Day 10 August 16th

S, Mr. Simpson and Dr. Ruud

Well, truthfully this is a quick record of days 10, 11 and 12 which have definitely been non-travel days for me at least because of having to deal with what I felt was a problem with the brakes on the van and some laundry emergencies that fell to me since S has taken some fishing opportunities. I have mostly only taken random bike excursions around town.Food has been good and certainly plentiful here with a large dinner party last night at the Sauce on the Blue in downtown Silverthorne. Doctor Ruud's wine choices were especially tasty - shout out for the Meiomi Pinot Noir.Yesterday I took the van to Ski Country Shell and Towing for to see about mushy brake pedal action. Later in the day Eric of SCS and T called to say the master cylinder was bad and he could overnight the part from Tucson and install today for $831. S was agin it but I got to choose and told Eric to go ahead and launch the operation. He almost completely promised to get it done today, Thursday, as S was yelling in the background that she had to be at the Seawall Park meeting on Monday as a matter of national security.Today, Thursday, opened with a 5 am Pacific time text from R that her house in Seattle burned down. All persons in the house are physically unharmed but shell-shocked understandably. R will need a whole new wardrobe, a new key to her car, a computer, probably a phone and a place to live. Trouble is we are here without a vehicle and she is there without many things including a sense of security. To distract from anxiety about R's anxiety S and I went for a bike ride around the lake but at the halfway point S turned back and I said since we were halfway why not go all the way but no S said. So I went on and got lost in the various toney subdivisions and ski destinations and pedaled miles eastward on state hwy 6 in to the Rockies,  thirsty and the wrong way and no shoulder and of course with the low oxygen and high ultraviolet. My man Eric at the Ski Country Shell and Towing called as I neared the top of Swan Mountain with the not wholly thrilling news that the van was finished at the slightly reduced price of $823. Eric mentioned that I sounded out of breath and that he had been an athlete at Leadville high school which was in a town (Leadville) known for its high altitude/low oxygen and for a century of lead mining and subsequent lead contamination. I thanked Eric and had a nice nap and a nutritious and emotional dinner once I eventually got back to the house.

Home page photo from Ski Country Shell and Towing web site