Colorado "Reunion Race" Trip - Part 4

The next day Joe was on vacation and he and I returned to the mountains in Teller County for a hike/trail run at the Catamount area. It is an area where I had gone to run before and Joe, Bruce and I had hiked part of it when we did the Ring the Peak Trail in 2011. We knew we needed to get out early and beat the afternoon storms. These pictures show how the clouds built through the day. The final one was taken at Sonic Drive In in Woodland Park where we stopped for a green chile cheeseburger and it was good!

The next day was a "down day". My good friend Ron Payton had just returned to town and we were able to find time to get together. We met at a place where we have so many amazing shared coaching memories, Monument Valley Park and walked about five miles catching up on what we've been doing since we last saw one another. It had been over two years because when I was in Colorado last year Ron was out of town the entire time. It was great seeing him and sharing some good stories. We finished off the visit with a good meal at Amanda's Fonda right on the creek. It was a beautiful morning and the rain held off until we were under the covered patio.

The next morning Joe and I got back on the road and went hiking in one of the most beautiful places in Colorado Springs. Even though it was the day before a race we did a good hike and even did a trail neither of us had done before. I had never seen the reservoir in the park before and it was really pretty back there.

Looking back over my notes from the Colorado "Reunion Run" trip one thing was in my notes almost every day and it was usually there twice. One word, "Deck". Just like Clarence and I started almost every morning on the porch at Fred's in Georgia, Joe and I started every day and ended most days on the deck. The mornings were beautiful as were the evenings if the storms had either passed or not started yet. It was just nice, quiet and reflective.

Seen or heard from the deck: Squirrels, cats, butterflies, cloud formations and movement, sunrise, a hawk (pictured below), rabbits, deer, the neighbors chickens and the fountains on the patio. Just a nice peaceful place to start the day and pass time reading and relaxing.

It's July 27th, 2015 as I write this final entry about my Colorado trip and it's as good a place as any to wrap up this blog that covered my year from my 66th birthday to just before my 67th birthday. While once again running is the focal point of this blog, I hope it has been the thing that ties my story together. Family, friends, travel and adventure all play such a big role in This Running Journey.

The new blog I will be starting now is called: www.thisrunningjourney.blogspot.com

If you have enjoyed reading any or all of this blog or any of my previous blogs then I hope you will follow my new one.

Previous blogs: www.stillrunning50.blogspot.com; www.rrr66r.blogspot.com and one that is still in progress, www.anaccidentalcoach.blogspot.com