Down but not out...

Low...low energy, low enthusiasm, low appetite, low...spirits.

I've been brought down! Struck down by the flu. Busted flat in a blur of coughing, headaches, and several other symptoms too messy to speak of. We were camped at Cochiti Lake when I woke up with a cough, which developed into the worst flu-cold I've had in quite some time. During the five days I've been sick, we've moved on to Bandelier. At Bandelier Ed explored and I slept and coughed and slept some more. Each morning I've optimistically hoped for the return of my good health.

Then we moved on to Chaco. Still I coughed and felt listless. Ed's beginning to feel puny too. These are the vacation experiences no one writes about. It's the highs that are fun to exclaim over, not the lows. We're meeting friends here tomorrow and might end up being the worst camp playmates they've ever had.

The drive from Bandelier was long and dusty with wild winds trying to push us off the road. Ed white knuckled it all 200 miles. Tumble weeds blew onto the road just to be crushed under our wheels. The dust penetrated my body, setting back my recovery by days.

And the weather is cold. At Bandelier the nights were getting down into the low thirties. Here at Chaco it was 23 last night. Glorious this morning. The wind has stopped blowing and the sky is bluebird blue. Our health is still precarious, with me not being able to kick this junk and Ed hanging on the edge. Ed and Benton manage a long hike with our friends. I nap. I'd hoped to sit in the sun basking in it's warmth, but the wind returned, along with the dust and cold, driving me inside.

We cut our Chaco stay short. The cold and wind win, contributing to the lows we're both feeling. Leaving Chaco we have warmth in our sights so bypass Mesa Verde, at 8000 feet and head for Canyonlands at 5,500, in the hopes of finding more comfort --- seeking a place to heal. At 10 sick days for me, and Ed coming under the grip, we're needing to find warmth and beauty and a place to mend our bodies and spirits.

Canyonland is the reprieve we sought. Warm, beautiful and windless. Peaceful and quiet. Soul mending! We will rest and heal here. We will stay as long as we need to recover our energy, enthusiasm and appetites -- appetites for both food and life!

But, life isn't done with us yet. It's snowing as we depart for Moab.

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"Life isn't about learning how to weather the storm. It's about learning how to dance in the rain."

~ Vivian Greene

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