Back to Denver.
What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies. This was my fortune in my fortune cookie following dinner with Shikha, Goosey, and Muniya this evening. I think that says it well, and especially when it comes to life partners.
However, way before dinner, I started out the day by heading up to Boulder, where the weather is once again very nice (as it is Denver, of course), although cooler out here than where I’ve been, with temps in the 80s. Once upon a time, when traveling years (and years and years) ago, I would have stayed in some of these nice towns for a while, found somewhere to live, and got a job, which could easily have been the case for Boulder, or Bisbee, or Durango, or Manitou Springs, for instance. In fact, that was the case for Logan, Utah, where I’ll be heading soon, a little north of Salt Lake City, or Gallup, New Mexico, or San Francisco, and a couple of other places I stayed for a while after visiting, in the mid-70’s. But now, of course, that’s not the case, so I’m not likely to stay anywhere on this trip for more than a few days at most.
So, too, it’s like that for Boulder. After spending a day here with Kaye a month ago (or whenever that was), and spending the day today, I’m ready to move on. It was sort of like that in Manitou Springs also, and would have been like that in Durango also, had I gone back there to visit. I had a great day in Boulder, but I can’t come back day after day and walk the streets each day, which is what I did today, although thoroughly enjoyed doing so.
This time, although I did walk the Pearl Street mall, I mostly walked the residential and downtown streets, university campus, and parks. After finding a random parking spot near the University (Colorado University at Boulder), I just started walking, and covered about 7 miles before returning to my car. It was quite the walk, with the students in full force, across and near the campus and on the fraternity and sorority houses on nearby residential streets.
As I headed along Pearl Street, past the pedestrian mall and once it becomes a residential street, toward the small trail system in Boulder near the intersection with Canyon Boulevard, I passed into the historic district, which Kaye and I visited, as did Bev and I last time we were here.
I’m actually not clear on why it’s called the historic district, as despite a number of older, and lovely, homes on the road, there are lots of new homes, built in a post-modern style. They, too, are lovely homes (and damned expensive), but contemporary and really the opposite of historic. Still, there are many older homes along Pearl street, and I love the street in this tree lined and lush neighborhood.
Where Pearl Street ends, west of downtown, is the People’s Crossing and its system of small trails, at the very start of Boulder Canyon. This is the city’s set of trails that people take, all fairly short trails, but some rugged, rising above the town. I walked the moderately difficult Red Rocks trail, about a mile round trip.
Then I headed back into town, and walked Canyon Boulevard for a short distance until turning onto Boulder Creek path, which, unsurprisingly, follows Boulder Creek, a lovely small river running through the town, with people and families relaxing, picnicking, and even fishing along the way. Despite its tranquility, though, there are warning signs along the way, because in bad weather the area can flash flood and become dangerous.
Getting closer to where I parked, I reluctantly had to leave the creek path, and stepped back onto paved streets, passing through the Hill District and skirting the university, arriving back at my car mid-afternoon. Man, I was tired, and took a 10-minute power nap, which did the trick (it always does).
Before heading back to Denver, and visiting Shikha, I drove part of Boulder Canyon, starting at Canyon Boulevard, which quickly turns into the windy, twisty, and boulder lined Boulder Canyon Drive, which I drove for maybe 30 miles round trip, at one point taking a side road and going higher in the mountains (until the road went no further, at which point I had to very gingerly turn around without backing off the very narrow road and down the canyon). Exhilarating drive, heading west away from the city.
I arrived at Indrina and Eric’s house to visit around 4:45, and was happy to see Muniya, who, like Goosey, I haven’t seen for a long time (just to clarify here…Goosey is Indrina, and Muniya is Antara, which are the family nicknames Shikha gave to them as children).
I stayed for several hours, but Shikha was in bad shape when I arrived, very distraught, and nasty to Muniya and Danielle, one of her caregivers, as she wanted to leave and return home to New York, and made many, many attempts to unlock and open the front door and leave. After Danielle left for the day, Muniya simply stood with her back against the front door each time Shikha tried to open it, and Shikha hit (but not hard) Muniya several times. It had been a bad day, with several falls, or near falls, and although Shikha was seemingly clear and verbally coherent much of the time, she was nevertheless irrational and not oriented, and of course distraught. This is not unusual for Shikha, although the first time I’ve seen it to this degree during my few visits, and it again highlighted how demanding it is, and how tiring, to keep Shikha safe and manage her repetitive behaviors. It requires much energy and patience.
By the time Dulce arrived, who has been working with Shikha for over a year, things were calming, and Shikha lit up when Dulce arrived. Things wound down from then on, and by dinner time Shikha was calm and in pretty good shape. Shikha and I exchanged some memories, and held hands, and she was happy to hear I was coming back to visit tomorrow. Even during her earlier period of desperately wanting and trying to leave to go home to NY, Shikha seemed aware if who I am, and one point wanted to kiss me goodbye before she left. It is an awful situation, which I feel deeply.
Through all this, once he got home from pre-school, Dev was delightful and unfazed, just plain having a good time. He sure loves that ice cream.
As I was talking to Muniya earlier about heading back to Utah, I was reminded that she is really a Utah gal herself, having lived in Salt Lake City for much of her childhood and adolescence, graduating from Salt Lake High School. That wasn’t the case for Indrina, as they were back in New York for most of her childhood and up. Muniyas is still in contact with her dad, Rajini, who sends gifts to her children, Michael and Asha, although Goosey has nothing to do with him. He is aware of Shikha’s condition. But, frankly, the less said about him the better.
I also realized as I was talking to Muniya that I’ve been talking from the beginning about returning home by the end of September, or maybe early October… and that’s about two (maybe three) weeks away. Whoa. I neither have any interest in returning home at this point, nor do I feel any motivation to do so. I am simply not ready to be heading (or actually reaching) home in two weeks. We’ll see how things go after Montana, where I’ll be heading after Northern Utah, via Wyoming, although I do expect I will be heading home, although perhaps reluctantly.