Ups and downs

Well...today started out just fine. I woke up before 8 a.m. without an alarm and that certainly is a rarity. Had the day planned out...cut the grass, water the flowers again so they know I love 'em, run some errands, and show up at the two functions I was invited to. Well...got the front grass cut, did a lil cleaning, and took a break for lunch. Well...the lunch part wasn't bad but the "break" wound up lasting all day. I sat by the computer and that was a wrap. I figured while I was waiting for the food to cook I would do a little more planning for the road trip coming up here shortly. I don't normally do a lot of planning...just kinda go where the wind takes me...but I'm trying to cram a lot in to a few days so I'm plotting out my moves. What got me today was that some of the places I'm planning on visiting are areas I haven't been to since I was a kid. It made me think about my dad. It hit me when I was looking at the Maroon Bells area near Aspen. I was looking on Google 3-D Earth maps (man that thing is freakin crazy cool!) at the lake in front of the mountains. You can look at it from ground level, just as if you are standing there. The last time I was there was with the whole family, many years ago. Well, one thing led to another and all I kept thinking about was the great times we had on vacation. Dad and I made up our own "highway" games to pass the time...especially for the 600+ miles we always drove through Texas...each way. We would try to predict what type of car would be coming in the opposite direction on the highway. We would do that for hours. And he always kept in the game until I was the one who got tired of it...he never ended it because he knew it entertained me. I also thought back to our last trip together. In 2008 we all took two weeks and went up to Wyoming. I'm SO SO SO thankful that we were able to go. Lots of GREAT memories just like the rest. It was a far cry from our very first trip out there...1975...with 7 of us piled into a 1971 Ford LTD ex-police car. Good thing gas was cheap back then...that thing probably got about 7 miles to the gallon. I have never been the same since that first trip. The love of the mountains and the west run through my blood...and I have my dad to thank for that. With the memories of all the vacations running through my mind...nothing else got done...it's been a rough day. So...here I am...mentally exhausted. I'm going to watch some TV and try to think about something else for awhile. Goodnight world. Goodnight Dad...thank you for so many great memories...I miss and love you very much.