Day 29. The Gulf of Margarita

I've been in the canyons of Moab the last couple of days with no wifi...trying to catch up on blogs!!

Monday February 6, 2023

Wow! I woke up to six newly fallen inches of snow on the front porch of my rustic cabin in Ouray. I’m peaking out the door and I just had to grab a photo. Besides the incredible scenery, what struck me was the stillness outside that was broken only by the icy water making its way through the stream. That’s it. Polar Plunge worthy water weaving between snow formations in it’s path as it passed my humble abode.

So good. Kim and Shelby super recommendation thank you again!

The only solid goal of the day was to get this tooth looked at and I was now about ninety minutes from the town of Grand Junction. My mind didn’t seem to be able to grasp any plans further than that. If I couldn’t get an appointment today what good would it be to make plans to do a trail in Moab? Or here? Do I hang around here in Ouray and scope out the town a bit? Or leave early enough, which would be like now, to be sure I could get an early appointment down in Grand J?

My head says to get moving toward the dentists, but my heart says it wants to connect up with Kim and Shelby for breakfast, have a few laughs and a latte together before we all moved on. Kind of book-end and recap our day yesterday. My heart also wants to breathe in this town just a bit more, to see it and to really taste it. Because so far all I’ve tasted was mineral water in the spa. OK not on purpose alright? I mean who in their right mind would swallow spa water? Because it’s pretty close to being a hot tub. Just bigger. No chlorine smell though. Chlorine bleaches the color right out of my feathers too so I'm happy it's not like that. It leaves ‘em kinda dry to you know? And hot tubs are just like bigger bath tubs and bath water is just kinda gross. Soapy and dirty right? But this seems different. Maybe it’s the Swiss air, the snowy mountains alongside us, or the spring fed, clear, Coors Light commercial water that is feeding into these pools that for some reason makes it feel like I’m bathing in Aquafina. Filtered a thousand different ways with a higher PH for the health of my pores and my natural glowy essence. Not sure I have an essence actually but I like the way that sounds : )

Funny how for some reason this beachhead thought the spa water would taste like the salty ocean water back home too. Have you ever swallowed ocean water? It’s not like a margarita salty either, it’s more like so salty you immediately wanna spit it out to get the taste out. Maybe if God put a little lime in the ocean it wouldn’t taste so bad? Or Jose Cuervo?

Now we’re talkin’!

Oh geez the beaches would be so crowded then. Especially south of de border in the Gulf of Margaritta! I mean they already can be overcrowded, but can you imagine? What a party! As a side note, I do know, that if I have two or three of those spectacular drinks I might end up dancing on the bar too. So far at least always with my clothes on. And I have scrupples. Well some. But I do know some other folk well, let’s say they have less inhibitions maybe? And judging by the way they look they should have more inhibitions…but they don’t!? You know the kind!? You get the picture. They would still be there the next morning too sprawled out face down in the sand. Not pretty.

Tequilla lime beach water…how the heck did I get over here lol!?

Kim and Shelby had to get home since they both still have real jobs…So I did run into town for a bit. It was super quiet though and I didn’t get any coffee shop vibe at all so I plugged for the small town of Ridgway! I think it’s missing an ‘e’ but that’s the way it shows up on Apple Maps. I think the town needs to buy a vowel. Somebody that's on the town board must be drinkin’ the Jose’ spa water apparently.

Ridgway is just up the road a bit and it’s the town where the John Wayne movie Tru Grit was filmed years ago. Who doesn’t like John Wayne? Gonna put that on my list of movies now to watch when I get home along with The Truman Show.

Pretty cool town! Not crazy cool but had a little bit of a western vibe to itself. The storefronts had that small western town, saloon type feel ya know? I grabbed a White Chocolate Oat Milk latte from Cimarron Coffee Roasters in town and walked around a bit. A couple of small shops and the little cafe where apparently there was a scene from the movie that was filmed here. Every shop owner I chatted with had a little story tell too…so cool. Yes, it’s their tourism but they were genuine friendly too. Theres actually pride mixed in with their stories.

