Great Morning At Colorado Crossroads Bed & Breakfast
Photo Above: The four of us (Myself, Omar, Sally and Michael)
at the Colorado Crossroads Bed & Breakfast.
Special thanks to Omar Richardson, the host of Colorado Crossroads Bed & Breakfast,
who shuttled me yesterday and today. Today he and I drove in seperate cars to Poncha Pass,
and upon leaving my vehicle at the top, he drove me back to Poncha Springs to start my hike... but not before
we did some eating and socializing at the bed & breakfast!
Inside, I met Sally and Michael at the kitchen table, two overnight guests who happen
to be lifelong friends of Omar and his family.
We talk about Durango (where they live), our career fields and how Michael and I
both grew up in the Northeast. He was raised in Queens, New York;
I spent the first 23 years of my life in northern New Jersey.
Then the food and drink ensued. First I filled my coffee container with the lodge's house coffee.
As we talked, Omar delivered a beautiful hazelnut latte in a glass mug to Michael.
The three of us marveled at this beautiful gourmet creation.
Seeing how much I admired it, Omar offered to make me a
latte. Minutes later, I had a large toffee nut latte in my hand. It was so good!
The table was full with various breakfast foods, and Omar suggested I try a homemade cinnamon roll.
My complaint about cinnamon rolls is they are usually too sugary and heavy, but this one is light and
soft. So there I was, chomping on the best cinnamon roll I have ever eaten, enjoying
a toffee nut latte and nursing a full container of coffee on the side.
The four of us talked and laughed. I told them more about this Chaffee County walk and
my writing aspirations, and they were supportive.
Now I must admit that even after six days of walking, I still felt somewhat awkward
about this journey. A small voice from the pit of hell taunts that "normal people" don't do this,
and by golly, I should be like most other people! This struggle wasn't helped by the bizarreness of today's plan:
a seven mile ascent on a winding highway to Poncha Pass.
What is usually a 10-15 minute drive, will be over two hours by foot.
All the while, cars
will hum past me on the shoulder.
This is why it was especially good to socialize this morning.
These folks cheered my heart. My emotional tank was renewed.
A smile was on my face as I walked out of the bed & breakfast.
I was now ready to tackle the final day of the journey.
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