Road Trippin'

 After the year+ of COVID 19 fears, restrictions, and solitude, what more could one ask than a couple of weeks on the road?  Miles of highway with the only purpose being to get away from "it all."  What must you do to get back the sense that God is in Her Heaven and all's right with the world?  We're heading north.  First stop is a touch of family/normalcy/mask-less love in Bloomfield, CO; second stop the beauties of our glorious USA, Yellowstone, WY; third stop, a return to the past with Dwight's first job out of college (1957), the mines of Butte, MT; and finally, back home to Durango with relief and appreciation for all the blessings of our lives. 

First stop, Broomfield, Colorado, to visit our daughter and her husband.  I had stupidly planned a mid-week visit to people still involved in the Monday to Friday world of work; however, it ended well: two lovely evening visits for dinner and drinks with family, and a day spent at the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder which we had often driven past but never stopped to stroll and visit.  

The Pearl Street Mall prompted thoughts of how downtown Durango could be turned into a Pearl Street Mall.  No!  Please!  Durango is a "real" town.  I remember that Durango promoted itself as being "real" when we first moved there and I wondered what that meant.  Definitions are important here, and after 16 years, I now understand that I'm not anxious to see Durango turned into a Pearl Street Mall, although I am still unable to explain why.  The Durango vibe is a bit more urban than it used to be, but not so urban or touristy yet as to be a pedestrian mall targeted to tourists.  I can still drive downtown and see people I know. I still know the subtleties of local politics as reported in the Herald.  Durango is REAL.

Day drinking on the Pearl Street Mall