We arrived in Fairplay, Colorado just in time to celebrate Burro Days with my brother, Bruce, and his wife, Mary. One of the highlights of the festival was the South Park Chorale Miners' Dinner and concert. Mary is a member of the Chorale, so she helped serve the dinner and provide the entertainment. We ate a hearty miner's meal of pasties, beans, rolls and apple pie. Then we sat back to enjoy the concert that related the history of the South Park area of Colorado in song, poetry and narration. Mary sang a beautiful solo, "The Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas, and she did Indian sign language as a complement. Bruce read two Robert Service poems and had the audience laughing (and grimacing) at the "Ballad of Blasphemous Bill." It was a delightful evening shared with family and friends.
On 7/26 we headed into the town of Fairplay to catch the 50th Annual International Pack Burro Races. In this event each burro is loaded with a 40-lb. pack-the burro is never ridden. Then the person-burro team runs a 30+ mile route which starts at 9,900 ft. elevation in Fairplay, CO then leads up over Mosquito Pass at 13,186 ft. and back down into town. We watched the start of the race through old South Park City, and then we headed out to two more locations in the mountains along the trail to catch the race in progress. Four hours and forty-five minutes later, we were back in town watching the finish. Surprisingly it was almost a photo finish with two burros running neck and neck to the finish line. What was really interesting was that the two burros were father and son and had run the whole race together (along with their human teammates).
We really enjoyed following this event up into the mountains and back. We had to put Big Red in 4-wheel drive a couple of times, and he did a great job. Along the way we spent time frolicking in the gorgeous mountain wildflowers. Varieties of purple, blue, red, orange, yellow, and white blooms carpeted the mountainside.
During our 10-day stay we explored several areas of the mountains. One day Tom and Bruce went 4-wheeling. Then it was my turn. I had never been on a 4-wheeler before, but after a 2-minute lesson on the road, I was ready to tackle the mountain trails--or at least they thought I should be ready! Tom and Bruce road motorcycles (trail bikes), and Mary and I mounted up on the 4-wheelers. Off we went to explore the mountains in Bruce and Mary's back yard. Everything went great until we got to the rushing river. Bruce forged through the swirling water first. Then Mary lifted her feet up to her shoulders like a gymnast and bounced her way across, fighting against the current. Now it was my turn...At this point I have been 4-wheeling for about 30 minutes. Somehow I didn't think that qualified me for crossing a raging river. (Well, it seemed like a raging river to me...) Tom offered to go first and show me how easy it really would be. He gunned the cycle and started into the water. But wait, something wasn't right. The cycle sputtered and then died. Tom jumped off into the waist-deep cold water. So much for this being an 'easy crossing.' That did it. I was enjoying the ride so far, but I knew that ending up in the river would put a real damper on things as far as I was concerned. Tom rolled the cycle back across the stream and after a few tries, he got it going again. Bruce and Mary returned across the river with no mishaps, and we headed in a different (drier) direction. We checked out an old mine, 4-wheeled past Horseshoe Cirque, and enjoyed views of Sheep Mountain. It was a great adventure.
Another day we headed up to an area called Windy Ridge. This ridge, high above the town of Alma, CO, is home to ancient bristlecone pines. Many of these trees are 1,500+ years old. Their spectacular wooden trunks are twisted by relentless winds. These trees are kept alive by thin strips of bark that survive the sandblasting over the ages. In many cases most of the tree looks dead, but there is a small section that is still green and growing. These slow growing trees become living sculptures--a testament to survival and tenacity. There is a sacred feeling in the energy around these ancient sentinels. What things have they seen? What stories could they tell? One can only wonder...
When we left Colorado in early August, we headed back to the Midwest for business and visits with family and friends. We caught up with aunts, uncles and cousins at a family reunion in Wisconsin. We visited my brother, Irwin, near Madison, WI. Then we headed for our old home territory near Minneapolis. We celebrated our son, Chris's 27th birthday by taking Chris and Marc plus their girlfriends, Lynn and Vicki, out for dinner. It was wonderful to be together with all of them. We camped out in our friends, Bob & Kay Kniefel's yard while we visited with many dear friends. (Thanks Bob, Kay, Nick & Ryan!) We got to spend more time with both of our sons, which is always delightful. We even got to see Chris, Lynn and Kaila's new apartment--what a nice home environment they have created. This was also a time of running errands, doing maintenance at our old home, and taking care of business. We also camped out at Barry and Nancy Przybylski's home for a few days and enjoyed catching up with these very special friends. (Thanks Barry, Nancy, Zack & Alex!)
Next we headed to Ely, MN to visit with Tom's family. We parked the APPLE at our cabin on the shore of Shagawa Lake. It was wonderful to go to sleep to the sound of loons calling and to wake to watch the morning mist rising from the surface of the lake. The eagles, ospreys, ducks, and blue herons kept us entertained. Tom's family all came to tour the APPLE (none of them had seen our home before) and joined us several evenings for campfires. We were treated to several meals with family members. Our daughter, Lisa, and granddaughter, Morgan, spent a couple of days with us. Morgan even spent the night with us in the APPLE. She is a delightful bundle of curiosity and energy. Marc and Vicki spent the weekend at the cabin, too, so we got to visit more with them. It was wonderful to catch up with our family.
Our journey continued south to visit with my parents at Black River Falls, WI. They had a great campsite ready for us in their yard. We ate lots of great food, played games, went for walks and enjoyed having time to catch up in a leisurely manner. I even got a chance to do some more 4-wheeling in the back woods. Tom and Dad did a few maintenance jobs on Big Red and the APPLE. One day Tom, Dad and I picked 3 ice cream pails of blueberries--yum, yum! Mom made some delicious jam to send along with us when we left. (Thanks for everything Mom and Dad!)
By the time Labor Day weekend was over, it was time to get on the road again. We enjoyed all our visits, but we were also looking forward to getting back to our normal life and the rhythm of the road. Our journey will continue eastward to Michigan and then up through Ontario and Quebec until we reach Maine later in September.
PLEASE NOTE: We have a new cell phone: (612) 804-2544. We no longer have the 800 #, so please make note of the new number and give us a call sometime!
Kay & Tom
