My Wild Ride

It's not often you have the opportunity to climb to the top of the world.

But that's what it seemed like when I bumped up a narrow dirt road 

to the top of the Rocky Mountains across from our rustic cabin. 

It started when I flagged down my cabin neighbor, Charlotte, (below)

and asked her to give me a ride in her ATV. 

She readily agreed and strapped me in, then snapped a net across the open doorway.

It didn't look sturdy enough to keep me from becoming a projectile into the blue sky.

I was expecting the ride to be less than an hour, 

just bopping around the side roads near our cabin. 

Boy, was I wrong!

Yes, Charlotte did point out neighbors' cabins as we chugged up higher and higher. 

We passed a remarkable old mill that the new owners are encasing in a house.

Can't wait to see the finished product. 

Then we took off across an area hidden from the county road below.

Really, it was more of a path than a road. 

Uh oh. 

  

The narrow road skimmed the side of the mountain. 

The view was straight down. 

I grabbed the side bar that was keeping me from sliding down the mountain,

laughing nervously. 

But what gorgeous scenery.

It felt like another world. 

We didn't see any other people or animals during the two-hour ride.

We climbed to a mountain cirque (an ampitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion.)

This one is called Horseshoe Mountain (13,898 feet).. 

This is what Horseshoe looks like in the winter.
It's easy to see why it's called Horseshoe. 

At the base of the cirque was a magical small lake called a tarn. 

A tarn forms when there is seasonal melting on the floor of the cirque.

This was my favorite place. 

Now, we just had to get down off this mountain!

I'm not much of a daredevil (any more)

and am not sure I would have taken this wild ride had I known what was involved.

But Charlotte was an excellent driver and I'm so thankful I got to see this side of the mountain.

It was so worth it.

Thank you so much Charlotte!

***

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