cash, a hose, nose spray, and the booby prize

"I'm done with meetings after tomorrow, so if you still want to hike the west peak...", Chaco calls and says on Tuesday.

Several weeks ago, we talked about planning a hike up the West Spanish Peak in Southern Colorado, near my hometown.  The mountain is one half of the Spanish Peaks, named Huajatolla (/wɑːhɑːˈtɔɪə/ wah-hah-TOY-ə)  by the Ute Indians, meaning "breasts of the earth", for obvious reasons.

The West Peak is the more voluptuous of the two - as we know, no pair is  perfectly symmetrical - and nearly 1,000 feet higher in elevation than the East Boob... er... Peak.  It tops out at 13,626', just missing the list of Colorado 14ers.

It so happened that my schedule was also free for the remainder of the week.  The stars thusly aligned, we set out for the boobs.

It was about a 5-hour drive to the trailhead, so we set out Wednesday afternoon to camp overnight and get a Thursday morning start on the mountain.  The drive went pretty smoothly (not mentioning the golf ball-sized hail in Colorado Springs), but we arrived at the trailhead and realized the fee to camp was cash only.  That's when I realized I'd forgotten to bring some cash.  Same for Chaco because who carries cash??

The overnight fee was $12, and I miraculously found $13 in my wallet - one dollar to spare!  The next morning, we readied.  We each wore hydration packs - backpacks that include hydration bladders for easy sipping.  Chaco's pack had a good supply of water, but alas, he'd forgotten the hose that gets the water to his mouth.  Slight omission, but I'd brought some bottled water, so we grabbed a coupla those.  We'd need water for Chaco's dog, Ella, too.

With that, we set out.  About a mile or two into it, I realized I'd forgotten to snort my Flonase for my allergies.  My allergies give the annoying symptom of messing with my ears, which affects my balance, despite my allergy injections (which I'm starting to think were a waste of $$).  The Flonase helps keep me sober... if I actually USE it.  OH WELL, what's a little balance issue while climbing a mountain?






Looking toward the summit.  Chaco's backpack with everything but a hose.














Just before things got really steep and rocky, me without my Flonase

View of the east boob as seen from the summit of the west boob.

Then we had to get back down.














All in all, it was a beautiful day and satisfying trip.  We didn't camp illegally or succumb to dehydration, and I managed to stay upright the entire time. 


It's not an adventure unless something goes wrong, right? 

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
3. Write about a time you forgot something important

in search of a crack ho(e)

We're slowly getting our house up to our liking.  Of course, as most homeowners know, this is a never ending saga.  The house was a rental for years before we bought it in March, so it's been a little neglected.  We have a list of improvements to be made and have checked a few off.

Note:  my office ceiling still has a cat portal.

There are some big jobs that are best left to the professionals, and other little things we can tackle.  One thing I don't like is little weeds growing up through the cracks in the driveway.  How is it I get those, but can't keep a houseplant alive??

I wanted to find a tool to remove the weeds from the driveway cracks.  What term to search on?  The first thing that came to mind is "crack hoe", but then I figured that's probably not what they're called.  Yup, "crack weeder" or "concrete weeder" or the combo "concrete crack weeder" work.  

I would love to just get all the improvements done in one big swoop of activity.  Patience is not one of my virtues.  

Ever watch HGTV?  We don't have cable or dish or anything more than network TV, but it seems like whenever I've been in a waiting area with a TV, HGTV was on.  Good thing Meego had braces or I would never have learned the many home improvement methods from the orthodontist office.  But who are these people with unlimited budgets?  I saw this meme and had to nod in recognition

Yesterday, I worked my last shift at the hospital before my voluntary 2-week furlough kicks in.  I hope to get a few projects completed during the downtime, but also have some adventure time planned, so projects will have to wait.

The driveway will be a quick task.  I just need that crack ho.

pets and peeves

"

Friday afternoon, Meego and one of his housemates came by to pick up Meego's critter tank:  a big glass enclosure with air holes and screened cover.  It is the former home of his snake, Reese, who escaped to the wilds several years ago.  I think it's about a 75-gallon.

The guys can't have pets in their rented house, but Meego said the landlords gave them the go ahead for their herpetology endeavors.  

"Don't know if/ when we'll get anything.  We just want to see if there's a good spot in the house for the tank", he says.

Then last evening, he sent this photo.

Well, that didn't take long.  It's an as yet unnamed uromastyx. 

As I was texting back and forth about the tank and the lizard, I was remembering what easy and entertaining pets reptiles make.  We used to go to maybe a couple of reptile shows a year.  In fact, we acquired the California King Snake, Reese at one of them.

We'd usually see Reese's breeder at subsequent shows, and he'd remember us and ask about Reese.  After The Great Escape, we avoided that breeder at shows...

So this morning, I'm sitting here in my back "office".  The ceiling consists of those crappy tiles I remember from old high school classrooms.

In the meantime, the cat had managed to climb up into the ceiling.  I could hear him rummaging around, and I'm thinking he could come crashing through at any minute.

