~that you have been a part of it~

From near Salida yesterday, things really didn't look so good.  Actually is was kind of before Salida, in fact it was WAY before there when we first saw the cloud over the mountain.  I looked at Mike and he looked at me as we both had the same thought.

"Now that doesn't look good."

Monarch Mountain and I have this agreement between the two of us.  We've had a consensus for a couple of years now and the "pact" that we made was this.  That big mountain is in charge and I in turn have a healthy respect for it.  I check the weather before passing over it and if things look like they could go to the proverbial "south", then I don't cross it.  It's as simple as that.  But yesterday I was not alone and Mike is a very good driver.  So from the McDonald's in Salida we made the decision to just get over it so we could get back home to Montrose.  As it turned out, there were a lot of folks who had to do the very same thing so we got into line with all of the other "ants on the highway" and started out.  Once we started making the ascent, we realized that the roads were clear for the most part with just a lot of wind and a very heavy cloud cover. The skiers were just coming off the mountain and long lines of cars were headed downward and we passed so many of them along the way.  The roads got a bit slicker at the top but except for one crazy driver with New Mexico (no offense for other drivers from the Land of Enchantment)  license plates, everyone drove with caution.  We made it to the top and then back down again.  It's a strange feeling to cross the Great Continental Divide and to know that on one side you have your "Atlantic Ocean" and on the other the "Pacific Ocean" side.  We were able to take a few pictures from the top from the confines of the front seat of the car.  It's always pretty up there with snow covering everything in fact it covers in entirety the visitor's center.  Unless you knew it was there, you'd never imagine that a building was behind the mounds of snow.

It wasn't really shirt sleeve weather or anything and for the first time, we chose to just keep on going instead of getting out of the car a bit at the top.  

The drive home from south central Kansas to south western Colorado is a long one.  611 miles of a long one.  We took out from the McDonald's in South Hutchinson at 6:30 a.m. and pulled into the driveway here at home in Montrose about 5:00 p.m.  Except for that little concern on the mountaintop, it was really an uneventful trip.  We had Otis with us and he kept us entertained along the way and actually as I just typed those words, I said to myself....

"Peggy, you do realize that Otis is just a pretend moose, right?"

When "the 22" arrive back at school a week from tomorrow, dear Otis is going to be with us for a couple of weeks longer.  January 29th is the birthday of the great state of Kansas and Otis, our "moose on the loose", is going to help teach the kids a little geography lesson.  He went to all kinds of places with us while we were back home there and had his picture taken at many stops along the way.  There is no place in any teacher's guide in which you will find Otis' lesson and to be honest, I like it that way.  There's just something about that little guy that the kids have become enamored with and I can't imagine any better way to teach them a lesson than with him.  He's been the very best $1.50 investment I think I have ever made as a school teacher.  

Mike and I saw some very beautiful things along the way and managed to stop long enough to take some pictures of them.  We preserved this moment in time to enjoy in the months and years to come.  

We have always driven by here in the canyon lands between Canon City and Salida but never really stopped to see it.  Such a beautiful area of the world.

Otis while making his first, last and only attempt to slalom down a rock.  It ended up miserably.

Face first, into the cold, white powder is how we found him.  The scary thing was this.  I found myself hurrying to get him out of the snow and dried off so he wouldn't catch a cold.  I think we may have begun to spend a little too much time with him :)

The majestic Pike's Peak as seen from the roadway between Pueblo and Canon City.

Perhaps the best sight of all yesterday as we watched the setting sun very near the valley that is home to us now.  

I enjoyed going home to Kansas and I had the best 9 days ever there.  With the days that remain before returning to school a week from today, I plan to get a few things accomplished here at home and at school as well.  The time will fly, just like it always does these days.  It seems hard to imagine that it was nearly two years ago now that I came out to visit Mike and to see the place that he called "home".  Little did I know on that first visit that I would soon be living here.  Funny how life works out all according to "the plan".  As for you my dear friends and family, I am so glad that you have been a part of it.