I heard one of my all time favorite questions again tonight and a cute line that I had forgotten.
The day began with dealing with some emails. Then a visit to the Centennial Village in Greeley, Colorado. An interesting place. The signage could be better. Or they could have folks stationed throughout the village to do interpretation. Of course, we could have gone on the tour, but we did not have a whole lot of time as we had picked up some additional responsibilities for the day. Still, even taking the village at our own, somewhat rapid pace, there was much to learn. And there were many great, great flowers.
Lunch followed. I was looking for something light like a turkey sub. We came across Cheba Sub Hut. Most excellent. A quirky environment; a manic person at the counter, and good food. I could get hooked.
A drive to the Denver airport followed. Tricia went to a retreat. I went to Estes Park. I did a bit of walking around – it was a cool, rainy evening so I neither walked as much as I had planned nor did I take as many pictures as I planned although there were a number taken for the pine cone collection. But I saw some of the city – amazing how much I remembered given that I had only been here once and that some ten years ago. I picked up a copy of Live Rhymin’ by Paul Simon.
After wandering around Estes Park for a while, I returned to the Rocky Mountain Park Inn where I had received a good deal on Hotwire.
Channel surfing, I came across Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country playing on the SyFy Channel. It has some interesting moments. Shakespeare contributes the title and gets quoted fairly frequently.
It was followed by Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. It definitely is not one of my favorite movies in the franchise. But it does have one of my favorite questions of all time. The plot involves a search for God led by Spock’s half-brother. He takes over the Enterprise and away they go. Adventures follow. There are some intriguing reflections on the pain we carry. I need to ponder that further. After additional adventures, they arrive at the planet where God supposedly lives. They encounter a being who claims divinity. However, Kirk and Spock and McCoy are surprised to learn that this being is overly interested in the Enterprise. The being suggests that the starship will be useful as he (at least he appears as a he) seeks to escape from the planet. Finally Kirk can take no more and poses the eternal question: “Why does God need a starship?” I will tell no more to avoid spoiling the film. But I love that question.
Of course the line, “Please Captain, not in front of the Klingons.” isn’t bad either.
Tomorrow: Rocky Mountain National Park.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Movie, National Park
The aroma of coffee comforts me
as a slow drizzle falls;
clouds creep down the mountains,
a chill steals into the air.
I grasp my mug tighter,
warmth seeping into my fingers.
The rain increases.
8 July 2011
Estes Park, Colorado
Filed under National Park, Photo, Poem
I am not a big television fan. I watch very little. But Men of a Certain Age is on at the moment. It is a reminder that I could watch Andre Braugher read the phone book. I don’t get it all – it’s a bit hard joining a series at the last episode of the season and having a sense of the back stories and how things have come to where they are. But Braugher’s performance caught and held my attention.
Homicide: Life on the Street is the one series I have watched from beginning to end – using Netflix to help me do that. And I did that primarily for Braugher although the whole cast was amazing.
Today was another slow moving day. When we finally got moving, we drove to Greeley. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Good Time Burgers – they also served custard – which probably helped absorb the grease from the burgers. They were OK, by no means were they the best burgers I have ever eaten (of course they did not claim to be).
Fort Vasquez was the next stop. It was a trading post – furs, beaver and buffalo, were the featured item. The traps looked particularly brutal. Then made it to Greeley. Drove around the town a bit and then checked in to the Days Inn – where Tricia did the laundry. We went to dinner with Sue Brown and a bunch of her friends from the Presbytery of Plains and Peaks.
Tomorrow night – Estes Park. The last time I was in Estes Park was 10 years ago when the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program held a seminar there and I led a workshop. I drove to seminar and around the town and the YMCA of the Rockies. I am embarrassed to say that, in the process, I struck a number of small animals. I will try to be more careful this time – maybe even much more careful to paraphrase Captain Jack Sparrow.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Travel
Along the Graybeard Trail 