Redefining the words 'adventure' and 'journey"

You can write about the journey all you want, and you can talk up the adventure as much as you can, but very few people ever know the true meaning of those 2 words!! Here we are with 3 big trucks, 2 double ride ATVs and a single, getting ready to unlaod. We had driven an hour north of Dotsero (ok, about 3 1/2 hours west of Denver) to get to our destination, nearly 10,000 feet up. OK, not really "destination" because this is just the beginning of our ride!



You have to go there to understand the raw beauty of what you see. Untouched nature. This is a burn area that is growing back. All of the timbers have fallen to the ground and new growth is coming up. Probably 5 - 6 generations before this will be a forest again. But the lake is just pristine! Fresh water from melted snow - about as ice cold as you can get! See the snow up on the peaks? That's where we're headed!



And that's me behind the goggles, under the hat with snow clutched in my hands. Pretty amazing to have this much snow this late in the year, this low down.



And beetle kill. What survived the fires is now being eaten and killed by pine beetles. It is truly sad to see the hillsides turn completely brown.



Another pile of snow. Note the pine tree in the foreground - it's 5' tall. So you can see there's still a good depth of snow left.



I'm on the ATV sitting behind Kerry, taking photos as we ride. Colleen & Roland are ahead of us, Steve is behind us. It was pretty rocky to say the least.



Lots of water standing where it's running across the trail = lots of mosquitos!



What would have been a trickle a year ago is a flash flood this year!



And loads of mud. Well, what fun is an ATV ride without a little mud???



That was Saturday. Today is Monday and I'm STILL sitting on the heating pad! LOLOL! I told the guys - I'm going to be 57 in 3 months. This body has done me good all these years. I think now it's time for me to treat it right. No more rugged rides. I'll be happy to go along if the trail is smooth for the most part, but when you come home with 2 dozen more bruises than you left with - it's time to pull in the reigns and travel the path a little slower!

Adventure: an undertaking of a hazardous nature. Well, we only had a near roll-over 3 times. More than my share of adventure!!!

Journey: the act of traveling from one place to another. We traveled from 10,000 ft to 12,000 ft, 12 miles in 3 hours, so that tells you it was quite rugged, quite slow going. We said the wild flowers are bigger than we have ever seen them. We threw snowballs in July. Five siblings and in-laws, taking care of each other, making sure no one fell too far behind or got too far ahead, watching out for one another along the trail.

If you think your life has been an adventurous journey, come to Colorado!!!