MONTE VISTA – Colorado Veterans Community Living Center at Homelake was excited to again host its annual Rock Creek Breakfast for its residents on Aug. 13.

According to Admissions and Marketing Director Pam Self, about 25 people attended the annual special breakfast, and all residents were smiling and happy to attend this wonderful annual event.

“It was really wonderful. We had about 3 busloads of residents. There were about 25 of us including staff that were able to spend the majority of the morning up at Rock Creek. The air was crisp, and although it was a warm morning, when the sun came out, it was absolutely beautiful. We were up there until about 11 a.m.  The weather turned out beautiful and it was a wonderful day,” Self said.

Even before she was with the Colorado Veterans Community Living Center at Homelake, which has been 18 years now, residents have gone up to enjoy the Rock Creek Breakfast. Self said that there was bacon served, sausage links, eggs, pancakes, tortillas, and coffee that was percolated over the campfire.

“One of the nicest things about the breakfast is the way that you can smell everything drifting through the air,” Self said. “The breakfast is always a memorable one for sure.”

Self said another nice aspect of the breakfast every year is the way everyone reminisces and talks about past times that they remember or other trips they have taken.

“Residents spoke about their fishing adventures, their camping adventures. It is always great to hear about all of their experiences with the outdoors. The breakfast triggers so many memories for them. Cowboy coffee over the fire is always the best too, because it always brings back many memories as well. If you have spent time camping in the outdoors, and have ever brewed coffee this way, you know how many memories something like that can bring back with just a smell, for our residents,” Self said.

Self said that when the residents got there, they were excited to be greeted and see some smoke from the campfire, to smell the bacon, and to smell the fresh brewed coffee. Self said as part of the cooking crew she is used to getting up there early and having almost everything ready for the residents.

“It’s very early. It was nice to see everyone sit down and enjoy their coffee as we finished preparing the big meal for them. The nicest part is when we all sit down together to eat. You can see the smiles of all the residents. The staff always enjoys sitting with the residents and hearing their stories, it’s a true opportunity to just get away from their regular Homelake living environment and make some memories there too. This is also such a rewarding time for us and for the staff, to partake and remember all of this too. It is a very wonderful and warm experience for us, to see the residents out of our normal day-to-day environment, and for them to see us out of our normal day-to-day environment too. We enjoy it just as much as the residents do every year,” Self said.