ALTITUDE THICKNESS

Guys, this place is way up here. Close to 10,000 feet above sea level.

Therefore, things I've seen explode in the last few days include:

-A roller ball pen

-A bottle of lotion

-A cucumber

-These paper towels

Okay, the paper towels exploded when I got over-excited about eliminating that spidertick yesterday.

But the point is that just because it's harder to breathe up here is no excuse to be all soft and lazy. I've been using my 7-minute workout app to get the blood pumping every morning, even though it takes me forever to catch my breath again. No, it's not just because I've been practicing my winter conditioning (drinking beer and watching The Crown). Okay, that's probably a factor.

But it was time to get out and explore a bit. That eponymous little creek has been calling me down the slope since I first heard its happy, rushing waters a few days ago. So I bundled up and went to investigate.

There are stone steps, that is true. It is also true that they were covered with snow and very slippery, with no branches nearby to steady myself.

That's the end of that part of the story. I didn't fall.

And I brought you this creek!

I wish I could bottle that sound.

Then I climbed back up the slope, and walked up the lane to see a few other cabins sprinkled in the trees.

That's it. Whoop-de-do. About a half an hour, legs kinda stretched. Then back into the cabin where the real excitement is for me right now. I'll share a photo of my progress tomorrow. It will look boring. But I plan to go hike a nearby trail once I've hit a writing goal, so look forward to seeing mountain shots instead of paper towels.