Not A Very Good Day.

Some would call it a failure of a day... but I call it just plain TIRING.

We drove up to the snow, leaving at 8:00am - and all events that followed were a spiral of disappointment. Some of the main disappointments? Not having chains. Hardly a good thing to lack, when driving through snow-covered mountains. After brutal traffic, and being warned from the sheriff (more like a mall cop), we were forced to back down and buy chains. It just so happened, the closest general store was out of the chain size we needed. Cold temperatures. Frozen doors on the outhouse. Lack of chains. Yeah, we were bummed from the start.




Our raggedy team of four traveled far down the mountain to a lower, local shop - where apparently they sell jerky that's famous around the world. (Who would have known?) Finally, we bought our chains AT LAST! Tested 'em out, and drove back up the mountain. A strangely familiar local now... every turn was memorized, it seemed.



Once we reached our buddy "sheriff" again, we installed our tire-chains. Bearing the burning freeze on our greasy fingers, and carrying a good attitude of that little engine that could..."I think I can, I think I can..." we thought our journey was finally about making progress. Until...

Our back tire-chain busted, right as we took off driving. The rear, left chain SNAPPED like a snake filled with firecrackers. Now what? The other car was in the distance, and Dennis and I were left to fend for ourselves. Great. Fingers felt more like frozen fish sticks, trying to repair our chains on the side of the road. Mud-flavored slushies were being thrown at us from the passing of nearby cars. Not what we had in mind.



I ran to the sheriff and borrowed the tools from his truck, and attempts were made to fix the tire-chains. Attempts. Eventually, Dennis and I had to rest our hands and backs, praying for some hope in the day. Sadly, I had to call my work. I was not going to make it.

When Diego came back to us, everything was found to be a waste that day. The retreat center was so snowed-in, our purpose of unloading food for the weekend was no longer valid. It was time to go home. We were supposed to be home at 1:00. We were still up there at 1:30pm, at 7,000 feet elevation, and we were cold, hungry, hurting on our hands, and without chains.

We ate food at the nearest restaurant at the bottom of the mountain. A&W, baby. All American fast food. Okay, so it tasted like Styrofoam and rubber gloves, but heck - we were so hungry, even our double cheeseburgers seemed like scrumptious Iron Chief creations.



At least we took some nice photos of what COULD HAVE been our winter retreat this weekend... emphasize "COULD HAVE" been.

At the end of the day, as I looked at my reflection in the car mirror... I thought to myself: "a day is only as good as I make it. I won't ruin this one by a bad attitude. When I reflect on things, in hindsight or in current moments, it's up to me how I will carry on."

So what did I learn from today? That stressful days, disappointment, and spending a waste of time, can been seen from a good perspective. Much like the sun, shining as a million flashlights through mountain trees... there's always a bright side when things are looking shady.