YCGL - September 7, 2022

 I've avoided this blog, I've tried to think of things to say that would be simpler, and maybe avoid the truth of the day.  It was a year ago today that Sally died.  It is a special day, and one that I have tried to keep simple.  In some ways, I have been able to keep it focused so that I could accomplish some things.  

I did some work on and in the trailer.  It's working well in some ways, many ways, but like any home, there is always something that can be done to improve it.  Some mundane, like washing the sheets.  And cleaning (I have always been better at cleaning than fixing clutter.  I always cleaned the refrigerator, I was meticulous and thorough, but when I finished, I repacked the same food and it looked about the same as before, but cleaner.)  So, this morning, I putzed around the trailer until about 2:30, and then collected things to take up to the North Fork Campground where we buried some of Sally's ashes on June 3rd.  

It took me a while to find the tree, even with the GPS.  I've marked on my Google Map where it's located, but being in the trees, the signal is not good and I've got three points on the map where the tree is located.  They are all within a circle of about 30 feet, but still, I could stand at one edge of the circle and not be sure where the tree was on the other side.  But I found it.

I had ordered a 6"x8" brass plaque made with "Sally" and "1950-2021", no last name to keep it somewhat private.  It came with 1" brass screws which I replaced with 2-1/2" screws.  I flattened out an area on the tree with an axe for the plaque, but it still bent some on the ends. It's tight and secure on the tree and I expect that the tree will grow around it with time.  I also placed a larger rock at the base of the tree.

 

Then I worked on blazing a trail from the North Fork trail to the tree.  I actually found two, with the second a little longer, but easier to get to and follow down.  I tried to be subtle on how I marked it, I mostly cut blazes into dead trees or kept the blazes shallower in live trees.  There are 10 blazes between the North Fork trail and the tree and basically for all of them, you have to be standing by the tree to see the next one.  It only takes four minutes from the trail to the tree (green marker), and four minutes from the trailhead (red marker) to the cutoff point (the zigzag).  

Runkeeper app.

By the time I finished, it was getting dark, and I really didn't want to be out in the woods too late, but the only wild animal I saw was a squirrel/chipmunk who didn't like my chopping.  

From there, I headed down to the Bear Bottom in Centennial, an almost always stopping point for dinner while coming home.  I had their green chili burger (with tater tots) and a Guiness.  It's important to keep some traditions alive.