The In Between

It has now been a week since I left Michigan via the Greyhound "special". I am happy to report that I was able to make a quick run to Chicago's Greektown for my gyro fix. What can I say; it was the highlight of my trip! Somewhere in Iowa I transferred to a Black Hills bus, which had the meanest bus driver ever. She was horrible!!! She yelled and grouched at us for nothing and even tried to pick a fight with a hapless departing passenger. She lost a lot of good karma that day; that is if she even had any to begin with.

I arrived in Denver on Wednesday after about 28 hours on the bus, sleeping most of the way. The next day I went to the office and organized my gear. Thursday night was spent at a friend's house near Denver and the next morning we departed for Gunnison, in southwest Colorado. For about 3 days we wandered the backcountry crossing numerous streams, enjoying the views, and swatting tons of mosquitoes (I’m still swatting invisible mosquitoes!). We explored an area around "the castles", which are a prominent geologic feature along a ridgetop in the Elk Mountains Wilderness. Along the hike to Stormy Pass we discovered the sun bleached bones of an elk. Most likely killed by an avalanche, the bone debris field was over fifty yards long. After hiking through a lot of snow, the view from the ridgeline was incredible; only one mark of humanity within miles of massive snowy peaks and forests hiding cascading mountain creeks. I also had the misfortune to fall into a creek, but went dipping el naturale the next day in the freezing cold water. Overall it was a great trip, but surprisingly exhausting. I'll try to post photos from the trip soon.

Returning to Denver on Sunday I returned to the office and once again sorted through my gear. After another evening in Denver I made my way via shuttle to Fort Collins, the closest thing to home. I was happily able to post the remaining images from my photo class (some which I actually like). Also I heard from a good dear friend that her medical issues are not as daunting as first expected, which is awesomely bodacious! So tomorrow, after 2 1/2 days at "home" visiting my cousin, I will be returning to the office in Denver to again repack my bags for my trip to Glacier-Waterton Lakes International Peace Park. Oh, the joy and excitement!!