Labor Day 2015

For Labor Day this year, we decided to go up to a place near Estes Park and take a hike. The day started out sunny and fairly warm. We piled into the car and set off on the hour and a half drive. About an hour or so into the drive, we hit some windy mountain roads and I began feeling nauseous, and set down the puzzle I had been working on. As we continued to twist our way through the canyons, my stomach flipped and flopped and all my concentration was centered on watching the road and trying to keep the contents of my stomach down. I haven't felt that car sick in years!

Finally we arrived at the place where we wanted to hike. We climbed out of the car and headed over to some covered picnic tables to eat our lunch. It was as we sat down at the tables that began to notice that it was a little chilly, and we soon moved over to a table that was in the sun. We passed around the slices of pizza we had brought with us. After one bite, I realized I wouldn't be able to eat any. My stomach hadn't completely settled yet, and I didn't feel like putting anything in it.

The boys at the top of the mountain.

When everyone who wanted to had eaten, we set off on our hike. The trail was a two mile climb up to a boulder high above the valley where we had eaten lunch. Not even ten minutes into the hike, my calves were burning. My stomach was still unsettled, and the peak above felt foreboding. After a brief stop to let some other hikers pass, It was decided that I would return with Hannah, who had a bad cold and also wasn't feeling up to the climb, and Steven would continue up the steep, rocky trail with the boys. (Josh and Peter originally wanted to turn back, too, but they were persuaded to continue on.)

Hannah and I descended back to the picnic area. We retrieved books from the car and then went to the picnic tables to read. It wasn't fifteen minutes later that it began to sprinkle. We moved to the covered tables, and, when that became too cold, we eventually took refuge in the car. The sprinkles turned to a hard, pouring rain, and still there was no sign of the boys.

The view from the top

After about an hour, the rain eased up, but it was still cold and damp so we remained in the car. About two hours from when we set off on the hike, we saw John returning at a run. He dashed from the trail head, across the valley, and to the car. I left the car and met Steven and the other boys as they returned at a little slower pace. Josh was wearing Steven's rain jacket, and Peter was wearing his dad's hat, but they had all reached the top and returned back safely, in spite of the rain.

We piled back into the car and began the return journey home. I continued to fight an upset stomach for most of the drive home, and so spent the drive watching the road rather than reading or working on the puzzle I had brought. We stopped on the way home to buy a berry pie from a diner along the way, which we postponed eating until after dinner that evening, by which time my stomach had finally settled enough that I was willing to eat again. Was it car sickness? Was it a stomach flu? I don't know, but I was very grateful when it finally passed.