The temperatures while we were in Grand Junction barely exceeded 100 degrees. The natives considered this a heat wave and offered their sympathy to us having to endure such heat. On the contrary we felt like we were in paradise! After a couple weeks of hiking in 110-130 degree temperatures without a spot of shade, Grand Junction was a veritable oasis, complete with trees!
The “cooler” weather we experienced in Grand Junction added to the euphoria from the progress with our public mission about kindness and community. I gave three presentations and two media interviews, including my first one for television.. Even more exciting were the four interviews of people in Grand Junction I conducted, gaining valuable new information for writings and presentations in the future.
In stark contrast to my recent interview with the Fruita Lions Club president, the Grand Junction Lions Club is one of the most vibrant in the country. If you go by fundraising capability, the club ranks number one or two in the world, in annual competition with a Lions Club from Japan. The attendance at my luncheon presentation about community involvement rivaled the combined attendance of all other Lions Club talks during the journey. I felt a little sheepish lecturing to one of the most involved clubs in the world about community involvement, but they seemed to enjoy the talk.
From interviewing the club’s president I learned some of their strategies for remaining vibrant while many community organizations and involvement decline. They discovered that more people, at least more young people, attend luncheon presentations, preferring to use their natural break from work over more time away from family at supper time or evening. They also kept things fun, as evidenced at my presentation. They combine their formal meeting notes with an informal roast of each other. Their major fundraiser, a carnival, exemplified their fun approach.
While in Grand Junction I also learned about a student who started a Stay Positive movement in the area; the International Learning Adventures program at the college that combined outdoor adventure with humanitarian projects; a clothes exchange that operated much like a potluck; and a dedicated Sunday when all churches abandoned services to work on community projects. Grand Junction stood out on our journey as a goldmine for information about kindness and community.
A day after leaving Grand Junction we found ourselves at the trailhead for the Kannah Creek trail. The beginning of that trail marked the end of desert hiking during the two hottest months of the year. The mountains dictated our seemingly insane schedule, stretching a journey out for a full year for the sake of rebooting our lives and Cindy’s brain health, while managing to avoid blizzards in the high mountains we would cross. Yet the mountains remained our heart’s wilderness desire, the landscapes where we spent so much of our hiking experiences together.
The Kannah Creek Trail brought us a few thousand feet up into the Grand Mesa Plateau and the Colorado mountains. We camped high up along Kannah Creek that first evening, watched a beautiful sunset from up high and snuggled through our first cool night since the Arc Dome wilderness in Nevada. This was the tonic our desert scorched souls precisely needed.
We spent our next couple of nights at the Mesa Lakes Lodge, thanks to a connection made by Ky. This was part of her role moving forward, making connections for places to stay. Another evolving role for her would prove to be something like a kindness ambassador. These roles would prove invaluable when we crossed the plains.
While at the lodge I interviewed the waitress there, who recently lived in a Grand Junction homeless shelter. She confirmed that, at least since the economy’s downturn in 2008, many homeless people are just normal folks struggling to find enough employment in a wage stagnant nation. At the Lodge her income was supplemented by room and board, thus overcoming one of the major problems with stagnant wages, rising housing costs.
During our ascent of the Kannah Creek Trail Cindy lost her cap. She cooled herself during the climb by taking the cap off and holding it loosely in her hand. Too loosely, since she sometimes lost focus on what was in her hands because of her cognitive decline, including her walking stick. I had been able to spot and recapture her dropped items previously. When we left the hospitality of the Lodge behind, the owner Steve gave Cindy a new cap.
We left the Lodge full packing the next stretch over the Grand Mesa Plateau to Redstone. Though Cindy lost her focus and stuff at times; though she had yet to regain her natural cheerfulness in the mornings, we were now in our element, our home away from home. Inspired by our mission regarding kindness and community, our roles as a team resolved, we left the troubles plaguing us behind in the desert and were ready for nine more months of hiking across the country.
