Rare is the moment that I don’t have a song lyric playing through my head. Any word, phrase, or scene can set me off, as my brain contains a database of songs for all occasions. Most times, I can keep it in my head, but then there are those times when I just lose control, and lyrics come tumbling off my tongue like a case of tourettes syndrome. Often times it’s subconscious, and I only realize it has happened when someone turns around and gives me the stink-eye.
The best kind of ear worm is one that you can infect on others. This happens frequently with my brother Don. Our musical tastes are similar, and I will often find myself subconsciously picking up on a song I heard him singing, or vise versa. That is another way I realize the vocal urge has overtaken me, when I later hear him singing the same song I hear in my head.
We are missing Bobbie and Jim on the hike to Blue Lakes Pass…Bobbie who has dedicated her afternoon to the arts, and Jim who has dedicated his afternoon to searching the trail for Gayle’s cell phone. 😉
Beautiful blue flowers on the way to Blue Lakes Pass
Magenta Paintbrush look stunted at almost 13,000 ft.
Chris, Debbie, and I enjoying the backwards views from Pet Rex. Two out of three exclaim, “Hey! I could live in here!” 😉
Pet Rex patiently awaits our return at the bottom of the trail.
Skirting Wright’s Lake on the way up to Blue Lakes Pass.
Intersection for Mt Sneffles Trail, Ouray’s local “Fourteener.”
Chris and Gayle spot hikers on the approach.
Looking for people the size of ants on the Sneffels summit.
Old Man of the Mountain. No, not Mark…the yellow flowers are called “Old Man of the Mountain.” 😉
Flying high on the saddle of Blue Lakes Pass, Frank Sinatra is running through my head, beckoning to “Come Fly with Me.” “Once I get you up there….where the air is rarified.” Rarified, according to Webster, meaning “not having much oxygen because of being high up in the atmosphere.” I realize as I can’t stop singing this song, not only am I high up in the atmosphere, I am high on majestic mountain views!
Mark and Bobbie know all the shortcuts to getting high, making places like Blue Lakes Pass achievable for us intermediate hikers. Knowing the back roads and secret parking places shaves off hours of ardous climbing by hopping in the back of Pet Rex, leap frogging what seasoned (read: “spoiled”) hikers like Mark and Bobbie consider to be the “boring parts.”
So we pile into the back of Pet Rex like a bunch of eager kids off for summer camp, laughing as we jockey for position to keep from landing in each other’s laps, arms too busy protecting our innards to hold on. Up Camp Bird Mine, through Yankee Boy Basin, and on up and up, fast tracking the climb. Left with less than three miles to go on foot, we soon arrive breathless atop the 13,000 ft Blue Lakes Pass, standing on the shoulder of 14,000 ft Mt. Sneffels like accomplished mountain climbers. We are up there! Where the air is rarefied! So what if we cheated just a little? 😉
Snowy scenes along the Blue Lakes Pass trail
Gayle looks like she might want to break into a song. 😉
Gayle and Chris stop for a breather as we approach 13,000 ft.
It’s COLD up here!
The pass looking toward Mt Sneffels.
Mark says “Get comfortable, gang. We’re not leaving till the sun lights up the lake!”
Debbie and Chris enjoy the beauty of all lunch spots.
I have been thinking a lot about music lately and the role it plays in our lives, as well as how we are memorialized. Having been to three funerals in as many months (I also lost my last remaining uncle in between my brother and my dad) the songs that are chosen to represent our lives have more significance than usual to the music lover in me.
Music was a big part of my brother Stephen’s life. Having played both the sax and the keyboard, music was one of his passions, particularly in his younger years. When it came time to lay him to rest, appropriate music selection was paramount. In the planning stages, it was a “given” that Leon Russell would be a prominent part of the service. It was the perfect reflection of his life.
My uncle Bob hated music. How does someone hate music? He specifically requested “no music” at his funeral other than the mournful sound of the lone bugle playing “Taps.” No disrespect, but it left me feeling even more sad than expected, sorry to say.
My Dad’s service was much simpler, with just a small graveside service. So logistically, music would have been a challenge. But he lived a simple life as a farmer who didn’t interact much with people. I struggle to remember a time when I heard him sing. There was no music in his life, so it seemed only fitting there not be any at his service.
I think the song in Mark’s head must be “You Keep Me Hangin’ On!” by Vanilla Fudge.
Finally the clouds part and we are treated to some blue brilliance below.
Fun with Mark’s “Selfie Stick” long arm.
Mark, Kim, Chris, and Debbie coming down off the pass.
It is f-f-f-freezing up there! So I fly down the mountain, fast behind Gayle’s winged feet.
