The Oak House at Valley View had only one dorm bed available last night, so I took it. The cabins and private rooms were all taken...somewhat surprising this late in the fall. Arriving in the late afternoon, I did some hiking, a bit of mountain biking, but mostly soaked in the hot tub and baked in the sauna. Had a simple meal, read, went to bed early. Got up around five...one of the dorm mates snored insistently.
This part of the earth curved toward the sun around 7:00. I was having coffee and doing some e-mail as the dark night lifted. I got on my bike, took my camera, and rode up the trail to the old Orient mine. The clouds formed and reformed in horizontal lines along the San Luis Valley floor. They rose high over the far San Juan mountains. Toward Poncha Pass in the north the clouds dipped low and filled the valley. In the south, the clouds stayed above the fields and wetlands...perhaps a stronger wind was blowing from the southwest. The sun rose higher striking the upper rims of the clouds and slowly, as the earth rotated, sunlight filtered lower to the valley floor.
The wind came up; my hands got very cold. I got on the bike and rode down for another cup of coffee. Early morning at Valley View and the Orient Land Trust.
