding Colorado roads to the castle. The Castle was extraordinary! Jim Bishop has spent the last 40 years building it. He uses rocks that have fallen to the side of the road and scrap steel from his work in Pueblo. It is funded through donations collected in a small box at the base of the stairs to the entrance of the great hall of the castle. While we were there, we ventured up the stairs of each tower and oohed and ahhed at the experience of climbing the extraordinarily crafted building. Before leaving, we purchased Jim Bishop's thoughts on castle building.
Farewell Week
In the last days of our time in Boulder, we were swamped with social engagements. We kicked things off by celebrating Mike's birthday at Sushi Tora with 13 delightful friends. The next night we went to Amu with Justin and Alina for one last taste of uni sashimi. Next, we went to John and Lisa's for a yummy home-cooked meal, which was complete with cookies and cream ice cream made in a Play & Freeze. We had anticipated an early night home from John and Lisa's because they have two young children but after the children went to sleep we stayed up talking until past our usual bedtime. On Friday, true to form, we went to the Corner Bar at the Boulderado for a beer of the day. Saturday morning, we woke up and went to mountain bike the Sourdough Trail with Tom, Hans, and Amber before having a Mexican lunch in Nederland. That evening, we went to Boulder's Outdoor Cinema to watch Juno.
On Sunday, Mom, Dad & Grandma arrived to spend a couple days in Boulder on their way home from having visited Alex in Arizona. We had our first dinner together at the Lazy Dog where we could watch the Olympic gymnasts compete. The next day, I took Mom and Dad to hike one of our favorite loops, Walker Ranch. It was a nice long hike and I was thrilled to be hiking with my parents! I think my favorite part was dunking my feet in the icey cold waters of the Boulder Creek before finishing the last mile out of the canyon. My parents probably could have used more food and water but they denied it. :) Of course, at dinner they were clearly famished when they ordered their food at the Duschanbe Teahouse. After dinner, we tried to go to the Dark Horse Saloon for a couple beers. It was such a cool bar! I can't believe that I hadn't been there before! Unfortunately, it happened to be "employee's night" and the bar was closing early so we couldn't stay. Instead, we went to the Boulder Beer Pub for beers with Mom, Dad, and Grandma. Yes, I said Grandma. :)
My last hike was with Wendy, of course. We hiked beautiful Mt. Audubon under clear skys. We had lunch at the top. The winds were whipping over the peak and it is apparent that it is regularly so windy. There were about a dozen shelters built out of the loose rocks to break the wind. Before heading down we were showered lightly with snow. Of course, I loved the snow...it suggests that ski season is coming.
Our Last Day
Our last day in Boulder was a Friday. We woke up and packed up our toiletries before heading to the Village Coffee Shop for breakfast with Tom. Breakfast was awesome but it was a gut bomb. We figured it was the perfect way to start a road trip because we would have energy for hours. We said our goodbyes and returned to the apartment for the final packing. Before leaving town we had one last thing to do...get tulip bulbs. You see, each year Boulder orders 15,000 tulip bulbs from Holland to landscape the Pearl Street Mall. After the blooms die, the bulbs are collected and stored so the landscaping can change throughout the season without leaving space for the bulbs and their needs. At the end of the summer, the tulip bulbs are given away. We made it to the give-away just in time! As we arrived, the coordinators encouraged people who had already gotten a bag of bulbs to step aside and let new people to the front of the line. Mike and I made our way to the front the line and each were handed a paper bag. I took mine and ducked out of the way. Mike, being the kind soul he is, handed his bag to the person next to him with the assumption that there were more bags to receive. However, there were no more bags. He had given the last one away. Happy that we got at least one bag, we got in the car (nicknamed Louise after Madonna) and headed toward Grant Teton National Park.
Grand Teton National Park
It took us 4 hours longer than we expected to get to the Park and we were disappointed to not make it in time to meet Kim for dinner. We drove through the park as the sun was going down and made our way from one full campground to another. We ended our search at Gros Ventre campground. The only site we could find was one without a firepit or a tent pad (a flat place on which to pitch a tent). It also happened to be the site that people would proceed to walk through on their way to the restrooms. It was a quick night and when the sun was coming up we were breaking down our tent to search for a better campsite. We drove to Jenny Lake campground hoping to find someone leaving what is recommended as a premier campground in the country. Luckily, in the quiet of the morning we met someone who was breaking down her camp. We made our reservation and left her alone to enjoy the rest of her morning. We decided to have breakfast and found our way to Signal Mountain Lodge for breakfast overlooking Jackson Lake at Trapper Grill. It was a hearty breakfast, which was perfect fuel for our day hike we were planning.
We returned to Jenny Lake campground to pitch our tent and fill our camelbaks for our hike up to Surprise Lake and Ampitheatre Lake. The hike was extraorinary. Hiking with Mike is a wonderful way to spend the day. We could walk while talking or in silence but always enjoying the mountains that surrounded us. The first "event" of the day was spotting a black bear. It was eating leaves about 20-30 feet off the trail. The second event was jumping into the icey waters of Jenny Lake. Luckily, we are experienced in floating in Lake Huron's cold water and we were able to enjoy the cold. Jenny Lake was only part of what made our campground and our day so perfect. The views and the fact that no RVs or pop-ups are allowed cinched it for us. We made satellite pizzas for dinner in our Pie Iron, sipped on some whiskey, I strummed my guitar, and we turned in just as the sun set.
Home
We woke up just before the sun rose and decided to hit the road. After driving through scenic valleys in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, we arrived at our home.
Home, sweet home.
Prepping for Class
We arrived in Missoula with one week before classes. It was a crazy week of unpacking and work. When we weren't unpacking and working, we were doing home improvement. You see, typically home improvement season is summer. Having spent our summer in Boulder, we didn't have a chance to do any work on the house. We did two things: we painted the porch and we painted the basement. Now we can head in to the winter without worrying about crossing those off the list. :)
My Birthday
My birthday was a typical work day with one exception. When I got home from work Mike was already there...and he was cooking me dinner! It was delicious! He served grassfed beef, blanched green beans, and an heirloom tomato salad.
My Media
Music
6- and 12-String Guitar by Leo Kotke
Leo Kotke Instrumentals
Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust by Sigur Rós
Film
Juno
Internet
Truth and your brain. Repeat after me: "I am happy."
Bookworms Unite!
Michelle Obama's DNC Speech
Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech at the DNC
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer's DNC Speech
NY Times Op-Ed: Vice in Go-Go Boots?
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