I never know in what order the pictures will appear when I upload them to the blog, so will have to deal with them the way the computer wants to.

After the APPL conference ended Wednesday evening, we spent two enjoyable days traveling back to Mancos. Thursday morning we visited the Colorado State Capitol and watched legislative sausage being made, along with hordes of school kids, lobbyists, aides and other citizens. It's a busy place!

Our state representative, Ellen Roberts, was unavailable on the floor during a voting session (accompanied by VERY fast reading of items by the clerk); she's in the third row from the right (the front of the chamber), seated at the second desk from the far end.  We did find her office and met two of her aides ... the office is a portion of a room about twice the size of our living room, which Ellen and her staff share with three other representatives and their staffs! Cozy to the max!

We saw and listened to the Senate for a while, didn't get to see or meet with our senator, Jim Isgar. He also shares his office with several other senators. One thing that surprised me was how young many of the senators appeared to be.

On our way out of town, we made a brief stop at the office of the Colorado League of Charter Schools ... they don't occupy palatial digs, either. Then on to Colorado Springs, where we spent the night.

We arrived early enough to do a little photo jaunt toward the hills, where we enjoyed the setting sun on the tops of the cliffs, with small trees clinging stubbornly to little ledges and crevices. 

On the way home Friday, a lot had changed since we left for Denver the previous Saturday. The temperature was in the 30s and sometimes 40s and a lot of the snow was gone. Thoughts of spring were definitely in our heads, and places we want to come back to and camp.

We enjoyed a good lunch in the little restaurant at the back of the wildly eclectic Organic Peddler at the west end of Del Norte, and then enjoyed the views as we crossed Wolf Creek Pass, which was shrouded in clouds on the way up. The third picture is the cliff above the highway just above Treasure Falls, on the west side of the pass. That beautiful blue sky was nice to see above the cliffs and peaks.

Arriving home, many bare spots were in the front yard and the temperature was in the 50s. This morning, it's snowing out ... started sometime during the night. Spring is not far away, but some of our heaviest snows may still lie ahead. 

It's been a week that's reminded me of age, though not in a bad way. Friday morning, in the Comfort Inn breakfast area, I saw a couple of teenage boys in suits, with an adult woman. She confirmed what I had guessed ... the boys were there for the state finals in forensics and debate; they would find out that day if they would be in the finals. Memories of debate and speech trips 50 years ago! And then the realization that that may have been influential in my choosing to be an interpreter ... telling the stories of the parks ... or maybe it's just that I've always been talkative!

A lot of memories came back to me this week: Visiting Great Sand Dunes 42 years ago; talking to a man from Hawaii and remembering people and places from 40 years ago; being at a national meeting of an organization that is the outgrowth of a committee I served on 35 years ago; seeing friends I worked with in National Association for Interpretation regional activities in the last 20+ years.

They've been good memories, but they do remind one that a lot of years have passed, more than will lie ahead. It adds richness to each day, and reminds me to take each day as it comes, live it fully and enjoy the loving relationships I've been blessed with.

And eat better and exercise more so that there will be more of those days to enjoy! TV