“Over in the playground is where they had the hangin’ in the movie" and stuff like that. Well geez glad they turned that into something positive anyway. Just don’t tell the kids what happened there lol!

I decided to grab an egg sandwich from the Tru Grit Cafe for the road and my heart felt like it had tapped everything it needed to from these two towns so I made for Grand Junction. I waited until fifteen minutes out from there to make the phone call to the dentist that I had left a message with Sunday morning. Their picture looked nice on the website so I picked them lol. Really, that’s all I went by. I called ‘em up and Bonnie answered and said "Sure! Can you come in now?" Wow! Really? No New York “let me see if I have room for you” sigh thrown in there? Nope!

Sparkling bubbly personalities everywhere I received as I went into their office. What do they feed these people around this town? Maybe they bathe in Mr. Cuervo’s gulf water before they come to work everyday? They look sober though? I didn’t see any chips, salsa or dancing either? Maybe in that room the doc always go to after they see you? I knew there was something going on in that room,

The dentist came in and actually sat with me for five minutes and chatted about my trip, my tooth, and took time to get to know me as a patient, better yet as a person. Karis, the nurse had first done the same too, shook my hand, asked how I was and she did it with that genuine Colorado-concern kinda way. I wanted to ask them if their salsa was spicy and if I could have some but I felt funny. Plus my tooth still hurts.

Some x-rays and a consult later we decided (yes more of a we, which was a genuine inclusion of me in the decision making process…. Thank you Ryan. I think it was Ryan?) that it looks like another tooth right in line with the one I just had work done on - is a prime candidate for root canal also and is probably a bit infected. An antibiotic now, make some appointments back home to have the surgery taken care of first thing, and I was on my way. Not before Bonnie at the front desk and I had a few laughs too. Hands down the best front office person ever. I had to pop in several times with questions to feed back to my home dentist and she just laughed and rolled with it all. Luna, if you are reading this, they got a box of your amazing Girl Scout cookies too, so consider your smile passed along to them!

Ryan, Karis, Bonnie, thank you for taking care of me like I had been your patient for a lifetime.

Well this is good news I think! On to Moab!

I plugged in a Homewood Suites for the night in downtown Moab and made a beeline for it. Knowing I’d get there after dinner it would give me time to hunker down, type some things up and plan a little bit.

A few road miles later I was inside the warm, spacious room typing away…

Slept like a lil' duckling under moms wing too…

Inside

If you’ve ever done any ‘inner’ work you will notice that a lot of our actions are initiated by a need to be loved or to protect the little self we have. As you read this your mind may even tell you right now that you don't believe that lol... and that’s ok. It’s doing it’s job. A whole 'nuther blog could be spent on that alone.

Anyhoo - I notice that the more I am out on my own and I address that need as it arises, (a little loneliness perhaps) with love for myself, I am lighter in my step, my smile is wider than before and life is not only flowing with genuine fluidity but the people I attract are of a similar vibe. My actions are originating from a place of joy and it's sort of resonating around me in a cool kinda way. It’s awesome and beautiful!

Kimberley, Shelby, Karis, Bonnie, Doc Ryan and even the smiley faces at a hotel counter…all amazingly contagious positive people...just incredible.

Or maybe it’s just cuz I’m not in NY.

Ha!

Outside

The little cabin and the view. Wow. So simple. Four walls. A bed. A heater. Spectacular.

OK. One hundred degree outdoor mineral spa water also : )

Upside

Making some progress on the tooth today felt so relieving. Not just the pain but to know that I have an answer that feels solid!

downside

Meeting and making amazing friendships and then letting them go. At least for now. It can seem so fleeting, like wait! I was just getting to know you! And yet so beautiful at the same time.

Every Which way but east

Made it to Moab! Going to make some plans here for the next two days. Then we’ll head up towards Salt Lake City to meet the ex - old(er) boss : )