ranger station squirrel

on sunday T & I went hiking on a nearby trail. P had too much

homework so we went here until a weekend she can go with to try out a new trail i was looking at. So, we stopped at the ranger station to buy a trail map for next trail. saw this squirrel on a trash can. he had a peanut butter nature valley granola bar wrapper. he was so happy to get the peanut butter inside the wrapper. when i stepped to close; he ran away with the wrapper. lol! Then when our entertainment was out of sight, we went for our hike up the hill behind the ranger station.

cookies

made peanut butter cookies over the weekend. used a recipe that p likes to make. they turn out thinner than the traditional kind, but are softer too. when it came time to bake them... she set the oven wrong! we found out what happens when you broil cookies at 500 degrees! lol, after that little mishap the rest all came out wonderful. good thing it was only the first test batch, so only a few were lost.

new year's eve

Happy new year's eve everyone!

Wishing all a great start to the new year.

border patrol dogs

our christmas weekend

well, christmas turned out pretty good after all! we started out on friday (christmas day) at home in our pj's. making phone calls to family. eating christmas cookies for breakfast :)
T called his sister here in colorado. her daughter and new family are there. insisting that we come down to share dinner with them. There is more than enough. after some hemming and hawing, we agree to get dressed and go down to their house. lol! we haven't been in the christmas spirit much this year.
so, we go down and visit. dinner is big and more than enough. ham is so much better with family, christmas cookies and fudges, and pies! T's niece has a 5 month old baby. got to hold her and she didn't cry. she's sweet. looks like she's shocked all the time. her eyes are wide open and her mouth is in a permenent o. poor cats even had outfits on. after dessert we played wii with the kids and any adult that would dare to make a fool of themselves. it's a lot of fun! stayed very late and slept in very long the next morning. finally did get up, but too late for any of the early morning sales. oh well. went to wally world and used all our gift cards to get our own wii and a couple of games. family entertainment.
surprisingly it works! P has come out of her room! played with the wii saturday night and all day sunday. it' s the most i've seen of her. lol, she normally stays in her room reading or/and listening to music.
Christmas was good after all. :)

Christmas in Hollywood, CA

went to Los Angeles and to Hollywood with T. very busy and lots of traffic. didn't get to the famous street in Hollywood, but we did see the sign. Sadly not as impressive in person, as compared to the movies. looks bigger on tv. Guess thats just more of the smoke and mirrors of this town.

COLORADO CHRISTMAS

COLORADO CHRISTMAS - Lyrics : "The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (background vocal: Alison Krauss)

Looking out the window of this Hollywood hotel,
You'd never know that it was Christmas Eve.
The billboards and the neon took the place of silver bells,
And the temperature is 84 degrees.

I can hear the traffic on the crowded strip below
As the palm trees poke their heads above the scene
But there's not a single reindeer and it hardly ever snows,
And Santa drives a Rolls Royce limosine.

But all along the Rockies you can feel it in the air
From Telluride to Boulder down below
The closest thing to heaven on this planet anywhere
Is a quiet Christmas morning in the Colorado snow

I remember Christmases when I was just a boy
In the morning I would run to see the tree.
And the carolers on the hillside sang their songs of Christmas joy
Well, I always thought they sang them just for me.

Now the sun is setting in the California sky
And I can't find the spirit anywhere
So I think it's time for me to tell Los Angeles goodbye
I'm going back home to look for Christmas there

But all along the Rockies you can feel it in the air
From Telluride to Boulder down below
The closest thing to heaven on this planet anywhere
Is a quiet Christmas morning in the Colorado snow"

cheeseburger, cheeseburger

stopped into McD's today and got a large ice tea and a dollar cheeseburger. I know it's bad for me. Got going down the road and low an behold... an extra cheeseburger! I should go get a lotto ticket! T gets to eat now, too!

lights!

lights of Vail Colorado, with special effects, lol!

My frozen creek

It's been sooo cold. single digits and teens. Brr! the creek is almost frozen over. We'll see if this weekend is warmer. There is no snow in the for this weekend's forecast. cross our fingers, lol!

Brrr!

Really cold out today. High temperature was 5 degrees. Tuesday was cloudy and overcast, but about 50. T & I went for a 200 mile motorcycle ride! Wednesday it snowed an inch. Well, it is December so I guess it has to snow and be cold now. We put up the tree and decorated yesterday.