...which is exactly what he did a few minutes ago.

Napolion the cat is fine, landing on the carpeted floor, feet first of course.

And actually, I was planning to remove those ugly tiles anyway - going for the "industrial" look.

This was probably Napolion's way of getting the show on the road.

In the meantime, reptiles as pets are earning points.

what's cookin'?

"Will this be where I get canned?", I wondered as our staff meeting began.

We have monthly staff meetings for my little part-time hospital cafe job, but yesterday was the first one since mid-March.  We've been on reduced staffing because of COVID restrictions to our biz, and in fact, the job I was initially hired for has pretty much been eliminated.

One of my responsibilities, for instance, was preparing the salad bars for our cafe and for the doctor's lounge.  Yeah, salad bars.  Remember those?  No longer a thing.  I'm thinking salad bars won't be back anytime soon.

Instead of letting me go, however, the managers included me in the rotation of other essential workers where we do a little of everything as needed.  It's productive, I enjoy the variety, and it's nicely added to my value.  But management would certainly be justified in letting me go.

Instead, it was just a "normal" staff meeting.  In fact, I received high praise for my flexibility.  On the outside, I was a bit, "Aw, shucks", while keeping my real thoughts - "c'mon guys, this isn't rocket science" - to myself.  I do enjoy the place and like the people I work with, though, so I'm grateful they've kept me around.  That said, I'll soon be taking my voluntary 2-week furlough, another thing we've been rotating through.  

I'm glad I have my tutoring, which hasn't really slowed because of COVID.  If anything, there are more opportunities.  I asked one of my  high schoolers what her district's plan is for the upcoming school year.

"Two classes per day.  Three hours each.  Everyone wears a mask.  Temperatures will be taken every day upon arrival".

She attends a pretty large school.  Taking everyone's temperature every day? That will be time consuming.  

Three-hour classes?  I'm trying to imagine studying one subject for three hours straight.  That sounds like a real challenge for the teachers - planning 3-hour lessons and keeping the class engaged.  More power to 'em.

In the meantime, this virus has taught me a few things.  I now know a little about how viruses work and herd immunity in addition to expanding my culinary skills.

And speaking of culinary skills, did y'all see Martha Stewart and her "thirst trap"?  Along with Martha, it was the first time I'd heard of that term.

The headline I clicked said something about Martha Stewart's stunning photo at her pool.  She does look good, particularly for a 78-year-old.

But I wanted to see Martha's pool.   Darn clickbait.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

2. We’re still dealing with Covid…how are you, has anything changed since you last covered this topic?

now and then

I heard about this website:  FutureMe.org.  You can write a letter to your future self and set the delivery date.  A year from now?  Ten years?  Next week?

The site includes a few letters others have written and had delivered recently, which I found fun to read, and I wondered how things had turned out for those people.  I thought about writing one, but then thought, *DUH*, I have a freaking blog!

I started blogging in 2004.  We had just moved and I didn't know many people in the new city.  The kids were little, so starting a blog was a nice diversion and way to spend time with adults.  

Naturally, much has changed since then.  Now, I'm once again in a new city, empty nested and older and much much wiser.

The family got together yesterday for Wolfgang's recent 25th birthday.  Got in some hiking and eating and card gaming until breaking up the festivities.  We hit up Horsetooth open space - yes that tooth has really made a name for itself around here - meaning to check out Horsetooth Falls.

We got to our destination and, alas, there were no falls.  That's my crew down there, wondering, "where's the water?"

Being a Saturday, several other hikers were there and wondering the same thing.  I'm not sure why there was not even a trickle of water or any moistness to the ground.  It seemed to us that maybe it's been purposely diverted upstream somewhere. 

Either way, it was a good time in Mother Nature, similar to other such times.  My first blog profile pic was from 2005...

... where it seemed that, clearly, no one was particularly interested in whatever I was pointing out.

Fifteen years later, just smile and wave.


Ever write a letter to your future self?  Want to?  Scared to?

want some?

I was 20 years old and had recently moved from my small town to the big city. I worked the front desk of a luxury hotel in downtown Denver and was about to start my morning shift.  Walking to the hotel restaurant to fill my coffee mug, I took in the elegant surroundings - a far cry from my "sheriff" days in the corral.

As I filled my mug with hot steaming caffeinated goodness, I chatted with one of the waitstaff, all dapper in his uniform - black pants and vest, crisp white shirt and tie.  He asked if I wanted anything from the kitchen.

"Nah, thanks", I replied, "just need this coffee, heh"

"Want some spid?", he then asked as he brought his thumb and forefinger to the lapel pocket of his vest.

"What?", I asked, thinking I didn't hear correctly.  Spid?

"Some spid?", he said again with his bit of Spanish accent.

Oh... SPEED.  He was offering me drugs.

"Ah, yeah, no thanks... just the coffee" *smile*

I thought of another coworker from my previous sheriff hotel.  He worked graveyard maintenance shift and told me how he'd do speed before coming in, get all his work done in about an hour, then have the rest of the time for whatever.  Yeah, okay.

