I'm ready for better days.....

 Colorado is burning.     Glenwood Canyon is one of the most beautiful places in our state.   It follows the Colorado River as it winds it's way westward.     This mighty river carved a deep narrow canyon in  15 miles of raw beauty.     The highway in the Canyon is a major east/west route. It was a remarkable  engineering feat to construct a two lane interstate concrete ribbon through the narrow pass without destroying or detracting from the best of nature.   

This is the very beginning of the fire.    These two avid hikers were tubing on the Colorado and saw the fire and smoke.   They saw fire trucks racing to the site but it was already consuming large pine swaths.  And so it began..... they think it was from a cigarette thrown from a car window.    We are in a severe drought and this was all it took.     Over one week later, the fire is not contained and 1-70 remains closed. 

   

This is the view south.    Normally, the San Juan mountains are clearly visible and the Colorado blue sky dominates.    There is another  very large fire, out of control as well,  about 1.5 hours north of us and between the two, we are smothered in smoky haze. 

Yesterday, we went Jeeping up Corkscrew Pass.    It was hazy at 12.000 ft as well.    It looked so dry everywhere.    Last year we had record snows and this year, not much.     It is sad.

I finished "Migrations".   It is a somber,  complex novel.   I feel I should reread it but right now, I need something a bit lighter.    I'm also listening to "Children of God", the sequel to "Sparrow".    I'm thinking that listening is better than reading it.   The narrator is good with the various dialects.   

  On our return from the mountains yesterday, we stopped at our favorite restaurant in Ridgeway.  (Believe it or not, this was the FIRST food not made in our kitchen since we returned from AZ in March).   Taco del Gnar makes tacos that are nothing like what you think.    They had window service only, masks required and they wiped the IPad after each signature.    We threw out all of our thoughts of  plant based food and indulged.    The tacos we ordered are a soft flour tortilla, filled with greens, pico, red peppers ( I think) and marinated portobello mushroom slices.    All dampened with queso fresco,   It is served with tater tots with more pico and queso and a container of smoky baked beans.    We sat in the park and ate our drippy delicious meal.    Of course, there a lot of meat/fish  based tacos.    Normally, there are great concerts in the park in the summer.    We pick up our dinners and find the perfect spot to listen and enjoy the summer evenings.    Not normal any more..... but the tacos are as great as ever.    In case you are in your 2nd home in Telluride, there is a Taco del Gnar there as well....a block from the ski lift.  

I should be out walking and biking but the smoke is irritating and I'm not sure it is wise.    I feel like it is winter and we are confined.   

To all my blogger friends.    For quite awhile, 6 months or more, I haven't been able to comment on your blogs.  I still follow all of you and I have tried and will keep trying.  I type out my comments and they never show up.    I'm doing it the way I've always done it.    I suspect it is operator error but if you have suggestions, I will listen.     Anyway,  I'm still enjoying all you have to say.    

Colorado is beautiful.....

Today, I played golf with 3 friends at The Divide Ranch Golf Club.    It's about a 40 min drive  up to 8000 ft on the top of a mesa, Log Hill.   The views of the San Juan Mountains are stunning.    We seriously looked for a home here when we found that Florida, in the summer was not an option.    Ultimately, we decided that the altitude would be difficult for any guests and that there was going to be a 40 min drive to play pickleball and get groceries.   

It's more of a rustic , natural course with serious hills and valleys.   If you miss the fairway, there is no mercy.    I was pleased with my efforts on the back 9...the front was forgettable.    One fairway is called the Plunge and it lives up to it's name as you need to work your way downward until you come to a shelf .   You then hit down to the green.    If you miss the 'shelf', you end up on a very steep incline covered with tall weeds.   It is difficult to stand comfortably not to mention trying to hit a ball.   Luckily, I landed on the shelf so didn't have to mimic a goat.    

  It was in the 90's and clear so the UV index was about 20 !   I covered up with sunscreen, a hat, a UV shirt and still came home wiped out and feeling fried.   

The air is hazy these days due to wild fires north of us.    They are not contained and have closed I-70 in all directions.   There are no easy options to get around, all requiring a few hundred miles detour.  

 This is Mt Sneffles, a fourteener and always a focal point from our back yard.   That's my friend Marcia.  She is always coordinated in hat/shoes/ colors.... she even had pink golf balls until she lost them (she didn't play well )

The deer have no fear.   Many of the lovely mountain homes have very high fencing to keep them out. 

