We spent a month traveling this fall, and it has given us much food for thought. Staying with former guests in both England and Scotland let us realize afresh what a privilege it is to meet and befriend such wonderful people as we operate Latigo. Making a point to stay in small bed and breakfasts and guest houses as we traveled through the British Isles, helped us to connect with the owners through our common foundation of hospitality. We surprised one gent by bussing our breakfast dishes into his kitchen as we could tell he was not only the owner, waiter, and breakfast cook that particular morning.

The lack of billboards cluttering the hillsides in England and Scotland was refreshing, but it didn’t make up for the narrow, often crowded, and sometimes treacherous roads. We are so accustomed to space in America: space to pass a slow car, space to park by the post office, space to have a front lawn separating your front door from the street, and space to push a grocery cart down wide aisles of a big store that offers everything from saline to spaghetti.

We were awed by the tangible history of cathedrals and castles that stretched back more than fifteen hundred years before our country was conceived. The cities offered so much to see and learn, but we were most drawn to the wilder places where we could gaze across sheep-dotted mountain sides to see the grey blue ocean stretching to the horizon.

Hearing bagpipes playing outside a castle, listening to the Irish lilt in the voice of a minister baptizing a baby, and enjoying wafting notes of traditional music coming from a pub in Dublin are all elements of our special memories surrounding this trip.

When we drove home, we were struck by the beauty of where we live.  On our trip we would stop frequently to fix the scenery in our minds and take a few photos.   Now we are home, we wonder at the privilege of living in the midst of this stunning Rocky Mountain scenery worthy of lots of photos.  It's good to be back.