DAY 20: COLORADO SPRINGS

I slept in!! It was 7:30am when I woke up in my heavenly bed at Nancy's. It was wonderful, but when I took my loaner computer upstairs to type at the end of the kitchen island while making coffee, vanilla yogurt, and a bagel with cream cheese and jelly, I mentioned to Nancy what a weird feeling it was for it to be 8am and already feel like I was running late for the day. These rest days are meant for a more easy and free flowing pace.

I hung around at the kitchen bar with Nancy and blogged, and we tried again to introduce Portland and Poppy - things are still touch and go. I had two mugs of coffee while I wrote, without realizing it, and when I went downstairs to shower and get ready, I wondered why I felt all "zoomy." Again, I can be a caffeine lightweight.

We packed for the day and were out the door around 11am, headed towards Colorado Springs to hike at North Cheyenne Cañon Park. The Seven Bridges trail had been another find from my research on All Trails, but was also recommended by Nancy's friend who hikes in the area often. It was about a forty minute drive from Nancy's - not including the missed turn that took me into the cute town of Monument and past an interesting metal shop where I had to pull over and take a photo of this sculpture of a female figure with a feather headdress.

At the cañon, the winding paved road went up and up and there were a lot of trailheads along the way and many bikers daringly pedaling uphill on the steep road. The speed limit was 20mph, which the car ahead of me from Maryland was strictly keeping to. My trailhead was at the very very top before the road went to gravel and started descending on a longer route. The lot was pretty full, and we started along the wide, packed gravel trail that was pretty flat and multi-use for walkers, trail runners, bikers, dog walkers, etc. It was pretty, up so high in the mountains and the sun was bright and warm, temperatures in the high 60s today. We walked along the trail for almost a mile, and though it was a beautiful trail it was a bit anticlimactic, being so high up and just walking a flat and busy route. The trail route did turn off to the right, a trail called 622 (I didn't see the name Seven Bridges anywhere on the trail signage), and once we took that turn, the trail narrowed and wrapped through the tree cover in the forest.

The name Seven Bridges comes from the seven times that the trail passes over the Cheyenne Creek on numbered bridges. I thought it was a little funny that they were each numbered with metal house numbers, but I tried to take a picture of each one as we walked (somehow, I only ended up with six on my phone). The trail was crowded, with many times that I had to step off trail to let people and dogs pass, and as much as I stopped to give people the right of way, I don't think that the favor was repaid to me as often. There were a few dogs off leash, that always bothers me on busy trails. It made the route up the trail take a little longer than it should have, but mostly everyone was very friendly and said hello. One thing the trail was not great for, hidden spaces to pee in the woods. Sorry for the TMI, but as a hiker, sometimes nature calls - especially when there are no bathrooms at the trailhead.

At the end of the seventh bridge, the trail traffic died down, the route through the mixed high elevation pines, shrubs and bare deciduous trees like the stunning white-barked birch started to get a little more rough. The elevation climbs were a bit steeper, and the slippery pebbled scree trail took some additional care to navigate. Scree is one of my words of the day, it is the loose, small stone surface layers near the tops of mountains. We stopped at some rocks for a drink of water, looking for the "incredible view" that Nancy's friend had promised, and I could start to see the city below in the distance. I decided to hike on a little further up, and passed a group of older adults with their trekking poles, their lead hiker stopping to ask me if I was from Pittsburgh. I was wearing my 3 Rivers Outdoor Company t-shirt, and he was originally from Lancaster, PA. Small world! They told me that the trail would end soon, at a boulder field. I climbed up to a nice, sunny overlook with a flat patch of stones that was perfect for a break and photos. I saw another hiker continue on past the point where we'd stopped, and we continued up another minute or so to see: "what's around the river bend," and then turned back.

Portland is an excellent hiker when it comes to staying safe on difficult terrain. He stayed behind me the whole way so that I could take a slow and steady pace. On the way down, things went much more quickly. The trail was less busy in the mid-afternoon, and without the sun it felt a little chillier making our way down into the canyon. I counted down the bridges as we walked, and before long we were back along the wide main trail, seeing a few more people and dogs on the way back to the parking lot.

Somewhere around the 2nd bridge on our way back, I'd really started to miss Dad. I'm not much of a baseball hat wearer, but the sun the past two days has made me wish I'd brought Dad's National Parks hat along to keep the sun from my eyes. I remembered hiking with him on a similar trail in Rocky Mountain National Park, seeing the same black and blue and white birds, and I started to get sad. But, as I approached the bridge, I glanced down to see these interesting red and black spotted rocks -- almost like marble stones -- in the water. Dad collected rocks from each state, and these looked like rocks he would have thought were good. I stopped on the bridge to watch the water on the rocks for a minute and felt better again. Feeling like Dad had shifted my attention to remind me that he wasn't so far away from me on the trail.

My philosophical thought near the end of the walk towards the car, was about the beautiful pine trees that I always love to see when I travel. They are my favorite. I thought, people always say, "happy as a clam," but how do they know if clams are happy? In my version, I'd like to say, "happy as a pine tree on a mountain top." Again, I can't be sure if they're happy, but they always seem so to me.

Back at the car, I loaded Portland into the backseat with a jerky treat, and ate a few sour gummy worms as I searched the address for Goat Patch Brewing Company, which Nancy had recommended. It was a short drive, about twenty minutes away. After parking in the lot by the brewery, I had to walk to the end of the building next to a restaurant, The Roswell, to take a picture of the mural of a tree on their patio space. It read, "All plants are our brothers and sisters. They talk to us and if we listen, we can hear them." - Arapaho saying. Such a cool find after my happy tree ponderings.

