My brother moved to Colorado more than eighteen months ago, and I hadn't seen him since before he moved. As it turns out, I had leave I was going to lose, and mileage for a ticket. So I thought I might go see my brother, and my friends in Tucson from the Mexico trip. A couple of years ago I started to take my birthday off. (By the way, I highly recommend this!) Strangely, the dates that worked for everyone coincided with the week of my birthday, so I took the week off instead.
Colorado was really nice. I've been there several times, but not to this area just outside of Denver. Todd and Sarah love it there. They have a dog, and just got a puppy the day I flew out. We spent some time relaxing and enjoying the dogs. It's been a while since I had dogs in my home, and this was a treat. We also got to a hockey playoff game, which is always great, even if the home team doesn't win.
Of course, I forgot my camera on this trip. But Cathy gamely brought hers along as we explored Tucson. Growing up in New England, I know very little about deserts, but I really do like it there.
So on my birthday, I went to the Desert Museum, which is just fabulous. We saw this barn owl,
and a Harris hawk. And we met a little king snake. I'm not a snake person, but that one was OK. We wandered among the ecosystems, and saw javelinas. We were buzzed by hummingbirds. And we saw hundreds and hundreds of cacti and succulents and amazing desert flora. And, since it was my birthday, I was trying to be good about pictures. (Of course, Cathy didn't know this at the time.) As many of you know, I really dislike having my photo taken, so I guess the answer is, wait for my birthday!
[by a rare crested saguaro outside the museum]
We drove back through Saguaro National Park, which is among the greatest sites I've seen.
Then that evening Cathy and Dan hosted a small dinner party at their incredible home as a reunion from our trip. Now, I didn't tell anyone it was my birthday, as I thought there was already enough going on, with staying with friends and having a dinner party. But my friends in Washington and my family didn't agree, so I had decided to tell everyone after the dinner party. Of course, that didn't work either, as Cathy figured it out with my phone ringing all day! It was great catching up.
Friday we spent touring around, having lunch at a wonderful local spot called El Charro, well known for its dried beef, called carne seca. Very tasty, I must admit.
We went to the gym, visited a photography exhibit, wandered downtown, and just relaxed. On the trip I also saw my first wild coyotes, rattlesnakes, and jackrabbits!
Then, on Saturday morning, I missed my flight home. Given that I wasn't in the accident we witnessed, from four cars back, having a late and round-about trip was perfectly fine. A tractor-trailer lost control and jack-knifed on the highway, crossing the median and crushing two oncoming cars on the other side. It was scary. Seems like everyone will be OK.
So thanks again to Todd and Sarah, and to Cathy and Dan, for a good birthday while away from home!
No comments:
Post a Comment