entering into Colorado for the first time... in this lifetime.

(this is the rough draft... just getting my thoughts down... I want to make it easier to read later on.)

The amazing feeling one gets when first entering into a state you've never been before (at least in this lifetime) is almost indescribeable. The feeling one gets when entering into Colorado.... WOW.

I entered into Colorado via I-76... it brought me across the hilly grasslands of upper Colorado. After exiting I-76... I found myself traveling 14 across some AMAZING Pawnee Grasslands... the vast landscape makes everything else seem ever so small. There were oil rigs out in many of the fields, and there were lots of ranches that I drove past. Some of the houses were very unique and you could tell they were crafted by their owners. There was a fence line that was lined with skulls that made me think of Corey.

I didn't see the Rockies for quite awhile... but right as I was thinking about how I hadn't caught glimpse of them... I looked out into the horizon, and there the beautiful giants were. They truly are unlike any other mountain range I've ever seen. It truly puts things in perspective when you see their sheer mass... makes you realize just how much of a speck you really are on the windshield of life.

There is a BIG hot ticket issue happening in the county that I grew up involving a mega dairy. Well.. I suppose they should be thankful that it is a mega dairy and not a mega sheep stockyard. There was one of these outside of Fort Collins and it smelled HORRIBLE for miles. This was the first time I had seen anything like that, and I'm still shocked by it. I might drive back that way again tomorrow just to get some pictures of it.

Tomorrow, we'll explore Fort Collins (which already reminds me very much of Madison, Wisconsin, another college town) and then we'll go to Gilcrest to visit Beth and her family... after we spend the night there, we'll dip down even farther into Colorado and spend a few days with Corey and her family. It is so exciting being able to explore parts of the country that I've never seen before. To be able to share this all with my son just makes it even more sweet.

Dryer Boy

 

there are a few pictures of me in the dryer when I was little as well... must take after his mom.... :)

A boy and his Buck

 

Buck and Porter are going to miss each other... A LOT.

we're going on a hike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Marley - Butterfly

rare song ... i love it...

Josh

loves every minute of life and knows that the good times wouldn't seem as good if there weren't bad times....

loves me for me....

is confident in who he is...

is loving the hell out of Tom Robbins (I introduced him to his works... Still Life with Woodpecker is our book now... he gets the man as much as I do... which is a GREAT sign)

loves the Grateful Dead as much as I (he was the one who actually introduced me to them)

a bit of an outlaw at heart

definitely can make me smile and laugh like no other

can build a house from start to finish (including all the guts)

is not afraid of hard work

meditates on a regular basis

surfs

an amazing people magnet

is covered in tattoos from his neck on down....

has an AMAZING Josh grin as I call it

has some of the most intense brown eyes I've ever looked into...

to be continued....

the answer of when....

When I paid my rent this month, I also turned in my 30 days notice... turning in my two week resignation at work tomorrow.... and we'll be in California by mid-October at the latest... it doesn't even feel like a questionable move, I've been waiting almost 9 years for this... it feels like I'm going home to spend the rest of my days with the man who I have no doubt that I will love for always.