9/24/11
The plan to visit Colorado started with a wedding invitation. We had just returned from a week in Zion National Park and were opening up the week’s accumulated mail when we came upon the invitation. Our friend from the office, Karen Heffron, had planned a “destination” wedding at Devil’s Thumb Ranch, a 5,000 acre ranch/resort in Colorado west of the Rockies. Although we knew Karen was getting married we had no plans to attend…until we saw the invitation. That wedding invitation was so inviting! I said to Howard: Wanna go? He said: Yea! And I was on the Internet in a flash booking our room. The only accommodations available at that late date were in the “bunkhouse.” That should have given us a hint of what was to come. We even paid extra for a bathroom in the room!
Devil’s Thumb Ranch is an incredible place. I recommend you get married there. Or just visit there if you’re already married or not inclined to tie the knot. And there is a “devil’s thumb.” It’s a geological phenomenon at the top of the hill that is supposed to look like a thumb. Maybe the devil is giving us “the finger” instead!
Believe it or not, Howard and I got all “duded out” (dressed like cowboys/girls) for the rehearsal BBQ dinner. At a second-hand western store I found perfectly fitting lizard-skin boots! Add a cowboy hat and I’m a cowgirl! We were pretty impressed with ourselves. Although no pictures are available to document this incredible feat.
Apart from the incredibly beautiful wedding and great evening of dancing like nuts, we also took scenic hikes, enjoyed delicious food, basked in the sun and perfect weather, and met lots of friends and family of the newly-weds. (And I had to listen to the judge that married the couple trying to convince me that the wedding costs should be tax deductible as “business promotion”!) We got little sleep our first two nights because in our bunkhouse room we could hear the people above us BREATHING. (That’s how thin the floors were!). I pretty much threatened to stampede the cattle through the lobby if they did not assure me that I would have a good nights sleep our last night. Instead of giving us a luxurious, quiet suite (like I had hoped) they apparently cleared the bunkhouse because we were virtually the only ones there that night. I may not have gotten a luxurious room but I did get a good night’s sleep!
While we were at the ranch (on the west side of the Rockies), I commented that the Colorado Rockies could not hold a candle to the Canadian Rockies. I was sure that Banff Nation Park had spoiled me and I would never appreciate any mountains other than the Canadian Rockies. I was also sure that this trip would be our only visit to Colorado. But, OMG (!), the east side of the Rockies are every bit as incredible as their “cousins” up north. And without question we will be back here!