31 Aug: Two days until departure, but we didn't get up early, so it was already 2 in the afternoon by the time we finished eating at Boss Hogg's after our morning walk and breakfasts. It was a warm day, but we are pleased with the packing progress and our pleasant evening walk, spotting several deer. 9.16 miles today!
30 Aug: This was a successful day on all counts. QQQ went up enough for Ron to make money on his last call option - - but then he immediately bought a put. Ron's packing is progressing, and he made the first trip to deposit recycling at the EMS station. We said good-bye to new friends Chuck and Jean for ten minutes on the evening walk and returned with the rising of a big "blue moon" (click here). 6,16 miles
29 Aug: We enjoyed a pleasant day. Ron walked in the AM, Cynthia’s feet are sore, but we walked tonight, so double 4.66 for Ron’s mileage.
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| Sunset on August 11 was as spectacular |
28 Aug: Ron continues mending, now a pair of socks. Our day is just that exciting. We did eat lunch at Boss Hogg's and saw Eliza again. Our evening walk was pleasant with an amazing, colorful sunset. We met a local couple here who live in Bentwater, Texas, across the lake from us in our winter condo. 9.14 Miles.
27 Aug, Sunday: We are still not early birds, getting started walking today at 10:30, immediately after exercises and oatmeal. Countdown proceeds, only six more days until departure. Ron is preparing recycling to drop off in at the EMS station two blocks away, bookkeeping, and preparing for initial attempts to pack everything into five little luggages. 8.92 Miles, sore feet.
26 Aug: Another slow morning, but we did our exercises, ate oatmeal and walked as usual. It was a little warm for Cynthia, but we had cloud cover a few times which enabled us to complete the usual walk to the boat ramp. In the evening, the sunset pinks were marvelous for the second time this week, and we enjoyed seeing a cute little skunk ahead of us on the path for 50 yards. One of us kept a wise distance behind, while the more adventurous one (male) trotted right behind him. Cynthia’s total miles for June, July and August totaled 374.42. Today, 8.84 Miles.
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25 Aug: We arose later today because QQQ is in the basement. After the usual exercises and oatmeal we went out for the usual walk and were surprised to see the pavers at work on the second lane in the subdivision. We scattered dried flowers down the hillside of the dam, and finished our "morning" walk at Boss Hogg's. All afternoon we fought sleep as our stomachs digested way too much food. We walked late this evening and got back after dark, easy to do now since dark is an hour earlier than in early July. 9.5 Miles
24 Aug: We were delighted to see QQQ open at a price nearly high enough to trade, but that rapidly vanished as the price plummeted all day long to end up $11 cheaper than the opening price. Ron is hoping for a recovery in a few days after the Fed conference winds down and things get back to "normal." We did our usual two walks today despite cloudy skies and a little rain. 8.5 Miles
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| Yes, more flowers |
23 Aug: Housekeeping comes again today. Cynthia is excited. Ron straightened his messes, Amber came and went, Cynthia is showered clean, the room is clean, and she is a happy girl. We walked the usual route and were quite pleased to see much more progress with the asphalt today, but there is still an incredible amount left to do for one crew and one paver. Just past the paving crew were five large bucks, one with a 12 point rack. The rest of the walk was uneventful. Ron sewed on a button, then rode to Walmart & City Market for groceries. He returned with two bouquets of roses, and made an exquisite arrangement of pinks and golds. We ate at Boss Hogg's, and our waitress was named Rain. Interesting that we put the rain cover back on Cynthia's new seat, and it rained at 5 o'clock for a few minutes. Tonight is laundry, and EVERYTHING will be clean. Imagine that.!! Cynthia walked 5.27 miles, but opted not to walk tonight following the rain. Ron walked and reports more progress on the asphalt.
