purgatory has never looked so good
when i was in colorado i traveled further south than i ever have. it’s a whole different world in southern colorado.
durango.
it was real pretty.
you know what wasn’t pretty though?
the ex-cons.
actually, he was kind of cute.
my first flavor of southern colorado was when i was just getting into the outskirts of durango. it was getting dark and i didn’t want to miss main street because that’s where my directions to my friend’s house started. plus, getting dark in colorado in july means that cocktail hour had come and gone without me and it was nearing drinking-with-reckless-abandon hour. and i was dry. naturally i stopped at the first big liquor store along the highway that i came across.
map in hand, i walked right up to the cashier and asked him to make sure i was on the right track before selling me my beer and wine. while i was at the counter, a nice enough guy said that he knew where main street was and that he was headed in that same direction. he’d be happy to show me the way if i wouldn’t mind giving him a lift, though he’d understand if i didn’t want to.
well, good. i’m glad he understood.
a girl. alone. with a map.
i don’t think so.
he handed the cashier back his phone and went on his merry way.
that’s when the friendly cashier told me i probably (probably?!?!) made a good decision, that the gentleman who just left had just been released from jail and was trying to get back to town. his store was a common stop for ex-cons in need of a phone to call for a lift.
apparently my face gave my urban shock away because he then informed me that i needn’t worry, he had a shot gun behind the counter for just these types of situations and that if anything had not gone as planned, he was a pretty good shot so he usually just let the guys use the phone. so far so good.
uh, okay.
“in that case, would you please walk me to my car”
“sure thing,” he says, “i was just about to suggest the same thing myself.”
it wasn’t all shotguns and ex-cons though.
the next day otis and i hopped in the car lookin for adventure.
what we found was a ridiculously awesome hike about halfway between durango and silverton along called purgatory flats in the san juan national forest. its a friggin awesome hike. and otis couldn’t have been happier.
you basically just hike down for a mile or so to the flats, which lead to a few rivers that you hike along for 2-3 miles. when you can’t really imagine the beauty getting any better, you turn around and hike back out.
i think i could have lived down there.
and holy shit was otis a happy, happy dog.
not much better than a gorgeous hike and a happy dog.
he’s a BIG dog too.
so, when he got all wet and muddy he had to eventually get cleaned up (he was the best man, you know). and that meant i was going to bathe him.
ha!
now that sure was an adventure to be watched.
thank goodness i have no photographic evidence of that dog RULING me at the dog wash. but i do have a lovely picture of the wedding party. the clean wedding party.
