A Hunting We Will Go

Hey everyone! This weekend the town of Creede was awash in day-glo orange. That could only mean one thing: hunting season. Thomas and I traveled down Wednesday night for a long weekend to see some relatives who were in town hunting and to celebrate my favorite occasion, my birthday. I've managed to get Thomas to buy into the concept of "Birthday Month", so this was the culmination of lots of treats for me. Let's just say I think he's really happy it's finally November. Anyway, two weeks ago Johnny, Dennis, Jimmy and Joe all from PA and NJ traveled west to stay at Plan B and do some elk hunting. Given the large number and variety of animals that we've seen in Creede this summer, we all thought this would be like shooting fish in a barrel. Instead, everyone in town agreed that it was the worst hunting season in years, thanks to it being unseasonably warm. So although they saw lots of animals (big horn sheep, deer, elk, coyotes, chipmunks, etc), thanks to the byzantine hunting rules of Mineral County, they weren't able to catch any of the one kind they were licensed for: female elk (or cows as they are called). We did have a lot of fun visiting with them though on Wednesday and Thursday nights. We also had the good fortune to be the recipients of all their leftover food. Their wives Joanne and Sandy had baked and frozen lots of wonderful dishes - beef stroganov, turkey cutlets, bean and barley soup, chili, to name a few - and my new goal in life is to get some of these recipes. Thursday night we all went to dinner at the Creede Hotel for their Mexican night. The hotel had been closed for a month, so it was packed, but the food was great. The new place in town, Glenn Mora, which my parents raved about after a dinner there with Bob and Cindy this summer, was already closed for winter, much to my dismay. We also swung by Bob and Cindy's new place in Creede. It's a perfect spot - right on the Rio Grande. Our plan to take over the town is well underway.

I had many things to be happy about this weekend. Lots of lovely presents, of course, and a good helping of some of my favorite things. These included:

• Pumpkin bagels from Moes - so treasured because they are seasonal. Though I used to be a bagel fanatic, I now eat them only one week a year, and this was it. I looked forward to it every morning - perfect with a piping hot cup of Zapatista.
  
• Northern Exposure - Thomas has given me Northern Exposure on dvd for the past couple of years. I now have the first three seasons, but it didn't seem right to watch the show anyplace but Creede. Because nowhere I've ever been feels more like Cicely, Alaska than Creede. The summer I worked in Creede, I lived with Jen who was studying for her MCATs. Her goal was to be the Dr. Fleishman of Creede. Sure enough, she lives there now with her husband and two kids and is the town's resident doctor. My goal was to be a bush pilot, a la Maggie. This has yet to happen. But back to the show. I was a little nervous watching the pilot. Would it hold up? Oh boy, but it did. I love this show and most of its characters dearly. How a show this good managed to survive more than one season is beyond me, but I'm oh so thankful. Thomas and I watched the first four episodes and loved them all. I can honestly say that NE is my all time favorite tv show. It will be soooooo hard to save the rest of those eps for our next trip.
  
• Fawlty Towers - We also watched three episodes of this funniest of comedies. Another of my all time fav tv shows. Definitely makes the top 10. Unfortunately, they only made 12 episodes, because the Brits are sadists. But all 12 are gems. If you haven't seen Fawlty Towers, you will love it. Trust me.
  
• Settlers of Catan - 2 weeks ago we forced the game upon Matt and Tracy. Our explanation of the rules needs a lot of work still, but we're getting there. That game ended with a win by Thomas. We are totally addicted at this point so Thomas and I played it solo this weekend which makes for a very fast game and yes, another win for Thomas. Obviously, I have no head for real estate. Luckily a warm fire in the stove and 40s music from my satellite radio took away the sting of losing.
  
• Daylite Savings Time - Not sure if it was turned on of off with this fall back. But I feel like it's America's gift to me as it always happens the wkend of my bday and extends it for one more hour. Plus, that extra hour of sleep is a treasured thing. If they could just figure out how to keep it from getting dark earlier as well, I'd be over the moon.
• The San Juans - The mountains were all covered in snow and just amazingly beautiful. Unfortunately the aspens were already bare, but there was plenty to make up for it. We hiked around Plan B one afternoon and the scenery just kept getting prettier (plus I saw a fox, a deer and a chipmunk). All in all our trip was wonderful and I could easily make it an annual birthday event.

In other news, today is voting day here in Colorado. Probably in other places as well. Thankfully we're able to vote by mail. Unfortunately 17 years of education didn't teach me to read instructions so I screwed up my ballot and was forced to go to the Boulder Elections Office for a replacement. This was a very bad idea as it was swarming with angry octogenarians. And we wonder why politicians cater to old people. I doubt I saw anyone there under the age of 50. But I survived the madness and the winding lines and lived to cast my vote.

Finally, I got some wonderful news the other day. I received an email from my old SMU
friend Stacia and she's moving back to the States and getting married. Best wishes, Stacia. I couldn't be happier for you.

Creede Bumpersticker of the Day: Give me coffee and nobody gets hurt.

-sunday