Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Only in Colorado

Yesterday we had record-breaking temps in the mid 70s and this afternoon the snow clouds have blown in as predicted. We're only supposed to have light flurries tonight, but it is so weird because yesterday the kids playing outside in shorts! Only in Colorado can you have sunshine one minute and snow the next.

I'm reading a book right now called "Scraping Heaven" by Cindy Ross. The author and her husband were both avid long-distance hikers before they had children. Becoming parents didn't dampen their enthusiasm for hiking. This book tells the story of their family hiking the Continental Divide Trail, from the Canadian to Mexican border over 5 summers. The first section they hiked (about 600 miles) found them hiking with two toddlers (one in diapers at the time--and not the disposable variety either!) They used 3-6 llamas to carry their stuff and would schedule stops to replenish their supplies along the way. After hiking the Colorado Trail the first summer, they decided to hike the remaining sections (north and south) over the next several summers. It's a fascinating book, but I don't think I'll be hiking with kids and llamas anytime soon. Their kids were troopers, but she writes pretty honestly about the parenting challenges they faced on the trail. Not for me! My friend recommened this book to me last summer and now I'll recommend it to you all. It's a good read.

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