HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DAN KRAM

Today was a beautiful, bitter sweet day. Steve and I took Dan on a bike ride that we attempted last year.  We were unable to complete it last year because we got lost.  This year, we got lost, but not as bad and we were able to finish it!  It ended up being a 46 mile loop.  

We started down by Confluence Park.  I think Dan would have loved the architecture of downtown. They have changed and built so much since he last visited Denver.  I got to see it with different eyes today and I must say I enjoyed the views of downtown immensely!  

The river is so high that part of the trail is closed and we had to detour around to get on the South Platte trail.  We took that for a few miles before getting on the Sand Creek Trail, which really was lovely!  It alternates between paved and sandy, but all in all it is beautiful and we get to see a part of Colorado we don't normally see.  

From the Sand Creek Trail, we hopped on the High Line Canal Trail.  This was our crux move!  We took Sand Creek to the end . . .  Colfax, which we took up to a Conoco Station.  From there, we kept going west, and boom, we found the High Line Canal, west of Airport Road and east of Chambers. We hopped on it happily and biked for about 13 miles to the Cherry Creek Trail.  We took Cherry Creek Trail 10 miles back to Confluence Park and the car.  

My heart aches today, not only for me, but for Steve, Debbie, Barbara and Diana.  It aches for Joan. Dan was the father we all wanted, but he was her love, her passion, her devotion. It aches for Debbie, Barbara and Diana because this year, both of their fathers passed on.  It aches for Steve because he is lost this first Father's Day.  I am grateful to love enough to ache.  I am grateful for Dan.