My husband loves hiking in the mountains…particularly among the trees in less-than-triple digit weather. Hence, the next Colorado venture on our “to do” list was to go hiking. My husband chose a mountain near our hotel, with a steep incline but promising vantage points. While my daughter and I donned our tennis shoes, Nik had enough foresight to bring his hiking boots…which reminds me, I need to buy a new pair for myself. My husband, our personal pack mule, was also equipped with a full camelback and gummy bears.
Less than five minutes into the hike, Zoe, who does not enjoy sweating under the sun, said she would prefer it if we were on horses instead and that she wished we were on a treasure hunt like in Dungeons and Dragons. Yep – that’s my kid. The good thing about bringing a nine-year-old on a hike is that you have an excuse to stop and rest…perhaps just a bit more often than you normally would. We only made it about three quarters of a mile up the mountain before the repeated begging of “is this the view?” became too frequent and we decided that my daughter was done hiking for the day after admitting that her feet hurt. However, it was funny how, on the way back down the mountain, she kept up a constant questionnaire regarding our favorite TV shows, such as “What’s your favorite episode of Season 12 of The Big Bang Theory?” and “What’s your Chandler Bing impression?”
The final item on our “to do” list was visiting the quaint little town of Silverton, about an hour north of Durango. When he isn’t plagued by road rage, my husband finds driving relaxing and I think his favorite part of the visit was the scenic drive to and from Silverton. That turned out to be very lucky indeed, as we didn’t realize that tourist season had just ended and most of the businesses were closed. Not to worry – the outing was not wasted. The view constantly reminded me of the picturesque scenes from some of my grandmother’s many puzzles…plus we got ice cream. On the drive back, I spent half the time reading a book I had started a couple months ago, and the other half looking up after each new bend in the road to see houses and cabins nestled among trees of red, yellow, green, and brown. Some of the homes sat nearly on top of rivers and lakes. I could definitely see the appeal of having your own little slice of heaven away from the rest of the world.
Zoe took a power nap in the car and had enough energy for an hour of splashing in the hotel pool. I, on the other hand, had enough energy to sit quietly and read…wearing my husband’s spare shorts since I didn’t think to bring any of my own, let alone a bathing suit.
The morning of departure arrived with a taste of bittersweet. We left the gorgeous Colorado trees and confined ourselves to the car for another five hours or so to my in-laws’. Back in the Arizona mountains, we proved to our rottweilers that we had not forgotten about them, dirty little heathens that they were. Apparently, they decided to bark all night, every night that we were gone, at the horses, neighbor dogs, coyotes, and any other scent that the wind brought them. They were also filthy, having discovered how fun it was to dig and roll in the dirt…over and over again.
We had planned to stay one night at my in-laws so my husband could help his dad cut firewood. Since we still had some daylight, Nik decided to start right away. Not wanting him to have to cut wood all by his lonesome, I marched out to the yard to “help” Paul Bunyan…which largely consisted of me sitting on a twenty-foot log to “stabilize” it while he used the chainsaw, then I helped stack the cut pieces. His father arrived soon after and got to work with a second chainsaw.
A bit later, I was headed to the house to refill our waters when my daughter came out and said, “Can I have Grandpa now?” She explained that she hadn’t realized he had come outside. “I called for him but he didn’t come and I’ve been waiting for an hour.” Thus, Grandpa was relieved of his logging duties for the day.
The next morning, I got up moments after Nik and made a quick trip for some much-needed caffeine and a couple of breakfast burritos to go. Unfortunately, each of the two chainsaws had issues (something to do with fuel delivery…it’s all Greek to me) and our work was short-lived. Nik decided he wanted to split a few pieces of wood with the ax…thankfully, after just a few swings, he realized that particular activity was not recommended for someone whose shoulder had not yet completely healed from surgery, and called it a day. I had no complaints with that decision and was proudly dirty enough to prove that I had “helped.”
The munchkin having returned with Grandma from the pumpkin patch, we loaded up in the car. With the re-addition of the rottweilers, this leg of the trip back home had a much more energetic atmosphere than did the first half. The dog only got sick once on the drive back and – silver lining – I was inside the convenience store when Nik opened the back of the car to let the dogs stretch, thus finding the aforementioned ick, and cleaned it up in a way that I can only assume resembled the Flash to minimize his exposure to the unsightly, odiferous spew. I never thought I’d be so thankful that childbirth gave me a weak pelvic floor and a bladder the size of a lemon. Small favors.
Despite the horse-induced hives, saddle-sore hind quarters, kinked necks from overstuffed hotel pillows, and vehicle upholstery in desperate need of a proper detailing, our mini getaway was a success. We came home from cool weather among autumn trees to our own beds and a clean sink, as I had had the forethought to empty the trash and do all the dishes before we left for vacation…although the fridge was also empty, so our first meal home was delivery pizza (thank God this place actually delivered) while I made a click-list for groceries. However, the next morning I realized I had forgotten several key items and had to make a special trip inside the grocery store.
After a well-rested night back in our own bed, it turns out my husband wasn’t quite done with hacking up trees and decided that the Palo Verde in front of our house needed a drastic haircut. This time, I got to use the chainsaw and – surprised as some may be – I am happy to report that I did not cut off any of my own limbs. Okay, so it was a smaller, electric chainsaw, but it still counts. Zoe even helped with the yardwork and used the pruning shears all by herself.
Wood cut, laundry done, and fridge restocked, the last hint of our vacation rested with the filthy rottweilers. I got them the first available appointment at the beauty parlor and, although it is only a 10- minute drive home from PetSmart, I think I’ll wait until after the furry twins are clean and comfortably back home before I get the car detailed…just in case.
Original Post 10/2020
Discover more from HL Contreras
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.