The warmth of Pet Rex awaits…
Though I have given much thought over the years to the music I would choose for my own memorial service, I have made it known that I wish to be cremated. So there won’t likely be much opportunity for music making. But I hope someone, somewhere pauses to remember my crazy humming and tourettes-like outbursts of lyrics once my ashes are sent flying. Up there. Where the air is rarefied.
“Once I get you up there
Where the air is rarefied
We’ll just glide
Starry-eyed
Once I get you up there
I’ll be holding you so near
You may hear
Angels cheer, because we’re together
Weather-wise, it’s such a lovely day
If you say the word, we will beat those birds
Back to Acapulco Bay
It is perfect for a flying honeymoon, they say
Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away”
Thank you for your lovely photos and insightful words. I am hesitant to post a message for fear I sound like a broken record but I feel I would be remiss to take meaning from your writings and not voice appreciation. *Especially* when you mention my favorite singer/songwriter…Leon Russell. I had the good fortune to meet him recently–he was as soulful in person (humble, kind, witty, intelligent) as his words represent him to be. Thank you, again, for sharing your beautiful photographs and depth of thought.
Rhonda — Thanks so much for such a wonderful comment. Please don’t ever hesitate to post, as comments are the quarters in the juke box to bloggers!
Both my brothers met Leon as well in his much younger years, and attended concerts backstage. They always said he was a very personable, gracious man. I love his music and songwriting. Thanks for sharing your experience.
The colors were just fantastic.
I cannot sing.
Thanks, Allen and Deede — you need to “sing like nobody’s listening!”
Big mountains and big music…I can’t imagine anything better, except maybe some good friends to share it with. I think music is a reflection of soul joy (if that makes any sense). It expands our senses, deepens our experiences. I will think of music when I think of you 🙂
Nina
Thank you my dear friend Nina. Such beautiful words, as always. Once again, we are aligned in our passions in life…
I can relate to how situations bring out a song. I was lucky to be a third grade teacher so as a phrase or moment reminded me of a song, I could let it rip. Of course, my students thought I was a little off my rocker:) Beautifully written piece. Glad to see you are returning to the gang. Happy hiking:)
Pam, I would have LOVED to have had a third grade teacher who sang! My third grade teacher Miss Stewart had a face that would have cracked if she had tried. Happy hiking indeed. Hope you get more of the same soon.
After The Supremes did it, the Vanilla Fudge version of “You just keep me hanging in” took some getting used to 🙂
I think it was on the Blue Lakes Pass hike that you became “acclimatized.” :))
Box Canyon Mark
Well, you did say it was a “vanilla fudge moraine.” 😉 Yes, acclimatized just in time to start all over again, but it felt good while it lasted.
Yes that was me. I’m not a frequent poster but I throughly enjoy reading yours plus your friends blogs and all the adventures you have. They are also an insight in to some of the leser known parts of the US.
Ahhh the magic of mountains, once you have been in amongst them you fully understand why people climb them. I remember taking my 8 year old daughter on a walk up the highest mountain around here, a mere 3000 ft, and when she reached the summit and could see all around it literally took her breath away. [cue for a song]. She has never forgotten that experience and has gone on to do far more adventurous things as a result.
Dave — Thanks for the comment, and I am gonna keep my eye on your blog from now on. Love the story about your daughter and that you got her hooked on heights at an early age, so she can enjoy the summits with no fear.
I can’t imagine a world without music!!! It soothes the soul, revs your engines, makes you laugh, makes you cry… Music helps pry our feelings out so we don’t keep them bottled up inside!
Keep singing my friend! Oh, and keep taking gorgeous pictures, too! Love you!!!
Thanks, my friend Reta — You keep on singing as well, and one of these days soon, we will finally be in the same place at the same time, and we will sing all our favorites from 1972. 😉
Wow, the photos are so awesome – thank you for sharing. Hope the cell phone was found – that would be a small miracle. Unlike my car key I left in the pocket of a pair of ratty shorts that I decided to throw away and they went to the dump before I realized what I had done – never to be recovered but there may be hope for the phone.
Sandy — Actually, they found Gayle’s phone back in Marks truck. It had fallen out on the bumpy 4WD ride up the mountain, so it was a relief that all ended well.
So happy to read that you have been reunited with that rarefied air. One day my dear friend ,many many many years from now, we will be singing duets up there somewhere.
My dear Contessa — Let’s not wait until we are “up there somewhere” to sing a few duets. Meet me in the desert again next Feb? 😉
You have such a beautiful way with words Suzanne. This was a beautiful post, to correspond with your lovely photos. You guys and gals are just having way too much fun!
LuAnn, coming from such a wonderful writer as you, that is such a compliment. Hope you and Terry continue to enjoy the PNW. Thanks for the support, my friend.