What a difference a day makes. I had a horrible, no good, rotten day yesterday. Things felt hard all day. I finally had a long cry last night and got it out of me. I hadn’t sunk that far into the depths of despair for a long time.
We went to the big grocery store this morning and got more groceries to hold us over for the next couple of days. Jim’s friends are coming over for dinner tomorrow night – that will be fun.
This afternoon we drove Trail Ridge Road. It took us over 15 minutes to get through the gate but then things opened up and there was little traffic. There was a very thick haze of smoke hanging over the mountains today. You couldn’t see the far peaks very well.
We saw six moose today! We stopped to see a mother and her baby who were at road side. I had spotted one or two moose before but never six. We also saw a huge cow elk herd. It was a good day for wildlife viewing in the park today.
We stopped at Grand Lake and walked the sidewalk. It was busy but not overly crowded. We walked through a few of the shops but didn’t buy anything. I love the laid back feel of Grand Lake. Brings back lots of memories of the times I went to Shadowcliff for a retreat for several summers in a row.
We were shocked to see the fire damage in the forest that was done last fall. Grand Lake was lucky it survived. A lady in one of the stores said the only reason they didn’t burn was the back fire the fire fighters used to safe the town.
The trip back through the park was as easy as the trip in. We had one little area where traffic was backed up – all because there were four male mule deers on the side of the road.
When we got to Estes Park we went to Moma Rosa for dinner. We were afraid we wouldn’t get in but they were able to seat us right away. The food was excellent as was the service. That is the first meal we have eaten out for a long time.
We are now back at our cabin for the evening. It was a wonderful, relaxing day of driving through the park.
It feels good to rejoin the world today. I wasn’t sure I wanted to after yesterday. Not sure what caused me to crash and burn. I am keeping an eye on my blood pressure as it keeps going higher. I am not sleeping very well. I feel wired a bit and am having trouble slowing down. I was agitated all day yesterday and didn’t know why. All are signs that my thyroid levels are getting too low. I skipped my medication this morning. I may skip it again tomorrow if my blood pressure is still high. I will contact my Endocrinologist Monday and see what she recommends. If my blood pressure gets too much higher and if I start running a temperature I will have to go to ER to get some help raising my levels.
In September of 2017 I went into the start of a thyroid storm and what is happening now is feeling familiar. I’m not there yet but will keep a close eye on things and get help if needed. Back in 2017 is when I found out I had thyroid problems and ended up having my thyroid removed and the cancer was discovered. I have had trouble since keeping my levels in the range that they recommend. I either run too high or too low.
Tomorrow I need to go to the library on campus and check out some books. I have read the five books I brought with me. I also will cook for our guests that are coming for dinner. I have planned a simple menu so I won’t be spending much time in the kitchen. We will probably take a hike on campus tomorrow afternoon if the weather allows.
It felt weird eating out tonight. We just haven’t got back into that routine since the whole COVID thing started. I can count on one hand the number of times we have eaten out since March, 2020. It was a nice way to end a nice day today.
Grateful for the moose that showed themselves to us today, grateful for a fun trip to Grand Lake and back, and grateful to be back to myself today.