Inspiration at last

Ahhhh....

It’s almost 7:30 in the evening and I’m sitting on a deck in Colorado, overlooking a golf course (I love the look of a fairway guarded by bunkers, while I’m NOT playing).  The only thing that would make this picture better, would be if the sprinklers came on (and again, not while I’m playing).  My phone says it’s 77 degrees, but in the shade it is a cool 77 degrees.  “Alexa” is playing songs by the Eagles in the background.  I just had Ben and Jerry’s “Americone Dream” for dinner, because Whole Foods had it on sale and everything from Whole Foods is good for you!  In the near distance, there is pair of Osprey, raising a pair of little ones in a nest that would easily hold me in a meditative, crossed legged pose. This is one of those moments, for me, that couldn’t get much better. So much so, that here I am sharing it with you.

But in this moment I’m reminded that everything is relative, right?  Let’s back up about 72 hours. Beth had just returned from a trip down to our bedroom and asked, “Did you just crap your pants in our bathroom?”  Actually, she said it a little differently, but that’s what I heard.  Totally offended (not), I refuted her accusation.  After a short investigation we observed both our shower and the bathtub in the guest bath next door had “backed up,” leaving behind some foul smelling stuff that hides out in the drain on the other side of the “trap,” it was exposed and permeating the air.  You can imagine what ensued over the next 12 hours after this discovery and you’d mostly be right.  In a nutshell, we informed the owners, halfway around the planet, and we have learned to be creative with our use and disposal of water when it comes to the kitchen.  The issue doesn’t involve the drain lines of the toilets or the master bath, thank goodness, so we have a work-around until the owners return home.

So, maybe with that experience behind us, it has made tonight that much more perfect.  Or, it could be that we left Missouri with the heat index over 100 degrees (for days at a time) and even a “hot” temperature in the 80’s here in the mountains, according to the locals, seems cool to us.  

In retrospect, I guess the low moments; help the high ones seem higher, if you can keep that everything’s relative idea nearby.

One last example… Today, Greg invited me on a bike (bicycle) ride on our mountain bikes.  Fast-forward thirty miles on my odometer and I was thanking him for kicking my butt, as we said goodbye, then I coasted another 4 miles to our temporary mountain home.  Let’s just say I wasn’t feeling that thankful around mile mark 15 on a 7% grade, going UP (but the down was awesome). Just a few days ago, Greg and Susi had to make that decision for their dog, Bailey (one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever been around), that every pet owner inevitably has to make.  And if you’ve never had to make that decision, you’re lucky, but then you’ve never loved a pet as one of your own.  So, relatively speaking, my 30 miles today was pretty awesome in all respects.

Here are some things we have been entertaining ourselves with here during the first week of our high altitude relief from the heat.

First things first when we hit the mountains.  We reunite with Greg and Susi,
even though they are from back home, and in this case sharing a pizza and
beer from a local establishment.  And yes, Greg's glasses are upside-down.
I'll leave that up for speculation...

At the newly revamped amphitheater, the first Friday night concert was a
Queen cover band called Queen Nation.  Saw them there a couple of years
ago and they reignited Queen in me.

The second Friday night concert was The Long Run, singing The Eagles hits.
So good!

Group ride across the Dam

There's nothing good about a bike helmet, other than it protects your head.

20+ mile precursor to the 30+ mile day.  Found a sign I liked!

Did I mention fishing?  About a half dozen of these little Brookies found
themselves liking a fly on my line, after an hour of trial and error with other
flies they didn't so much.

While I was fishing and Beth was reading, we got the opportunity for
moose-gazing.  The two black dots are moose surprises.

Beth is the dot on the gravel bar, right, center.
Not a bad place to get lost in a book, unless
a moose is interested in your selection as well.

Having moved downstream, cause it's the safe thing to do and I'm all about
that... Beth spots one of the moose crossing the stream, right where we were.
Is that Beth?

Going home happy from catching, not just
fishing!

Momma Osprey on the left with one of the
babies on the right.  This was taken by
holding my phone up to the eyepiece of a
spotting scope we spy on them with...and it
sort of worked.

And then there's this!

My Zen from 9,000 Feet:  Keeping things in perspective or experiences relative to one another, has a grounding affect for me.  It’s my aim to have more highs than lows, more goods than bads, more butt kickin’ rides than life’s truly hard decisions.  In the meantime, I’m going to do the best I can with what I have, even if I do crap my pants!