On another day, we headed over to Silver Jack Lake to meet up with friends for a socially distanced picnic.    So good to catch up in a safe and beautiful setting.   Coming back down the trail, we encountered this walking roadblock.   They were in no hurry.   

Meet Murphy.   He lives in CT with our favorite teenage boys.    He is not yet a year old.    And yes, he is a lab/pit mix but is small and seemingly docile.    Andy describes him as the "wallflower of dogs".   He clocks in more miles than most people on the Strava app along with his walking /hiking family.  

And, he's a generous grand dog, sending me these sox so I won't forget him. 

  

And speaking of socks, this is my latest version.   And the yarn is dyed so both socks will exactly match.   The next ones are even more colorful...stay tuned.   

 

 

 I somehow managed to rearrange pics, thx Robbie.   It's still time consuming but these days, I have lots of that.  

Life is good.....considering....

The new Blogger format is challenging and it will take awhile to figure out it's quirks.   One of which is that I can't put the pics where I want them....so I will have to narrate around that annoyance.  

We've been biking more.    Jeff and Jon introduced me to the Strava app.   It allows me to keep track of my mileage and to share it with others.     It's also a good motivator to get moving, biking, hiking, walking, swimming, Jeeping so you can show others that you are not just sitting on the couch eating Cheetos.   ( I love the crunchy Cheetos but alas, haven't had one in forever)    And we can give each other kudos and comments.   I also share with a couple of friends.   

This was today's ride on the Montrose bike path and around the neighborhood.    

'

The Bike path is a real gem for Montrose. .   It's been newly upgraded and lengthened and is busy with walkers, joggers, strollers, bikers of all ages.   It follows the Uncompaghre River and there has been a big investment to make a portion of it a safe recreational area for kayakers and water enthusiasts with added picnic areas and playgrounds. 

 Just finished reading "Sparrow".   Interesting premise of 4 Jesuit priests who take a 17 year journey to another solar system.  It is a good sci fi read but also a compelling examination of faith.   I'm taking a break before I continue with the sequel.     Thx, Jan.   

I just started "Migrations" , a highly anticipated novel (according to reviews) about a woman chasing the arctic tern before it is extinct.   So far, she's in Greenland in the winter and I get cold just reading it.  

I finished the 2nd book in a trilogy by Hilary Mantel,  "Wolf Hall' the first, then "Bring Up the Bodies" and the 3rd just came out, "The Mirror and the Light".    All based on Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell.   Historical novels are a favorite, especially British.     I just read that Ken Follett has a prequel to "Pillars of the Earth".    I read that many years ago and all I remember is they kept trying to build  those cathedrals and then some marauders would burn down their efforts and they'd start again.    

The expression, "so many books, so little time"... is beginning to be my mantra.   My list keeps growing.

I need to keep reading because I certainly am not a gardener.   My roses are non existent.    I feed them, I prune them correctly, the sprinklers work and yet, they seem stunted with withered blooms or none at all.   I assume something is eating them or infecting them.   I use a recommended feed that is supposed to take care of all those issues.    I'm tempted to prune them down to the ground and let them have a rest until next year.   I have 10 bushes and each year they flourish without a problem.  Frustrating....

In order to improve my golf game.... ( the amount of money you put into golf is not reflected in a better score)....I got a new driver.    Well, it's not new new but just used enough to drop the price by half.   The Pro Shop always has the latest and greatest to demo and I've been trying the Callaway Maverick.   I definitely get longer and straighter drives but I wasn't willing to pay $$$.   I learned in my research that the Maverick is the same as last years Epic and I could get it at a used price much cheaper from Callaway Pre-owned .....   I'm very happy with it.     Now if I could putt.   

Lots of building going on around here.    Our Club ordered name tags for us since there are a lot of new people and .......masks😷 !      I made a couple more today.   I'm always trying a new pattern or a different layering or something.      We are mandated to wear them in Colorado...finally.     Some of the bikers on the path today were wearing them.    I don't feel I need to when I'm outside and distanced but I always have one with me.  

For over 6 months, I have doubled down on healthy eating.    For about 6 years, we have been meat and dairy free, eating a plant based diet.     Laziness had brought in some processed foods and that nagging person  in my head was not happy with that.    So, I got serious and reset my intentions and surprisingly, the pounds fell off.    I am back in a healthy groove and now have a new ( old ) wardrobe.     I haven't worn some of these clothes for about 10 years and my closet is getting a good re-organization.   Of course, now I have no place to go to wear any of them and I had to buy more comfortable leggings and T-shirts to match my current stay-at-home lifestyle.  But someday,..........

Time to get on the bike and ride............