The tickets to Denver were cheaper to fly out of Portland, so the plan was a good one initially, but with the diminished time to visit my friend Dorothy, it was a bit too rushed for me, as I love spending time with my friends – especially those I don’t get to see too often. But something is better than nothing, and we had a leisurely breakfast with her on Wednesday morning and then were off to Denver where we had dinner with my friend Launni and her family. Then Thursday Launni hung out with us all day, which was absolutely wonderful. We all took a tour of the Denver Mint, then while Kory and Kaleb explored the Denver Science Museum, Launni and I sat and did a lot of “catch-up” over a large cup of coffee. It couldn’t have been more perfect.
We got a cute little retro rental car so we headed up into the Rocky Mountains Thursday night. I was invited to a bridal shower for my girlfriend Paula’s daughter, Anna-Grace. Her wedding was tonight, which was the point of our whole trip to Colorado this time of year, so I scored big-time on being able to see so many friends on one trip, and I’m not done yet.
While all the women at the shower were doing those foo-foo girly things with Paula, her husband, Paul, took all the guys down to their firepit. They sat out in the dark and ate sausages and beans and talked about hunting and fishing. This cowboy life in the mountains serves Paul well. They have a huge log cabin home with a gorgeous view of Pike’s Peak at every turn, and as much as I want them to move back to the Northwest, it’s easy to see why they love it here. They have 35 acres full of pine and aspen trees, and it’s breathtaking this time of year even if they weren’t at the 9,200 foot level, where I’ve been struggling with the lack of oxygen.
I’ve been worried about Kory’s heart not getting enough oxygen up this high, but he’s done fine so far. I’m the one that’s breathless after just a few steps. We have stayed the last few nights just down from the Meredith’s ranch, at a gorgeous retreat center they rented for all their out of town company. We haven’t been there much though as we’ve done our share of the boot scoot boogie since we got here. Yesterday we went to a farmer’s market, a rock and gem shop and then were down in Colorado Springs taking a tour of the Focus on the Family facility (at Kory’s insistence), shopping a little, and hiking around in the Garden of the God’s park (see photo of Kaleb reading the trail map at the park). We joined the wedding party for their rehearsal dinner at the Garden of the Gods Trading Post, so it was a great ending to another wonderful day, but today had to top them all.
We were up early and drove over to Cripple Creek, the sight of the first and largest gold mine in Colorado. The aspen trees were unbelievable (see photo!) I had to stop often to take pictures as I’ve never seen fall leaves that looked like lights were coming from inside them before – it was breathtaking. And we lucked out once we got to town. This weekend is only one of two weekends a year the gold mine there allows tours – and they were free! The mayor hopped on the bus and told us all about the history of the town as we drove through that first, then up the hillside to the mine where our minds were filled with more facts and figures than I could keep track of. They do these tours as a fund raiser for the local donkeys that roam the town and represent the part of their gold mining heritage. It was all rather fascinating and even Kaleb enjoyed it.
The town of Cripple Creek is fairly historic, so we strolled around there before heading up to another gold mine where Kaleb bought a little nugget of gold with some of the money he’s saved over the last year. He was very pleased with it. We rushed back to the lodge to take part in a “No Kid Left Inside” day the Nazarene church was hosting to get city kids out in the country. The Nazarene church owns a LOT of property up the mountains by the Merediths and they opened their camp up to the public today for free – so Kaleb got to go on a massive zip line, we all did some miniature golf and went out on kayaks on their lake. It was a beautiful day and so fun to play together a little. We had to cut it short in order to make it to the wedding though, as that was one occasion NOT to be missed!
Little Miss Anna-Grace got engaged only ten weeks ago and I told Paula tonight if she had a year to plan this wedding and reception, she couldn’t have done it any better. It was a feast for the eyes, soul and stomach. They had 150 people in their front yard overlooking one mountain range after another, then the same folks enjoyed a formal sit-down dinner on their deck. It was all top-notch, gorgeously coordinated autumn colored flowers, aspen leaves and white bark tying all the table decorations together. The “thank you” gift from the bride and groom was a caramel apple and the stick was printed with their names, dates and the thank you for attending. Too cute.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a better day.
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