That Time I Ruined My Sister’s Hiking Holiday
One Thing Led to Another Step by Step
In July of 2017, I flew to Santa Fe and spent a week with my sister Sherrie. I was home only a few days, and my brother-in-law called to invite me to join him and my sister Kathy in Denver the following week.
I groaned inwardly and was about to decline this rare invitation when my husband called from across the room and urged me to accept. He reasoned they would never invite me again if I chose not to meet them there.
As I had aged, I had come to dislike travel, but I felt my husband was right; this was a rare opportunity to spend time hiking with my sister in the Colorado Rockies while her husband attended a national coin show.
So, off I went to Denver a few days later.
We decided to spend our first day at the Denver Art Museum to give our bodies time to acclimate to the elevation.
It was Monday, August 1st, and we headed upstairs to view the museum’s special exhibition exploring Hollywood’s connections between cowboy movies and historical American art.
When it was time for lunch, we walked across the museum towards the café.
We opted not to take an elevator to the ground floor, and we descended the staircase to the first landing and stopped to admire the museum’s entry. This vast space is awe-inspiring.
Mesmerized by its vastness, I stepped out into it.
I instantly came to my senses when my foot found no purchase. I vainly grasped for the side rail.
Having missed the opportunity to break my fall, I knew I would roll all the way down the staircase.
I consciously decided to scream, and I screamed for all I was worth. Kicking and screaming, I rolled down some twenty feet of staircase made from Rocky Mountain granite.
It must have been quite a sight! Later, I asked Kathy what she thought, and she said, “This can’t be happening.”
With all my screaming, a crowd had accumulated by the time I landed.
A museum attendant offered to help me, but I preferred to get up unaided. I knew my arm was broken, but otherwise, I seemed okay.
EMTs arrived almost immediately, and I received excellent care from many providers. The next day we returned to the hospital for surgery to pin my broken bones together.
Kathy and I had some time on Wednesday and Thursday to explore downtown Denver. We did some shopping and enjoyed high tea at the Palace Hotel. There was no hiking beyond the city in the Rockies.
The highlight for the three of us was a drive to Evergreen to spend the evening with my niece and her husband. They graciously entertained us and lifted our moods.
Then, on Friday, I returned to the surgeon’s office to have a custom sling made to support my arm while it healed. On Saturday, we said goodbye at the airport and returned home.
The backstory is that my sister had not wanted to go to Denver with her husband, but he had insisted. He got her to agree that if he could get me to come to keep her company, she would go. Knowing I had just returned from Santa Fe, Kathy was sure I would not come.
Life is an ever-changing adventure. One never knows what lies ahead.
