CHRONICLE: Long Day After a Long Week

Today has been a catch up day for me. I took Malcolm to our daycare lady for a few hours. Then I did a dump run for us and Lyss's boss. I came home, ate a quick bite (grilled cheese with ham or turkey- hard to tell what it was), and grabbed a load of laundry. When this is all finished up, I'm going to grab Malcolm and go home to do done more house work. At least I won't be stuck wearing one pair of pants and undershirts to work this coming week.

Dash has been my companion through all of this, and while I ferrel guilty for boring him, I'm very grateful that he's been here, loyal and sweet. I guess that's the advantage of dogs over cats. All they want to do is love on you when they can. Cats want you to live on them.

Otherwise, we're planning a trip to Wally's cabin tomorrow night. We're going to try to see if this solar flare that happened yesterday generates an aurora worth staying up for. Lyss and I caught one the other night, and it was pretty magnificent, even if relatively minor. The most remarkable part for me was that it actually moves as fast as they show on TV. I always thought they played it back with time lapse to make it more dramatic. Pretty cool.

Here's Dash for you guys, looking happy as always.

The Foggy Adventure

Monkey and I had planned to meet at 9:30, but I was running a little late. There was something so comforting about cozy cuddling and staying in bed that I could have laid there, awake, for hours and hours and not shown a hint of discontent. Sigh... the cold autumn fog was calling, and I had to pick up the phone.

I got to Monkey's around 9:45, and we left for our destination, Mt. Falcon Park, a Jefferson County Open Space. The weather the whole way up was foggy and wet, but no matter. It was still a stellar trip.

We got to the park around 10:30 and began our hike into a creep and surreal wilderness. I say wilderness loosely: I've been here once before and it was very crowded, but this time, the sissies stayed home, and the occasional mountain biker or jogger would appear out of the fog and politely pass us.

Monkey and I checked out the ruins of the old house built up there, and then we walked up to the Eagle Eye viewing station, and the view of a sea of white was very humbling. One could only imagine what it would look like on a clear day. My guess is that you could see all the way to Denver.

We found our way through the fog back to the car, and left around noon for the Bucksnort Saloon. Monkey had spoken about this place before, and now it was time to check it out. We drove through Conifer and down to Shaffer's Crossing, turned left, and went down a very small road towards pine. Six and a half miles later, we happened accross this century year old wood building called the Bucksnort.

This Saloon was a sweet gem of old times. The floor boards were wood and had holes in them. The tables were covered with etched graffiti. The walls had dollar bills and foreign notes stapled to them, all personalized with someone's name or something offensive. The bar was tilted a good ten degrees. The service was charming. A sign hung on the wall that said "If you're in a hurry, go to McDonald's." Then the food came.

I had a burger that tasted as home-made as my dad's burgers. Monkey and I had potato skins with guac, bacon, ground beef, red chili... so good. Chips and beans and a cold beer on a cold day. We ate in a dining room with a fire place in the middle, providing the only heat in this relic of a place.

All in all, a great day, we got back in Denver mid-afternoon. I had a story to tell. Monkey had a full belly. It was a foggy adventure.