Wolf Center pictures

We were allowed to go up to the pup's cage. They are not small creatures. But very friendly. The one who's paw I am holding was really outgoing. when he stood up next to the fence he was as tall as P & I. They will make great ambassitors. These are the animals that go to visit schools and fund raising events. Until one day when the wolf decides he's had it with people and just wants to stay home. Did i say i want to go again! lol!

Colorado Wolf & Wildlife Center

Last week I took P to the Wolf and Wildlife Center here in Colorado. It was a really great time. The host was very good and told us all how each of the animals came to be at the center. Most are resques from fur farms and photo farms. All the really great pictures you see of wild life, a lot of them are taken on a farm where the animals are in very large pens like here... but the photographer just pays a fee and then goes in and takes pictures. Some are animals people tried to keep as pets! stupid idea. Some have very sad histories. But here they are well taken care of. At the end of the tour, everyone went to the coyote pen, and we were instructed to howl. the kids loved it! If we get her to start yipping and howling.. the wolves will answer. They did. it was incredible to hear!

Accident on I70

It's barely snowing today... an someone screwed up and caused an accident. :( It was a pick up truck; looks like it went down into the creek bed. it was badly crunched on both ends.

snow on the passes

snow on Loveland Pass (left) and Vail Pass (right) above 10,000 ft today.

Delta Colorado Sunrise

pictures of the sunrise Monday morning near Delta Colorado.

The first is the sun striking it's golden color onto the clouds. Th
e second is a rainbow of colors reflected on a rain shower.

Cloud Bank

Cloud bank in the mountains

... bringer of snow and rain

book

Went to the library and picked up book 7 of the Outlander seris. Yeah! Diana Gabaldon "Echo in the Bone". And according to the inside jacket, there will be a book 8. So I don't have to panic yet. I was looking over my bookshelf earlier this week and remembered the "Clan of the Cave Bear" - when will the next book be out? I'll have to get online an look for more info. until then, I'll enjoy my "Echo" book.

My trip to New Mexico

The dunes are an active place. The winds move them along from west to east about 30 feet a year. The soap tree yucca plant survives by having it's leaves thrust upward above the sand. In this way, they grow about a foot a year.

trip to New Mexico

White Sands National Monument. Located on Hwy 70 Between Alamogordo and Las Cruces New Mexico. These glistening white wave like dunes are gypsum. They cover 275 square miles. The dunes and the road to them close periodically due to the White sand missile range testing schedule. Interesting... no sirens went off for us. Surprisingly, there is flora and fauna in the sands. T saw a tarantula on the road to this place. I was looking at the map so I didn't see it. He said it was huge. It was very hot yesterday. 87 degrees. A lot warmer than our mountains right now. Only upper 60 to low 70's right now.

fall colors in my back yard

fall is now in full color at our place.

Lots of yellow. some red shrubs near the creek. Dark green evergreens. it smells like fall.

September snow

Wow, what a crappy last couple of weeks.

We all had the flu. And not the normal one, the big N1H1. It lasts a lot longer than the normal flu. We all had different symptoms. September 24th brought our first snow of the winter season. fluffy wet and pretty. we only saw about an inch. the rest of the week bounced between snow showers and rain. what a week to be sick. but then, just to rub it in... the weekend was sunny and in the upper 70's. And I still can't get out of bed. Well, I still have a lingering tickle that makes me cough. But I can deal with that. We will be getting the regular flu shot as soon as all of these symptoms are gone. don't want to do this again any time soon.

last day of summer

yesterday was the last full day of summer... it snowed! lol! we got about an inch. it should warm up to the 60's this weekend.

drunk driving

"Your Honor:
I plead not guilty.
I did not see a light; and besides ~ there is no light on that corner.
I checked the next morning........ "

Now here's a hard core drinker and one tough Dodge truck.

The driver hit the left turn light and sheared off the light post at the base, and
then kept driving on about 2 miles to Squires Four Pub, where he stopped for
more beer!! How impaired do you have to be to NOT notice that you are carrying
a stop light? ( I Wonder if the light was green? )


The truck was towed about 2.5 miles to the Vernon towing yard, with the light
still pinched between the two tow hooks and the bumper bent around it

It took several good hard pulls with a backhoe to get the pole free."

overlook

Well, we survived P's first formal dance. lol. Met the guy she wanted to go with. He's really nice. brought her a dozen roses and he bakes! lol. he brought some bannana nut bread. really good! After the dance they came back to our place and we all sat around watching movies and talking until 2am. must be he didn't think we were too crazy. On Sunday we went for a hike. had to get some fresh air one last time before the week's grind starts again. This one is to an overlook of the town.

Everybody loves a...