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| more rainbow than rain |
22 Aug: Today is another early day. Ron was convinced he would get to sleep earlier yesterday, but it didn't happen. We were up early watching QQQ for our morning excitement, but it didn't behave well despiting opening much higher than expected. It then spent the rest of the day in the basement hiding. Our morning walk started out with disappointment that the street resurfacing project showed no signs of progress until we had walked to the lake and back. Then we were excited to see workers around the asphalt machine. In the evening we walked past the 1/4 mile new asphalt lane. Wonderful, even if slower than molasses, and now they have placed cones to mark those suspension destroying ditches. 8.6 Miles
21 Aug: Again up too early only beause Ron doesn't get to sleep early enough, time after time after time. Ron made money with QQQ on three out of six remaining contracts, but the market will have to go up significantly to make the other three profitable. We enjoyed a quick, short walk this morning and only saw one road grader and one water truck, so our crew has mostly moved elsewhere. Early afternoon we did lunch at Boss Hogg's with Eliza as waitress. Cynthia's sister in Palm Desert has a lot of water damage from the hurricane. (One doesn't think of mud in the desert being a big problem.) Walk number 2 this evening was delightfully cool. What a pleasant change.!! There were surprisingly large and deep (10 inches) ditches at the two junctions where the newly smoothed dirt roads join the old asphalt roads leading into the subdivision. Ron decided that this means that asphalt surfacing should begin tomorrow. It was unbelievable that there was no signage to indicate that motorists were about to hit such a potentially damaging ditch. The other excitement was seeing a fox near the dam for the second time this year. 8.0 miles
20 Aug, Sunday: Maybe today the early bird will sleep in. She did! We are ever so curious to see if the truckers return tomorrow to continue working on the subdivision streets putting down “Ambient Mix Asphalt.” Thirteen more days until departure towards Gunnison, Montrose, Berthoud, Vermillion SD, Medina, MN and Scandia, MN. Our evening walk was pleasant, and we enjoyed fun conversations with Jim and Ming. 5.0 Miles
19 Aug: Saturday means we sleep in. Zzzz. Oops no, someone awakened early and quickly. We exercised, ate and walked, but not early enough to escape the heat, so we turned around early and came back to work on our computers until Ron decided to ride to Walmart for groceries. It was hot, but the store was not crowded, and shopping went quickly. We will undoubtedly walk late this evening, and it will still be too hot. There are firefighters at the hotel between camps; they got the little fire out and will move to a bigger one. 6.0 Miles
18 Aug: Another good morning walk, a bit earlier today, but still a bit too hot for us. Cynthia is in favor of 2 pm lunch at Boss Hogg's; Eliza and the good cook are working. The trucks and construction workers are not in sight today. The stock market went up a bit but not far enough; maybe Monday. The evening walk was pleasant. 8.0 miles.
17 Aug: We both slept quite well, Ron for seven uninterrupted hours, Cynthia without foot pain. (But the AC was too cold for her.) Ron spent the day watching QQQ fall and fall and fall. Maybe tomorrow it will rise and rise and rise. Let's hope. At 10:30 am, Cynthia required a ride to the hairdresser. We are lucky that Ron was still able to recognize her when he returned to pick her up. 4.90 miles on the evening walk
16 Aug: WOW, we both slept well, and Cynthia was astounded to awaken after a night with no foot pains at all. That was some foot massage with the pedicure yesterday !! We exercised, ate, walked, and were very pleased with the progress on the subdivision streets. They are now smooth and level without lumps and bumps. Then we ate at Boss Hogg's, salad, salmon & a baked potato. Now Ron is busy writing cards to send to invite more people to the Burton 3rd reunion party. Cynthia tried typing and discovered that it puts too much pressure on her sagittal bands. Ron's trip for groceries was a bit unnerving as it headed straight towards a very ugly dark black sky, but he returned to the hotel just as the first strong gusts of water-drop-filled winds blasted the area. The rain prevented us from taking a second walk tonight. 5.23 miles
15 Aug: Up late. Cynthia slept well despite foot spasms at night that sometime awakened her. Her foot spasms did keep Ron awake so he worked on James Lea from 3:30 am until 6. He is falling asleep this afternoon, alone in the room while Cynthia gets a pedicure & manicure. The pedicure was the best ever; it really helped arthritis in her feet. She is unaccustomed to pain-free feet. Interesting to see daily progress as the streets are being covered with a new layer of packed dirt and rock, preparing for asphalt in the subdivision. 8.0 Miles
14 Aug: Another exciting day. We did our morning exercises, ate oatmeal (invariably), walked to the boat ramp and back, ate lunch at Boss Hogg's and spent the afternoon on our computers. Ron is excited to be figuring out a couple of complicated wills and estates. This morning as we returned through the subdivision, we passed a long line of trucks pulling belly dump trailers, apparently waiting to add mixed dirt & rock to the interior streets. This evening six of those huge trucks parked across from the hotel. Now it is evening and time to walk again despite threat of rain. 9.20 miles!
13 Aug: Sunday: Some of the family are scattered right now; that's unusual. Son Paul is in Berlin, going to Prague Monday, then to York, England on Friday to help his daughter Zoe and her new husband Jack move into their apartment. Zoe's classes begin in Sept. Jack will play soccer. Grandson Eric and his wife, Emily, are in Italy on the Amalfi Coast. Son Jon and both of his daughters are in Iowa for a funeral. We walked twice, totaling 8.5 miles.
