You Gotta Have a Sense of Humor…

So our little weekend getaway was planned as a stress reliever after Quincy’s illness and death. We were both tense and sad and just needed to get away from it all.

A weekend camping and boating at Grand Lake would do the trick, right? Less than 100 miles from home, this makes for a gorgeous and relaxing retreat.

DEPARTURE: So we packed up the tent trailer, my husband “R” got a new bike rack for the back of said trailer and loaded up our bicycles, and off we went to our pleasant little getaway.

HOWEVER…

The bumper of the tent trailer fell off in the driveway as we were pulling out.

Okaaaaaay…a bit of a false start.

Well we stopped to remove the bikes from the bumper and set it aside. Rearranged camping supplies in the back of the truck so we could stuff the bikes inside. And we were off again. Just a little hiccup. No big deal.

Arrived at the campground right at noon and it was hotter than HECK. That nasty little pine beetle has devastated the forest up there and acre upon acre of forest has been cut down so the pines don’t fall down and kill anybody. So no shade. BUT we had the canopy on the tent trailer so we made our own shade! Just another little hiccup but it won’t quash our fun!

Finally, finally, finally got out on the boat on Sunday morning, ready for a glorious day of sunshine and fishing and sunbathing and reading on the lake! Whoo hoo! Launched the boat, turned over the motor, and…….nothing.

No go.

So my handy husband “R” applied bit of mechanical wizardry and at last—no the motor did not turn over—finally we got it back on the trailer and over to the mechanic.

But we are on vacation so I’m not gonna let this get me down!!! The boat mechanic is on the outskirts of Grand Lake so into town we went for lunch and some window shopping while Cap’n Andy works on the motor! “R” likes to refer to these gift shops as selling geegaws and doodads but I don’t let his negativity get me down. Heck no! I hit every shop including my absolute favorite—Humphrey’s Cabin Fever which has EVERYTHING a person might need (actually what a person might WANT) for decorating their cozy little house! I could drop a fortune in there. But I don’t have a fortune so I wander and lust after each chipmunk-inspired candle, moose and deer area rug, columbine glass plate, quirky handmade windchime, cabin hand towel. Sigh.

Dang, being broke has caused me to develop such restraint. I simply cannot drop $40 on a brightly colored rug even if it does have a black Lab that would be a lovely reminder of our sweet Quincy Boy. Shucks, I simply cannot do it. I pick up two clearance t-shirts for “R” at some cheap touristy store instead. Phooey.

Still no call from Cap’n Andy so we decided to head into Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park just for the heck of it. Wow, the pine beetle infestation has truly damaged this park. It is awful. Mile after mile there are downed trees that are piled up like haystacks. I wonder how long it will take this forest to come back from this catastrophe? Decades? I simply do not know.

Well we continued our drive and tried to see past the brown and dead trees. As we left the park, we were rewarded with a wonderful sight! A female moose (cow) was grazing next to a meandering stream. Automobile drivers were pulling over like crazed paparazzi to get the photo op of the year! And we were one of them!

We gazed at the gorgeous sight and reluctantly went back to the car to head back into town. And after killing a bit more in town, we got a phone call from R’s youngest. His older brother had been in a bicycle crash and was in intensive care. His most severe injury was a ruptured spleen and he had internal bleeding.

We rushed to get the boat from the mechanic, deliver it to storage, pack up the campsite and hit the road. Got to the hospital in Denver about 8:30 in the evening where R’s son was in intensive care. Cracked ribs, cuts and scrapes, and a morphine drip due to the injured spleen. Doctors had to go up his femoral artery to stop the blood flow to the spleen which in turn would stop the flow of blood to his abdominal cavity. But he was stabilized and doing much better by the time we arrived.

ARRIVAL: 11pm and we were finally tucked into our bed and fast asleep both happily contented to have had a relaxing and stress-free weekend away from home.

Except for those blasted hiccups.