P was not very optimistic that the football team would win. Sounds like they are smaller guys. a bunch of ski bums she says. Dropped her off to watch the game and fireworks friday evening. Low and behold.. WE WON! Sometimes miricles do happen. She goes to the Homecoming dance on Saturday.

Parade

New cars, old cars.. the kids deck out their cars in support. The couple in the older red convertable are apperently the Homecoming king and queen from 1936!

Homecomng parade

Homecoming parade was on Friday. P's school let them all out early an bussed them to town to participate or watch. Depending on who had float assignment. P was in the crowds... It was neat to have a parade in town for all the town to come out and watch. Remembering back, lol, our school had the floats during half time at the game. There was a pretty good turn out. Had the normal stuff.. people throwing candy to the kids, marching band. local characters...

Colorado Sunflowers

September 2009

Colorado Sunflowers

09-09-09

Today's edition is sponsored by the letter "i" and number 9 - lol!

According to numerologists, The number nine holds a special ranking. It is associated with forgiveness, compassion and success on a positive note. On the other side we have self righteousness and arrogance.

- just fun with numbers for me. enjoy it, it's the last time we'll have single repeating digits for at least another century. Mark the calendars for January 1 2101

Mt Evans Road

A sure sign that fall is coming and the summer is coming to a close. The top 4 miles of mt evans road closed for the winter today. They can finish their repairs now. We took a motorcycle ride up Fall River rd over the weekend. some of the leaves are starting to change to yellow. The early morning hours are cooler. in te 40's now. Had a heavy dew on the jeep this morning.

Washboard clouds

Cloud formation over our house on Sunday. Very turbulent up there in the upper cloud layers. It was breezy and raining by that afternoon. I got to grill out in the rain, Drunken Chicken. Mmm. It's Chicken marinated in beer. makes it very tender and juicy.

smoke haze

some pictures from around Parachutte, Rifle and Glenwood Canyon. The Western wild fires are causing our normally blue sky to appear a bit hazy this week.

Glenwood Springs Canyon

The rains have let up. We have a stray t-storm maybe once a week now. The Rivers are going back down to a lower level. Temperatures are still warm. it's 78 and we have a hazy sun out today. There are some large wildfires in California, Arizona & Utah that are causing a smoky haze to hang around. Even all the way down into Denver. Someone on the news was being interviewed as saying they could smell it. Hmm, I don't find that it's that strong here. I think they're on something.
Traveling out to western Colorado today. Took a picture in Glenwood springs Canyon. The water level has dropped a lot from earlier this spring. Noticed that some of the bushes have started to get a yellow tint - fall is coming.
Happy 1st day of September!

Alice colorado

Old Cabin in Alice, CO. near St Mary's Glacier

pussyfoot

finally found my cartoon critters official looney toon name - Pussyfoot!

Karl Marx quote

"Owners of capital will stimulate the working class to buy more and more of expensive goods, houses and technology, pushing them to take more and more expensive crudity, until their debt becomes unbearable. The unpaid debt will lead to bankruptcy of banks, which will have to be nationalized, and the State will have to take the road which will eventually lead to communism."

Karl Marx, Das Kapital, 1867

summer campfire

After our family hiking event we came back to our house for a grill out. fired up the grill, put on the hotdogs, chicken and corn on the cob. My grill is very full. lol! sent the girls out in the woods to collect sticks for marshmallows...- The neighbors dog starts barking - they came back rather quick. They spotted yet another mountain lion! This one smaller than the one P saw a couple of months ago. Closer too, apparently. P said it's eyes are green. That's close. So, we build a fire. That should keep the wildlife at bay. We finish grilling, eat... Mmmm! 'twas good. The girls go inside for a bit.. they want to play with P's guitars. So the adults are left to ourselves. A new neighbor notices our fire... So I'm neighborly and invite her over. She and her son ( early 20's) come over. She brings her own dixie cup full of beer. She's already had a few we think. We all chat a bit. we tell her to keep an eye on her dog. we have a big kitty or two in the area. She sits on one of the benches, her son continues to stand. I think he's embarrassed of her. I offer then food..they refuse - they just finished dinner. then she spills my tiki lantern that was on the bench next to her on the ground. I got up and stomp out the flames. Put the tiki farther from her... They leave shortly after this. Guess they realize the big blue cooler doesn't have beer. and there are a lot of pepsi cans around! As it's getting dark the girls come back outside. we are all talking about the hike, the cat, future plans... one of the neighbors dogs start barking again... We all start looking up the hill and around in the darkness. Suddenly something is crashing through the underbrush towards us coming from the side yard! This is no cat.. not graceful at all! Everyone stands up, the guys grab large sticks.. and we all stand closer to the fire. We think it's a bear. It notices the fire and us in it's path because it veers off and up the hillside. We can hear it skirting around us and up the hill. The dog is still going crazy. The guys throw a few rocks up the hill into the dark to keep it going away. After a few minutes everything settles down. All is quiet again. I realize I am hold my small survival knife.. I was using it on the hiking trip earlier today. Put it back in my pocket. We all stand around talking for a bit longer. D & D decide they'd better get home by now any way. it's an hour drive back to their house. The girls will be tired and cranky tomorrow if they don't sleep. They will all have a lot to talk about in school on Monday. lol!

