We all have our lists of should-do's. Things like mow the lawn, plant and weed the garden (since summer has arrived very abruptly), wash the dishes, do laundry, change the sheets, scrub the floor, change the catbox...
They are never ending, and once done, it's not long before they should be done again. They can suck up all your "free" time. All of a sudden, there's no time for important things like going to the mountains. That time has arrived, so I'd suggest that "Going to the mountains" should go to the top of your should-do list.
That's what I did Sunday, since it was a gorgeous day. Why waste it and then feel resentfful all week at work, when important things like going to the mountains are off limits for many of us?
I'm guessing the landscape may not have greened up yet around Silverton, so I'll go there later this month. But it has greened up at Vallecito, and it doesn't take an hour and a half to get there (that's with no stops or detours for taking pictures) and an hour and a half back.
Vallecito is stunningly green, especially in the 2002 Missionary Ridge burn areas. There were lots of people playing along the shore and in the water Sunday - people with kayaks and inflatable orange rubber duckys, motorboats, trolling boats, and sailboats. So I wasn't the only one who had added to their should-do lists. I did wonder whether those kayaks and duckys at the far north end of the reservoir had gone through the invasive species boat inspection station at Sawmill Point.
I took note that this activity was at the far north end. In June 2002, the whole north one-third of the reservoir was dry lake bed just when it should have been the height of spring runoff. There was no spring runoff in 2002, and after the Missionary Ridge fire started on June 9 and started moving toward Vallecito, locals were told the dry lake bed was their "safe zone" if something bad happened. If you weren't here then, ask Vallecito locals who were here. You might get an ear-full.
Happily this isn't 2002, and hopefully the July/August monsoons will arrive on time.
As of Sunday, the reservoir was pretty much full. The hillsides were green. I headed up Middle Mountain Road and made the obligatory stop at Berri Park, where the dandelions were in bloom and the skunk cabbage was looking good. It was nice to see some snow still in the high mountains; although I have two Berri Park photos from a previous year (I think with an actual film camera), also with dandelions, with more snow on the high peaks. Berri Park is one of my happy places, and I always give thanks that it was unscathed in the 2002 fire.
I continued up past another burn area from 2003. Most of the dead trees there have fallen, so it actually looks a lot better than even last year, especially for taking pictures of those snowy peaks.
Summer is here. Take time to enjoy it. Summer goes way too fast. Those more tedious should-do's will still be there when you get home. They'll still be there when summer is gone.
