FOR SIX WEEKS COLORADO ONCE MORE FELT LIKE HOME. For even though our drivers licenses and plates proclaim South Dakota, in our hearts we are Coloradans. And after months in the desert Southwest, Colorado seemed so green, the air so clean and the chance of rain a real possility. We hadn’t had a rainy day in over a year, if you can believe it.
Memorial Day at Colorado Freedom Memorial
Once again we survived our annual health check-ups, if not with flying colors, at least with passing grades. Our financial check-ups also went well and we were free to socialize. The number of our friends continues to dwindle as they find less in common with us, but we continue to enjoy spending time with the few who remain. We even had dinner with Greg and Laura, friends from Houston who have appeared in these dispatches before, and who were visiting family in Colorado.
Connie and Candace
We spent Memorial Day at the Colorado Freedom Memorial celebration just outide the gate at Buckley AFB where we are staying. The we took advantage of the “free day” at Denver’s museums to visit the History Museum, the Art Museum and to see what has changed at the Museum of Nature and Science. The Colorado History Museum is, for all intents, brand new. Currently showing is a bit of baseball memorabilia from a private collection and a model of Denver constructed of Legos®. Hardly art or history.
Bullock's Oriole Coyote
Now that I am in my 70s, I will probably never ski again, and certainly we won’t climb any more of Colorado’s famous “14ers.” But that didn’t stop us from driving to the summit of Mt. Evans. We were searching for some birds but came away with photos of big horn lambs and mountain goats. And there are plenty of relatively low elevation (6500 ft) around like Roxborough and Stanton State Parks to keep us old folks busy.
Moose and Calf
We spent John’s birthday weekend with Tim and Candace at their cabin in Allenspark, just a stone’s throw from Rocky Mountain NP. Before we could even travel to the park for wildlife viewing, a cow moose and he calf came through their yard browsing on the aspens. We did take a nice birding hike around Cub Lake and up towards Fern Lake and were rewarded with a couple of three-toed woodpeckers, a MacGillivary’s warbler and a blue grossbeak. And the always fantastic views of the Park.
Three-toed Woodpecker MacGillivary's Warbler
The Rockies are always on our schedule when both we and they are in town. The team was having a rough patch so we went to only two games — on win and one loss. A couple of the newest Rockies were players we saw in Albuquerque, recently called up to “the Show.” Our six-week max stay at Buckley seemed to rush by and it was time to hit the road.
