Journey

Spring Break!

2012-03-18T11:49:00.015-07:00

Mesa Verde National Park

I've never seen as many aspen tress as there are in this area, can't wait to see them in the summer and when they turn colors in the fall!

Old Mining remnants along Million Dollar Highway

Another door pic. to add to my collection

Ouray

China Clipper, Bed and Breakfast we stayed at. Very enjoyable, great people.

Looking out over my new favorite town, Ouray, CO

Silverton Railroad Depot

Hot Springs

No Gifts!

2011-11-17T19:58:00.000-08:00

The onslaught has begun. The Christmas stuff is everywhere in the stores. But I happily cruise on by the aisles filled with ornaments and fake trees and other adornments for the season. I choose not to have a tree and therefore free myself from all the other accoutrements. This is an easy decision that can be carried through easily because it does not usually involve other people. (i.e. people don't buy each other Christmas trees for Christmas) I can't tell you how free I felt walking past the aisles knowing I don't need that and all I did to change that "need" was make a simple independent choice.
Now the problem. I can't seem to convince people to stop giving gifts for Christmas! I would just like to be able to enjoy being together without the gifts. I would rather spend time and energy cooking, eating, and doing activities together without any attachment to gift giving.
The only concession I could give in to would be to have a "homemade" only gift giving exchange. But then again, you might just get something really awful that you Really don't need!
The one thing we do need is a "new" car. Maybe I could post a "donate now!" button on my blog so, if people really feel the need to give me something they can give to the goal of buying a newer car instead.

Keba’s Daily Life in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO-Glacier Basin Campground

2011-07-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

My first day in RMNP, First things first, I just had to have a place where I could watch outside. Boy that was a crazy twisting road to get here, I’m lucky I didn’t get car sick! No signs of altitude sickness yet.
Food. Check. Water. Check. All is well. Will stay here a few minutes before investigation every nook and cranny of the house.

Boy. I think the altitude is making me very sleepy.

Daily exchange with Borry, simple morning conversation over a cup of tea.

Wait, what is that!?

Interesting… water seems to come from this thing.

I have settled into my position as RMNP Junior Ranger Kitty. My daily duties include keeping an eye on what is happening out in front of the campground. With my foot on the phone I am always prepared to put the call in to dispatch if need be.

It is summer after all, so I do get a little sunbathing in. Man I love this weather, so glad I am not in Ft. Collins for the summer. It’s nice having a summer home.

My focused face. Gotta keep an eye on these large strange animals. (Elk!)

Ooops! Borry caught me sneaking out of the cupboard. I was just investigating a noise.

Boy, I’m pooped, it’s tough being a RMNP Junior Ranger Kitty!

Nov. 29

2010-11-29T20:01:00.001-08:00

Mom and Dad visit for a week before Thanksgiving. We had fun (I think!) snowshoeing and roaming around Fort Collins, Boulder, etc. We had Thanksgiving dinner (in the hotel!... which happens to be bigger than our apartment :)

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Fall

2010-10-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

Twin Sisters Peaks Hike 10/16

Sunrise from the top of the parking garage

Fall Colors

Some more pictures from this summer

2010-09-17T20:30:00.001-07:00

Have you ever lain in a field of glacier lilies? Delicious to eat in its entirety as well! The leaves are fresh the flowers sweet. Yum.

Gotta do the picture at the sign, Dharma our friend from the Peace Corps came to visit.

Flower on top of a mountain, things can grow anywhere!

Looking down at surrounding mountains from the top of Rising Wolf.

Tour De Fat!

2010-09-06T09:19:00.001-07:00

Tour De Fat Stage, good fun

Cool Bike

The crowd building before the parade started, it stretched so far back, but we were at the front. Notice the pink gorilla!

Me in my fairy, hippie, something er rather getup.

Two friends meeting at my house before the parade. I thoght they looked like a strange album cover pic.

August 22, 2010

2010-08-22T19:48:00.001-07:00

OK, so I have been back in Fort Collins since the 8th, but I have been going nonstop with work since then. First prepping the classroom, then trying to look prepared for the first days of school last week. I will post pictures of my classroom, before and after the disaster. Since I was in Glacier National Park for a whole month and went on a lot of hikes I, of course, have a lot of pictures. I will have to just post a few at a time.

Hoary marmot!

Some snow crossings on the Dawson Pass-Pitamakin Loop GNP

Dawson Pass photo op. I hike with a ranger and some other visitors. It was the day after I arrived in Glacier and a really awesome hike.

Sinopah Mountain in Two Medicine on an early morning boat ride.

Hewlett Gulch

2010-07-05T16:57:00.000-07:00

A nice hike to Hewlett Gulch with my brother here from out of town.

