SPORTS WRAP

I hiked the mountains of Colorado this summer. Ran trails in the Black Hills. Kayaked a mountain lake. Soaked in the hot springs by the San Juan River. All along the way, I had a relaxing time and enjoyed catching up with family and friends.

Now it’s time to get ready for high school sports.

I spent the entire month of July out west. This is by far the longest time I have taken for a vacation. You could almost call it a “practice retirement.” If that’s the case, it’s safe to say I’m not ready to hang up the microphone yet, because I can hardly wait to see a high school game.

My wife and I camped in the Black Hills of South Dakota to open our expedition. We were in the shadow of Mount Rushmore, but only caught a glimpse while driving to our campsite during a downpour in the middle of the night. George Washington’s face takes on an ominous look in those conditions. We spent much time hiking trails in Custer State Park and carefully winding our way through along the Needles Highway.

Thankfully, our veteran camping friends were along to help with some of our rookie mistakes. We got through backing up the camper in the dark, some rain-soaked items, and limits on coffee access, to have a great time. Even the exploding bottle of ranch dressing turned into a lesson on air pressure.

Further travel took us deeper into the western time zone to Colorado just in time to help our son move (again). We eventually settled into the small hamlet of Cuchara, Colorado in the southeast corner of the state for the long haul at a legacy cabin in my wife’s family.

I played a round of golf. The higher elevation didn’t do much for my shot, but I sent a couple of worm-burners down the fairway for a decent second shot opportunity. We played a little tennis, and my son schooled me. Bike riding was fun… well, at least the downhill part.

Run (in the) forest, run!

I continued my daily running habit at nearly two miles high. My pace was pretty slow when traversing up a mountain trail. Going down was faster, and sometimes too fast as care must be taken on the rocky ground. The thinner air and more intense sun offer a different experience than here.

We did not see a bear, but we saw plenty of deer, a couple of snakes, and more bats than I would have preferred. At a presentation by a Colorado game warden, we were advised to stand tall and make ourselves seem as large as possible if we encountered a mountain lion. Fortunately, that stunt wasn’t necessary.

The journey home was uneventful until blowing a tire on I-90 upon entering Minnesota. As I veered toward the right shoulder, a rest stop appeared. That bit of divine intervention made the tire change a bit safer. While the 90-degree weather wasn’t ideal for wrestling a shredded tire off of our vehicle, it was better than a downpour. My wife and I were a great team to get the logistics figured out while semi-trucks whizzed past.

Bring on the sports season

I planned to begin my research for the new sports season while away, but that never gained traction. As August sails along with the Steele County Fair, followed by football scrimmages, and the opening of the new Owatonna High School, I’ve got my work cut out for me to bring my game notes up to date. But bring it on! I’m ready for touchdowns, corner kicks, spikes, and so much more.