colorado

I’m back in London after a three week luxury holiday at my parents’ place with just a little over a week to go before work starts again. Paul came over for the first two weeks, and I stayed for an extra week of pampering and indulgence. Staying at Mom and Dad’s is better than a five star resort because it comes with a choice of cars, a stocked fridge, a beautiful garden, and cocktail hour with people with whom we don’t have to engage in small talk but can have lively conversation instead. This was Paul’s first trip to Colorado in the summer, and the heat wave gave him a good taste of high plains desert living.

Just one of our automobile choices. This is Dad's latest toy.

First on the list was flying lessons for Paul. He did an hour in a Cessna and then an hour in Dad’s Bonanza. It was gratifying to see him return from his flights with his shirt soaked in sweat because this is how I return from every flight lesson. It’s exciting and wonderful, but intense. I opted out of lessons for this trip as my pregnancy has me feeling a strong aversion to stress, even if it’s good.


On 2 July, Paul and I ran some errands around Fort Collins, including a stop at the municipal building to get married. The clerk was friendly and the whole process blissfully easy. Within an hour, we were married and had the license to prove it. We looked into getting married in the UK but found too many obstacles. The wedding will be in four or five years, in Cape Town, so start planning now. We’ll let you know well in advance.


Dad flew the four of us to Yellowstone for two nights. When I was there two summers ago in July, I woke every morning to frost on the ground. Not this time. The heat was surprising, especially bad when added to the steam around the thermal stuff. That just gave us an excuse to indulge in ice cream. We watched a small black bear stroll out of the woods, across the parking lot, and to some berry bushes near Tower Falls. It wasn’t interested in the people at all.

The park is majestic and glorious. We visited most of the highlights in our short stay, and I look forward to going back for more.



Our next stop was the Eagle’s Roost, my parents’ cabin in the Colorado Rockies. Finally, I was home, and I did all the things that I love: fishing, napping, sitting on the porch, fishing, driving around the association looking for wild life in the ‘Thang,’ walking, sitting on the porch… Of all the places I’ve traveled, this is the one place I want to re-visit again and again. We were able to escape from the extreme heat. Mom and Dad still spend most of their time up there working, and it shows. The flowers are artfully arranged on the hillside, the grass is kept cut for easier walking, and the trail along the creek is well covered in wood chips and free of overhanging limbs. We stayed four nights, and then went up for one more night after Paul returned to the UK.




Dad surprised us with a train ride through the Royal Gorge. We flew down to Canyon City, rode the train up and back down the Gorge, and were back in Fort Collins by 15:00. What a life!