I think of early Fall in Colorado. Part II

Thought for the Day

Background  continued:

Our first scheduled way point was Denver, Colorado.

We had met some girls in Michigan who were living in Denver and they had invited us to visit them when we came through. We made that our first overnight stop. I don't have the time nor inclination to talk about that particular event. Suffice it to say it didn't go particularly well but we were able to use some information we gathered from them about a place about forty five miles out of Denver called Estes Park. You may know it better as Rocky Mountain National Park. We actually drove there at night and threw sleeping bags on the ground not too far off the road because we were exhausted.

When we woke up the next morning we were on a ridge overlooking a glacial moraine and a herd of elk. I thought Gerry was going to need CPR. It was easily one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen and I know he was smitten beyond description. We had no food so we found the main part of the downtown area and went into a restaurant for breakfast. That was the first day of nine we ended up spending in the park.

I could tell you about those nine days but then I'd have to kill you. Let me put it this way. We had stopped during the last week of the "season" just before all of the summer college help was leaving to get back to school. It was biggest blowout of the summer and we were there to help.

The last few days we were there we met a couple of girls who happened to be sisters. They were both the kind of girls you would want to take home to meet your mother. We had a ball. Their family owned a resort so we stayed there for minimal rates. When the girls weren't working we spent time with them horseback riding, trout fishing and nature hiking, two of the best guides on the planet. It was magical. We made lasting friendships with the girls and they ended up coming to BYU for Homecoming weekend.

Inviting girls to BYU for homecoming is an honor beyond explanation but I'll try. It helps to know the ratio of women to men at BYU at the time was 13:1. The women at BYU are the most beautiful women on campus I have ever encountered and I have been to a few campuses. In any case the girls came and we had a great time. Like I said we made friendships that lasted long past the college years. And that completes the background portion of this Chautauqua. The primary factors being Estes Park, the resort the sisters owned and early Fall in the Rockies.

On to the story of why I think of Colorado in the early Fall.

In the Fall of 1965 I was married to the most beautiful girl I had ever met. We began with an apartment in Saginaw with me working part time and taking classes at Saginaw Valley College. That lasted from October until February and then we moved to California to have a go at life on our own terms. We stayed with my Uncle Chuck and Aunt Lorna. (Now there is a story worth telling but not now.)

In a matter of about two weeks I was hired by Colgate Palmolive to represent them in their household cleaning market. I got a car, a paycheck and enough money to be able to afford an apartment and plank and brick bookcases. In it's own way it was a wonderful time. We both were able to test ourselves with real life decisions and pretend we knew what we were doing.

We spent about a year with Colgate and then at the recommendation of my regional manager went back to school to get a degree. Colgate offered me a job when I graduated. I won't go into the details of why we ended up going to the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque but that's where we went in the summer of 1967.

Just a little sidebar here. I will ever be grateful for whatever forces came to bear on our lives to put us in New Mexico. It is indeed enchanted.

Being young provides ample opportunities to ignore how beautiful it is where you are in favor of how beautiful it is somewhere else. So after I finished summer school and before fall semester we decided to go see Patty, the girl I knew from my trip to Estes Park, and her husband in Estes Park, a mere 500 miles away. They offered the right price for accommodations.

I'll finish this off tomorrow.

Herb Ratliff, September 20, 2012, All Rights Reserved