Week 3: Sunday, August 12, 2007; Durango, Rest day at the Shadid Ranch

We woke up early, ate breakfast and relaxed with Vanessa and Danny. Christy packed up the car and we said our goodbyes to the Valentine crew. We headed out to meet a couple Marilyn and Jim Shadid that Christy met in Africa last summer during a Safari trip. They own 13 acres of land in the mountains about 40miles East of Durango.

We arrived at their home just after 12pm after a slow bumpy drive down the path to their ranch. They have a beautiful three storey home and an adorable dog named Matty. Marilyn prepared an amazing lunch; we had Elk that Jim hunted himself. Jim said, “One Elk is enough to feed the two of them for 1 year!” It was so delicious and very healthy because all wild game has very low fat and has no antibiotics or hormones.

After lunch Christy did some laundry, Ali worked
on the bikes and Shah and Kristian took advantage of the time and napped. Around 4pm we headed out for a hike up in the mountains. Kristian and Ali were set on taking the llamas Thelma and Louise with us for the adventure. The look on Kristians face was priceless while he and Jim tried to get the leashes on the stubborn llamas!

We hiked up the mountain, which was just over an hour and a half to the top. We had to stop several times for the llamas to rest. At one point Shah was behind Louise (the llama) pushing and Ali was ahead pulling the leash. Ali had a knack with the llamas and Christy nicknamed him “the llama whisperer”. We had an amazing time and the view from the top of the mountain was breathtaking!

After the hike, we enjoyed a wonderful meal outside on the patio. It was a beautiful clear night and the stars were twinkling! We shared stories of our travels, family and future plans. Marilyn and Jim were amazing hosts and made us feel so welcome at their home. Shortly after dinner Shah, Christy and Ali watched shooting stars off the balcony before heading to bed. It was an incredible day! It was definitely the most relaxing day we’ve had so far during the tour.