Anyway, I'd done something a while ago, and really, really hurt myself. Finally isolated it, with my chiropractor's help. I've done a flock's worth of "pigeon pose" to relieve it and he even got me a muscle roller (I work for him - it's ok) that I use just about daily.
The thing is: it manifests itself as a burning pain down my driving leg. Well, I was about to get into a car and drive 1,300 miles or so. After diligently doing my pigeons and my roller and walking a lot, it worked itself out, and now only flares up every so often. So, Kid #2 and I set out on May 24, toward Monument, Colorado. We stopped overnight in Lincoln, NE, so as to be fresh for the drive the next day. Spent a lovely week in a condo in Colorado Springs, visiting Kid #1 and his girlfriend. It was nice to have a condo - because that way, it worked out cheaper, and we had a washing machine and dryer. Even still, I over-packed (as usual). Oh well. Some things don't change. And to start the trip, I wanted to bring my bathing suit, because the plan was to hit a hot spring... but I couldn't find the bottom of the suit. Go ahead; laugh. I ended up finding a very nice "swim-dress" at Kohl's. Thankfully.
Trying to gas up in a little town in Illinois near the Iowa border, I was totally befuddled by the gas pumps. I put my card in, then pressed "Regular" and it wouldn't go. It took me several tries (and a friendly female motorist) to notice that there were TWO pumps: one "premium" and one "regular" -- You had to stick your credit card into the slot at the "regular" pump, otherwise it wouldn't know you wanted "regular" gas. Good grief!!!
Iowa was prettier than we thought it would be; the traffic flowed nicely and we had rolling hills to drive through. The weather cooperated as well. Nebraska is flat. Very flat. And kind of boring to drive through. But I have to say that Rt. 80 was pretty calm. I was rather dreading that, but we left via Rt. 88 - which was different, and frankly, easier to do than to get out from Joliet. The exits out of Joliet are notoriously (a) busy; and (b) dangerous. People get into accidents, the truck traffic is horrendous and people have died.
I was truly, truly dreading that part, because Rt. 80 is basically the only way to get there in any reasonable time-frame.
But we found a nice rest stop, were able to stretch (yep - more pigeon poses) and at least have a bathroom break. The Nebraska hotel was ok. It was a place to sleep, right?
And Kid #2 taught me a valuable lesson. Like, "smacking my head, why didn't I think of that" kind of lesson. He - smart kid that he is - packed the "overnight" stuff in a backpack - rather than having to do what his mother did: haul a rather large suitcase up into a hotel room for ONE night. I heaved a sigh, and learned for the trip on the way back... Sometimes, our kids do teach us stuff.
When we stopped in Nebraska, we realized that Hotels.com had screwed up our reservations. Hubby was able to re-do them, and we went to get something to eat (Clif bars and iced tea don't cut it for lunch, that's for sure!). We went to Cracker Barrel, and I didn't realize that Kid #2 had never been in one! It stayed light till well past 9 p.m. and eating dinner that late wasn't a great idea - but needs must, I suppose.
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| Mt. Herman |
We thought it was "only 5 - 6 hours" to Colorado Springs from Lincoln. But it was more like 10 hours. And there was a huge back-up on Rt. 25 through Denver. Turns out some poor slob in an old Winnebago had run out of gas in the middle lane of the interstate, stopping traffic for hours. We avoided the toll roads, but we ended up going right through downtown Denver. Thanks but no thanks!
We actually left Nebraska by about noon-ish. So we arrived late in the afternoon of the 25th, and went straight to Monument, where Kid #1 lives with J., his girlfriend. It was a lovely visit, and we visited, that first night, the lake near their house. It was enough of a hike, and J. looked at me funny - because I had my "driving shoes" on -- my Dansko clogs. You definitely do NOT hike in Dansko clogs! We had dinner at their house and I ate jackfruit tacos with goat cheese. She's a "mostly" vegetarian, like me. This was a first. It really tasted like pulled pork! We talked about what we were planning to do for the week; they were working, but since it was Memorial Day weekend, we had several long days to visit with them, and then, we were on our own, which was cool with us.
The next day, we spent quite a lot of time with them. Turns out that my car doesn't really like the altitude -- it chugged pretty much the whole trip! We went to the Farmer's Market (where I got an awesome 8-year-old sharp cheddar), we visited J.'s studio (she's an artist) and Kid #1 showed us what he's been working on. She's got a rather significant operation going on - fine art pieces, public art projects, furniture, and statement pieces galore. Lucky for me, I'd chugged a Siggi's yogurt at the condo, because I basically skipped a decent breakfast, and I really could've used the fuel, since we hiked around Mt. Herman. Even though we took it easy because, as Kid #1 said, "You need to get used to the altitude and the dryness." Yikes, was it dry!! I must've guzzled a gallon or more of water each day and I always felt like I could've done more. Even my skin looked like it suffered a bit; ashy and itchy. They said it was normal; she grew up there, and Kid #1 had been there a couple of years, so he's used to it. The trail wound around the base of the mountain. We really didn't go too far, and we did cut it short so we (I, mainly) could get used to it. As we left, we saw a Search & Rescue crew going in. I still wonder what happened.
We were mostly single-file on this trail, and it was ok. I took a bunch of pictures, and we all were chatting, having a good time. Funny enough, J. was hiking in flip-flops... She managed to twist her hip and she and the puppy (they have a puppy -- pictures later) went back early.
It was a bit disconcerting to see the "desert" plants near to the oaks - throughout our time here, I realized how arid it really was. And it hasn't helped that the "fire rating" was at "high" the entire time; the state's been in a drought condition for several years.
There's this large monolith of limestone stuck right at the base of Mt. Herman. I never did find out what it was, but it was kind of amazing to see it there - like God Herself put it there for some unknown reason. Kid #1 says that people bike around it.
Oh, we did see a number of mountain biker people. Let me just say: they're insane. Just sayin' -- polite to us, but really? You're going UP the mountain and then you come DOWN this sandy trail at high rates of speed? Nope. Give me flat land.
Here's a close-up of the monolith, thanks to my telephoto lens. I'm eventually going to compare pictures with Kid #2 - we'll share shots. All I know for sure is that he says he's getting me a "quieter" camera bag for Christmas. I have a bulky one with squeaky plastic clips. He's got a nice cross-body kidney-shaped backpack kind of thing - which doesn't make a sound!
He joked (though he wasn't joking much) that he knew I was ok on the trails as long as he heard the camera case squeaking along. Once he stopped hearing it, he turned back and made sure I was ok.
It ended up that we stayed for dinner that evening, too, and had burgers with the fixin's. We were starving! It tasted great!
Over the next several blogs, I'll share the pics. Not to worry - I took over 700 of them, but I won't share all of them! But I do want to show you some of the beauty that we saw, and share some more stories.
Random Picture...I saw Indian Paintbrush! J. was surprised that I knew what it was. It's one of my favorites, along with Bear Grass, which Hubby says doesn't grow in Colorado. It does grow in Montana, and while Montana is further north, Colorado - or at least where we were, is higher up.
So, somewhere in the depths of my counted-cross-stitch stash is a kit with all the floss and the fabric for a picture of Indian Paintbrush. I got it on my honeymoon almost 25 years ago... I should dig it out and do it. As I recall, it wasn't a large project.
I did bring knitting with me - the green travelling socks. Did get some of it done, but didn't do as much as I thought I was going to.
Time for bed - it's a busy day tomorrow: interviewing another vicar candidate, but first, I'm making a rice + veggie + shrimp salad with a lemon garlic vinaigrette for the post-interview luncheon. Recipe will follow tomorrow, with pictures.
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