Life on the High Plains

One year ago today I was in the ER with what I thought at the time was a heart attack.  It turned out to be something completely different--a pulmonary embolism (PE) in my left lung.  I'll never forget the moment when the ER doctor walked in asked me if I knew how lucky I was.  At that time I didn't realize it, I was more concerned with breathing and the pain I was in. The days that followed are somewhat of a blur as I was on pain killers, but one thing that I'll always remember is the concern in my dad's and brother's voices when they called to check on me.  My dad called almost daily...I think this scared him pretty bad.  I also can't forget Mary rushing over to the ER when the doctors she works for told her to get over there ASAP.  I don't think a lot of people realized just how serious this PE was.  About 1/3rd of people who get one don't survive.  I could have been a statistic that night, but luckily I wasn't.   Of course I...

Irv and I went on one last camping trip for the year.  This time we went to Mueller State Park which is in the mountains west of Colorado Springs.  We knew the aspens would be starting to change and that is always a magnificent sight. When Irv and I head to the hills we go for two purposes:  1) to hike and 2) to cook over the campfire.   Here I am at the trail head rocking my new hiking hat.  I found out that on a windy day this hat becomes a sail and tries to carry me away.   Irv is signing us in on the trail register.  That's in case we ever go missing and they need to start looking for us.     One thing I learned about Mueller State Park is that wherever you hike to it's uphill both directions.    Our first destination was Grouse Mountain Overlook.  Quite an amazing view!   Then we decided to make the trek over to the Visitor Center to check it out.  The flags in this photo wil...

I just got back from a camping trip to the Colorado high country.  The aspens are just starting to turn color and they are magnificent.  There is a glimpse of the beautiful blue sky through the aspens. Happy Skywatch Friday!

I had such a nice surprise in the mail yesterday.  My Grant Campground family sent me a care package.  The campground closed on Sunday and all by buddies packed up and headed home yesterday--back to New Hampshire, Florida, Texas, California, New York, Idaho, South Carolina, Utah, Montana, Nevada, etc.   A bunch of little goodies and...   I love this Campground Staff vest!  I think I'm going to wear it all winter.   And a tee shirt!   What touched me the most though was the sympathy card they had all signed.  I've known these people for such a short time, but they're just like family.  We all had a love of Yellowstone in common in addition to caring about people and the environment.      Every year the campground staff puts together one of these "logs" to commemorate the summer.  I had been asked to paint the one for 2017, but I left the campground too soon.  I was very excited ...

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love fur babies. I'm a big supporter of our local Humane Society and one of their favorite fundraisers of mine is Pawtoberfest.  I've been going to this event since it started and each year it gets bigger and better organized.  It used to be a 5K, but they never rented the timing equipment so it didn't go over well as a race.  It has evolved into a 2 mile dog walk followed by a festival that includes a craft beer garden.   Our two "senior" dogs can no longer attend so little Maisy got to go in their place.  It was the first really chilly morning we've had so Irv and I were glad for the long sleeved shirts.   There were dogs of all shapes, sizes, and colors.  This black and white was very unique.  I think it was a standard poodle.   Maisy gets a little nervous in big crowds so she just wanted to be held.  She reminded us of Mary who also can't stand crowded places.  ...

The haze that has been hanging over Colorado from the western wild fires has dissipated this week, but we still get magnificent sunsets like this over Pikes Peak. I think a Blue and Orange sunset like this is an indicator of who's going to win the Denver Broncos vs. Dallas Cowboys game this weekend. Go Broncos! Happy Skywatch Friday!

Sometimes in life there are things, or more specifically people, who hurt you, your children, or your grandchildren.  I don't focus on anyone's color--black, brown, yellows, red, or white.  I see the person for who they are rather than the color of their skin. One thing the current administration has done is to make it okay for outwardly displays of racism and hatred.  I don't hang out with racists (as far as I know), I don't invite them into my circle, I don't need them or their ignorance in my life.  I raised my children to accept people different from who they are.  I raised my girls to stand up for what they believe in.  I raised them to see the whole world not just their small portion of the world.  I raised them to protest and protest we have this year--that's what built America.  We cannot sit idly by while injustices are taking place.  If that makes me a bad parent as some people have implied, then I am a bad parent. A person...

Last week I was feeling a little blue--the loss of my dad, no longer having the grandeur of Yellowstone out my front door, the feeling that a piece of me was missing.  You know what that means, don't you?  It's time to get out and do something physical. It occurred to me that I was in town for the Broncos 7K.  It was too late to register online so I dragged Mary out at 6:00 a.m. to make the drive to Denver to see if we could do a same day registration.  We paid a premium for a late registration, but they had room for us. This is a large race with about 6,000 participants so it starts in waves.  We all have to gather in our assigned corral to wait for our start.  Mary gets a little anxious in corrals.  They're crowded and people generally invade your personal space.  This is Mary breathing deeply with her eyes closed when people invaded her space. I have to confess something.  It was taking so long for the waves to ...