Okay, I’ll admit it, my dear wanderers, I am bloody exhausted. I got to Denver in the late morning and my dad was still there. I attempted to help him finish putting the Kayak on his car, but resigned myself to not getting in the way and telling him to call if he needed me. My dad is kind of a loner I guess, or at least he never needs my help. It is just easier to let him tackle the task on his own, instead of getting in to an argument or feeling like I am just in the way.

We were all going up to the Lake separately. I needed to nap and do laundry. I threw laundry in and ended up falling asleep. I was coming down off of my deployment high and that usually requires a lot of sleep to heal up from. My shoulders are slightly burned still, but I have a nice farmers tan going on for the most part. I wrapped up my measly errands and nap and hit the road for Steam Boat Lake. My Uncle has a cabin on the backside of the lake and it has always been a favorite spot for me.

I love mountain driving. It always does me good to roll down the windows and breathe in some mountain air, and fly around the curves. I was so at peace during this drive today. Often, when I am driving, I get this sensation of being weightless, like I am lifted off my feet and the world is not sitting on my shoulders pulling me down. I want this to not be an abnormal feeling for me. I would prefer to live my life weightless, just existing and going with the flows of time and space around me. I come up with fanciful stories in my head as I drive, and descriptive terms. I really should write some of these things down for you. I am always reminded of how the well to do used to come to the mountains for the clean air, because it helped their health. Well it helped mine tonight too.

I came upon a sign that warned of no middle line in the road. It was dark and there were cars in front and behind me. I figured that it would be okay, because I’ll just follow the edge of the road. What the sign should have said was “Warning… no road… let alone middle line… just loose gravel… for the next 10 miles.” Oh and PS… there are no street lights, there are curves and people are idiots. Somehow me and all the cars near me survived this wild ride.

It’s all just part of the adventure. So somehow I rolled in to the cabin just shy of my mother and uncle. It was late at night, but I could see the stars, even those funny two planets that made think of aliens and all things Doctor Who.

I am now the family weirdo who brings her own cot everywhere, because it is much more comfortable than sleeping in a bed for me. So I set that up, which fascinated both my Papa and my Dad. It was like a new toy, so they enjoyed helping me put it together. They think it is cool how I am so tricked out.

Once everyone was there and the cars were unloaded it was just about time for lights out. My papa has apparently gone to using a bible app on his iPad for his evening devotions. Unfortunately he needed connectivity to open the app (poor formatting). It was so cute when he was mystified that I set up an internet hotspot from my phone and connected his tablet to it. He was so grateful for that small little gesture. One of the hardest things about not living in Colorado anymore is not being near him. I worry for the day he passes on to the next life, because he is just such a great Papa. Even though he kept interrupting me as I meditated, asking me if I was praying. Only for my Papa will I break meditation to answer his questions.

Well I better head off to bed now myself.

Signing Off Steam Boat Lake Park, Clark, CO