The other thing I loved about our vacations was
taking time to just relax. We would almost always go on an adventure, a hike,
shopping in Estes Park, driving up Old Fall River Road, site seeing, or animal
watching. The point was, we were flexible and if we wanted to spend our time
napping or reading a book, that was as important as any other activity.
We had a few adventures on our leisurely hiking
trips. We especially liked the more unpopular hikes where we weren’t bothered
by other tourists. One time we rode the bus up to Bear Lake and took a hike on
such a trail. We had only hiked the trail a few times ourselves.
After we were about a mile into our hike, a deer
came careening across the trail in front of us. Before we got over the shock of
seeing a deer who looked like he was running for his life, a mountain lion
crossed the trail in hot pursuit of the deer. Fortunately for us, he never
seemed to notice the two humans a few feet away.
Another time on the same trail, we were taking a
break before going down the switchback. A tall woman who had jogged up the
switchback came into view. She looked like an amazon in her colorful leggings
and sculpted top. As soon as she got out of hearing range, Jim looked at me and
said, “I think that’s Wonder Woman.” I had to agree.
Jim loved to feed the chipmunks, although I
scolded him for it. One of the chipmunks seemed to be a master at snacking and
Jim named him Chubby. We were returning to camp one night and saw a dead
chipmunk. Jim said, “I hope that’s not Chubby!” It didn’t take long to figure
out that Chubby was alive and well, and waiting for a handout.
My heart is full of memories of our trips to
Colorado when we were young and foolishly thought we had so much life ahead of
us. Maybe it’s just as well that we don’t know how much time we have or we’d
never take time to slow down and rest.
I’ve managed to fill my life with so much activity
that I forget to rest. I’ve been slowing down more lately since I’ve developed
an intermittent nagging cough and feel tired all the time.
I practiced my guitar today, and it’s a sad state
of affairs when my playing is better than my singing. The lemon ginger tea
didn’t do much for my voice.
Taking it easy has given me time to reflect, and
to remember, when my life was busy, but filled with adventure. A time when campfires,
conversation, and travel made worries and obligations melt into the sunset. In
my memories, Jim plays his guitar on a mountain above the Bighorn Sheep Meadow
for the chipmunks and a few random tourists.
Copyright
© September 2026 by L. S. Fisher
https://earlyonset.blogspot.com
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