Great Grandparents had the right idea!

Many moons and 3 generations ago, my great grandpa Henry and several other folks from Rawlins County discovered a little fishing village in need of some good fisherman and adventurers to lay down some seasonal roots with which they could escape the heat of the summer in NW Kansas after wheat harvest and so the many families from Rawlins County started purchasing land and building cabins.   No running water, electricity came to the area in the mid 1950s, and outhouses are still used to this day.  Many of those same cabins are still owned and used by the original owner's descendents from Rawlins County to this day, though many don't bother to wait to go up until after harvest.  Many of them fish regularly in the private property owner's association lakes and enjoy the holiday festivities during the 4th of July and Fire Days and even Labor Day weekend with bingo every Saturday night in the summer.

As a kid, we would go up to the cabin and my sister and I would climb the rock formations behind the cabin on so many adventures.  We would haul up coloring books, colors and snacks and spend the whole afternoon up in the rocks just hanging out pretending we were the pioneers just getting a feel for the lay of the land.  It was so much fun passing on that tradition to my own daughter when she was little.  We even fulfilled a lifelong dream I had as a kid and spent a year living at the cabin.  What a grand adventure. 

Fast forward to 2013, although harvest is not over and the weather this week in NW Kansas is really rather lovely in the mid 80s (not even using the AC at the house), I still endeavor to make my birthday trip to the cabin in the Rocky Mountains.  Great grandpa Henry Rogers passed it down to my great uncle Sam Rogers who passed it on to my mom.  Guess who gets it next?  (I have to share with my sister and mom's family though). 

The forecasted high temps for this coming weekend are no more than 77 degrees.  I see my days filled with coffee in my jammies on the front deck, listening to the wind whistle through the trees, watching the dogs maintain a chipmunk free perimeter, reading my book on the back patio, napping in the afternoon and drinking pink moscato by the glass every night!!!

Of course, if you know about my trips to the cabin, you know there must be a night of BINGO in there and it is on my birthday this year so maybe I will be lucky and win my gas money to come back to the farm!

Never fear, harvest will not be missed during this time.  The wheat is not yet ready and won't be until mom and dad get back.  They have less of a schedule than me and get to stay up there longer.  My time will come.  Alex and I used to go up for the whole month of July sometimes when she was in elementary school.  I hope to be able to do that again some day.

So know you know how I am spending my birthday.  I may be getting older but I sure am not letting go of childhood dreams of spending time at the cabin when I grow up.