Refreshed!

I had a fantastic weekend--the getaway was exactly what I needed.

Part of me wants to share every detail of my time there, but another part of me knows that the experience isn't really one to be shared with the world wide web. It was restful. It was healing. It was more than I could have asked or imagined. And that's about as much as I'm willing to divulge.

I will tell you that I spent a lot of time here:

And here:

Sometimes though, it was a bit too chilly--even with my fleece and mug of coffee,

so I hung out here:

Thankfully, this time I didn't encounter any moo-ing "bears" or snakes. I was pleased that this beautiful creature decided to visit, though it scared me to death when I walked around the corner and saw her peering in the window! (Too bad I couldn't grab my camera fast enough to capture that!)

Hope everyone has a great week!

I'll be back in a day or two with some VERY exciting news! 

SAD (in all caps!)

Hello blog friends.

I'm so happy to report that I am home from my marathon road trip. Overall it was good, but now that I'm home I'm feeling like I need a vacation from my vacation!

I'll post pics soon. I have lots and need a good chunk of time to sort and download them.

Until then, here is one picture I want to share.

It's my bear bell. (Tiffani, now do you see why I get a kick out of the name of your blog?)

I usually attach it to my belt loop or my pack when I hike. The bell jingles while you walk and supposedly makes enough noise to alert a bear to your presence and cause them to flee. When not hiking, the bell is stored in that handy little mesh bag that has a magnet at the end to keep the bell silent.

Of course hiking with kids who make a lot of noise might have the same effect. Kids are a little harder to silence though.  

I have a healthy respect for bears and definitely feel a little more secure hiking with my bell. And I guess it works since I've never seen a bear while hiking.  

I did see a bear last week though. Actually, I saw two bears. A mama and her cub. We were riding a train from Durango to Silverton (more about that when I post pics) and my sister-in-law glanced up at a grassy hillside and saw the bears sitting on a large rock. She pointed for all of us to see and right after she pointed, the mama bear turned to the cub and they both took off running uphill. It all happened so quickly that none of us got a picture. Argh! It was so great though! That brings my bear count up to four, all of which I've seen from the safety of a car, a train, or a cabin! Just the way I prefer it.

I threw my bell in my suitcase when I was packing because the owner of the cabin we rented for the week emailed us to say that he had seen a bear while hiking a few weeks prior to our arrival. I thought it would be a good idea to wear it if we went on a hike.

You know what? We didn't hike. In fact, this afternoon while I was unpacking I picked that bear bell up and realized that I haven't hiked one single time this entire summer. If you've read this blog for any length of time you know I LOVE to hike. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I went. 

That makes me more sad than you can know.

It's definitely something I need to remedy. Soon. Probably when school starts and I have more time to myself than I know what to do with.

Looks like my goal of hiking another 14'er this summer/fall isn't going to happen. That's just downright depressing. And SAD (in all caps!)