Acclimating and recovering from jet-lag are the two priorities, now that we’ve got our taxes filed.  The 14-hour time difference is never an easy adjustment but getting ourselves back into the Durango recreation and exercise routine helps us get up early and feel tired when the sun goes down.

The first couple days are spent going thru the mountain of mail and posting tax info, followed by provisioning the empty frig and larder. Now we can think about “how many summers we have left” and what we want to do in Durango and with friends we haven’t seen in many months.

Besides my regular spinning and yoga classes that leave me “guilt-free by 8 AM,’ I managed to get in a short backpacking trip in the San Juan’s.  Getting out the ultra-light backpacking gear and field testing it puts me in a position for some backcountry adventure and fun this spring and coming summer.  Fortunately, Mike and his dog Ryler were eager to get out for an overnight just below the snow line in the high country.
In Colorado you can get hiking Search and Rescue coverage with a fishing permit, so the last couple of years I’ve paid my one dollar and purchased the fishing permit.  So now I can practice losing flies and spooking fish with impunity, besides being eligible for rescue.  This last trip I learned a lot more just casting without the hook on the line.