Getaway

Headed to the mountains for a short getaway. Nothing like letting everything slow down and get quiet in the middle of a beautiful place to feel recharged.

I made it to Victor a bit earlier than planned and walked about town until Mom and Dad appeared, having been delayed by a chat with one of their neighbors. 

 

Lunch at the Fortune Club included homemade cherry pie. 

After lunch we stopped in at the Trading Post and then drove over to the cemetery at Cripple Creek and spent some time roaming. I've got loads of photos to work on from that excursion as well as the cemetery in Victor we checked out the next day. (Blog post to follow.) 

We also ran into the Cripple Creek donkeys on our way back!

My freckled ass decided to be camera shy ;)

But not this guy!

We got back to Mom and Dad's later that afternoon. They've put in a new floor where the older camper once was and until they get the walls finished, it looks for all the world like a little stage.

We hiked about, collected some more quartz for my deck, and chatted with one of the neighbors about the slow progress of getting the well permit in place to start drilling. 

I thought my hat shaded me pretty well until late that afternoon when I realized it wasn't quite as good as all that. Note the circle where the locket had been laying all day.

At the Trading Post Dad bought me a couple of bird pins for my hat as well as this awesome little hand-carved chipmunk whistle.

 

After dinner, we played dominoes and Yahtzee and listened to the rain.

Mom went over to the window to close it to keep the rain out and spotted the rainbow. 

I don't think I've ever seen one that "ended" so close by.

After the rain:

Since it was just me and only for one night, it seemed like too much trouble to set up the tent, so I bunked in the camper with the window open. 

The next morning:

I should mention, since there is absolutely no reception up here, I typically keep the phone on airplane mode so it won't kill itself trying to find a tower. During the night, when it was plugged in and charging, I turned airplane mode off. Apparently some time around 1:30 a.m. the clouds parted exactly right to get it to connect, which refreshed the weather app, which I discovered the next morning. It was 44°!

Breakfast and a fire!

Like last summer, a pair of mountain bluebirds has set up their nest inside the front towing section of the camper. It was a fun challenge to see if I could get them in a photo. They are quick! Mom and Dad both hunt for bugs and worms and carry them in to the babies in rotations. If Dad sits on a tree branch too long, mom flies over and hustles him off to look some more. 

There's dad about to fly off again. 

Dad is bright blue all over

Mom is grey with blue accents. 

Here are few others I managed to get"

 

sorry Mr. Cricket...

 

We drove over to the Victor cemetery and around by the mining operations between Cripple Creek and Victor until lunchtime. 

We had burgers for lunch and watched as the skies grew darker and darker.

Little Momma Bluebird came and hung out with me while I watched the clouds roll in.

Hit the road home and except for a little bit of rainfall, I left it all back in Victor! Beautiful drive home.