A good trip......

It was a memorable week.      We headed East once more.    Mason, a Jr,  stood tall for the annual 1st day of school pic.   

       The tree is no longer a tiny shrub either.    Usually there are two in front of that tree but

this year, Andy left  for college.....just how did that happen !!!

We've seen 4 other grands go off to college and each time they are still only 4 years old in my brain.....Andy is no different.    He and his red car will be at Clarkson University up near the Canadian border in NY.   

Prior to flying out of Denver, I did some dog walking..... Aspen preferred the comfort of the recliner (love that face) while her sister Tellie, made a marginal effort to walk with me.   I finally had to call the sag wagon to pick her up as she sat and refused to budge.    I know how she feels but I had new walking shoes 

and had to keep going.  

   

Once we got to CT, I continued the dog walking.

  

I was almost pulled off my feet when Murphy spied a deer ....it was well camouflaged but he saw it and refused to budge.   

He liked the boat but I think he prefers cars.      

 A nice respite at Denver Botanic Gardens.    

Quiet days

   Summer flowers in their finest colors.....even the roses are finally showing off.

I finally reached a milestone on my bike.  I should have managed this a month or two ago but did more walking and golfing than riding.    This took about 18 months.   I hope to double that in half that time.  

Still stuck in medieval British history but branching out to catch up with more Louise Penny mysteries.   I've discovered that I can listen to books on my bike.   I was afraid I would be distracted but it just makes the miles go by faster.   I only wear one Airbud.     
 

We're waiting for the hoards of tourists to leave the trails and mountain towns so we can get back to quiet times in the high country.    Colorado is cutting back on  advertising to try and reduce the impact of too many people on this beautiful land.    It's hard to believe that reservations are now needed on many popular trails and destinations.   And just a short time ago, we rode our bikes in beautiful Glenwood Canyon and now it is covered in debris from massive mudslides.    For awhile, we were almost isolated. Roads leading east from here were closed from damage or construction  and detours were limited to a few hours or overnight.    CDOT finally stopped the construction areas so some roads are open.   But many are damaged from the heavy monsoonal rains that caused destructive flash flooding over large burn areas from last year.     Mother Nature is trying to tell us something.     

And now I must go add some more miles to that odometer. 

Early July and the "livin' is easy"....

I find it very frustrating to use this platform for my blog.....I'm too entrenched to change anything so it might just look like a jumbled mess of pictures.  

   

Like everywhere in the west, we are feeling the affects of the heat.   The mighty Colorado river is at record lows which means the farmers and ranchers are desperate to keep their crops alive and to have enough hay to feed the cattle.   It is very sobering to listen to the news.    We live on a high desert so without irrigation, we would look like Utah, without the arches and monuments.    The massive irrigation here is the life blood of the community and the county and the state.    I feel bad when I take a long

 shower....as more of us should.    

We drove up Last Dollar road.    The ranch barbed wire fences were covered in wild roses.   Similar but not quite the same as tony and manicured Martha's Vineyard.   But a rose is a rose and the smell is delicate  and delicious.  

 

Lupin and paintbrush and assorted wild flowers were carpeting the landscape.   

    

A quick pic  out the Jeep window of a distant view near Telluride.

And then there were sheep..... lots of recently shorn big ones and little ones.    They

poured over the road like liquid wool.....fascinating to watch.   I should have done a video.    The Mule's Ears were a mass of yellow for acres and acres.   

 And then I played golf.     The LadyBug Annual tournament is a big draw on the Western Slope.   It was hot and humid ( yes, sometimes we get moisture in the air).     Sheri found these shirts and others and their golf carts were appropriately adorned.     It is always fun despite my worst-score-ever.    Fortunately, we were paired with 2 others who had less than stellar rounds.    I haven't been playing much and it really showed.    I am determined to get back to my usual game.   

I just finished listening to "Project Hail Mary".   Quite a change up from my long foray into 12th century England.   The author  is the same as "The Martian".    I liked this one better and the audio version gives a delightful voice to the alien, Rocky.   The narrator sounds like Tom Hanks.     It's a great companion to sock knitting.   And a perfect ending.......

Part 4. Vermont

And then we went to Vermont.    It is very very green up there.     Jon and Mary Beth's  condo is perfect for skiing.    Just open the door and ski down the hill.     And in the summer, the trails make for great hiking.     We opted for the lazy route and rode the large 'bubble' chair lift to the top of Okemo Mtn....about 3100' at the top.   Also a place to get warm and eat and get ice cream in the summer (unfortunately, we skipped that part).   The chair has an orange plexiglass bubble that comes down when you start moving to protect you from the winds and snow and cold in the

 winter.    For our ride, it stayed up.    

