Life on the High Plains

This turned out to be a very special week for me.  It started with this magnificent view of Pikes Peak through the aspens--within a day I was in the ER with a very serious condition, but I'm still here so thanks be to God for the many blessings in my life. Happy Skywatch Friday!

One of my favorite places in Yellowstone in Firehole Canyon.  This year it was especially great because there were no other tourists around.  Irv and I like to get out of the car and go exploring.  When you're willing to do that there are all types of treasures that can be found. Here's Firehole Falls in the background. I love, love, love this place! Happy Skywatch Friday!

So today we're going to have a traditional blog post where I get to talk about me--probably sharing too much, but oh well. Immunity Well, the time has come.  Yesterday I had a follow-up appointment with my doctor to go over my blood test results and right now I have basically no immune system.  There could be quite a few reasons for this--a nagging virus, an infection, too much stress, or some other things that we aren't going to talk about yet. Now I know why I've been feeling so worn out all the time especially after that Warrior Dash. So we're going to recheck it in two months and see if things improve which I'm sure they will.  In the meantime I need to avoid sick people and foods that might contain bacteria that would make me sick.  She also made me get a flu shot even though I protested.  She said my body would probably not be able fight the flu very well and it could have bad results. Rest and Relaxation I also need to learn to rest ...

It was an amazing 82 degrees yesterday with a beautiful blue Colorado sky.  The Broncos won, the Chiefs lost, I didn't have anywhere to go.  Can there be a better way to spend a Sunday? In preparation for winter we ordered  a few bales of hay from a new hay supplier out of Nebraska a few weeks ago.   He had to wait until he got a full load before heading our way and yesterday it finally arrived.  Above are six bundles of 21 small bales for a total of 126 bales.  Maybe enough for a year if we have good rain again next spring and summer.   Jasper and Doc were watching the unloading.   It was really nice to just sit back and watch the guy use his forklift to unload it off the truck and stack it in the barn. Stacked all the way to the ceiling in less than half an hour.  This is the way to get hay! Then Irv headed to work, I got my painting stuff out and the dogs, cat, and I watched a new investigation about Jon Benet...

Several months ago when a co-worker asked me if I wanted to do the Warrior Dash on September 17th I thought it was a great idea.  I'd have several months to train, I'd be prepared, I'd be strong, I could do it.  Then my summer got derailed, I didn't do a single 5K or 10K, I didn't train, I wasn't strong.  Oh well, lets do it anyway.  It will be good family and friend time even if I walked the whole way (which I did).  3.1 miles and 12 obstacles. It was uphill from the start in the mountains of Larkspur.  This sign was the first indication of what was to come.  The terrain of the race got me more than anything.  It was uphill for a long way at the beginning of the race at a higher altitude than what I was used to.  Breathing was difficult. Mr. Beans and Irv took off ahead of everyone else.  Mr. Beans was all worried about his time although this was an untimed race.  It wasn't long before he left his pappy b...

Early Monday morning we decided to ride the tram up to the top of the Jackson Hole Resort and hike down.  Sounds easy, right?  7.4 miles of downhill trekking can't be all that bad, can it? It was cool at the bottom of the mountain, but at the top it was freezing.  The wind was blowing and it was about 35 degrees with a thin layer of snow on the ground.  We weren't quite prepared for the weather.  Yes, we were those people who buy hats and gloves from the little store at the top of the tram and yes, we paid a small fortune for them.  It was money well spent. Right away we were greeted by a small group of deer.  This is going to be great. Beautiful snow-capped tree. Amazing view of the valley. You'll notice in all of my hiking posts that Irv is always 20 feet in front of me.  That happens for two reasons:  1) I'm slow and 2) I stop to smell the roses along the way. We had these dark, ominous clouds...