Walking slowly through Lory State Park
It’s early spring in Northern Colorado, and I am as sick as I’ve ever been. It’s a struggle to make it into work each morning, and I find my weekends filled with hours and hours of laying on the couch, trying not to vomit. Despite my nausea and malaise, the northern hemisphere has been slowly warming, the grass is greening along the Front Range, and the beautiful stone of Colorado is quietly transforming into its springtime beauty.
Of course, I’m in no shape to climb. Mark isn’t much better off, as he had a bout of Salmonella poisoning (AFTER we got back from Thailand) that knocked him on his butt for two weeks. A month goes by and we barely get outside enough to walk the dog.
Finally, we just can’t stand it any more. We pack up some water, tissues, lots of snacks and the camera and go find the easiest hike we can. It happens to be in Lory State Park.
We pull into the park around 1p, and the sun is shining brilliantly. We pay the $6 vehicle fee (ouch) and park at a low trailhead, near what looks to be a new dirt-bike park. We decide the low-altitude, nearly flat, east valley trail is the best one for us today, and set out at a slow pace.
We both brought warm fleece jackets, but end up hiking in our shirt sleeves. There are boats out on the reservoir, and we watch as fishermen yell at party-boaters for blasting crappy dance music too loud. Liv chases small rodents between yuccas, and I take a ton of pictures. We meet a few other hikers, dogs and horse-riders out on the trail, but mostly the afternoon is quiet, calm and peaceful.
After a mile or so, we decide to start heading back. Mark wants to turn the walk into a loop, so we cross the road and connect up to the West Valley trail. We follow this for maybe half a mile (past a rowdy group of picnic’ers) and then head back towards our trailhead. Only, we’re not quite as close as I thought, and when I realize how much further I have to walk, I bail. I find a nice picnic table in the sun, lay down, and wait for Mark to go get the car and pick me up.
Not the stunning conclusion to the amazing adventures that we have been blessed with over the years, for sure. But we get outside, we get a little sun and fresh air, and I get a few nice pictures.
Sometimes I kind of like that foreign, woozy feeling you can get when going outside while sick. Things like moving air and contact with living plants become novel.
:) If only it were that kind of friendly sick. I more found the dry wind and loud noises grating and annoying. But I’ve got to get outside to keep my sanity.