Colorado - Sept. 2011 - Riddle me this...

What is there less of here (Frisco, Co.) than in Missouri?  No, not the number of hOOters Restaurants (but they do have a tasty, hot ham and cheese).  By the way, I learned to spell "hOOters" from Canada Greg (he'll be so proud).  Back to the riddle... Think "gas"...oh come on, not farts, remember, I am out here (Miki too)!  The answer is OXYGEN, which we are trying to adapt to.  First day here we couldn't bend over without breathing hard.  I know bending over and breathing hard probably shouldn't be in the same sentence without a punch line, but it's my blog.  Today we took the dogs on their first Colorado mountain hike and it kicked my butt, but in a few days I will be motoring up these slopes (with a bottle of O maybe).  We wondered how the dogs would do...wonder no more.  They showed no signs of less oxygen, maybe because they were jacked up on chipmunk urine.  I am not sure I could have made it on the uphill climb without Tuck pulling me to his next near encounter with Alvin and his buddies.

We are heading up to an old mining town.  Isn't that
what is at the end of every mountain trail in Colorado?

Once we got to the mining remnants, it was interesting to think of what was going on here at one time.  The old cabins were below a ridge of mountains and to our surprise there were still a lot of wildflowers out.

Fireweed

Had to hurry Miki out of here, because I
started hearing words like remodel and
flip.

They did have a million dollar view, just not very
energy efficient.

Heading back down the trail to the truck, oxygen wasn't the problem, or maybe it was, but my shins started talking to me and promised they would be talking some more tomorrow.  Before we left and Miki got more ideas about dirt floors, we did get a family photo with the boys (Mulligan excused himself from the hike today).

Take 1
Not the vision of the photographer or Tooga's best side.

Take 2
Hand on Tuck's throat, not what it looks like.

Take 3
Close enough.  Tuck decided to take my rock while I
pressed the button on the camera, so I slid next to him
and he detected some left over breakfast on my face.
Kids...gotta love'm...can't choke'm.

Recovering back at the doghouse was pretty much the rest of the day.  The dogs did some heavy sleeping (more than normal), so I figured they were indeed affected by the lack of O.  At that point I felt better about being out of shape, but I am going to get me some of that chipmunk piss before the next hike!  If it can get the dogs up the mountain, maybe it can stimulate me too.


My Zen from the road:  I don't know which makes me happier...seeing my dogs attend an olfactory carnival everyday when we go for a hike...seeing a fresh, white dusting of snow above treeline on distant mountains, left by the drizzly weather...or seeing Mulligan lying in the sun warming his 19 year old body with a few lives still left in him.  It's good to have choices that make you happy.

Cribbage Win Count:  Miki - 1    Wallie - 1