Sally's Overlook and Swallows

So happy to be spending the week in Pagosa with Dan, Nick and three of his friends. Ready to be off the grid and unplugged for the week and looking forward to lots of reading, hiking and seeing the new house!

Yesterday was a special Father's Day because everyone was here (#missingChris) so we watched church on TV and maximized our time for brunch before Michael & Courtney had to leave for their flight at noon. Dan ran them to the airport, then came home and packed up the rest of us and Marty and Lizzie took us to our flight. Meanwhile Courtney and Michael called and had gotten bumped to get $800 of flight credit, so when we got out of the car, they jumped in and went back home for 24 hours! 

The direct flight to Durango is fantastic and so easy to arrange a shuttle pick up to drive us anywhere within Pagosa (they'll even drive all the way to camp for an extra $30). The driver, Don Hott, was quite a chatterbox, but a good driver, and within an hour he dropped me off at the store to start grocery shopping and the boys at the FBO to pick up our camp car. We were in camp by 8:00 p.m. and vacation has begun.

I was proud of Dan and I walking the loop this morning, even though we're still recovering from the Spartan. Had a meeting at the new house with the cabinet guy. The bunkhouse is getting so close to done! The main house is insulated, but waiting for drywall. 

Swallows moved in this Spring under EVERY eave. Hundreds of them. Apparently they like to nest in the same place for life... this could be a difficult problem!

We went to Sally's overlook after lunch. I'm always glad to get that destination out of the way. I never sleep the next night because I'm dreaming that someone falls off the cliff. It's such a beautiful view, I wish I didn't struggle so much with fear of someone falling. 

It's so darn hot! After the dusty, hot ride, Dan and I put on bathing suits and sat in the river. It was freezing when we first got in, but warmed up right away and we sat on rocks submerged in the refreshing river for a long time. We love that it's so easy to walk to the river now!

Before the boys got in the river, they wanted to get as muddy as possible, so they rode ATV's through the mud in the meadow at the new ranch and were literally covered in mud.

After dinner we ran to the schoolhouse to watch the sunset and check on the herd of elk. I toasted a marshmallow around the fire and was glad I did. It tasted fantastic!