Denver and Boulder, Colorado

Hottest drive ever!

Bad Days, Blind dogs and a Little Shade

“You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocket ship underpants don’t help.”
― Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes)

When days like this happen, I often feel like I’m in a “Seinfeld” episode or a somewhat neurotic Woody Allen movie.

First it was the heat. The drive from Taos to Denver was hot.

This is the first sighting of the Rockies.

You were probably hot too, the heat wave stretched far and wide. But, did your deodorant melt in your car? Mine did. All of my toiletries either melted or burst. Of course, I didn’t discover that until my day was ending. So, that’s not how the bad day started.

It started because I was hot and the dogs were panting miserably. The A/C was on high yet, there was no relief. As soon as I stepped out of the car in Denver, my throat closed up. I guess due to allergies of something burning in the Colorado fires, I developed laryngitis immediately and every word had to be honked from then on. Then I arrived at our hotel that I had booked way in advance only to hear the words, “We don’t accept two dogs, only one.”

Then I was accused of lying to the reservations department. Then I was accused of being “out of control.” Then I was accused of treating my dogs poorly. Then I was accused of throwing my key card at the front desk clerk. Then the Honda dealership tells me the worst news possible: “Your A/C is working just fine, it’s just hot.” Then there was no place for us to stay in Denver or Boulder. Then I was yelled at for having my dogs on the “mall” in Boulder. Then I got a parking ticket. Then I lost my car keys.

I believe this is the first fire we drove by in Colorado Springs.

And, after all of that and a drive through the night to Buffalo, Wyoming, I discovered that my toiletries had all melted and my hair dryer was destroyed. (With the luck I was having, I certainly wasn’t going to plug it in and check.)

Weeks ago, while in Taos, I had a conversation with my friend, James who lives in Beech Mountain, NC. He told me about watching a blind dog play frisbee with several other dogs. He explained, with somewhat overwhelming emotion how the dog ran without fear — with absolute trust. He ran.

When I think of the amount of trust it takes for a blind dog to run, I’m at a loss for words. I find it difficult to muster up enough trust to make it through a bad day.

But, I did make it through that bad day whispering to myself, “trust it.” I had to trust. When I have done the absolute best that I can do and nothing is working, I have no choice but to trust.

Thankfully, there were also some really beautiful reminders throughout the day.

As I was driving through miles and miles of desert with temps well over 100 degrees and no shade across the landscape, I passed many horse pastures. I don’t know a lot about horses, but, I feel ill at ease when I see them lying down. Along this stretch, every horse was lying down. Except one: a mare casting shade for her foal.

Mothers. Even if all that they can give is a little shade, they give it.

I wish I had been able to get a photograph of her and her foal, but, even without the photograph, this is a sight I will remember the rest of my days.

This is one of the many reminders to trust.

While in Denver with no place to stay and no idea of what to do, I drove us to the closest park according to my iPhone hoping for some shade so we could get out of the car while I figured out what were going to do next. Well, it wasn’t a real park, it was a baseball field. There was no shade. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed, but, I knew that we had to do something, we couldn’t just sit there baking. I decided to drive to Boulder and see if any magic would happen there and as I was backing out of the parking space, turning my car around, there was this heart in the sky. Another reminder.

Then, while we were in Boulder and realizing quickly that things weren’t getting any better there, I was in the Alfalfa’s Health Food Store parking lot, deciding to head to Wyoming, my cousin Jim called. Even if my throat was still honking, I can’t tell you how great it was to have him call at just the right moment to “check in.” He’s not my mother, but, he was doing all that he could: offering a little shade.

This is the chicken statue outside of Alfalfa’s. Also, this is where I found my car keys.

After my conversation with Jim, we walked on the greenway in Boulder for about an hour and then took off for Wyoming.

This was the last bit of sunlight before driving into the black sky of Wyoming.