summer days

cruisin' along on back country highways....

Hiking with ALL the family

My sister in law and her family came over on Saturday. We went hiking and had a picnic then came back to our place for a dinner grill out. Mmmm! Originally, they wanted to go up to the lake, but it's the weekend... and it was packed! So, we took them up to another area that should be less known. It was. This trail is short with a couple of steep spots. Quite a few old mine relics left. The girls liked to explore. went into an old shaft that was dug into the rock about ten feet. There was an old wooden door left ajar and then you squeeze past it and into the dark with in. The cave was about 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Apparently, they didn't find any gold or silver - because it was a dead end about 10 feet in. It was a good trail and even D & D's girls enjoyed it. the oldest one even stated at the end of the hike that she liked it and wanted to do it again sometime. Impressive considering at the beginning she was dragging behind and making it obvious she didn't want to be there, lol! Ha - Converted another one.

10 years

Wow, I've been such a slacker this month. here it is, almost the end of the month and I haven't blogged anything. And now I see... it is official... we have lived in Colorado for 10 years now! Has it been that long... since I told Lake County good bye... without a tear and smiling! lol!

This month has been somewhat quiet. been on a few short bike rides. We go up to the lake during the week while it's quiet and all the city crowd isn't there yet. bike 'n' hike! its fun! Oh, I read a book this month too! Stephen King's Duma Key. Good Book

bike ride

We've been going out on the motorcycle as much as the rain will let us. T took Paige up to the lake last night. the sun finally came out at our house. Apparently it was still rain mixed with hail on the top though. T said there is a dusting of snow on the peaks. In spite of the cold temperatures, they had a good ride. P likes the fast straight aways and the curves too, lol!

Airport

Picked up P on Tuesday. her flight was good. Said she met an older couple that are from both Buffalo, NY and Denver, CO. They were telling her about the area histories of both Cities. They had some interesting tid-bits and facts. it's still raining off and on most every day here. So, P isn't going to get a break from the rain by coming home either. Went and got some sweet corn yesterday, it was soo sweet and good. put it on the grill. in between rain showers I'd go out and check it. one of the resident squirrels came out of his tree long enough to chatter at me from his podium.

july

wow, the month of July went by in a flash! we have so far survived the crazyness going on at T's job. After we came back from Jackson, WY - we sat around for a few days while the company decided if they wanted to send his truck back to the dealership now or later. They finally decided on now. He got the brand truck he wanted originally when he started working here. So, things are working out. After this toss up, we headed out east on a trip to Maryland and then circled down through Tennessee... which I really loved! T was right. I do like Tennessee. But alas, we couldn't stop. had to get on down to Texas. East Texas is very humid. After that on over to the L.A. California area. Another area I'm not thrilled with. Finally, we come back to Colorado. What a whirl wind. The pay check better be worth it if I can't stop and lolly-gag anymore. That's one of the new "rules" less sitting around being tourists. Hmm, I don't think the office people remember what it's like out here. I don't know about you, but I don't consider spending my day at a warehouse area the highlight of my trip. too much concrete and steel. no where near enough sand and beaches.

what a week...

all kinds of crap hit the fan at T's job this week. I think we've sailed through most of it clear enough. But we've got to get lots of miles to make up for taking most of this week off unvoluntarily. We started out great by going up to Jackson WY. Beautiful up there. love the teton mtns. so jagged and rugged looking. heard the foxes singing at night. no wolves or bear sighted. after The delivery Tuesday morning his dispatcher confirmed a rumor we heard Monday. His boss is apparently in dire straights business wise. he just voluntarily repossessed some of the trucks... and T's was one of them! They made some other rule changes about having to have 10k miles a month.. or you can quit or "slip seat" that's sharing a truck with other drivers. basically part time. well a lot of people quit. That opened up some trucks and miles for those that want lots of miles. So T and I are on our way to Maryland. That should help his quota! The new truck is a differnt brand. getting used to it. it's a bit smaller in the sleeper area. But has more cabinets back there. win some lose some. Currently in Missouri - it's very humid and looks like rain. it just won't rain. I hate that.

