Rocky Mountain Highs, Lakeside Lounging, Puppy Love
Buckets, blankets, saddle, and tack piled high in the horse trailer, our mare Pegasus in tow, the 1,900 mile trek through the Rockies wasn’t exactly my idea of fun. My dad had been invited to bring a medical humanities program to the University of Montana in Missoula — I’d never heard of Missoula, and I wasn’t thrilled about its boundless horizon disappearing in the distance.
A more recent visit with my family to Colorado’s untamed Devil’s Thumb Ranch offered renewed perspective, a dose of life experience unveiling an appreciation of the snow-blanketed vastness, the solitude offering an escape from life’s busy schedule.
How had I not realized that time in the saddle is the best way to feel back in control of life?
As the aforementioned sage scholar would remind me, “life teaches” — and with those life lessons no longer lost on me, they’re echoed when traveling with my young adult sons, who have quite contrasting ideas from my husband and me of how best to dance the night away.
Which leads to this month’s look into vacation homes and travel spots, with the second or (eh hem) third homes of Dallas residents sprinkled throughout the country in Aspen, Whitefish, and Newport Beach kicking our wanderlust into high gear. And for those not inclined to stay in one spot, hidden hideaways on less-traversed paths, weekend golf and spa getaways, and cultural gems “far from the madding crowd” may complete that yet-to-be-devised bucket list.
A look into the popularity of Cedar Creek lakefront homeownership, its proximity to Dallas facilitating expeditious family fun, a delve inside a deeply personal story that inspired a workplace innovation, and a story about how a local business gives back with a Puppy Mobile is intertwined with how Hockaday students are expanding their creative writing skills through puppy love. Our delve into the underreported aspect of Partners Card’s fundraising impact revealed a coincidental connection between our featured workspace innovator, who donated lockers to The Family Place so survivors would have a place to store their personal property and paperwork. A fun twist on the 32nd annual shopping event circled us back to vacation topics as a Preston Hollow resident purposely prolonged her purchase of the Beach Edition mahjong cards she’d been eyeing for her 30A vacation home until the shopping event.
And lest my youthful naiveté continue to cloud my appreciation of Montana’s scenic landscape, an impending stay in the secluded Tree Haus (its spelling evocative of my second language) — just a few minutes’ drive from aforementioned Missoula — will surely snap me out of my fog.
