So out on the road I glanced to my left to find a fox in the meadow hunting for breakfast. I hope she found a nice fatty field mouse who didn’t suffer too much trauma as the fox took her first bite.

Boofy and I proceeded on to Lewis Ridge Road and hopped on the trail. All of the things that I love most about our walks were presented in a more subtle way this morning. You know, the cloudy sky and the lack of traffic (it’s Memorial day) kept us surrounded by hushed tones.

Further up the path there were some deer laying down by some big rocks behind some trees set back from the path. It looked to me as if they hadn’t gotten up yet and I felt so intimate with them, casually walking by their bedroom.

Boofy and I arrived at the off-leash area and headed to the right. I had my mind on the rushing water sounds produced by the little creek down at the bottom of the park. I knew that it would feel lush down there this morning.

Before you get to the creek there is the little spring that comes out of the ground and then spreads around without a bed. Boofy slogs through the marshy mud lapping up the water as he goes. It is so obvious that he loves this. Then after his big drink he runs up to me and sits right in front of me waiting for the biscuit that goes with his beverage.

Further on down the trail we ran into a couple that we frequently see and the woman asked me if I had seen the fresh snow on Mount Evans. Well I hadn’t even looked up to the west at all. I am a little surprised by that because it is something I always do – look over at Mt Evans’ spectacular 14,000 ft peak peaking through the closer mountains. So Boofy and I had to extend our walk a little bit so we could get to a high point to look west from.

As I  crested the hill I was blown away by bountiful beauty!  Not only was Mt Evans covered with snow, but the clouds had broken apart to reveal a bright blue sky framing and spotlighting Mt Evans’ snowy peak. I mean really. I don’t make this stuff up.

Unbelievable.

It is so “rubbernecky” the way I am drawn to sirens. First I wonder if it is an ambulance, a firetruck, or just some sheriff’s deputy making his quota of traffic stops. But, I also get a little excited by the sound of the siren coming progressively closer. I watched I-74 between some buildings, couldn’t spot it, and was surprised by it as the ambulance sped past me on Stagecoach Blvd.

As the ambulance disappeared around the bend and Boofy and I continued crossing  Stagecoach we were startled by the sound of additional sirens up the road where the ambulance had disappeared. How could more emergency vehicles have just appeared up there without coming past us. We stopped to listen and I noticed a difference between the various sounds we were hearing. Whereas the siren made a full circle of sounds, the other stuff we were hearing were snippets of the full loop siren sound.

Then I realized that the sounds we were hearing involved only one emergency vehicle and a couple of coyotes singing along. Damn. How many times in your life do you think you are going to experience that?

I immediately chastened myself for being shallow and ungrateful for the opportunity I have everyday to find adventure. Boofy and I continued on to a great walk and I can’t tell you if he continued to pull or not. I just couldn’t get over what I had just heard.

Thank you.

There are more bikers out in the mornings now and I almost got run over by one on Wednesday. Boofy and I were headed uphill along Elk Meadow and the biker came down fast around a blind curve. Boofy and I jumped out of the way and of course, I screamed. Screaming really decreases a person’s credibility, doesn’t it?  The guy said he was sorry and we all went our separate ways.

People are way more vulnerable on the path than they are in their real lives completing regular daily tasks. For instance, Boofy and I had just set out upon our walk, but I was already disconnected and mostly “inside my head.” The guy on the bike could very well have been somewhere else also. I’m pretty sure Boofy was thinking about ground squirrels and elk poop, so none of us was actually there. But a pile up would have brought us all painfully to the present!

Today Boofy and I took a really long walk. Little streams are running over the path and the woods are so beautiful that I am going to take my camera out tomorrow. I have to capture the morning light coming through the evergreens that creates my dappled sunshine nirvana in the woods.

So anyway, we had a nice big walk along “Painters’ Pause,” up to “Sleepy S,” up to the parking lot at Stagecoach, and over to the off leash area. This walk takes about an hour and a half. It was great today and Boofy is not coming in the house any way but through the dishpan.

Starting up the path along Elk Meadow was the same as always except for the fact that I could only see 50 ft in front of me. I welcomed the humidity provided by the fog as the incline increased and I started to breathe deeply. I could just feel my hair starting to frizz! We got to the parking lot along Stagecoach and cautiously crossed the road I could hardly see over to the off leash area. We turned to the right and I unleashed Boofy. He leapt into action, sniffing and peeing to beat the band. This dog sniffs like it’s his job. Well, maybe it is. It is also his job to pee on every blade of grass or pine needle that smells like another animal. Ah, life’s simple pleasures. We walked down along the fenced-in off-leash area and came to the spring that just pops out of the ground just at the turn for about six months of the year. It’s not enough for Boofy to just get a drink out of the spring, he has to also walk in the creek that flows from it just blackening his paws all the way to his little doggy knees. This black material is like meconium – dark colored and sticks like tar. It really doesn’t matter though. Boofy and I both know and accept that Spring is a very messy season.

Options abound in the off-leash area. This morning I chose “steep” because I wanted to work hard. I think about breathing a lot. I embraced Kundalini yoga just for the intense breathing and I have lots in common with Joe Pilates. He had breathing issues among his other physical challenges and Pilates breathing reflects his deep thoughts on powerful breathing.

As we moved along the path something began falling from the sky that was sleety/snowy. Not a lot at first, just kind of one-by-one. As we completed the loop and once again approached Stagecoach this falling phenomenon took on the sting of sleet. Hood up as we crossed the road and Boofy took his first big shake in the Elk Meadow parking lot. Boofy has that Chow double layer of coat that just invites any element to try to penetrate it. He shakes it off and asks for more. Boofy and I walk whatever the weather and he never complains. He loves every kind of weather.

Returning down, the  path was very different from the one we had come up on. I love extreme weather and today’s weather did not disappoint. Traversing a dirt path alongside a wide meadow that you know is there, but cannot see, with snow and sleet falling heavily all around you and into you is the stuff of dreams. I mean, how many people ever get to experience this in a safe, comfortable way.  I was 15 minutes from my home and in no danger. Anyway, it was a blessed way to start my day and I am honored to have been a part of it. Boofy felt the same way until he found himself in the garage with his paws in the dishpan. Yeah, he really doesn’t like the clean-up part of his morning adventure. But I know he would tell you it is worth every minute of it. And that was this morning.

My morning walks have become my “happy time” in these challenging days. Everything works the way it is supposed to. The endorphins kick in and my thoughts travel all over the place. Sometimes I get to a place along the trail and wonder how I got there, I was so deep in thought. I often think that corporations should ditch the conference table for the conference trail. I suppose it may have something to do with the oxygen.

Some mornings I begin my walk with a song in my head that I have not heard in years. I am now convinced that the space where people’s names belong has been occupied by those old songs from days gone by.

Another wonderful thing about my walk is coffee. I have my first cup of the day on the trail. It’s just like when you are camping and you pour a cup of  Joe and wander around in the early morning forest. I love it, but I don’t know if I can enjoy the walk without it now.

I am so blessed to live in a place like Evergreen where Boofy and I can step out the door into our very own crack of dawn  adventure.