The Vacation is Over When the Mountains Appear in the Rear View Mirror

We spent some time this month in Colorado. My wife has gone since she was a kid. For me it's been the past 20 years. Our kids have grown up with the almost annual trip to visit with their cousins.

My wife was born in Texas. When her grandparents made plans to "go up north," Colorado seemed like a good spot. The tradition has continued through a couple of generations. Our kids have been going since they were born. Now, however, they help with the driving.

We usually make the long trek by car. The monotony of crawling across Iowa and Nebraska is mostly worth it when the mountains start to come into view in the distance. We stay in Cuchara, Colo. which is about four hours south of Denver. The elevation there is nearly 9,000 feet. It's not like it is difficult to breathe or anything, but it is still a good reason to skip jogging for a few days. We get plenty of exercise hiking and are rewarded with some breath-taking views. Aug. 6 is our wedding anniversary. I'd better find some nice wildflowers for my wife.

It hopefully rains a little bit while we are there, as the area is always quite dry. We occasionally run across snow, even in June or July, while climbing the West Spanish Peak. Cell phone service is spotty, at best. And wi-fi and Netflix are hard to come by. But it is a great time to relax and get away from email and technology for a few days. It is a good recharge for work for me. With the Steele County Fair and the high school football season looming when I return, the summer schedule will certainly be over.

The reality of the end of the vacation comes as we drive eastward away from the Rockies, which get smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror. The long, straight stretches of Nebraska and Iowa await.