[Today’s run: 11.5 miles with Boardtown Runners]
When I was a kid my family would take week-long camping trips to the mountains. Usually we went to Rocky Mountain National Park. But in later years we branched out and went to other places in Colorado and Wyoming.
When I then had a family of my own I continued this tradition. I like camping and I enjoy being in the mountains.
Then, one year a situation arose where my job was coming to an end and we needed to find something else. I found a job along the populated I-25 corridor in Colorado north of Denver and we moved to Estes Park, Colorado.
I really liked living in Estes Park. We lived there for 10-1/2 years, eventually leaving for health reasons.
So, last week we were back visiting in Colorado and I asked my wife and daughter if anyone wanted to drive up to Estes Park. No takers.
I have discovered that the other people in my family really don’t enjoy the memory of their time in that town. And I can’t really understand the problem. But they are trustworthy people so I trust they have good reasons. Neither my daughter nor my son have any long-standing relationships with people they went to school with. Both say they hated the school and don’t want to meet anyone from their school days. (Neither one graduated from that school, both found other means of completing their secondary education.)
If it had not been for the altitude-related health problems, I would still be there. Or I would move back if I could. But, not going to happen.
I don’t know when or if I will ever do any more camping in the mountains. My last overnight in a tent was at the Longs Peak campground in 2009 when I went up to Estes for a ham radio convention, four years ago.
…
I see that I’ve conflated two issues: Estes Park as a place to live as a child and my enjoyment of camping in the mountains. Even the altitude issue is really separate since there are low-altitude mountain regions in the country that would be suitable.
I don’t give up on the mountains thing. Later this year my wife and I are scheduled to travel to Bar Harbor, Maine and run in a marathon there. We will probably drive through a whole bunch of the east coast mountains to get there.
And, it actually happens that my daughter enjoys hiking and camping quite a bit. She and I used to go on week-long trail work backpacking trips with a volunteer organization. The last time we did that was in July of 2008, I believe. Maybe some day when she isn’t working 80 hour weeks and I am no longer allergic to multi-day vacations we will do that again. Unfortunately, the organization we worked for is no longer in operation…
—
Update: I should try to correct the impression that I am unhappy with the current state of affairs. That is not true.
I recognize that I have a character flaw about the past. I tend to remember the good and forget the bad. Conversely, for the immediate future I can get to worrying about what could happen. I’m not always very “present” minded.
I don’t know what life will bring, maybe I will be out hiking in the mountains again some day soon.
It’s just a bit shocking really, that we all had the same general experience but came out of it will such divergent memories. And I feel a bit guilty that they were so miserable and I was enjoying it.