Breckenridge, Colorado knows how to celebrate Independence Day. I don't think I've ever had such a great time on the 4th of July. We started the day at our realtor's office on Main St. Each year, she hosts a parade party and invites all of her clients. She mixed up a huge batch of Bloody Marys and made sure that everyone had a cup in hand, and she placed seating right out at the curb and reserved all of the spaces for us. Breckenridge's parade is pretty big, and it seems that just about anyone can enter it. I especially liked the wedding float. A couple got married last night, and they stayed up all night with their bridal party and were in the parade this morning. Everyone was still in tuxes and gowns, and the bride and groom were pulled behind a truck in a trailer made up to look like a canopy bed. A few men were dressed up in 1860s clothing and staged a shoot-out in front of one of the old saloons. And everyone threw candy. We had a great time helping three kids grab up all the goodies.
We've never stayed here for 4th of July. We either vacate for our long-term renters by now or we just spend more time in the early part of June. I think after the parade today and the fireworks tonight, though, we're going to make this part of our annual trip. I really didn't have a lot of hope for the Breckenridge fireworks display. I don't know why I didn't, but I just assumed it would be small. We left the condo at 8:00 and headed downtown. The National Repertory Orchestra was giving a free concert before the fireworks, so we parked right near where the fireworks were supposed to go off, and we walked to the Riverwalk Center to catch a little of the NRO's performance. It gets pretty cool in Breckenridge at night, normally falling into the low 40s, so we were pretty chilled when we got back to the car. We parked in the perfect position to watch the fireworks from the car, and when they started, I knew I was completely wrong about what kind of show they could put on. It really was spectacular. There were moments when the night sky was so lit up with sparkling golden showers that it was as if every star was visible. Absolutely stunning, and a perfect end to a really good day.
A pretty impressive storm rolled in last night. I don't recall ever seeing lightning out here in years past, but I've never really seen much rain here, for that matter. I saw in the newspaper this morning that we were due for another set of afternoon thunderstorms, but that didn't seem to provide enough motivation for us to get moving and out sooner.
I'll just have to be perfectly honest. I had a panic attack today. It wasn't the sky to ground lightning splitting the scene in front of us as we drove. It wasn't the hail that beat on my car while we sat in the parking area waiting for the storm to pass or what seemed to be a thin layer of ice covering all of the car windows. The attack was a direct result of the treacherous 9.6 mile drive up to our hike for the day.
Rich is not a careful driver. I had the horrible luck of sitting in the passenger seat as he drove way too fast (15 mph) up a gravel road that was frequently only wide enough for one car and had sharp turns that eliminated all ability to see if a car was coming toward us. On several occasions, the tires on the right side of the car were no more than a foot away from a 2,000 ft. drop off. Rich kept claiming that if we were run off of the road, the Aspens would stop the car. The Aspens! These are not Sequoias or Redwoods. Spindly, pathetic (although beautiful) Aspens. Bah. The 9.6 miles might as well have been 175 miles. It just never seemed like we were going to get there. And then I started to get really sick, which is the lovely side-effect of the panic attack. And I can't be convinced that my hair wasn't very near igniting. When we finally got to the parking area and the hail started coming down, I had to decide if I could calm myself down or if I should just rush out of the car into the downpour to evacuate everything I've eaten in the last few days. Fear of the lightning convinced me to calm down.
Once the storm passed over, I was feeling worn out from all of my emotional exertion, but I was ready for a good hike. Our goal was to make the saddle between Mt. Boreas and Mt. Baldy. The ultimate elevation was 12,176 ft. The wildflowers were magnificent. I can't count how many varieties we saw, and the best part was that most of the wildflowers grow right along a mountain stream. The trail keeps to the stream then entire way. So we had the soothing sound of the water and the stunning flowers to keep our minds off of our pounding hearts. Each time we turned around, we caught our breath while gazing at the mountain panorama. Worth the drive up? I'm still not sure.
I had this great idea that we would do this hike today and then another day return to summit Mt. Baldy at 13,600+ feet another day. I'm sure I could make the summit without too much difficulty, but how am I going to get up that horrible road again?
No hiking today. No wildflower viewing today. No crepes. Instead, I spent 5 hours in the car, making the roundtrip from Breckenridge to Denver. It's not that the trip is 2 1/2 hours each way. I was able to stop at Whole Foods in Denver before I headed to the airport. After departing the airport, we stopped at Pets Mart to pick up more munchies for the dogs. So the trip is actually 1 1/2 hours each way. I just had some detours along the way.
If you noted the pronoun shift from singular to plural, you may guess the reason for my title for today's post and why such a long day in the car was more than worth it. I picked up Rich (my sweetie) finally. He's spending the rest of the time out here with us. When we're ready to go back to Michigan, we'll be dropping him off at the airport and continuing on our cross-country drive. Until that sad day, I'm so excited to have him with me again.
Tomorrow will be a tough day for me. He's my best friend. I absolutely love doing things with him. So I'll want to dive right into hiking with him; I've even planned for us to go kayaking one day. But tomorrow will require restraint, yet another attribute I have in short supply. He's been traveling since 4:30 this morning, so he's really tired. Add altitude to that, and you have a guy who probably needs to take it easy tomorrow. So another opportunity for me to try and develop more palatable personality traits. Patience-blah. Selflessness-yuck. Generosity-pshaw.
Okay, lots of growing to do still...