  

But the best part was a chance meeting with an old friend.     Judy and I were in a quilt group, beginning over 25 years ago.     It was traditional quilting but gradually evolved into art quilting.    Judy is a brilliant whimsical artist who renders fabric into "paintings of the natural beauty and spirit of life".    She moved to Brandon VT and lives in a charming colonial on Main Street and has a thriving gallery all while giving back to her community.    I happened to pick up a brochure at the Vermont Visitors/Welcome Center and as I was paging through this catalog of Open Studios, I came upon one of her works.   I recognized it immediately and  was thrilled that this was the weekend of the event.    We drove over the next day and it was just wonderful to briefly catch up once again.    But, she was very busy with visitors so our time was brief . We will stay in touch and hope to meet up fairly soon.      Please check out her website at www.JudithReilly, com

And then we came home.     Although home is always welcoming, we have so many great memories of those growing grand boys, that delightful Murphy, the beauty of 'the Vineyard' and nostalgic memories of other graduations at Newtown HS.    And for our first trip more protected from the virus, it was the best we could have picked.    

Out here the mountains are still lightly patched with snow, the flowers are magnificent, the sky is magical blue and life is good.   ( and there is no humidity to make my hair grown exponentially with the dew point).     

 

Meet Murphy

 This 'lab-mix' was a rescue at about 6 months.    The vet said no, he is 100% American Pit Bull.   But if you asked him, he was  Murphy and no one cared what the paper said.      As Andy described him....He is the wallflower of dogs.    It is an apt description at times.   He is so mellow and so quiet.... until the UPS guy shows up !      Murphy went to the Vineyard with us.    He seemed non-plussed by the ferry.   He liked the backyard and the catbirds and the long walks.    But his very favorite thing of all was the beach and his Frisbee and rolling in the sand and running into the water and having a friend to run with.  

Maybe he would like to visit Colorado next.....

(The pics were downloaded from Jon's flicker acct and came with added parts of the alphabet )

Martha's Vineyard. Part two

And then we took a large ferry to Martha's Vineyard.     It's a nice 45 min trip from Wood's Hole and the 

weather was perfect.   

Jon found a home to rent on VRBO.   Above the door, you can see 1776, the year part of it was built.   It's a shotgun house with several additions in the back.   It has been in the same family since 1900.    It is a bit quirky but comfortable and nothing matches. But it was very well equipped for anything you'd want to cook or do and we spent many hours on the back deck  in the lovely landscaped yard.    Murphy especially liked the fenced in yard and did his best to protect us from passerby's.     The location was exceptional.... a 2 block walk from Edgartown shops and restaurants and a few minutes farther to the beach.   And the same for the Chappaquidick ferry.    Upscale Edgartown is a favorite area of the rich and famous and the Obama's home is nearby.   The streets are lined with immaculate period houses with fences overflowing with roses.    The church a block away, chimed every hour and played a soothing portion of a hymn.   

We drove to Gay Head and the lighthouse and ate ice cream.    

Enjoying the view from the back of the ferry.
Oak Bluffs has magnificent Victorian homes, many all covered in gingerbread and pastel colors.

 

We took a lovely guided boat ride around part of the island one evening.  This guy was saving money moving his boat across the bay the hard way.   After our tour, our guide went back to help him.   

   So that's enough for Part two as the picture issue is still an issue !    My patience has expired so stay tuned for the next installment.   
 

The best of times.....Part One

The heat is on everywhere and that means the wildfire threat heightens.   We hope for monsoon season to start soon.

Meanwhile, Mother Nature paints pictures....

And so, this happened !!    Just a few short years ago, he was 4 and now he is off to college.!   We are so proud of this talented young man.    Andy is the 5th in our family to graduate from Newtown CT  high school and each and every one had the best possible start to their futures.   

We flew into LGA (new terminal....wow !!  ) and after so long in isolation, it was the most special of trips.

Aside from masks and United handing out sanitizing wipes, nothing felt different.    Of course, this white-knuckle flyer got to experience a jolting roller coaster ride out of Montrose to Denver....and without charging a 2nd fee, it was repeated on our return trip...  

This Blogger app is giving me fits..... I can't download pictures easily and if I get them on the page, they disappear without warning.     So I will share our trip in segments to keep the frustration level manageable.   

  

 

Views along the trails.....

The RV found a new home and it acquired a little dog in the transaction.    The couple sold their California home and plan a summer of travels.    He spent hours walking them thru all the many details of living, maintaining and driving it.     It will be a big change for them and for us.        

Someone asked what we planned to do now that we don't have it to travel in.    I said I was going to stay in a 5 star resort and order room service.    

