Bruce and Parts of the San Juan Forest are on Fire

Written on 6-10-18.

     Belinda and I are back at the cabin home for the first time since MLK Jr. Day. Tomorrow is Bev and Curt’s 30th anniversary, so congratulations to them.  What a landmark!  Belinda and I will celebrate our 28th this November.  I still need to do something for Mom and Dad’s 55th.  I will text Guy now to see if he has an idea.  

     When Bruce and I played two days ago, we played the game where it’s really difficult to earn points.  We had to hit the fairway, get the green in regulation, and use only two putts for a par to earn one point.  A birdie would give us two points, and an eagle would be worth three.  Of course, on the par three holes, the fairway was not included.  After hole #8, we chose to disregard fairways, because it’s hard to see where the lines are and hitting a fairway isn’t much of an advantage because the course is in terrible shape still.  It’s getting better, but it’s still awful in many places.  Also, on hole #15 (a bit late, I know), we chose to lift, clean, and place our golf balls if we saw mud on them.  It was happening so often.  When the entire round was over, I had earned only three points, and two of those points came from a birdie on hole #11.

Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #11-Birdie #8 of 2018             

     Bruce had earned three points on the front nine, and I hadn’t earned any, so earning this birdie got me...
right back into the game.  I used my driver, and I was trying out a new routine.  I simply was taking only one practice swing instead of two.  The drive was a low one, and I saw my ball explode the sand on the far side of the wash when it landed.  Thankfully, it splashed forward and stopped out on the grass.  I was left with a short pitch and a decent lie, too, something that is hard to find on our golf course right now.  Because of the better lie, I was able to make a smooth pitch that landed my ball on the green, and my putt ended up just two feet from the hole on the right side.  The score was now two to three.

     It didn’t last.  I earned only one more point on hole #16.  Bruce managed to get six more, so he beat me 9 to 3.  He shot an 80, and I shot an adjusted 88 after my tee shot on the final hole was never found.  We plan to play again this week, and I hope that I not only play better, of course, but we play at least three times.  The more I walk and play 18 holes in the hot sun, the lighter and stronger I feel.  We are beginning to get into “golf shape” again, and it feels wonderful.

     Sadly and tragically, however, the 416 Fire is taking place right now north of Durango, and it has continued to grow out of control since it started on Friday last week.  That has hampered the air quality and made walking the course a bit more difficult.  Before Bruce and I played, and during my first session with the Special Olympics group, the brown haze surrounded the golf course like a depressing fog.  

     Danielle and her crew have not been called to help with that fire, but they have prevented four smaller fires from becoming something much worse in Pagosa Springs.  Kyle, Becca, Jess, Belinda and I visited her yesterday, and we learned more about her daily routines.  It was a fun, fast, and fabulous visit.  Danielle is tired, skinny, and stronger than ever.  We ate at Tequila’s and had some frozen yogurt for dessert.  

     Another fire has broken out recently just ten miles from here, and they are calling it the Burro Fire.  I can see the smoke from the back of A’s and E’s deck right now.  Ugh.  It’s early June, so I hope this is not an indication of what the rest of the summer will be like.