Home Again, Home Again

Tim and I drove back to Estes Park on Sunday in separate vehicles.  He drove the RV with Kitty, and I drove the car, which Chris and Tom had kept for us in Fort Morgan.  The sky was thick with smoke, and we learned that the wildfire had grown to 10,000 acres.  The smoke had even drifted all the way to Nebraska.  The air quality was very poor, and the wind didn’t help matters.

We had planned to stop in Loveland to stock up on supplies since our cupboards at home were bare.  Since Kitty was with us, we decided to take her into PetSmart with us.  Pets are welcome, but I had never seen a cat in the store.  Of course Kitty received lots of attention.  Although she walked in on her leash, she was quickly overwhelmed with all the sights.  She much preferred sitting in the child seat in the shopping cart.  Tim teased the clerks and told them that Kitty had come for the buffet.  She did seem to be entranced with the fish and birds, but none were harmed during her visit.

The drive up Big Thompson Canyon was beautiful, and I was reminded that thousands of people come to Estes Park for vacation.  I had been one of those visitors on three occasions before I moved here, and I love the town.  I think summer is the best time to be here.

Nonetheless, it was strange to be home again.  The house was nice and clean, and Vicky had taken good care of everything, but it’s going to take a bit of time to adjust to being in the house.  I just wandered around and tried to figure out what to do and where to start.  There seemed to be no hurry, so I decided to just ease into things.  I know that Tim is happy to be home.  Kitty is also adjusting to being stationary, but she has started to rediscover her favorite places, and I think she’ll be fine as long as she is with Tim and me.

We’ve been paying close attention to any news we can get about the fire.  The High Park Fire has grown to be the second largest in state history, and there has been no containment. Dozens of structures have been lost, and hundreds of people have been evacuated.  Tim and I realized that if a wildfire ever does threaten our home, we will be able to evacuate in the RV with Kitty and have a safe and comfortable place to live for as long as necessary.

Next week, after Tim returns to work, I plan to write a series of wrap-ups about the trip.  I’m not exactly sure what I’ll write about, but in the meantime I want to take time to sit back, reflect on the trip and remember the wonderful people and places we saw.