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Jul. 3rd, 2008 09:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reldnahkramIt is unfortunate that my friends list has made it apropos to post this, and I wish those affected the best of luck.
The summer after 5th grade was one of those seminal summer of youth, in which there's a series of notable and defining experiences. The first came only a week or two after school ended, when I went out to Colorado for a week-long intergenerational elderhostel with my grandmother. I flew out to Denver, where I was picked up by my uncle (who was in the process of moving out there, but that's later in the summer) and taken to a Rockies game. I spent the night with my aunt and uncle and cousins, then went off to CSU's forestry campus right next to RMNP. I learned to like granola and how to play foosball (ok, we were spinning the men, but I was young). We made hot air balloons from tissue paper and launched them in the thin early morning mountain air.
The Friday of the week, the day before we were to leave, was the all day hike. Neither my grandmother or I wanted to do the all day hike, but we did a portion of it and then turned back. On the cutoff route, I noticed several planes lingering above the mountains in the distance, and wondered what was amiss. There were rumors swirling about over lunch, but it was clear that there was a fire that had started overnight on the other side of the ridge. 11-year-old me was a nervous ball of energy that afternoon, wondering if we were going to be evacuated and sprinting back to our room to tell my grandmother when the word came that the evacuation was a go. My grandmother was much calmer than I was, and we packed our stuff and got a ride down to campus in Ft. Collins from a student. There were flames just starting to lick over the top of the ridge as we drove off - I have some really neat pictures...somewhere (I hope), but they aren't digital. The folks who went on the all-day hike all got out safely, but it was a close call. Wikipedia is light on details.
Best wishes to those of you in affected areas, and hopefully you won't have to flee. Be safe, and stay calm.
The summer after 5th grade was one of those seminal summer of youth, in which there's a series of notable and defining experiences. The first came only a week or two after school ended, when I went out to Colorado for a week-long intergenerational elderhostel with my grandmother. I flew out to Denver, where I was picked up by my uncle (who was in the process of moving out there, but that's later in the summer) and taken to a Rockies game. I spent the night with my aunt and uncle and cousins, then went off to CSU's forestry campus right next to RMNP. I learned to like granola and how to play foosball (ok, we were spinning the men, but I was young). We made hot air balloons from tissue paper and launched them in the thin early morning mountain air.
The Friday of the week, the day before we were to leave, was the all day hike. Neither my grandmother or I wanted to do the all day hike, but we did a portion of it and then turned back. On the cutoff route, I noticed several planes lingering above the mountains in the distance, and wondered what was amiss. There were rumors swirling about over lunch, but it was clear that there was a fire that had started overnight on the other side of the ridge. 11-year-old me was a nervous ball of energy that afternoon, wondering if we were going to be evacuated and sprinting back to our room to tell my grandmother when the word came that the evacuation was a go. My grandmother was much calmer than I was, and we packed our stuff and got a ride down to campus in Ft. Collins from a student. There were flames just starting to lick over the top of the ridge as we drove off - I have some really neat pictures...somewhere (I hope), but they aren't digital. The folks who went on the all-day hike all got out safely, but it was a close call. Wikipedia is light on details.
Best wishes to those of you in affected areas, and hopefully you won't have to flee. Be safe, and stay calm.
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no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 02:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 05:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 11:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 11:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 03:18 pm (UTC)Sounds like you were much closer to the fire than I expect to get!