Jul. 22, 2006 - 18:31MDT

SWEET MEMORIES

Today Heather and I jointly decided we felt well and rested enough to make a short trip to the hills.

Periodically we go to this place. "The Claim" it belongs to our oldest son, his cousin and our deceased younger son. It is along Clear Creek near where one can ramp onto I-70 West.

The cousin had built a mini-dredge which had a large suction hose to vacuum the bottom sands and the necessary machinery to recover gold from the process. The three men spent weekends of nice weather up there and managed to recover enough gold to keep their interest up.

It became a gathering place for family, all varieties of family and friends would show up, visit, picnic and watch the three of them go for the gold. Some of the younger ones would camp overnight and continue the fun on Sunday.

Ah, how time changes things, our youngest son died of cancer of the larynx, the cousin suffered a blow to the head from a piece of equipment stored overhead at one of the Marts and has been in shaky health ever since. Our oldest son is still navigating, but can't do the work of three. He told me the other day that he is making sure the claim stays as theirs, whatever he has to do to accomplish that, he does.

Heather and I having spent much of our young lives in our hills, to our great enjoyment -- always enjoyed going up to "The Claim" and join in what ever fun was happening.

Today we took folding chairs up with us, munchies and ice water and spent much time in the place we had become accustomed to when it was populated with family.

We located ourselves in the shade, got comfortable, listened to the song of the creek and went back in our memories of times past. I imagined that I could smell the aroma of warm pines as I once did when I had a smeller, basked in the warmth and relished the cool breezes now and then.

An animal, long, slender, perhaps a ferret or a weasel poked his head out from the rocks and gave me the eyeball, we stared at each other for quite a long time, until Heaather made some movement and he was gone in a flash. I had been wishing I could get my camera in action, but it was not to be. Insect life was thriving up there, especially flies. Don't see them much in town anymore, but they live above. A few wildflowers are in bloom, and grasses of different kinds are growing nicely.

I went down to where we gathered when the guys were working, but it is still too early in the season and the earth was still a bit soggy, so we stayed above and lazed.

Heather and I walked along the creek later to where their operation took place, the depression is still there, but has filled a bit. I would guess that some gold had filtered down the creek from above.

Finally we decided it was time to head home and went up to Idaho Springs and had coffee and a pit stop at McDs and headed home.

When we got back to town we stopped in at Country Buffet and had our main meal there. We like the cuisine which is not fancy but has the things we have loved from childhood, all you can eat for less that ten bucks apiece which included the drink (non-alcoholic).

So now we are home from our little pilgrimage to what once was, where the creek burbles and sometimes roars and the pines populate the world there.

'Twas a day of SWEET MEMORIES . . . . . . . . . .

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