Another Summer Gone
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Happy
Campers
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"We
loved every aspect of this trip. It created wonderful memories and we
are so glad we used Tracks & Trails. By using T&T we were able
to sit back and enjoy the adventure without worrying about the details.
All of the choices that were made were clearly well thought out-since
they were all great!"
- The Brot Family
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I
tend to get reflective at this time of year. As colder weather sets in
here in Colorado, I start reminiscing about the year's adventures.
Recently, I was searching for the perfect photo to accompany an article I
was co-authoring for a magazine, and before I knew it I was browsing
through my photos from recent trips with a big grin on my face.
Something as simple as a whiff of a wood smoke or a song on the radio
can take me back.
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Sights
 Every
year, we buy a $10 permit from the local Forest Service office and
drive out to a designated tree cutting area to hunt for the perfect
specimen. Problem is, out here on the Western Slope of Colorado it's
sagebrush, not Scotch Pine, so there are no perfect specimens. Ultimately we settle for some homely little Charlie Brown pinyon pine and gather 'round
for a sip of hot chocolate in its honor before cutting it down and
hauling it home. Tramping around in the snow among all these little
trees somehow reminded me of paddling along the forested shoreline of a stunningly beautiful lake in British Columbia, Canada this summer, surrounded by this little tree's much more impressive cousins.
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Smells
 We
spent Thanksgiving this year with friends in Santa Fe, New Mexico and
kept a fire of spicy pinyon pine burning in the fireplace all weekend.
Gazing into the fire, I couldn't help recalling sitting by a campfire
with my family beside a stream just outside Canyonlands National Park
earlier in the year. We roasted marshmallows over the fragrant embers
before climbing into our sleeping bags beneath the stars.
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Sounds  Taking
the kids to school just the other day, the radio station played AC-DC's
"Highway to Hell". We all knew that they were talking about what
happened to us in Arizona. A leisurely mountain bike ride 50 miles from
nowhere went bad when Sheri fell and sliced her ankle nearly to the
bone. Our vehicle got a flat on the rough road back to civilization,
and she hitched a ride to the ER while the kids and I stayed behind and
changed the tire. On our way out it started to rain. The sun came out
again as we hit the paved road and sped to the hospital. In spite of
our concern about Mom's condition, the three of us broke into a quiet
rendition of the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun." We always do.
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I hope
that your travels throughout the year have provided you with some great
memories, too -- and that most of them are positive. On behalf of
everyone here at Tracks & Trails, I wish you and yours a wonderful
holiday season and a New Year full of travel and adventure that you will
think about for years to come.
Sincerely,
Dan Wulfman
Founder and President |
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