The Kindness of Strangers

We decided that we needed one more trip this year on the motorcycle so we planned to go to see my sister, Laurel in Colorado. She is a crafter and was participating in the Applefest in Cedaredge. It's a big deal for a small town. We loved the idea of going there and enjoying the Applefest. This part of Colorado has a wonderful harvest of many variety of apples. So we packed the bike and headed out. A storm was coming to Utah but the Colorado part had a better forcast. We thought we would miss the storm. We did.....sort of, well, at least for one day. The first day out was without a drop of rain. It got a bit chilly but we were well prepared. We met our friends, the Richards, in Grand Junction and went on to Cedaredge the next morning. As we traveled over the Mesa into Cedaredge we encountered cold and snow but coming down into town the weather was overcast but fine. We looked for a parking place and found a little one way road by some condo's. We pulled in and as soon as we did a couple of residents came out and we felt sure that they were going to ask us to leave. They approached and we visited for a few minutes. They were curious about the bikes and all about how we travel in weather etc. They were very friendly and warm. As we began to take off all of our layers Sue, the woman in the picture above, began to fret about the safety of our leaving our coats and helmets etc. on the bikes. "It'll be fine" David kept reassuring her and we continued to peel off. Sue and her friend and the dog were going off to see the antique cars but she was worried about us, the strangers who had just blown in. She said that she would worry all the time we were gone and wondered if she should stay home to protect our things. She wanted to put them all in her home for safety. It was such a kind concern that we all agreed that she should enjoy her day as well so we picked up our coats, liners, helmets, overpants and lugged them in to her tiny apartment to await our return. Above is Sue and her friend by the bikes and here she is in her apartment. Our gear took half of her living room!
There are many good people in the world and this is one of them. She didn't know us at all but she percieved a need and did everything she could to meet it. What a great example she is of loving her neighbor.
If you ever get to Cedaredge, Co. you can count on Sue. We'll be sure to look her up next year when we go.

The following pictures are of the Applefest. There were many booths for food and crafts. There were entertainers and steam driven whatevers. My sister Laurel and my niece Julie had the booth you see. They did just fine until the rains came down about 2pm. Things cleared out pretty fast then. Our trip home was full of rain but we were warm and dry thanks to the forward thinking and grand preparations of my dear David, the biker dude.