CB Weekend

This past weekend we went to Crested Butte.  Friday was spent working around the condo and eating dinner out at the Bacchanalle. We also drove up to a field of beautiful yellow flowers.  It was amazing.  The lupine were also in full bloom.  On Saturday we drove into the Ohio Creek area and took a hike near 'the Castles'.  It was Castle canyon and Mill Creek.  We hiked around 7-8 miles and it was absolutely beautiful.  We only saw a couple of other hikers the entire day.  After that we stopped in Almont and had a great dinner on the deck followed by drinks at the Montanya Rum Distillery. Sunday before driving back we went to the Farmer's Market and had brunch at the West End Public House.  It was a great weekend.

Unable to find the trail, but we weren't lost!

A week or so ago we went hiking on a Sunday with our friend Per.   We had planned to go for a couple of hours and go up to the reservoirs, up killer hill, and back thru the meadow.  Five hours later we were not completing the plan.  We went up to the first reservoir, up killer hill, to the top of Sundance Mt., and made a wrong turn.  We saw the back side of Woodmoor Mt. and hiked for 5 hr.  We think we went to the Rock Dome but I'm not sure.  We had to bushwhack for an hour and couldn't find the trail.  We knew which direction we needed to go so therefore Arn says we never were lost.  I disagree.  After finally finding it we had another hour to go and ended up coming down Rocky Canyon again.  It's a difficult exit and we really didn't want to do it again.  We realized where we made the wrong turn.  The next time we are going to start at the Meadow and try that way.  It was a long day but we did burn a few calories.  Per has a hiking card that gives him free emergency  rescues.  We need to get the cards too............just in case.

Wildfire!!!!!

 

It's been an eventful past week.  On Monday there was a small fire on the Air Force Academy that they have determined was started by lightning.  On Tues. after work I was doing a few errands and overheard a couple talking about a fire.  I assumed it was the AFA one and they said there was a new one.  It had just started in Black Forest.  I got home and was glued to the TV for the next several days.  It was way too close for comfort with the danger of jumping Hwy 83 and possible heading north and west toward us.  Every afternoon the wind picks up and concerned everyone.  Today is Sat. and it is now 55 % contained and they are going to reopen Rt. 83 soon.  We never got evacuated but we were packed up and ready to go.  We really need to get ourselves organized.  We need to do lots of scanning, get a lock box, and really decrease the number of photo albums.  473 homes were lost and 2 people have died trying to evacuate.  This fire is the most destructive fire in Colorado history.  We also need to work on fire mitigation.  A few years ago we had a forest service person come and walk our property and they said we had good spacing of the trees.  I'm going to have a fireman come also.  I think we may have to remove some trees.  The cause of the fire has been determined that it was not caused by nature.  That's really scary knowing that somebody is out there possibly setting fires!!!

Garden Update

I'm having a little bit of a better year this year with my flowers.  So far the voles have stayed away and I've added a load of triple mix (topsoil, compost, and manure).  My columbines are doing really well this year and have lots of blooms.   The snapdragons I planted are also doing well.  Even the lupine are ready to bloom.  On the veggie side of things it's not too great.  I put a wagon with pots in a full sun area and they have yet to sprout.  I don't know why I can't just resign myself to going to the farmer's market.  I am going to try some lettuce seed and see what happens.

Devil's Tower Hike 2013

On Memorial Day we hiked up to the Devil's Tower Fire Tower.  Lots of other people decided to do the same thing.  It is a 2.8 mi. total hike and not difficult.  The forest ranger who lives up there was in the tower and has been doing it for 29 summers.  There is a cute cabin where he and his wife live each summer.  The views are beautiful.  Charlie, Jerry (we were dogsitting for Chris and Maren), Tyler and Lauren joined us for the hike.  We last did this hike in 2010.

I Won!

One of the Blogs that I check out frequent (One Good Thing from Jillee) was having a giveaway and I won! The item I won arrived last week and I'm excited to use the oils.  I'm still figuring out how the different oils are helpful.

This is what I won..................

The Essential Four Pack:
This kit has been designed for the first time essential oil user in mind.  We created this kit with the most common oils to help meet the challenges that we face as a result of living in today’s modern society.  So if you have always wanted to try essential oils, try our Essential 4 kit that has been packed with four of the most popular oils used today.
Oils included in the kit:
All oils are 5ml bottles
Lavender
Lemon
Melaleuca
Peppermint

Little House on Lowell

Another child is growing up and a homeowner..............welcome to the Little House on Lowell.  Tyler and Lauren moved in last week.  It's a very cute older remodeled house with a great backyard.  A garden is in the plans.  Charlie is really enjoying the cool tile floors in the kitchen and he likes the backyard so much he doesn't want to go the the bathroom in it.  Tyler and Lauren are still exploring the neighborhood and checking out the places to eat that are walkable nearby.  More to come....................Congrats!