Rocky Mountain High

Update from the land where the bears shit in the woods........

We were unfortunate enough to have some of the participants in a James Dickey-esque backwoods redneck wedding housed in the other half of the duplex unit we're in. Partying loudly until all hours of the morning, beer-swilling commencing at rising and continuing until all supplies of brew are exhausted, and tattoos. Many, many garish tatoos. And that's just the females!! Seruiosly, a rig-pig wedding is not what you want going on when peace and quiet are your goals.

On the vacation side of the story, we have had two lovely, albeit familiar hikes - Maligne Canyon on Friday and the Valley of the Five Lakes yesterday. The weather has been perfect for hiking, not too warm, good cloud cover, and the rain has been miraculously holding off each day until we were safely off the trails. Can't ask for better than that.

Today the boyfriend unit and a buddy of ours are doing the Overlander Trail - 9.6 miles but relatively flat - while I, in BF's car, am in town attempting to aid the economy of the local retailers. Shopping rules! The plan, should they both return unscathed, is for all of us to try the Italian restaurant in town for supper tonight. Thank goodness, the wedding party et al have departed, never (hopefully) to be seen or heard from again, so the evening should be a quiet one.

Well, I'm off to the Rockies in the morning, with my xenophobic man in tow. Rather than hire my usual house-sitter, who comes in every couple of days to tend to the plants indoor & outdoor and collect the mail, I'm paying my 21-year-old niece to stay here. She's spending the summer crashing with uni friends here and there, and I daresay she's looking forward to a week of privacy, unlimited long distance calling, and Movie Central.

We'll be hiking (of course!) and relaxing, trying to lose some of the stress we've both been dealing with for months and months. I'll try to update re: scenery, hikes, and anything else remotely entertaining that occurs.