12 June 2013

'Twas the night before Bighorn...

 “Adventures do occur, but not punctually” 
- E.M. Forster

As if pacing my first hundo and moving were not enough excitement for the next 5 days, the Black Forest fire erupted 4 miles from our home yesterday:
Taken a couple of hours after the fire started
92 homes have been lost in less than 36 hours, 12,000 acres burned and with 0% containment. With the dry conditions and high winds expected to return tomorrow morning, anything can happen. Tonight, the eve of my leaving for Bighorn, we are on pre-evac notice so I'm packing up two suitcases, one for me and one for J and the kids:

Important papers are being left at Sheila's house before we leave for Wyoming early tomorrow. J and the kids will stay at Sheila's, if they need to evacuate:

With the rapidly deteriorating situation Wednesday, I wasn't sure whether it would alter my plans to go to Bighorn. J-man said to go, so after making sure he had what was needed in case of an evac order, I finished packing and loaded up the car. It will be good to get away and run off some of the enormous stress I'm feeling right now. 

I'll feel even happier wearing my new stripy compression socks. There's something about wearing bright, happy colors that makes everything better. 

After the devastation last year from the Waldo Canyon fire, it's hard to see so many family's homes going up in flames yet again. My heart and prayers go out to each of them as they recover and rebuild their lives. The kids and I are already planning to donate some of our clothing and toys to the families affected once our boxes are unpacked. I hope we'll have something to donate next week, but if not, I know that the loss won't matter. It's just stuff. Having my family safe and well is what matters most.

I'm not sure if I'll return on Sunday to my current home or a friend's home or whether I'll buy a home on Monday and have stuff to bring to it or not. I suspect however, that I may be off the grid for a little while. I invite you to follow me on Twitter or Facebook as I'll be micro-posting there in the meantime. 

Thanks to you all for reading and coming back -- I'm glad you've found something here that you have enjoyed. I look forward to being back in full-on blog mode later on in the month.

Please keep the folks affected by the Black Forest fire in your thoughts and prayers, they've got a long road ahead of them. If you wish to help out in a more tangible way, here's how you can help.

Happy Trails,

Shelby




4 comments:

  1. Good luck at Bighorn, you've worked hard ans you're ready. Crossing myfingers that 'pre' is the closest it gets to you. You 're in our thoughts and prayers.

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    1. Thanks Lori. Grateful that the fire's now under control and no evac necessary. Pacing went well and I'm ready to move!

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  2. Good luck and get Shiela to that finish!
    We've been pre-evac packed for 2 weeks, the fire is a mile from our house and we're going to Leadville for the weekend ;-)
    The important thing is are you East of the fire or West of the fire, here in NM the winds most always blow from the west, so East is pretty safe. We live several miles SW from the Thompson Ridge fire.

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    1. Steve, Sheila got it done in just under 33 hrs after battling stomach problems, hypothermia and foot ailments in the second half. She recovered like a rock star and I had a blast pacing her.

      Our home is fine too... the winds were coming in from the south and southeast and the pre-evac has been lifted. Now time to close on our house and move!

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