A spiky but pretty thistle

A good wide view, David is tiny in the bottom right corner.

Lots of water crossings!

Lazy Day

2010-06-23T18:42:00.001-07:00

A lazy day relaxing in the shade of a huge tree. Ate lunch, watched a ladybug and read a book. Summer is sooo nice.

6/19/2010

2010-06-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hike to Lake Agnes. Glacial lake surrounded by the Never Summer Range, Nokhu Crags and Mount Richthofen. 10, 663 ft. elevation

6/15/2010

2010-06-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

Arthur's Rock Hike-Lory State Park Fort Collins, CO

Good view of Longs Peak from high point on the trail.

6/12/2010

2010-06-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

Taste of Fort Collins-Lead singer from the band Live

This is happening this weekend and it is a block from my house! I can run home and use the bathroom, grab a snack and go back for the next music act. Crazy. Merica.

It is a little rainy but no one seems to mind. If you look in the background of this picture there is a train going through!

6/11/2010

2010-06-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

The Poudre River is running high. Some of the bike paths along it are blocked off from flooding. There has already been someone that has lost their life going in the fast moving water. Flood warnings are on for the surrounding area because we are expecting a weekend of rain.

6/8/2010

2010-06-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

"Noontime Notes" in Oak Street Plaza. This is where the water fountain sculptures are. They will have a different kind of band each Tuesday in the afternoon. People bring their kids, have picnics, dance, have their lunch break etc. in this unique atmosphere.

6/5/10 Greyrock

2010-06-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

National Trails Day! Repairing the middle section of Grey Rock Trail, in the Poudre Canyon

6/5/10

2010-06-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

Zen Master Keba, in his favorite position.

5.31

2010-05-31T17:53:00.001-07:00

White pelicans at the park lake.

Keba at his favorite window, enjoying the sun and bird watching!

5/28/10

2010-05-28T19:30:00.001-07:00

Spring blooms.

5/23/10

2010-05-23T18:26:00.002-07:00

On my way to the store I met a train. It had rear engine that said Sante Fe on it. It is just so cool to have a train running through the town.

Hangin around this town

2010-05-21T20:53:00.001-07:00

5/21/10
Today was the 25th anniversary of Old Town Square. Since it was the 80's they had an 80's theme going on. Break dancing, Rubrix cubes, air guitar contests to all the great 80's rock bands, etc.

5/20/10
A very tasty place to eat and some good bluegrass music too! I just happened to walk by! Mandolin, bass, and a banjo. The woman had a great singing voice too.

5/7/10
The water fountain sculptures by Lawrence Argent are on for the season! Yay! The water shoots from one sculpture to another in a snake movement sort of pattern. Just be aware when your walking through, because water comes up from other places too!

Rabid Squirrel?

2010-05-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I came out of the front door of my apartment, locked the door, turned around and saw a squirrel staring at me on the stairs about 3 feet away. I hesitated and thought he looked like a squirrel that had gotten too friendly with human feeding like the ones I knew in Yosemite. But when he started to come towards me I panicked, thought "rabid squirrel!" unlocked the door and hopped back inside. I peaked through the screen door, and he was slowly making his way down the stairs and towards my apartment! I banged on the screen door to scare him away, then immediately thought how happy my neighbors would be about that at 7 a.m. I grabbed my cat to show him what was outside thinking maybe the squirrel would be scared by him. The squirrel and the cat showed little reaction.
I looked around for something to throw.... Something that wouldn't really hurt him though. I grabbed a cork, opened the screen door a crack and whisked it past him....No movement whatsoever.
Meanwhile I have about 8 minutes to walk down to the bus stop and catch my bus.
I had to charge it. I grabbed my bags and ran down the stairs chasing the squirrel. (Now the neighbors are thinking through their mj haze "mmmaaann that lady is crraaaazzy next door")
He ran down the stairs and into the parking lot, but then stopped and turned back again.

From squirrels to bears...Soon, (I hope) I will be joining Andy in the land of grizzlies, mountain lions, etc. I don't think throwing a cork will work with them either!

