Lessons

After a night in my own bed, sitting in my own chair, I began to consider the trip I had just returned from. Reflection tends to serve my trips well. If I can avoid doing something dumb the next time I’m in a situation, all the better. So, did I learn anything? Was there anything to learn?

First and foremost, above all else, double- and triple-check alarms! This entire trip almost got off to a tragic start because I accidentally set a quiet alarm, not a loud one! This seems silly to even have to say, but I screwed it up, didn’t I? And I don’t like being a cliche. Missing a flight? That’s the makings of a sitcom! I’m lucky that it only cost me a few hours and one county that I was still able to visit later in the trip. At the same time, if I hadn’t messed up, I might have been able to squeeze in one more county the day I arrived. If nothing else, that one lesson is possibly the most important one of the trip.

Just as importantly, my personal revelation about being near mountains was a pretty big deal for me. I don’t think it’s going to change my travel habits extensively, but it is something new to consider. I’ve been through and around the Rockies a lot in the last few years, and I think I’ve done most of the really heavily mountainous counties, though certainly not all of them. Southwestern Colorado still remains to be done. During the day, those won’t be an issue, but will I have the same reactions once I’m in the Sierra Nevada or Appalachian or Great Smoky Mountains? I’m thinking the older mountains in the East may not be an issue for me, but the western ones? That’s something to consider for the future.

A new consideration for the future was caused by the reason for the trip. When I arrived in Denver, I got some counties and then returned. The next day, I got a couple more then went to the funeral. After that, I got on the road to points west and back. The actual upshot of all this is to try not to break up my time like that. If I had arrived Saturday morning, attended the funeral in the afternoon, and then headed out, I could have gotten quite a bit more done. I spent a lot of time driving out of and into Denver because of the schedule I had, and that time and gas could have picked up some counties I had to drop or others that didn’t end up in the running. Of course, the family obligation came first, but I could have managed my overall schedule better.

That said, I saw some family I hadn’t seen in a long time (some of whom I actually enjoyed) and had some good times with friends I stayed with. I came back with twenty-four new counties, a new state, another Webcam, a filled-in hole in my county map, and a few more steps closer to completing several challenges. If I could find (and afford) a long weekend, I could finish any of the four states I visited. Heck, SLC could also be a good place to base out of for a few trips. I’ll call it a successful trip. And, for now, all that remains is to dream of the next one.