CAMPING IN SILVERTON

 Nate had a week off of work.

He hasn't had that much time off to spend with us since he started his practice two years ago.

Last year he did take a week off and went fishing with his buddies.

He had a trip scheduled again this year but it was cancelled.

 

He wanted to take his family camping instead.

I tried to think about it from his perspective.

He was going to go fly fishing and camping all this week with his buddies, until it was cancelled.

He really wanted to go and here was his chance to go and take his girls.

So sweet.

 

No matter how hard I tried to like the idea, I couldn't.

I was spent.

Between living in a half moved basement, renovating our house, and working on the yard and taking care of the animals and being pregnant, the last thing I wanted to do was go camping.

Maybe that is why hours before we were suppose to pull out I broke down. I cried and cried.

Something I haven't done in years.

Nate had no idea why I was upset or how to help.

He volunteered to take the girls alone and let me go to my mother's house or just stay home and relax.

I didn't want that either.

I didn't want to miss our first family vacation in two years.

I wanted to be the type of mother that sang songs around the campfire, weaved flower crowns from nature, play night games, hiked, and fished.

In that moment I had nothing left to give.

I begged to go rent a hotel in Denver and go to the zoo.

I wanted a simpler vacation.

 

Nate couldn't understand how being in a hotel that had been slept in by millions of other people covered in millions of people's germs could be relaxing and how being elbow to elbow with people in some hot stinky zoo could be fun. 

 

Nate put off the trip for a day.

I got some good sleep, that helped.

Then we went to breath in the fresh air of Silverton, Colorado.

 I don't know if you have ever driven highway 550 between Ouray and Silverton.

It is scary.

Really scary.

The highway is undercut with thousand foot drops.

There is no railing.

It is really curvy.

There is no room for error when driving.

Frankly, I never wanted to drive the road again by the time we got there and then I realized I had to in order to get home.

It was quite the VACATION.

We will use that term loosely.

 Before I get too negative.... look at the beautiful mountains.

Look at the cute small town of Silverton.

Imagine a few days of Nate's undivided attention.

No electronics or dentistry.

The girls were in heaven.

They never wanted to leave.