I snagged the last table on the patio at Goat Patch and brought Portland up, pouring him some water in the pop up bowl that has come in so handy on this trip. I ordered a flight of four beers, a Cantaloupe Gose (my favorite), It Takes a Tribe Red Ale, (server's choice) Blood Orange IPA, and a Honey Lemon Ginger Triple IPA that was also unique and had a nice flavor. They seemed to do unique beers very well but had a good selection of styles across the board. They didn't serve food, and the food truck wasn't open yet, but I was told that The Roswell would deliver. I called them on the phone to see if I could order that way and they were really accommodating and friendly! I ordered a cup of the hatch chile chili, which I was told had just a kick but was not too bad, a side salad and cauliflower wings -- my current obsession.

I sipped on my flight and talked briefly to the guy closest to me at a table of 20 or 30 somethings. Portland had stretched his leash over for a pet. The guy mentioned the pit bull ban being overturned and I told him that we were traveling cross country from Pittsburgh, but very excited to hear the news! We talked for a few minutes and my food came pretty quickly. It was a really cool set up with the restaurant being able to serve on the patio of the brewery!

The food was good -- the hatch chili was SPICY!! But maybe that was because I'd started with the two IPA's, which I've heard open your taste buds and can make spicy food taste even spicier. The salad was nice to get some veggies in my life, and the cauliflower wings were okay, but a bit soggy since they were slightly breaded. Overall, the food was good and I was hungry after my hike.

I hung around on the patio in the wonderful sunshine, glancing in between the two TV's in opposing corners of the brewery: Friends vs. HGTV - Friends won most of my TV glances. I ordered a full pour of the Cantaloupe Gose, light and refreshing, and the table next to me took off, saying goodbye and safe travels to Portland. It is also his "Gotcha Day," as Facebook reminded me this morning. Nine years ago today, I officially adopted him, so that has worked into some conversations.

A new guy arrived at the table next to mine, a cyclist with a book to read and a tie dye bandana. He was wearing shorts and Portland went right in for some sweaty leg licks -- his favorite, having already grown comfortable with whoever inhabited that table. This guy made a big fuss over Portland, and we got to talking about travel and different parts of the country and how people are different from region to region. At this point, since I travel so much, things honestly seem to blend a bit for me and "everything seems normal." If there's a place I don't fit in as well, it's probably Pittsburgh.

He was originally from New Mexico, his ancestors being some of the original settlers to one of the towns, and he had such an interesting name that I feel terrible for not remembering. I am terrible with names when meeting people. But the conversation was so great, and it seemed like we shared some views of life and the world. He was the first to ask me about anything political following the election; nothing specific, just how Pittsburgh fell in terms of more red or blue and Pennsylvania as a whole. I answered his question, but followed it up by saying how thankful I was to have gone off grid in Utah during election day. I told him on the trails, there is no red or blue, it doesn't matter. If you are defined by anything, let it be your sport of choice. I am a Hiker. On a trail, everyone is there to enjoy the same place. You pass each other and (hopefully) say hello, and then go on your way.

It was such a refreshing conversation and I would have loved to keep talking, but I had to head back towards Nancy's to meet for dinner, and I felt that I was keeping my friend from his book. He shared the location of a cool backpacking and mountain biking area in New Mexico. If I can't get there on this trip, maybe another. I shared by blog, and we fist bumped farewell. Take it easy and thanks for the chat, smiles, and letting Portland lick salty skin. He knows better than to do that with his Mom.

It was a short twenty minutes back to Nancy's, past the bluish-purple mountains against a golden sky where sun was descending. Portland was ready for a nap when we got back to the house, and Nancy and Scott were ready to head to dinner. I took five minutes to freshen up, and we were off to Pikes Peak Brewing Company, just down the road. On the way, Scott talked about Geocaching, and showed me the app, explaining a little more about the hobby than I'd already known. I may have been inspired to try it on this trip! He is an experienced cacher - ?, with over 400 caches found!

We snagged the last available table in the back of the brewery and ordered beers and dinner from their simple but solid menu. They had a lot of interesting beers, but I settled for their Summit House Stout to accompany my pulled pork and green chile flatbread -- not the spicy variety! They had a pulled pork and green chile sandwich, which is what Dad would have ordered, but I did a similar but different take.

In a sneaky move, I found a moment and passed my card over to the server to start our tab. Nancy and Scott both objected, but I said it was Dad's treat, knowing that it was his tradition to always treat hosts to a meal.

We talked and had great conversation all throughout dinner about friends, family and future plans. Back at the house, Scott tried to find me a power cord that would fit my computer, with no luck. So, it was off to Walmart for Nancy and I, but before we left, Scott and I talked a few more minutes about his work as a mining engineer. It sounded fascinating. Things like gold and copper mining, seem like such a thing of the past from the old days in the wild west to me. Apparently, it is still very real. There are all sorts of things mined with the help of mining engineers, and I was interested in the environmental impact concerns with mining compared to natural gas drilling and fracking in Pennsylvania.

So many great conversations to fill the day - and, Poppy and Portland are finally friends!! They had some fun chasing each other and playing in the house tonight. For once, Portland seemed to understand their size difference and avoided making it a tackle game.

At Walmart, Nancy and I had some luck finding a USB-C cable we think might work to charge my computer, and I picked up a spare pair of pajamas from the clearance rack since I'm running low on jammies. Nancy was able to pick up a few things, so it was a successful trip for both of us, but in the car the cord I'd bought didn't seem to be charging. Might have to figure that one out in the morning.

At the house, Nancy and I relaxed and blogged in the living room and talked some more about family and keeping up contact and ties with even extended family like cousins once removed. It has been a great visit and I'll have to make it a point to meet up with Nancy and her family more often. Colorado isn't that far away....

On the road again tomorrow...adventure awaits!