TRIP TO COLORADO

I was not totally indifferent to family during that period of time.  One memorable experience  was our trip to Colorado.  Ann’s mother went with us.  It was probably one of the most enjoyable times we ever had with her.  She was the life of the party.  

We went to a fishing lodge near Glenwood Springs.  After leaving Denver, we drove up on Loveland Pass, and Mother (I always addressed her as “Mother.”) hadn’t really reckoned with the altitude.  She got out of the car and she was completely out of breath.

I had never seen the Rocky Mountains before and it was breath taking.  Mother was a skeptic.  She didn’t believe the water in the trout stream was cold.   I don’t think she realized it came from snow melt.  She had to stick her hand in the water and it almost turned blue.  Mother thought you were supposed to go swimming when you go on vacation.  She decided to take the kids swimming.  They almost turned blue.  Ann was thinking, “This is not a good thing.”   But she did not want to be outdone by her sixty-something mother.  So she jumped into the pool of water and couldn’t get out fast enough.

I also had some experience with blue skin.  The man who owned the lodge offered to show me the fine art of trout fishing.  He asked, “Do you have waders?”  I didn’t.  He said, “Well you’ve got to get in the stream.”   I did, but in a little while I noticed that it didn’t seem so cold, and I mentioned that fact to him.  He said, “That’s because your legs are numb.”   One occasion I stepped off a rock and fell about chest deep.  It took my breath away.   It took me until the end of the trip to get the hang of trout fishing.   I’ve never gone trout fishing again, but if I ever do I’ll invest in waders.

But my mother-in-law was not finished.  On our way home, we decided to drive up Independence Pass near Aspen.  It’s 14,000 feet high.  It was August but it had snowed the night before and there was an inch or two of snow on the ground. 

My mother-in-law may have been in her sixties, but she was never one to act her age.  I was so enthralled with the view from the top of Independence Pass, that I stood at the lookout point and shot several pictures.  While I was doing that, she scooped up a handful of snow and shoved it down my collar.  Apparently she had forgotten about the experience at Loveland Pass.   She took off running.  By the time she got to the car, she collapsed and was unable to get her breath.  She recovered quickly but her playful behavior gave us all a scare at the time.