 So they finally called... I met
Ola, Ewelina and Aneta in Garden of Gods by Colorado Springs. Now, a week
later, after I have ben wondering for 4 days why they didn't call -- they
finally called, and took me by a total surprise. Party Saturday -- tomorrow.
And it was good, real good with a highlight activity being "Name
that Movie".
On Sunday, Ola, Aneta and I headed
south in search of pictures. It was a beautiful sunny but windy 55 F day.
Within 10 miles we were in the "Expensive Homes just south of Denver"
area. Ola's digital camera was out long before then, and she has been
taking pictures out of a moving car already. With my many "interesting"
parking jobs I encouraged her to do the necessary footwork -- pictures
made from moving cars look like "pictures made from moving cars"
-- 90% of the time they suck. At PRETTY VIEW we stopped at a great spot
for pictures of each other (but my award winning
pictures will not be here for a while). Sometimes there was a place
to park, but sometimes there wasn't. Stopping in a one lane road and putting
flashers on was ok -- very little traffic, low speed limit, andddd no
cops. At PRAIRIE DOG there was no place or time to park. A prairie dog
was hopping and looking cute, and it was it was either stop the car NOW
or he's gone. He ran around and posed a few times on his back feet.
Afterwards we headed for Sedalia
and beyond -- the real plan of the day. But not before stopping to gas
up at the edge of civilization -- just in case we go far. We stopped every
few miles because on this beautiful day everything looked great. The 3pm
sun was just perfect for photographing pretty houses, horses, rolling
landscape and ever changing forrest. Our road rised from 6,000ft Sedalia
up to almost 8,000ft at SEA CAR -- our farthest point. Now was the time
for canned soup and tea. I got a chance to show off my sexy tiny stove.
After a few minutes, however, it ran out of fuel, and the backup propane
canister was empty. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. We parked in a big semi-circular
area right by the dirt road, and there was a skeleton of an old fireplace,
and lots of prepared wood -- awwww how nice, someone prepared all this
for us. Only 30 matches later our low-rider fire was born. "I......
created........FIIIIIIIIREEE". It had to be a low-rider because the
wind had an open access to us, which later lead to smoke smelling everything
(a lovely, memorable smell by the way).
You take the paper wrapping off
the can, pop the lid open, place the can into a hot area, preferably not
in contact with direct flames. Easy. When it starts boiling over, it's
done. Wellllll, it was boiling over. I thought. So the cold soup was mine,
but I've had colder. Ola just returned from her photo hunt, probably hoping
for a hot waiting tea, but there was none. At least we had 2 cans of soup.
Another popped open lid, and a more direct heat exposure spot -- and 7
minutes later -- a bubbling soup. Is it hot, is it done? It was! I only
heard, because I was stuck with my cold one. Afterwards I had an idea
-- clean the cans, and use them to boil water. Hopefully the ashes won't
get in. It worked! We had tea. Wooooohooooo. Bigelow Cozy Chamonille,
a "relaxing Herb Tea so delicate and soothing". I enjoyed my
forever-owned, rarely used half-height stainless-steel mug referred to
widely as a "Sierra Cup". Mmmmmm...mmmm
Somehow it was 8pm after our
short hike across the little fence, and uphill. Aneta hasn't been home
since before the party and her city shoes made it challenging for the
cracking branches and log-hopping during our walk without a trail. But
she survived, her smile never leaving her face. Accept somewhere in between
pictures 200 and 250, when she wanted to retire from modelling for the
day. And then when she wasn't looking, both Ola and me took a picture
of her at the same time.
On the way back, Aneta again
played the daughter role in the back seat. We stopped to watch deer right
by the road. Just after the dirt road ended, Ola took the wheel and brought
us to Denver without triggering any police chases. We only passed one
cop on a stakeout, but we weren't his fish of the day.
The day's driving statistics were:
| Distance: 94.2 miles |
|
Moving Time: 2h 43min |
|
Stopped Time: 3h 49min |
|
Moving Average: 34.6mph |
.........all pictures here are from Ola's digital camera ..... mostly
by Ola .......
.......my pictures..........in September .........
# pursue passion #
Notes:
• Aneta is pronounced like "Anetta"
• Thanks Ola ... Me page finally has
some updates!!!! |
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