Leadville, Colorado, final log-in of the Mesa Verde trip, Saturday, June 15

Just when one gets used to the cooler temperatures of Leadville, it is time to go back to the inferno that is Dallas these days. Today was the last day of my Colorado trip, and one of the first things I did was to have the morning ritual of coffee and a scone with Ann on her back porch. Another glorious day, and of course she and I took both Zoe and Chase for a walk in the neighborhood. Then, while Ann made phone calls and straightened her house, I set to work packing, which did not take too long. Then we left Leadville at about noon, had a wonderful lunch at a tearoom in Silver Plume (a tiny former mining town which happens to have a wonderful place for breakfast and lunch), and then had a short walk around the town, which seems to be holding its own with an aura of wonderful "shabby chic." A few years ago, we had toured some of the houses and establishments around town, and it seemed fitting to return to it once again. From Silver Plume we plowed on to Denver and the REI flagship, which is extraordinary, exudes a definite presence, and even sports an ambitious climbing wall. Ann bought nothing, but I purchased a fanny pack for Israel / Jordan to keep my most important possessions on hand during my third trip there in July. Ann dropped me at the airport at around 4:00 p.m., and I did emails until it was time to depart. The plane was hardly half full, so I was able to move a few rows forward and spread out, finishing my "National Geographic Traveler" and continuing the guide book on Israel / Jordan. We landed a bit after 9:00 (some turbulence during the flight), and Rita was front and center to pick me up. I arrived at home at ca. 9:45 and immediately set to work washing, straightening, and even finished culling my photographs, lighting and cropping them properly, and in general making order. I was in bed by 2:00 a.m. and up by 8:00 a.m. Nancy Teague-Horner met me for lunch at Rockfish, and we watched a simulcast of Mozart's "Don Giovanni" at the Scala Opera House on one of the Angelika screens. Outstanding performance, with Bryn Terfel as a very fine Leporello. And now I need to iron and prepare my luggage for tomorrow morning's next foray to San Francisco and Maureen Fromme. Looking forward to it all! Tata until then! As ever, Sylvia