Getting Real With Shadra Bruce
Having survived Kansas and enjoyed our first night of reconnecting with our dear friend James, we once again loaded up the car and jumped back on the road. Rather than 8 or 12 hours of traveling, however, we only faced four. We weren’t changing time zones or even traversing another state – just getting from Pueblo, Colorado to Montrose, Colorado to see one of our closest friends in the world and his daughter, who just graduated from high school and is heading off to college.
It has been over 10 years since we last saw Pete. When he lived in Salt Lake and we lived in Boise, it was a regular occurrence for us to end up at each others’ homes. Our kids were close in age and spent time together and we all really enjoyed every time we got together. The mark, I suppose, of a true friendship, is that you can be apart for ten years and the minute you’re together again, the gap of time simply disappears.
Montrose is a beautiful mountain community of about 20,000 people. Named after a book by Sir Walter Scott called “The Legend of Montrose,” the town came into existence as the railroad came through. It became a shipping center for the surrounding mining communities.
After spending time in New York, nestled into our foothills, Colorado’s high mountain passes (Monarch Summit is over 11,000 feet) and gorgeous valleys have been wonderful to experience. This is a beautiful country – if you ever have the opportunity to drive through it, it is worth every mile and every gallon of gas.