fourth of july weekend

T and I had a good weekend. Decided to go to a hot springs resort a couple of hours from us. What a wonderful idea. we spent about six hours there. all the aches and pains are gone. the brochure said that a three hour soak should last you for a week. we are set. want to go again and get a room or cabin there. we stayed there until just after dark and then on down the road. at the next town we caught the fireworks display. it was a good show. lol, there was this one poor sap with a new suv... he kept setting off the car alarm.
Sunday we took it easy. went to Sam's stocked up on everything. we should be done food shopping for the summer. Stopped into Ross. our favorite discounted brand name store. went in to look for deals on shorts. neither one of us could find anything. we bought shirts instead. lol!
Grilled steaks and corn on the cob. Mmmm. love summer fresh corn. turned out really well on the grill. I've never grilled corn.

Central California

We drove this week from San Fransisco to Los Angeles, and had an eye opening experience. Down much of the length of the I-5 freeway, we saw not the green fields of produce or green orchards laden with fruit, but dusty dead and dying orchards. Rows after row, acre after acre, miles after mile of them, perfectly helpless….lifeless.
By way of explanation, these signs dotted the dusty dry roadside: “Congress Created Dust Bowl.

Thought to ponder — it takes 30 years to build an orchard like this up to full production! Almonds, fruit, citrus… Why do suburbs have green lawns while these food sources are left to die?

Farmers through out this region echo the sentiment that politics, not the drought, is the problem. Most of this area of California gets its water from a huge Delta, where two big rivers join in the center of the central valley area. But so much water was being pumped out of the Delta that a tiny smelt there, an endangered species of fish about 2 inches long, is disappearing. So late last year, a federal judge ruled that the amount of water being delivered to the south had to be sharply cut back. Guess who got shafted. Why are we still watering grass lawns? Why are there vast green golf courses everywhere you look?

If this is what the Californian politicians think is best for their state... then maybe it would be best for the budget there to fail, let the government fall... and the California people can take their state back. Of course once the government falls, the illegals will have no reason to stay and the lazy white teenagers will have to get off the couch and put down the game-boy .. and get a real job!

We did see some plots of corn. Some farmers have planted baby tree orchards in the hope that 30 years from now... the politics will let them have a good crop again. They water them with hope and the little amount of water they had saved up.

Ashcroft Colorado

Ashcroft started in 1880. it was a silver town. there is a long an varied history. Silver town, WWII training camdp, potentional ski area, Olympic traidning area, and finally in the 1970's it was preserved. The Aspen Historical Society takes care of it now. They have done a good job. The building at the far end is a two story hotel. it still has some the fancy wood work at the roof line and around the windows. inside, the stairway up was rickety, and we probably shouldn't have went upstairs, but we did. It wasn't gated off like some other buildings. what a view. This is one of my favorite areas of Colorado. Although, one sign said that Ashcroft gets about 18 feet of snow in winter. Brrr! There are a lot of ground squirrls here. you see them and their holes everywhere. looks like the hawks and ermine have a lot of work to do.

Rest in Peace

What a bad week for celeb's. first Farrah Fawcett. then Michael Jackson. and today, Billy Mays.

out and about

Yesterday we decide to go find some ghost towns. so we decided on one near Aspen. From our house we went up and over Guanella pass. It's under construction until 2010 on the Georgetown side. lol, that side has lots of pot holes and narrow lanes so it's like a four wheel road. it was raining on top of the pass. But inspite of that, there were still a lot of cars parked up there and people hiking the different trails. decide it was too cool and wet to have lunch here so we went down farther. Had lunch at a lower picnic area. My Dorito salad, Mmmm! Continued on and over Independence Pass, where it is again raining on the summits. had some hail mixed in here. walked out to the over look anyway. On down past the restored ghost town of Independence. didn't stop today. then on into Aspen. didn't stop here either. public parking here is pay parking. it was getting late so we didn't stay. found our road and headed up to Ashcroft. Many tall thick stands of aspen trees. I understand why the town is so named. Many beautiful blue lupine flowers growing among the aspens. And this little guy. We pulled over on the side of the road and he just stood there flicking his ear and let me take a couple of pictures.