A Well-Deserved Four Day Weekend

Phew.

Four days, alone with my parents, in a cabin, in the woods, no phone, no tv, no radio... It was fabulous and sometimes horrible.

I'm eating soup (with some difficulty considering I'm sitting on my bed with a laptop) and drinking a beer and doing laundry: it's my recovery from the weekend.

I really needed to get away, to shut off my phone and blackberry (no service means you have no choice!), to be by myself for a while. It was much needed Me Time. Although, it wasn't the "me time" I usually create which involves a hot bath, movies, a trip to the Nine West outlet, it was still great Me Time.

We went to Creede, Colorado, and then drove 30 miles down a dirt road to the edge of the Weimenuche Wilderness, where there is a ranch that's been running as a guest ranch and hunters' base for years. My dad went there with an old family friend when he was a teenager, and that old friend kept going there each summer until he passed away a few years ago. My dad loves this place and I can see why.

The winter season is slowly creeping in up there. We arrived in the rain on Friday, and it didn't let up until late Saturday night. The rain was a great excuse to lie around by the fire all day and read Harry Potter. I LOVED it (the doing nothing but read). I can't remember when I last had nothing else I COULD do but sit, relax, pull on comfy socks and drink coffee all day (until, obviously, at the chime of 2 PM it's time to switch to beer). My mom walked the dogs (in the mud and rain), my dad trekked out with them too. I stayed put by the fire.

The stars came out late Saturday and they were amazing. My mom and I wished we had a star map. We couldn't even pick out the "normal" constellations like the dippers and Orion, Cassiopeia, the Gemini Twins, because there were just SO many stars. Sunday morning brought sunshine--cold sunshine--and the puddles dried up, a little, and my mom walked the dogs some more, and my dad fished, and I read.

I made the mistake of starting Harry Potter 7 Sunday morning, and spent ALL day reading it (I'm going to finish it tonight!!). I do regret, a little, not hiking around a bit more, but sitting, doing NOTHING, and being in a quiet place with nothing to do, was amazing.

My parents are talking about going up there again next year, and I'm all for it. But, I would like a friend to go to. It was very nice to spend time with my parents, to see the puppy dogs, etc., but just having it be the three of us was a little much.

Pictures will follow! I promise!