In the high desert of Colorado, nestled between mountain ranges, is a lovely little hot spring named Joyful Journey. This is the sort of fairy tale setting everyone dreams about who wants to pull up stakes and hit the open road. The air is fresh and clear, the sunlight sharp, and the views breathtaking.
For our week stay it had lows in the 40’s and highs in the 70’s most of the week. The cool mornings made a hot soak spectacular. The warmth of the day made the evening breeze more enjoyable. This is just an amazing place to decompress after a few months of intense activity.
It would have been absolutely perfect except for one thing, altitude sickness. We were almost eight thousand feet above sea level and I suffered from altitude sickness. I had two symptoms. The first was suddenly feeling like I couldn’t get enough air to sustain life. Yes, it is every bit as pleasant as it sounds. Sometimes it would be after hiking or walking the dog, but sometimes I would just be in a video conference call trying not to look like a fool as I took in big breaths to survive. Obviously, there was plenty of oxygen and air, but the lungs panicked anyway. Stupid lungs.
The second symptom was worse, I would wake up after a few hours of sleep and could not fall back asleep. With work, hiking, and lack of sleep I hit the end of my relaxing week more exhausted than I began. I still enjoyed the experience, but I need to do more cardio if I am going to hang out at altitudes.
View from our porch 
Hiking into the mountains 
Further up the mountain 
One sunset was amazing 
Sleepy statue 
Shanti liked hanging out 
Sinking statue 
Meditation maze 
Local brewer, meh. 
Cali gets in everything. 
Cali loves deserts 
Smoke in the distance. 
More smoke 
Mountains behind Torta 
Dinner setting 
Google color enhanced sunset clouds
We left Colorado on Saturday and headed through New Mexico into Arizona. Torta handled the mountain passes pulling the Honda like a champ. Over thirteen miles per gallon going up and down seven percent grades. Wish we hadn’t been delayed on leaving, because the pine-covered mountains we passed through were amazing. We will definitely return to explore more of Colorado. Northern New Mexico has roads that try to fling all six tons of Torta into the air. We are so grateful we upgraded the suspension as we have. Next week a state park in Arizona and we finally get our solar install!
May peace find you.
Torta Log 