I never had the urge, although I did my fair share of underage drinking and dabbled a bit in weed before it was legal.  But it was really more of wanting to see what the hype was about.  Okay, been there and done it.  A coworker at another hotel I worked at suggested she get us some cocaine to do after our shift sometime.  Never happened due to lack of enthusiasm.

(Now I'm wondering if hotel staffs are rampant with drugs, or was it just where I happened to be working when I was of drug-introduction age?)

I've read that genetics factor strongly in a person's vulnerability to addiction.  With that in mind, I'd say I have little to no genetic disposition, although, yeah, I confess to being addicted to caffeine.  Still. 😏

I recently read the book, "Reborn on the Run" by Catra Corbett.  It was suggested from the local running club I joined before COVID, to get discounts on race entries and other events, meet some locals, volunteer, etc.  Yeah, all that stuff's pretty much cancelled, but hey, they have a newsletter!  And they read stuff!


Anyway, Catra's book is a memoir of her becoming an ultrarunner to overcome her addiction to meth, or spid.

It was an engaging enough story as she's, literally and figuratively, quite a colorful character - full of tattoos and piercings, likes to wear loud colors.  In her previous drug life, she'd been a big time goth.

I have no interest in ultrarunning and no need for overcoming addiction(s), but was interested to hear one person's point of view.  She claims to not be addicted to running, but I wonder after reading.  She also mentions that there are a lot of reformed addicts in the ultrarunning world.  As I read, I felt that she is predisposed to addiction.  If it wasn't drugs then ultrarunning, it would be something else.


It's commonly advised  that, to effectively quit a bad habit or addiction, replace it with something else.  Getting to a point of tripping on meth almost constantly required an obsessive replacement.  She does admit to being "obsessed" with running.

The book is neither steps to overcoming addiction nor a guide to becoming an ultrarunner.  It's Catra's story, and I give it 3 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐★★ because it's a story deserving of a book.  But I had to gripe a bit about the writing.  Awkward sentence structures, poor wording, and full on grammar errors show up throughout.   I don't know what her co-author contributed and honestly wondered if maybe the wrong draft got sent to the publisher.

What are you reading?  Addicted to anything?

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
2. Write about the last book you read.

queen me already

Welp, I'm scheduled to work tomorrow at the hospital.  Remember I had a long stretch of days off?  Hoping to do something fun and/or productive with the extra time?  Reflection time...

It wasn't exactly nine days of "FREEEEEDOMMMM!" (cue William Wallace).  I had a couple dentist appointments and a coupla tutor sessions, so I did get a foothold on some dental work I was so looking forward to.  Got all inspected with the new dentist, and as we pondered a solution for my missing big honking tooth, he also discovered a tooth ready for a crown.  

Okay, fine, and now that's IT!  This will make my third crown - not counting the two front crowns - and according to my friend's crown theory, three is it for me.  Her theory is that women lose a tooth for every kid they have, based on all the calcium those babies take from us.  She had three kids and three crowns.  I have three kids, this'll make crown number three.  DONE!  

The front ones don't count because that was skateboarding trauma drama that happened before I was even of child bearing years.  

And speaking of teeth and time-off adventures, I finally got around to climbing that Horsetooth rock here in sunny Fort Collins.  

Horsetooth rock sits atop a foothill, aptly named Horsetooth mountain, overlooking Horsetooth reservoir and the city of Fort Collins.  Yes the namers really liked that Horsetooth title.  Gotta say, it does resemble a horse molar

I'd hiked the trail once before during a visit with Wolfgang and Meego a couple of years ago, but we stopped short of climbing the rock itself.  

So today, with a clear schedule, I headed to the tooth.  I knew I didn't want to go on a weekend because the trailhead gets packed, even if these COVID times.  ACK, I needed the nature fix, and the day was perfect!

I couldn't really remember how far it was from that one earlier trip since I was with the three guys and we were chatting the whole way.  Seemed like it took us a while, anyway, but I found myself at the base of the tooth more quickly than I'd remembered.

Once there, I realized it's not like mountain tops I've been on as those summits are relatively vast and can easily accommodate many hikers.  But I was reminded that this isn't really a "summit", but rather a rock formation.  

I got to the top with a bit of scrambling, thankful that I'd worn my mountain goat shoes.

Once there, I again realized there wasn't a whole lot of room to move around.  Add my persistent acrophobia, and well, I pretty much spent my whole "summit" time sitting on my butt.

This was a solo outing for me, but I knew the trail is popular and I wouldn't be all alone to be scarfed up by a mountain lion or something.  And yes, there were a handful of other friendly hikers but not so much as to feel at all crowded.

Spotted these lovebirds a bit above me on the toothtop.

Looking back, I suppose my mini impromptu vacation wasn't a total bust.  Got caught up on a few things in addition to the teeth adventures and didn't blow a bunch of money.  

Yet.