And last weekend, we came very close to that prediction.      Michael and Jenna were in Aspen celebrating their 34th anniversary.    We tagged along for one night with our bikes.     The Rio Grande trail runs from Glenwood Springs to Aspen..... about 40 miles uphill.     It was a pretty day but deceiving as we had a very strong headwind.     Fortunately, it was downhill on the way back.   We did about 16 miles.    It follows the Roaring Fork river and is an old train route.     

Mt Sopris above Aspen.   

Yes, I wear a hat under my helmet to try and protect from the  Colorado sun

We rested our weary butts and enjoyed the luxury of using Mike's Marriott points at the St Regis.   I'm certainly not used to having young men offer to unpack my bags and a butler just  a phone call away.   What does one ask a butler to do ??      Would I have actually paid to stay there?..... probably not but it was a perfect way to spend a weekend with some favorite people.   

 

It looks like I'm leaning on canes but the umbrellas were "just in case".  

  

The next day we rode the Glenwood Canyon trail from No Name rest stop east along the Colorado River.   We did this ride many years ago and then climbed the steep trail to Hanging Lake and rode the bikes back to Glenwood Springs.    We managed to get drenched by a sudden thunderstorm on the hike down and had a soggy ride back.     This time, the sun was brilliant and the winds were strong.    And being a weekend, the path was very busy with walkers and bikers.    In the above picture, you can see the concrete ribbons of I 70 as it winds it's way through this stunningly beautiful canyon.     Below is a view of the path , below the highway and above the river teaming with rafters.    

The winds were strong and scary at times.    Having the power of the electric assist really helped but I still felt as if I would be blown onto the rocky edge and plummet into the river.      The skinny spandex clad bikers whizzed by us and that was unnerving as well.      Between the highway noise and the turbulent river, the noise was deafening.   I didn't expect that.     We only did about 10 miles total and then went our opposite ways toward homes.    

It was a perfect weekend and we look forward to more biking meet-ups. 

My brother opted for a more powerful ride in the Sierra's..... I wish him fun and safety but I am older and slower so we won't  enjoy a ride together.....unless I get younger and faster. !

Back to the real world, we are busy with weeding and watching the flowers bloom and mediocre golf and gatherings with friends.      And soon, we head east for exciting days with the new graduate and more family time.      

An almost return to normal.....

All is good here on the Western Slope and the high desert is greening up and flowering and the wind continues to blow.   It's a spring thing and legend says that the winds will stop when the snow is melted on Horsethief Mountain...... there's still snow up there and we can blame errant golf balls on the winds.  

I liked this bright red salamander that Jon spied in the dried leaves.   When we lived in CT, I would find them in similar hiding places.    They are an interesting sort and very colorful.   

We finally had our first hummingbird sighting.... They are tiny and we haven't  seen many so far.

Life is almost getting back to normal.    We still wear our masks in stores but my groups are feeling liberated and meeting face to face is now happening.    So fun to play Mah Jongg again and have indoor lunch after golf league.    

Mike and Jenna came over for Mother's Day weekend.   We even went to a favorite mountain town for breakfast....outside on the patio....and wandered about in shops.     They found that they like our bikes and did some searching to find E-bikes in the Denver area.   But, due to extreme popularity, they are scarce.   Our local Trek store had a nice selection and Jenna found a mint green Townie.     

The following weekend, we drove east to catch up with the grand girls and to do some shopping.   I also went for a short ride on Jenna's "Daisy" along the trails in their community.    It was misting and breezy so I didn't stay out long.   But it was fun !   

Aspen is not a cat !     

They have a new Peloton bike.   I was very interested and hopped on for a try.   I was just getting into a good rhythm and 'feeling the burn' when my foot slipped off the pedal.  It kept spinning and I felt a sharp pain in my shin but put my foot back on and continued ...... and then I felt something warm and saw that my shoelaces were turning red ...... I managed to scrap a significant portion of my skin off.    Next time I'll use the toe clips.   But the shortened ride was fun and I can see the appeal.    

This week, we are probably saying goodbye to the motorhome.   It has not been an easy decision and there  are still mixed emotions about it.   We've been RVing for almost 15 years and have seen much of our beautiful country.    The lifestyle suited us and allowed us to stay in areas we might not have explored by car or plane.     But now, the campgrounds are overflowing, reservations are non-existent and prices are at an all time high.   Factories can't keep up with the demand.  (much like E-bikes).    In a couple years, there will be a glut on the market as people go back to their houses and regular jobs and return to school.    It is a good time and we think we have found a buyer who will appreciate our 2nd home as much as we did.