On a country road, it’s easier to be mindful and focus on the moment. I practiced, today, as I took a day trip to Fort Morgan, Colorado. Starting with my breathing, I slowed down, in and out deeply, several times. Afterward, I turned my attention to the road. As the lines moved toward and past me, I felt the movement of it rolling beneath Maggie’s wheels. Some areas were smooth. Others were cracked and rugged. The vast blue sky was empty of clouds, changing from cobalt overhead, to cerulean nearer the horizon. Around me stretched broad farmlands, amber and tan. Farm houses jutted from the fields, surrounded by protective trees, which provide shade in summer and much needed wind break in winter.

Breakfast was at a local restaurant named “Home Plate”, although it was actually lunch time. It’s the kind of place that you might expect in a small town. The building itself is kind of Southwestern style, but very open and well lit, with lots of tables. Definitely family owned, even the kids are busing tables and bringing out food. My meal was sausage patties, eggs, hash browns, biscuit and gravy, with coffee. It was all good. If you’re going to Fort Morgan, you might want to check it out.

Afterward, I mad a couple of passes up and down Main Street, where this couple was making the rounds in this beautiful carriage. I was trying to be stealthy, shooting through the windshield, but that lovely smile tells you that I got busted.

You can see in the photo that the street is decorated for the holidays. Maybe I’ll make another trip at night, when everything will be lit up. It took me a minute to figure out that Christmas carols were playing through speakers at each of the intersections. They only need some snow to make it a real Hallmark town. If it that happens, I may go back to see.

On my way back to Denver, I decided to jump off the main highway, and get back onto State Highway 52. After only a couple of miles, I saw these guys kicking up dust in a corral off the road. At first I drove by, but had to turn around and ask if I could make a few frames. Here as some of those shots.

This is why I love taking the back roads. If I’d stayed on 76, I’d have missed this. These are the things that resort travelers never get to experience.

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~Enjoy the Life you’re living.