Meemo in the Mountains: Memorial Weekend at the Cabin

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

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We got home from Bob's tests in Denver on Thursday just in time to have missed the major traffic in the Poudre Canyon! Unfortunately we did not miss the State Patrol Officer that pulled us over between Ted's Place and the mouth of the canyon! He said we were going 60 in a 45 mph zone. How many of us EVER went 45 on that stretch. He could have picked up anyone who went past him, I'm sure. Actually, he was quite nice and only gave us a warning. I think he was the vanguard for the "100 days of Heat" campaign on drinking and driving so we were OK on that level.

As we drove over the pass I was trying to see how far up we got before the trees were still not green. It took to almost the top so I was hopeful that our trees would be green too. But as we traveled down this side of Cameron Pass the green didn't show up until we almost got to Walden and then you really had to look to see any. By the time we got out to the cabin there was a very slight hint that maybe we would see some green in the next few days. By the next morning we had some green!!! Here are the pictures I took.

Just a thin veil of green is visible!

A bit greener

Those on the hill are really green

I also decided it was time to make my family feel nostalgia for the cabin in spring and summer so I went down to the creek to get some pictures of high water. It really wasn't as high as sometimes but it at least was bank full! And then I noticed the dam that all the kids and grandkids have worked on for years is gone! It must have washed away while I wasn't looking! Here are some pictures of where it used to be!

Looking upstream the creek is bank full and the willows are just beginning to get their leaves

Right where the dam should be

Looking downstream toward our good fishing hole

I walked up to Beth's grave this afternoon and checked out some favorite spots and the wildflowers. She has such a lovely spot for us to spend some quiet time! I went over to check out the new Caterpillar or Crawler or whatever they call a John Deere piece of equipment and then went to get some close ups of what's left of "the red truck" for Carla and Kathi. I had to go see what was doing at the pond but the wind was all that was happening there! I did decide I needed to dig some worms and do a little fishing when the wind dies down. I came back across the old rickety bridge without even getting my feet wet! I noticed that the huge wasps' nest from last summer that was in the calf feeder is gone! Now where did it go? and then I got to wondering where wasps go in fall when they leave their nests? Anybody know?

Beth's grave sight is so peaceful

None of the tulips or irises came up and only a few wildflowers inside the fence

The Luck Penny Ditch is running lots of water!

Micah's Path to the top of the hill

What's left of the old red truck

The ponds looking down off the hill

Me on a very windy day at the pond. Wish I had my fishing pole but it wouldn't have cast very far!

The old rickety bridge but it's picturesque

Better watch your step--especially Carla!

While I was up at Beth's grave I got to thinking about some memorable Memorial Weekends I have had. I think the one I remember most was one I spent up in Owyhee on the Shoshone-Paiute reservation (Duck Valley Indian Reservation in northern Nevada and southern Idaho). On that Saturday I spent the day with my good friend Teola up in Boise getting flowers and other decorations for their family cemetery. We did a lot of shopping and ate at a restaurant and had a lot of giggles and laughs. She invited me to come with her family when they went to decorate the graves on Monday. I felt very honored and excited since it is traditional for everyone in the family from the grandchildren on up to the elders to gather and walk from one grave to the next while the eldest elder gives an oral history of each member of the family buried there. As Teola and I drove home that day she told me some of the older history of her family when they (her ancestors) lived and hunted in the Jarbidge area of Nevada. I love the history and stories that these Native Americans have. It is such a wonderful heritage compared to my pretty boring one! Well, Monday came and I was plagued with my annual spring eye infections! My eyes were almost swollen shut so I thought I best run up to the hospital, get some "magic" eye drops that seem to work almost immediately and get back over to the Mannings so I could go with them. It was not to be..... It was a holiday with one new Dr. on call and he wanted to consult with some doctors up in Boise before doing anything and being a holiday they were either not there or busy so I waited and waited and waited. While I was waiting, one of my student's mother who worked up there (I think she, the Dr. and I were the only ones there) came over and sat down next to me to take a little break and to visit. The first thing she said to me was, "Well, did you decorate?" I racked my brain trying to think if I was supposed to have decorated for the prom, decorate my room at school, decorate my house, or what! I kind of gave her a blank stare and then realized she meant did I decorate my family's graves! Wow! You really know you have made it on the reservation when someone thinks you are Indian enough to have family buried there! What an honor! That week end really stands out for me and makes me realize what great friends I had when I worked there! Unfortunately it was well after noon before the Dr. gave me my eye drops and the "decorating" was all over. By that time the next year I was in Wendover.

I hope every one has a great weekend and honors those who have given their lives for our freedom.