A Trip To The Mountains

2010-02-16T20:08:00.000-08:00

This weekend Andy and I decided to take a trip up to the mountains to car camp then ski the next day. As we drive along the hour and a half drive up to the camp spot in the canyon we have time to chat and entertain ourselves. Andy decided that he would wave to every car he met along the way. I guess the small town back country friendly feeling got to him. As we went along he waved to each and every car. Soon we discovered that almost every person driving a car did not wave and people driving trucks waved! We wondered why we thought that would be: People in trucks are generally more easy going? People in cars have places to be and aren't as friendly? Perhaps the people in cars are less sure of themselves on twisty mountain roads and therefore keeping their grips firmly on the steering wheel? Who knows?
About half-way up the mountain it started to snow. Blowing large flakes swirled around as we continued up the twisty roads of the canyon. We were listening to some good old hopping zydeco music in the car and the flakes seemed to be dancing along with the music. Soon the sky was white with flakes but we could still see a little ways in front of us.
When we got to our campsite the snow was still falling. We prepped the site to set up our tent and as we were about finished setting it up the snow stopped (which I thought was a bummer!). Blue sky started to show through the clouds. But, like they say about Colorado weather, "If you don't like the weather just wait ten minutes" . Because about 10 minutes later the sky darkened again and it once again started snowing. This pattern continued the rest of the evening and through the night.
That evening we took the opportunity to be near a completely frozen river to test our guts on walking on ice. It is a very strange and unique view-point to sit in the middle of a river that is completely covered with dense ice as the wind blows loose snow around on its surface like a isolated desert.
That night we made a thoroughly warming dinner of "mountain man breakfast" in the dutch oven. It filled our bellies and we still had enough for the next day. After dinner we decided instead of warming up with some hot chocolate we thought we would have some toasty Saki. Andy put the bottle in the outskirts of the fire and we turned it slowly to warm. Into warmed cups we poured a small portion of Saki and drank up. Because the bottle was large we put it back in the fire ring to have again. A little while later we reached to fill our cups but as Andy turned the cap steam started to burst from around the cap. We decided maybe we should wait a second before trying to open it all the way.
Well, it was cold and we were in need of some warming liquid so we probably didn't wait long enough. Andy got the lid off and went to pour it out of the cup and as the not-as-hot liquid passed through the very hot neck of the bottle an explosion of Saki shot off. Andy held out the bottle as it exploded from the top like a bottle rocket. Our astonished faces met and we just laughed. Of course, as Andy laughed some of the contents of the bottle spilled into the fire and flames shot up. As I am asking him if he is OK, he looks down in the bottle and realizes with a forlorn face that all of the saki is gone.
It would be an awesome science experiment to try again, or perhaps a really awesome James Bond trick. In a predicament Bond would say to his current sexy vixen, "Here honey drink this" She would argue that now is not the time to drink, but he would insist. Then he would toss the half empty bottle into a fire, (landing perfectly aimed at the villain) and it would explode out and Bond (+vixen) would make their awesome escape. The only problem with that is that people would not believe it could happen. But Andy and I, through experience, can tell you it can... yes it can.

Too close to look back

2009-11-01T18:54:00.000-08:00

I came on the site in all earnestness to write a blog about the snow days we have had here lately. When I got to the sign in page, I remember all the memories of Gambia that are here, and my heart speeds up a little. I get signed in, and go to view the blog and scroll down just a bit. I can't help myself and start reading the blogs. And when I reach the end of the scroll bar on the page, I realize one thing. That soon, if I keep writing new blogs, those memories will slowly shift to further in the past. I know in all reality I cannot stop the time passing of that period of our lives, but right now.. I can't push those memories down. A snow blog or whatever it may be will have to come when I am stronger and able to look at my pictures from that experience without crying and when I can go back and read all of my paper journals that I wrote while there. Right now, it feels too close to look back.

Immerging from the past

2009-09-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

It happens several times a day in this town. A pause in time for all people present. You first hear it, then, more indicators emerge. Lights flashing, red and white striped gates coming down, long draws on the horn and the signal dinging. And it doesn't matter if this train will make you late for your job, the bus, etc. you are (forced or willingly) thrust into a moment of time that feels like you have gone back into the future. People try to avoid it, racing through the last chance light, riding the side street to get ahead of it or around it. In most cases it is so long you just can't reasonably avoid it. The cars stop, just feet from the enormous machinery clanking along. You stand on the sidewalk thinking how insane it is that you can get this close to something so large, potentially dangerous and awesomely powerful. As you watch the cars go by you, like all of the people stopped, you read the sides. Some say things like, "Molten Sulfur", "Edible or Inedible Tallow", etc. For a moment it crosses your mind what it would be like if the molten sulfur were spread all over the road in front of you and what exactly your escape plan would be for that. The ding dinging of the train warning signal reverberates through the downtown parking garage and the early morning silence contribute to the feeling that the train pushed its way through a time portal, freezing modernity, stopping time, for all to see. About 80 cars, ten minutes and the train completes its pass through that part of town. The last car passes, the dinging stops, and the lights start working again. The cars are off, people are rushing across the road and back to reality. But now your late.