The three of us trekked up to the mountains yesterday to introduce Ezra to the fall season here in Colorado. Every year the Aspen trees change their colors from green to yellow to orange before falling off for the winter. The peak time to see these leaves lasts only about a week at any given place (and that week changes from the northern parts of the state to the southern). 

We drove to one of our favorite places to catch the changes: Kenosha Pass. It’s located right off of 285 about 1.5 hours from our house….and it never fails to impress. I have been to Kenosha almost every year since I moved out here, and Ahna and I have been 4 or 5 times together…but we have never been there exactly at the peak of the change – like yesterday. It was stunning. 

We arrived in the parking lot and fed Ezra before heading off to our secret location. One of the early visits to Kenosha reviled a trail that takes us to an amazing view, but it’s an unofficial trail that isn’t marked at all…so needless to say (but I will anyway), it was us and only us once we hit the trail. We enjoyed the scene and the hike for a couple of hours before heading back home – there was much to do in the evening.

Okay, not much ‘to do’, more like: a show to watch on TV. Yup, The Office started up again last night after a long time away; and we missed it. The hour long premier didn’t disappoint and was one of the funniest episodes that we can remember. It’s good to have it back.

70% less energy use. 65% less water use. 

The new washer and dryer are in and have already been put to work. Ahna spent a large portion of her free time yesterday cleaning up and organizing into baskets the laundry area…and it looks great. See, in order to get the new appliances, we had to remove the bi-fold closet doors that used to enclose the older washer and dryer set. Due to the size of the front-loaders, we decided to remove the doors…thus ensuring the need to organize and keep clean the appearance of the closet. It sits right off of our kitchen and next to the primary restroom for guests, so people will see it. No big deal, that’s why we got black. Ahna and I moved out the old washer and dryer and placed them on Craigslist for sale. We then installed a new gas line, new burst-proof washer lines, and cleaned out the area underneath the units (somewhat surprising how much stuff gets back/under there. I suppose that you should move the appliances every once in a while to clean: like more often than a few years). The delivery guys showed up and installed the new stuff. We were expecting better cleaning, drying, less detergent, less gas, etc…but what surprised us was the difference in sound: a ton less; which is nice when you don’t have doors. 

The third Saturday in September brings the annual IAFF Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Colorado Springs (yea, CO Springs. Way back in the late 80’s, the local in CO Springs put a bid in for the international memorial and received it). I have attended every year except for one since moving out here, and Ahna and I have attended every year since meeting each other. This year we took Ezra for his first taste of the memorial…

The service recognizes all of the IAFF members that died in the line of duty during the previous year. This past year, Ontario, Canada passed a presumptive cancer legislation – which opened up the doors to dozens of firefighters over the past several decades. The IAFF decided to include all of these firefighters on the memorial; but they have decided to add a few each year. This year they added about 20 of those names to the memorial along with the other firefighters that died this past year…bringing the total number of people added to the wall at 137 – the largest single year addition ever (outside of the 490+ in 2002, which included the 343 FDNY firefighters killed on 9/11). 

About 5,000 people attended this year’s memorial from all over the world (including my Mom and Dad for the second consecutive time; and Cyrilla went down with us for the 5th or 6th time). The service was meaningful, as each family is presented with a flag after the name of their loved one was read. Fire department honor guards from all over the nation also assemble to participate in the ceremony, and CRFD’s had three representatives in this year. It’s an amazing site to see all of the flags and to hear the enormous pipe and drum corps. 

As humbling and emotional as the service is every year, the after-ceremony-bonding is equally relieving and satisfying. Each year we head to an Irish bar in downtown Colorado Springs – Jack Quinn’s – that essentially shuts down to the public and is the place to be if you are a firefighter. While the addition of Ezra means the subtraction of some time at Quinn’s, we still had an opportunity to share a beer and food with a lot of good friends. Ezra did great at the ceremony and at Quinn’s and slept all of the way home…