California Trip

I had a dandy time in California...

"Make new friends but keep the old, some are silver, the others are gold"

Red River, NM

And this post brings our lovely trip to a close. I did'nt take very many pictures in Colorado OR Red River... why do I do that?

I love Red River. I want to move there. I am going to convince Uncle Steve to open a small clinic there and I will go work there in the summer. I'm sure he will quickly agree when he hears about my plan. Yes, he will.

Oh, the infamous ski lift. September camp, like, six years ago. We all rode to the top of the mountain, where it promptly started pouring rain. Hiking in the cold, wet rain and mud. Oh yeah.

We met several for dinner at Timber's Steakhouse.

Carter kept me entertained by cutting, stabbing, and gulping giant pieces of imaginary food. Arms flailing about, animated chomping noises... oh me, he's a funny kid.

This is Leighton and I

The Dr. himself... contemplating my plan of moving there, I'm sure.

More of Colorado

Hanging around the campground included hiking around, volleyball, lots of singing...

... card games and caramel corn...

... and late night trailer parties...

On Friday, several of us went 4 wheeling up to Animas Forks and then over Cinnamon pass and to the American Basin (which is GORGEOUS).

Thank you, James and Lori, for sticking with me when my 4 wheeler died about a million times... and when we missed the turn off that the rest of the group sped through, leaving not so much as a trace of a dust cloud... and when we drove almost all the way to Lake City... and when we were so lost that I entertained thoughts of lying on the ground and pretending that I was hurt so the next car would stop and we could get directions... and when it poured ice-cold rain down on our heads as we sped back to Cinnamon Pass...

Oh, it was great fun... I hit every puddle I could find and the picture doesn't even begin to do justice as to how dirty I was.

And if anyone wants to know how it feels to be 80 years old, go 4 wheeling for nine hours the day before you want to feel that way. Then the next morning, jump out of bed, ready and excited to face the day, and watch and feel as your body keels over in agony and refuses to let you move as a normal person would move for the next two days. It's great fun!

This is Leighton...

And this is Harper... the youngest (and most adorable) humans there.

Silverton and Animas Forks

One day we drove out to Silverton. It's so cool, you drive through the mountains for what seems like forever, round one and there is the little town, looking teeny in a little valley.

It's a really small town. I asked a local how many people stayed there in the winter time and he said about 550. He also told me that from kindergarten up to 12th grade, there were 64 students in the entire school. I then asked whether they had a clinic there and he said that there was a teeny one, but it was only open two days a week because the Doctors had to drive in from a different town. Choose wisely what day you will get hurt or sick.

From there, we drove onward to Animas Forks, an old mining town.

Here we have a polaris that flipped one one of the switchbacks up that mountain. You can barely see it, it's pretty much in the center of the picture. A girl was hurt pretty badly and luckily Uncle Steve was there and rode up the mountain to help. How gallant.

Caroline, Haley, Carolyn, and Ashley

And then it was back to Silverton to shop...

and eat lunch...

More coming...