The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

It is eerily empty here in the Red Rocks boondock. The gang all pulled out this morning bound for Kodachrome, while I am headed east to cross a couple more national parks off my never-ending task master, my Bucket List. But without a list, I lose track of my desires. And without desires, there is no expansion, no growth. Right? Continue reading

Fording the River Fremont

One thing I have quickly learned to appreciate about the Red Rocks Gang is that no hike is going to be “pedestrian.”  You may find yourself skirting stagnant tanks in the side of the mountain or being hoisted over boulders, but one thing for sure, it will be an adventure!   So bring your water shoes, as today, we are walking across a 20 ft wide river and bushwhacking through the bulrushes to reach the trail! Continue reading

Ladies Choice!

Hiking with the “Red Rocks Gang” takes on a whole different aura when it’s a “Ladies Only” hike.   One would think tempo or pace would be the obvious difference, but quite the contrary.  Of our two dynamic duos, Gayle and Jim and Mark and Bobbie, both women tend to be the trail blazers, up front setting the pace.  Continue reading

“It’s like DISNEYLAND!”

Box Canyon Mark and Bobbie have been everywhere, and have mental files of boondocking spots and scenic hikes that would rival any travel publication.  So when Mark says “It’s one of my most favorite hikes,” I take note.

It’s over Jim’s celebratory birthday lunch when Mark makes his pitch.  “Hear me out.  I know of a place you would love.  It’s a long drive, and we would have to get an early start, but it is one of the most fun hikes ever.  It’s like Disneyland!” Continue reading

Trail to the Throne, or Go It Alone?

I awake after my restless boondocking night to see Debbie outside my window walking her dogs, the ever-entertaining Rupert and Elliott.   I have originally announced my plans to do a “solo acclimatization” hike on my first day, but Debbie assures me the group hike will be “doable,” with plenty of photo stops along the way (READ:  Opportunities to gasp for breath, slow my pounding heart, and steady my dizzy, swirling head.) Continue reading

Sixty is the New…Retired???

As if I don’t have enough going on during the current convergence…dealing with the my little Tracker, the “automotive heart transplant candidate,”  I have also been helping move my 86 year old Mom and 93 year old Dad back down to the farm.  Turns out, they aren’t city folk after all…

Throw in one more simultaneous life-change, and you have the makings of what I have been calling “The Perfect Storm,” as all these things converge during the same week.  Coincidentally, sixty days ago, I could not have known about the first two “storm elements” when I announced my intent to retire Continue reading

Together…Again

There have been a few tense moments here at the Highland Village Hospital.   I have tried to stay occupied outside the “waiting room” by doing a few menial tasks of my own, like changing a couple of burned out blubs in the Winnie, changing out the air filter and cabin filter, and cleaning and washing her inside and out…..just short of pacing as the two “smiling surgeons” keep assuring me that everything is progressing nicely in the lane next to me. Continue reading