Susquehannah Sasquatch stood at the summit of Blanca Peak in south central Colorado. With her washer friend, Gabbro Gnome, who had brought his lady friend. No one was quite sure what to call this second gnome, the girl of his fancy. Her name was Magill, and she called herself Lil, but everyone knew her as GNancy.

Gabbro had once asked Sue about her name. “First of all, don’t call me Sue; my name is Susquehannah. I go by Susky. My parents named me after a legendary great river in the distant land whence come my ancestors five generations ago.”

The three visitors to the mountaintop were buffeted by a brisk wind. The exceptionally clear air allowed a stunning view in all directions. To the west lay the San Luis Valley. The Sangre de Christo mountains filled the view to both the north and the south. To the northeast, there was a smudge of city air near Pueblo. And, about fifty miles to the east, the western edge of the Great Plains reached to the foothills of the mountains.

[If I were writing a TV screenplay, this would be the time for the opening credits and the first break for commercial messages.]

[In the next scene] the three travelers come down the mountainside as they approach the small human community of Boncarbo. {That’s a small community, NOT a community of small humans.} They come to a heap of debris – boulders and shattered tree trunks and whatever – apparently wreckage left by a long-ago avalanche.

Susky called out in a strong voice, “Hey, Sam, are you home, buddy?”

An answering voice bellowed in reply, “Hunh? Who dere? Whadda wan’? Go ‘way! I doan wan’ any!”

Susky responded, “Now, hold on there, Samuel Clemens Sasquatch! Chill out! It’s Susky and two friends! Now, get your hairy ass and your stinky bigfeet out here!”

“Susky? Hannah!!”

“Well, hey there, Buffalo Gal! It’s so great to see you! Damn, it’s been far too long!”

“Hey there, yer self, you out-of-focus cryptid. But don’t call me Buffalo Gal! My family’s from Scranton.”

Susky introduced the gnomes to her old friend. Sam invited everyone into his concealed home, where he served spruce-needle tea and piñon-seed pastries. Sam’s abode was a structure that seemed to combine elements of an ancient Cornish fogou with a neolithic dolmen and a Ponderosa-style ranch house.

“So, what brings you to southern Colorado?”

Gabbro replied, “We were near Pike’s Peak, visiting my old schoolmate Roy L. George. This seemed like a good chance to come by and visit you.”

“Wow. That’s quite a trek! Must be over 200 miles!”

“Yeah, something like that. It was a rather pleasant journey, even if it was rugged in places. We came down the Arkansas River, past Brown’s Canyon, to the north end of the San Isabel National Forest and the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness.”

Then GNancy spoke, “Yeah, from there we took the Rainbow Trail south. Would ya believe it? Not a hippie in sight!”

Susky said, “That was a good hike. The trail took us nearly to the foot of Blanca Peak.”

Sam said, “The Rainbow Trail? I’ve never taken that route. What’s it like?”

[Second break for commercial messages, snacks, and a bathroom break]

Sam said, “The Rainbow Trail? I’ve never taken that route. What’s it like?”

GNancy described that part of their peregrination.

“The trail took us along the east flank of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Thick spruce forests, mountain meadows, and aspen groves. Views of Kit Carson Mountain and Crestone Peak. Wildflowers, wildlife, and waterfalls. At places, we could look down into the Wet Mountain Valley. Great place! For a while, we were just the other side of the ridge from the Great Sand Dunes.”

“Sounds wonderful. I think I’ll celebrate Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday there in October.”

“From Blanca Peak, we descended Little Ute Creek and Ute Creek to where we could cross a small divide to Sangre de Cristo Creek, which we followed up to La Veta Pass. Then we turned south and traveled between the Culebra Ridge and West Spanish Peak, climbing along the Cucharas River and Chaparral Creek to Cordova Pass. At the pass, we decided to walk east along the Apishapa Road to where we found some Forest Service roads that brought us south to here.”

Sam thought to himself, “Wow, she’s a REAL geography nerd! She should write fantasy stories.” But then he said out loud, “Wow! Just that last leg of your journey sounds a bit overwhelming. You must be ready to take a long rest! Would you like to stay with me for a few days?”

Susky replied, “Oh, thank you! We promise to be good, well-behaved guests.”