Paradise

I left last Thursday for a long weekend with great friends in paradise.  The days were full of warming laughter and camaraderie; just the things needed to feed the soul.   More to come on that!  Those few days away transformed the homestead.  The trees are bursting with colorful flowers and baby leaves, the garden seeds have all broken through their warm cocoons, and everything feels like spring..... those few months of Wisconsin's paradise have begun.

Bucket List

Colorado was wonderful. This time the hiking experience was different. All girlfriends, no kiddos to herd, and the season is only barely beginning. Since it is so early, we felt like we had the
Rocky Mountain National Park almost completely to ourselves.

Many of the ranger stations are still closed so we were faced with 'winter parking', which basically means that you have to hike in further to get to some of the trail heads. Those of us who were lucky enough to hike here last summer, wanted to repeat Calypso Cascades. It was as amazing as we remembered, only longer (with the above mentioned hike in), and we had to navigate the last patches of snow that the summer had long melted by the time of our arrival last year.

I found myself in a state of peace and utter awe, the kind that, I'm convinced, only comes from seeing nature in one of its truest forms. As we headed out, a young couple with full packs was just headed in. They were obviously prepared for overnight camping. I found myself trying to picture a night like that, where there's absolutely no one around, except the mountain and it's natural inhabitants. A true experience in the spirit of those who came before. That may have to be one for the bucket list.