Like To Get To Know You Well

Today was uneventful and yet productive. The day started out with neither of us having slept well. I tossed and turned most of the night, waking up every hour or so, until about 5:30a when I realized I was congested and my struggle to breathe through my nose was a largely contributing factor. I took my antihistamine, took a snort of some saline spray and within a half hour was out until about 8. Dad, on the other hand, only caught about 2 hours of sleep. He told me he hadn’t been asleep yet when I got up around 2:30a.

We decided, first, that I should drive. Dad wasn’t sure he could stay awake. Then, we decided to go get our fishing licenses and scout out some access areas. We had all the fishing gear with us, having never unpacked it from the van, but I was pretty sure the rods weren’t going to see any action today.

After a nice breakfast at a local diner in Granby, we located an open tackle shop and went in for our licenses and some direction. The owners of Budget Tackle in Granby were quite helpful in pointing out some areas of Lake Granby as well as some easy-access points along the Colorado. We drove around the area for about an hour, noting some good spots to try, and then headed back to Fraser.

After a trip to the grocery store for comestibles for the rest of the week, dad laid down for a nap and I loaded the 35mm camera. The Fraser River runs right up to the deck of our condo and provides some beautiful scenery. There is an access trail that I didn’t get a chance to explore when we were here last year so, with camera in hand, I hiked around the complex for another hour or so.

On a side note, I have been shooting nothing but digital photos for about 3 years now. My camera is fully automatic with no capabilities to simulate aperture or shutter priority metering. I had forgotten how much fun it is to take creative control over the picture. I was adjusting aperture to change the depth of field, I was bracketing exposures, I was giving thought to the composition of my pictures, and I was having a great time.

Once I returned from my brief photo expedition, I decided I, too, could use a nap.

After dinner, dad asked what I’d like to do. He suggested going to Black Hawk and Central City to check out the casinos. I might have agreed but decided I wanted to get started logging some of my family’s oral history. I had warned him that I wanted to do this so I set up the camcorder and we began to talk.

Several of the stories I heard tonight I had heard before. Tonight, though, they were more complete so I got some extra details. I also heard new stories about my great grandparents and how my father grew up. Most interesting, though, was learning some of the parallels in our lives. Tonight I learned that a grocery store held our first jobs, our wives both thought we were jerks the first time they met us (although I think my wife used stronger language) and we both had our wives’ wedding rings custom-made.

I love my father. I’m so glad I have this opportunity to get to know him.