Put on your long pants

Once again Miss Trixie and I return to Colorful Colorado for what will hopefully be a cool summer of relaxation and fishing. If you have never visited the Rocky Mountain State, I encourage you to do so as it is so full of wonderful things to do and see.

Miss Trixie reminded me that this is the beginning of our 11th summer together. And if you have your own partner of the female persuasion, you will understand how keeping track of those dates seems to be important to them for some reason.

I guess it's like driving stakes in the ground to make sure you are making forward progress toward some goal or something like that. I always say it's been seven wonderful years and she quickly reminds me that it’s longer than that. But, folks, you know that a good seven out of 11 is pretty good odds in Las Vegas, any time of day or night.

And speaking of keeping track of progress every time I pull the big old camper across the Texas panhandle and over Raton Pass, I always think of the early pioneers that came across in wagons.

What difficulties they must have faced and traversing a meager 10 miles a day must have seemed like a snail's pace to those weary travelers. With rattlesnakes, Indians, lack of water and food, diseases, and injuries ever-present it had to be a horrendous hardship to endure.

I am sure the kids along on such an adventure probably fared the best out of all the family members as to them it would have been akin to Tom Sawyer riding a raft on the Old Mississippi. Something new to see and do every day.

They all must have been a hardy bunch to even attempt to cross the great plains and mountains on their way west and I am sure if they had known the hardships ahead, they never would have left St. Louis.

I believe the women maybe had it the worst of all, what with kids to look after, food to cook, clothes to wash and mend, all the while wearing long dresses as was required in those days.

Many women shed those long garments for a pair of men’s pants not caring what anyone thought as they had probably just had enough of the bother with plentiful skirts in a dirty and nasty environment.

How hot they must have been also as the sun was unrelenting in its tortuous summer sojourn in the plains latitudes. Which is probably about as hot as Miss Trixie said she was last night while we slept.

It seems that on our first night back in the cool temps of the Colorado mountains, Ol’ Dutch got a case of the chills and sometime in the middle of the night set the thermostat to “just short of Hell.” At least that is what she is saying but I think she just has a case of the post pause as she has been a bit grouchy of late too.

It has to be that as you all know Ol’ Dutch is so easy to get along with and live with nothing that I do would ever send her off on a tangent of rants and rages.

Well, it may not be that bad, but I have to have something to complain about or lose my man card that I have worked so hard to maintain.

But anyway, we did land once again in beautiful South Fork and look forward to friends, cool weather, and hopefully more rain than you can even believe. For Ol’ Dutch, ever the dutiful Rainman has already been doing his thing and soon the rains will surely come.

If you can get away this summer, I encourage you to visit this mountainous state and enjoy all of what God has created for our pleasure.

Kevin Kirkpatrick and his Yorkie, Cooper, fish, hunt, ATV or hike daily. His email is [email protected]. Additional news can be found at www.troutrepublic.com.