Ptarmigan Annual Mtg. Trip

Ptarmigan Annual Mtg. Trip After landing at DIA, we saw Ely and Nancy at Bryan and Regina’s Denver home that they had rented from its new owner while they wait for financing to come through on their newly acquired home in Boulder (?). Ely is a big boy (much bigger than Andrew and Lucas, who are a couple of months older). He was very bright and alertly watching a Wimbledon tennis match on TV.

A four hour drive through the Eisenhower Tunnel (which just celebrated its 40th anniversary) and Rabbit Ears Pass brought us to Steamboat, where our condo in Ptarmigan House was ready for us. We joined the condo association homeowners and board of directors meeting the next day, at which Sue was elected Vice President and Vivien Raynor was elected once again as President. Rocky Mountain National Park is a lot more compact than it seem. Fortunately it doesn’t take a whole lot of time to drive through it despite the continual slowdowns owing to cars ahead stopped on the road so the passengers can get out to view grazing antelope, moose, deer, sheep, and assorted predators. The pull-outs served occasionally for rest-stops and scenery photos. A local society of conservationists has contributed funds to build a gorgeous botanic garden south of Route 40 just outside of downtown Steamboat Springs. We walked along its pathways which encircle a number or color-assorted arrangements of flowers that grow wild in the area. We took in the Rodeo in the stadium at Howelson Hill. Bull and Bronco busting, team calf roping, youngster calf and sheep chasing. We actually enjoyed viewing how skilled the “cowboys” seemed to be in carrying out their tasks and we believed we were understanding the purposes of their skills, including riding bucking bulls and horses with and without saddles, tying down steers—chaps certainly come in handy to prevent burns on the ropers’ thighs from animal-pulled ropes. Sue’s bicycle ride brought her along the Yampa, where the town has built a paved path. One evening, we ate dinner at a tent near the pavilion built for the Strings Music Festival. Later, we listened with feeling (as he would say) to a recital of piano and strings music under the leadership of Menahem Pressler. It included compositions of Mozart, Schumann, Brahms, and Turina. Sue finally got to ride a raft down the Yampa. Its water turned out not to be too cold after all. We had both eaten lunch at a couple of bars on its shores, where we could enjoy watching other rafters in their four-man plastic or rubber dinghies or on their inflated tire tubes cool off under the scorching (but dry) sun. Becky Turner patiently listened to our speculation about redoing the bathrooms at Ptarmigan House #11. We hope we’ll get a few ideas and bids from contractors that we can afford and bring our apartment more up to date. July 4th Fireworks are celebrated as the largest show in Western Colorado at Howelson Hill we watched them from Amethyst Road, above a football field. The rest of the cars that pulled up alongside us must have thought we knew what we were doing. In truth, it was a good place see the show, although it lasted only about 15 minutes, and wasn’t any better than the fireworks displays we used to watch along the Hudson in Irvington. It only took us three and a half hours drive back down to DIA through the Eisenhower Tunnel. Each time we passed through it, we actually got to one of the highest points in our visit to the mountains, 11,158 feet. Even our drive through the National Park took us only a thousand feet higher. But, at least, we did see some snow there. If the next few years continue the hot weather of 2013, there may not even be any reminders of winter around Ptarmigan House Board meetings in Steamboat.