12 Aug: We 😴! Finally, at 10:30 AM we hoofed it to the boat dock, stopping to visit Jerry and Linda en route. Ron transcribed documents for most of the afternoon while Cynthia had a nice nap. Then Ron napped for an an hour and a half. By that time, Cynthia was sleepy, so Ron walked alone tonight; he has 8.5 miles. Cynthia has miles: 4.53.
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| Some sunsets are amazing and this was after it started to fade !! |
10 Aug: Up early again to watch QQQ, and Ron couldn't help but buy several more contracts. Now we need the market to go up significantly in the next eight days. We walked a shorter loop in the neighborhood and were rewarded with several sightings of bucks. Then we ate at Boss Hogg's and spent the remainder of the day on our computers. The evening walk was cool and pleasant, with a stop to chat with Jerry and Linda from College Station, Texas. The sky turned a menacing black over the mountains, but it did not rain on us. On the way home, eleven bucks meandered alongside of us, including a ten-point buck. 6.40
9 Aug: We were up sorta early at 7:30 and straightened up our messes so that housekeeping could keep house. We decided not to walk this morning to give Cynthia's feet a break, so we spent all day staring at our computers until our evening walk. QQQ suffered again as credit ratings for several major US banks were downgraded. Don't expect consumers to slow down spending just because credit costs more. Ditto US government spending. The national debt is horrible, more than $100,000 for every man, woman and child. Paul says that whenever the BRICS block establishes another currency to buy and sell oil, the inflation in this country will go through the roof. 4.25 miles
8 Aug: Joy! Cooler weather blew into Pagosa Springs, making the morning and evening walks pleasant. We enjoyed meeting a retired high school math teacher, Greg, and his wife, Vicky, on our way home tonight. They call us the “Happy Couple.” Fabulous folks live in Pagosa Springs! Fifteen years ago today, we decided to take a thirty-day research trip together to solve a genealogy mystery; we fell in love, and we are still on that journey. A happy couple indeed. 9.0 miles
7 Aug: We completed our morning 4.25-mile walk to the boat dock. Ron had an excellent pedicure at one PM. It took an hour and a half, but it was a fantastic job. We repeated the walk at seven, except tonight, Ron added a stunt, fall and roll as he made a mis-step off the curb. Cynthia inspected him to be sure he wasn’t bleeding. He was delighted that he stayed clean and didn’t tear his clothes. 8.5 miles.
6 Aug, Sunday: We enjoyed a short, warm, two-mile walk at 9:45 AM, then Ron rode to Walmart and City Market for postcards. He returned without postcards but with fresh roses for his beloved bride. Our hotel staff originally stocked our room with a vase for fleurs. Cynthia is no longer wearing a brace on her right hand, but typing will be limited. Total 6.0 miles for the day.
5 Aug: The editor is at work in the hotel room, with thanks to Barb W. for her research and helpful edits. Yaay. No morning walk due to the heat. Ten more days of 85 degree highs are forecast. 4.5 miles tonight at seven PM. Fun to see two large bucks with big antlers, ten or twelve point racks.
4 Aug: We left for Durango at 8:45 AM to meet Ron’s friends, Cindy and Greg from Big Pine Key, and Cindy’s friend, Renee, and her husband, Gordon, from Durango, at Jean-Pierre’s Bakery for a delightful brunch. A good visit was had by all. From there, we went to Spine Colorado for X-rays and an injection in Cynthia’s bursa. She is now overhauled and hopes to last several more decades. Ron is working on James Lea. 2.0 miles. Good night
3 Aug: Walking about 9.0 miles in two pleasant trips made this a great day. The downside was Cynthia’s Apple Watch quit working, so we don’t have exact mileage. 9.0
2 Aug: We slept in until 7:30 before arising to check QQQ and discovered that the U.S. credit rating had been downgraded, so the markets were down when we needed them up. Oh well, time to finish preparing for housekeeping and to get busy walking. It was moderately hot, so we shortened our hike and avoided the big hill. 6.23 miles.
1 Aug: We arose at 6:30 to leave for Durango to see the retina specialist, Dr. Haug, at 10:30. Cynthia is overjoyed with the comfort and security provided by the new Russell "Day-Long" motorcycle seat. Dr. Haug hails from Minnesnowda and delivered nothing but good news. The retina bleeding has stopped; Cynthia does not have “wet” AMD. Instead, she has a type of dry AMD that affects the optic nerve, so her glasses prescription can be expected to change sporadically. The red dot wallpaper vision was likely caused by a heat stroke. Good news all around! All we must do is sit in the shade whenever Cynthia becomes overheated. We came home and napped before we walked 3.0 miles. Zzzz, good night.
