Traveling in the Westtt

I left the Black Hills behind and am being slowing drawn back to the work of the East Coast.  Luckily, I can control the timing a bit and we headed south and WEST  before we'll head east.  It's been such a joy to have my wonderful friend, Donna Baker, with me.  She has never been west except to fly over to Arizona or California.  It's like having a kid in a candy store or a coma patient wake up. Well, that's an exaggeration but she has been so amazed at the beauty and difference of South Dakota.

I remarked how grateful I am to have someone to share in this and she asked me who else knew the me in this context, this western life.  My lifelong friends, Rick and Jan Hamme, came and shared in Bill's memorial time and they understand a bit.  My family of course- who can't understand why I'd live in the East.  But few others understand me in the fabric of the west and in my core, I'm a western chick.

I see the colors I have chosen for my house in the vast high desert landscape as we drive through Wyoming. I revel in the big sky and ever changing cloud formations.  I marvel at people who live in such splendid isolation and wonder at their stories.  I rejoice in long open, empty stretches of road to explore. I love the west.

Now we are back in civilized West. We're staying a night in Fort Collins- routinely voted one of America's top small cities or large towns to live in or retire in. It's the home of Colorado State University and it's hip and cool (although every Coloradoan would quickly say it's not as hip as Boulder and the University of Colorado).  It's family friendly, it has a cool walking court with artisan shops and a fountain.

And it was my home town for high school and college. I point out the church where we were married, my high school (converted to a performing arts center for the university across the street), my grandmother's small house. It's like coming home but not. I was a different person here all those years ago.  There has been tremendous growth in my home town - all those people who read the articles about where the best places to live decided to move here.  The downtown was scary when I was in high school and now it's thriving and busy.  There's so much to see and yet, I'm nervous about seeing something, someone from the past.  Maybe it's better to leave the memory solid and move on.

So we'll head a little more west and a little more south and we'll explore safer terrain. The neighboring cute town of Loveland, the artsy Estes Park at the edge of the Rocky Mountain National Park, maybe some downtown Denver.  Tonight, I'll cocoon at my beloved sister's place south of Denver. Safe. With someone who knows me. Me, that western chick.