When I was in my early 30’s I was having a bit of a hard time with life. I ended up living in a small wood cabin in a trailer park near Pagosa Springs Colorado. My bed was a single bed that the manager of the park loaned me. I had no heat in this cabin. The bathrooms were a walk away. I had a pool table in the middle of the cabin. I had a job waiting tables at the Chimney Rock Restaurant. I waited tables, tended bar, pumped gas, took care of the small store and checked in people at the campground. The first morning that I lived there I had gone to the showers and when I returned there was a hot plate and 2 pots of flowers on my step. Later in the day I met Judy & Fred and their 2 girls. They quickly adopted me and I became part of their family. They loved me and supported me and never once asked what was wrong. Judy taught me about horses and I was soon riding in the high mountains with her and her daughters. They kept me busy and loved me. We have been friends ever since.  I have spent the last 2 nights with them in Alamosa, CO. They are still loving me and supporting me. I am thankful for their ongoing friendship every day.

View from Fred & Judy’s

This morning I left Judy’s & Fred’s home in Alamosa. I have spent the last 2 nights with them. The Alamosa Valley is amazing in it’s diversity. Yesterday we traveled to Great Sand Dunes National Monument and Preserve. These dunes are amazing and the area around it is too. We climbed on the dunes that are formed by wind and water. They range up to 700 feet high and their backdrop is the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  I learned a new term while we were there, “The Surge”. Because the streams carry so much sand in the water ripples of sand form under the water and then break. The water then surges down stream. It was really cool.

About 10 minutes later we drove to over 8,000 feet and hiked into Zapata Falls. The most fun part about these falls, to see them we had to hike in very cold water into a slot canyon. I love being able to shake my normal life off, if even for a few minutes and do something a bit out of the norm. Even though my feet were chilly, I loved every minute of it. What makes this valley so diverse is that it is the highest desert in the U.S., yet it has wetlands, dunes and Mountains that rise to over 14,000 feet. And…it has my wonderful friends, Fred and Judy living there.

Sand Dunes

This morning I departed and drove through the Trail of Legends and right now am taking a break in Trinidad, CO before I head to Oklahoma. I am making my way east. Sweet.

I have become part of clubs or groups that have either worked out for me or not. I have also joined groups that I did not want to join, such as the breast cancer survivors, or the widowed. I have now become part of another group. I am now part of the small RV, Roadtrek group. I love it when I see another RT on highway. Lights flash, we wave frantically and then go on our way. It is fun. The people on the Roadtrek facebook page have been terrific in answering my questions and following along on this journey. I like this group. I continue to feel loved and supported by so many people. Some I know and some I don’t and they all still fall into that category of friends.

Janet in the Dunes

Janet, Judy, Fred

Zapata Falls