The Heart of the Rockies

Salida, CO is nothing short of heaven to me. Spending a day here cradled by the Presidential range, the Sanga de Christo range and the Arkansas River valley is pure bliss. Salida is a real mountain town with great people. There is no flash here, no bling. This is not Aspen or Telluride and I love it for that. Amy and I have so many great memories here and I have to say that 5 days into my trip I really wish that she was here with me. <3

Having a day off to just relax and enjoy the place you are in is grand. I woke up this morning and walked down to the river to have some coffee and oatmeal in the crisp mountain air. Then around 9:30 I headed back to the house. Dave had to come into town to run some errands and he stopped by. The three of us jumped in the courtesy car and headed up to the airport for something that Jerry needed from the plane. Now I need to stop for a minute and explain what a courtesy car is for you non-flyers. Many small airports around the US have a car or two available for pilots who are flying through. That way the pilot does not have to rent a car for just a couple of hours and the airport is likely to sell more fuel because more pilots will be attracted to the airport for the convenience. Well, Salida airport has 3 courtesy cars all of which are stripped down early '90's cop cars. Yeah baby! :) So the three of us are cruising around in this monstrous Chevy Caprice Classic with this great flowing American flag motif decorating both sides. I feel so bad ass!!!

While we were at the airport showing Dave the plane two other gentleman came over to have a look as well. They are partners in a nice Grumman Tiger together an we had a real nice time talking with them. Jerry got a kick out of showing them the remote control for the plane. That's right: Jerry can unlock the plane as we are walking up to it with a little bleep-bleep! Read about the plane here: http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/aircraft/pilot-reports/columbia/congratulations-columbia-400.html One of the guys, Pat, was very enthusiastic and had great energy. He is a student pilot with around 20 hours so far. Learning to fly in this environment is going to make him one hell of a pilot though, that's for sure.

Afterwards, we dropped off Dave and then Jerry and I drove up to Monarch Pass at 11,300 ft. It was beautiful and much cooler than the valley however Jerry realized that driving mountain roads was not for him. He would rather fly over the top! :) Jerry has not been feeling so well for the past few days. He has kind of lost his voice a bit and has some congestion. I told him that I hope the congestion goes away quickly but not to get his voice back to quick; I kind of like him that way! :) He opted to head back to the house and rest up for the afternoon. It worked out well because Dave and I were able to head out over Poncha Pass to their place in the San Louis Valley. Shannon and Dave have 115 incredible acres up on the side of a mountain with views that deify belief. They are truly living their dream.

Dave and I had the opportunity to walk the property for a couple of hours and share some photos and stories. He is a great brother-in-law and I feel luck to know him. Shannon came home full of energy and life as always; they are such a beautiful couple. We were able to catch up for about thirty minutes before I had to scoot to get ready for tomorrow.

As I drove away the sun was getting low in the sky and casting long shadows across the rippling land and lighting up the mountain tops with an ethereal glow. I thought about how blessed I feel in this life to have a deep, thriving love with my wife of 12 years, wonderful friends and family, and the opportunity to travel this world and pursue my dreams. It is all about choices. There are many things that I don't have in this life but in love and experience I am rich beyond measure.

Tomorrow we depart at 7am for Telluride. Then we fly down into Monument Valley, UT and over Lake Mead and Glen Canyon and then up to Bryce Canyon, UT for a few days. What bliss...