People Met = 4
Ever since our delightful encounter Ted Oxborrow, the ADT coordinator for Nevada, we have been looking forward to meeting the Colorado coordinator and main PR person for the ADT, Dick Bratton. When we arrived at Woodland Parks we gave Dick a call and he came to bring us home for the night.
The first thing we did upon arrival was sip gin martinis made on Dick’s deck. The only gin that can be used for this ritual is Hendricks, a self-effacing brand that proudly proclaims: “the preferred gin by 1 out of 1000.” No coincidence that a gin company with a sense of humor would be preferred by Dick. He has a quick with along with some old stand-by joke routines, such as repeating anything you decide to do as if he was the one who thought of it first.
The lifetime hobbies of a man in his seventies is on display in his home. He has maps of the ADT and pictures of ADT hikers, of course. He also has three cats and cat memorabilia. Adorning his walls are trophies for badminton and skiing, along with many photos of his performances in various plays. In regards to the latter, Dick is capable of breaking out in a song from a musical at any moment. In addition to his function as an ADT coordinator he currently serves as mayor pro tem for Green Mountain Falls (he has served as mayor and plans to run again) and heads up the trail building and maintenance activity in the area.
He took us to breakfast at “The Pantry” on the following morning that we arrived. His neighbor Martha met us there and we were joined as well by Mike Grabon. During breakfast folks continually came up to slap Dick on the back and ask how he was doing. Some would ask about mayoral business, some about trail work. I’ve never seen a town so plugged in to trail work before; you can bet Dick has everything to do with that. I don’t think I met anyone in the town who was not involved in trails in some fashion. Of course, unlike virtually all the other towns we’ve passed through, Green Mountain Falls is the one place where EVERYONE has heard of the American Discovery Trail.
I left an impression by eating the Mother Lode pancake, which you get for free if you do so. Adding to my “legend,” I first ordered a large breakfast burrito as an “appetizer.”
Cindy, Martha, Dick and Mike; with the Mother Lode pancake in the center
The bulk of the day was spent making our way back to Denver to fly home for a wedding and teach an Elderhostel course. We met our new, good friend Dan Brunson the golfer one last time near the Denver airport as he delivered our computers back to us. I hope we remain connected. Our return home for a few days would be our last for the remaining seven months of the trip.
Dan and Cindy at his home in Erie
