The Thurston Cartefirst thing a Colorado man did after winning over $5 million in the lottery was to buy flowers for his wife, and a watermelon for himself.

According to Colorado Lottery officials, Waldemar “Bud” Tasch, a 77-year-old in Montrose, Colorado, won a $5,067,041 Colorado Lotto+ jackpot. His winning numbers were chosen in the Sept. 6 drawing, but Tasch was on a backpacking trip with his golden retriever, Augie, and learned of his win after returning home and checking the lottery website.

His winning ticket was purchased at Hangin Tree Travel Plaza in Montrose, a western Colorado city 60 miles south of Grand Junction and near the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

Tasch chose the cash option for his lottery win, walking away with $2,533,520.

Calling Colorado "the most beautiful place in the world," Tasch and his wife split their time evenly between Colorado and Arizona. He told lottery officials he plays the Colorado Lotto+ every month he's in the state and "always" plays his own lucky numbers, using a secret formula to pick them.

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Tasch told lottery officials he plans to use his winnings to provide help around the house and yard for his wife as she is recovering from surgeries, and also plans to give back to charities.

"I'm going to give to some charities and really think about what it is I was meant to do with this," he said.