Back to the days visiting Telluride in Colorado, I had a great hiking with my veteran friend and my host family. The forest outside of town was the place where I made my hiking as well as trying shooting guns.
The forest and the landscape was different to my country jungles so that it make me a different feeling. The beautiful and green landscape which I only saw in movies.

Day 1 - ATV riding and gun shootings

In the afternoon of the first hiking day, I was taken to hunting area by my old friends. They lived in Idaho but when they had known I was visiting Colorado, they made a 1000 mile trip to see me and stayed in mountain village for visitors. I always appreciate their kind and effort because they were not young then.
My friend, he was a Vietnam war veteran in 1967-1968 and he was a doctor after then. I met him and his wife the first time in Vietnam when they were the members of Vets With A Mission medical program for remote local people in A Luoi, Hue. I was their interpreter in the program in 2011 and we had a great time taking care of poor people and participating in surgeries at the local clinics.

They took me out of town on a Chevy pick-up truck. He also brought his ATV and his guns with him from Idaho to see me. When I got the hunting area, the landscape amazed me with wide and beautiful view. The forest is uniform with only pine trees which I can not find in rain forest. I drove my friend on the ATV to go deeper in the hunting area while his wife was waiting for him to go back to be pick. The ATV was only for 2. I hung his riffle in front of the ATV and all stuff behind. I controlled the ATV heading to the forest.

We enjoyed the view and our conversation, the road is quite narrow with cliff on one side. All things was good until I drove over a big rock on the road. My steering handle turn to the cliff side and we almost run off the road. Right at that moment, my old veteran pulled my arm and handle back on right track. Oh my god, my heart jumped off my chest! I thought I would end up in a crash under the cliff. I quit driving it! But he said that was okay and encouraged me to continued the trip. I did but after we arrived, I did not want to drive it again. Few years later when we met again, he mentioned it to our friend: "He almost killed me! Hahaha"

Although we went to a hunting area but it was not hunting season, we could not go hunting. My friend set up some red metal target for me to shoot with his riffle. The riffle bullets are so tiny so it was easy for me to shoot. I did well and he joked me that I looked like an Uncle Ho's soldier. Ho Chi Minh's soldiers are the name that Vietnamese Army often name themselves. He did fought against them in Vietnam war and he was back to help their people in a medical mission. Respect!

I checked the targets as well as a revolver he gave to me. It was pretty heavy and its bullets were so big. It was told to be able to kill a bear with one shot. When I shot it, I was shocked by its power and almost felt back. I shot couples to the trees and the sound was so loud despite wearing ear blocks. I thought I was a cowboys of the Far West.

The trip ended when he took me back to town for a meal. Although we had snack on the way. The great experience that we had can never be erased out of my mind. My veteran friend passed away 3 years ago because of heart failure but his kind and time with me will last long when ever I look at the photo again. His wife is planning going to see me again but the pandemic has been pausing her plan. The photo is a great memory to me!

Day 2 - Cabin in the Woods

The next day my host family took me to their cabin in the oak forest. Although it is called a cabin but it is bigger than my house back in Vietnam. The log cabin was well maintained with fireplace, cleaned rooms and plenty of food.

The house is in the private property and the view from my room was so great. I felt like it was in the movie "Cabin in the Woods" as well as other horror movie I have seen. The cabin was cozy and nice, but looking out dark forest at night was an interesting creepy experience. I hope you understand my feeling then.
When I watch horror movie, the scenes are the same but I know that it is in the movie. But when living in the same sets, all scary jump scares appeared again in my mind. That sounds funny!

My roommate and I was taken for a walk around the cabin area. We saw many pines and oaks eaten by porcupines and they would die soon. The feeling walking in cold sunny day with fresh air was so fantastic. Wild grass gave us flowers and forest gave us peace. We walked by a small cave and my host father told us that may a cave of bear. In this area, bear coming to town is quite common and the first lesson I had learnt at arrival was how to encounter a bear. I was taught that if I see a bear and it does not see me, just silently walk away while keep eyes on it. If the bear sees me and attack, make noise and try to scare it away, do not run away and look like eatable for a bear. It is not same as a funny lesson to pretend to be dead to a bear that I have learnt in Vietnam in primary school.

We walked by a lake next to a rocky mountain. There were some camping sites and an empty cabin near by. The hiking was so easy but fun and exploring to me and my Turkish roommate. The host family was so kind and generous to us. We had a great time together and all experience in the trip was so memorable and great.

This area is called Bear Creek. On the way, we found a little spring. We washed our hands and enjoyed the cold and fresh of water. This year is quite dry and lack of rain. There was a wildfire in the area then. I even saw smoke when I flew there from Dallas. Enjoying the landscape and fresh air never treat my soul better I and appreciate the experience I had in this beautiful place. It was one of my best hiking and I always keep this as part of my great time of a youngster.

Enjoy some more photos of this mysterious world!
@tungphong
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