May Day

May Day!!! I was so lucky - my cousin decided to come to Colorado and she wanted to go to the Wild Animal Sanctuary... so I met her and her friend there - and!!!

Took my camera!!

I haven't picked up my big camera since February... Isn't that sad?

it was a beautiful spring day and the animals at the Wildlife Sanctuary were waking up!!

( If you haven't checked this place out - you totally should - they have rescued so many animals and provide a super amazing habitat for them)

The Wild Animal Sanctuary

 I felt like the parent that I am ... and was thinking - Children!!! You are why we can't have nice things!! Settle down...

Of which - they never did!

This is a lynx or Narvel?   I can't remember what the sign said - but it looked pretty happy!!

I imagine this Lion was talking to a mouse!!! Maybe not - but she was amusing!!

and then this bear.... He and his buddy were just laying around.  I am pretty sure he was just happy to see the sun!!!  The weather here has been....  capricious... someday I will expand my vocabulary!! 

And back to our Bathing Beauties - they entertained me for quite a while - and then... settled back down!

Maybe the bath salts finally melted????

This was a super fun day - and makes me want to get back out with my camera.  I took a secret trip in February ... that I finally downloaded my images and will share soon - but since then... its been all work!!!

Three years ago May 1st was the start of more serious health issues with my parents - who knew that time would go so slow and so fast, and so many changes could happen..... oh boy!! 

So just a funny - I started full time cooking for my parents that day... and continued until my dad passed in February....

Now my Dog... he can't eat dog food anymore, and so now I am cooking for him - I told him I wasn't going to make him eat as much broccoli as I made my dad eat tho!! haha!!!  Puppy has a tooth infection, so probably when it is cleared up he can go back to eating dog food, but I bet by then I will have spoiled him ( ps Puppy is 13)

Joshua Tree In color

Thank you for indulging me in my Love of Black and White photos. I think they are just amazing, but! I will be honest - the color of a desert sunset is truly amazing.

We hiked all over during the day to find the perfect spot to watch the sunset. and it was totally worth it!

Aren't these views amazing?

But enough of that - you are here for the Sunset!!

We chose a spot where there were mountains, Joshua Trees and facing west...

I had the best time playing with my camera settings to see how I could get the shadows to "be shadowy-ier" and Still get the amazing color of the sunset.

Sometimes it worked.....

Sometimes it didn't - but seriously = nothing can be all bad when I have this view!!!

Oh!! also - we found Palm Trees!!!

There are a few entrances into Joshua Tree. One day we went through 29 Palms - and in 29 Palms is an oasis - and the History of how the name 29 Palms came to be.

The Indian tribe that had lived in the area was having trouble birthing males. All the babies were girls. so they went to their Medicine Man and asked him what to do.

He told them to pull up stakes and move to this specific location, and set up their lives. In the first year they lived here he told them they would have males.

And for each Male born in the first year of living here they needed to plant a palm tree.

Guess how many males were born that year?

Yep!! 29.... and so became 29 Palms!!!

The original location is like a little oasis in the desert - It was very lush before civilization really moved this way and started taking the water. Now they rely on a water system to keep this oasis alive.

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Sunday *Sigh*

 

Take a deep Breath..

Relax.....

Sunday *Sigh*

 

Ahhh.... Your Sunday Sigh....

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More Fall!! and knitted hats

 We found this cool trail that was once a railroad track - but they have taken the tracks off and maintained it as a trail and now I want to go back and hike The WHOLE thing ( its a lot of miles)

But Seriously - doesn't that look like an easy hike? 

And!! We were stalked.... This Antelope boy was letting us know we were TOO close to his ladies!

I feel like this tree is my kindred spirit - every tree around her was turning colors, and following the rules - but Nope!! She had to stay Green... dancing to the beat of her own drum! haha

I love Fall - well - I love winter too.. so I know I am weird - but I just love seeing the way the earth changes!!

And then I did a little knitting experiment. ( I did not do these while driving to our hiking spots cuz I drove!!! that way I could pull over when I wanted to see something.... and!! I got to pick the trail!)

Texas sent me a roll of Variegated Pastel yarn,  and M's mom brought me a roll of Purple - so~!

I still have no idea how to tell how much you will need

so I started with the Bottom hat - All Purple

then the next one is all Variegated

Then I had more - so I used one strand of Purple and one strand of Variegated and made hat 3

Then!! I still have more left - so I made the top hat out of the leftovers !

I'm pretty sure the next two rolls will result in a different amount of hats - but! There are no leftovers of these two to stash.... I have been warned about having a Yarn Stash  haha!!!

My husband says there is NO MORE ROOM to stash things ( Bwahh haah ahaaa)

FALL!!! ( and a Moose)

 I am skipping the travel log of our Labor Day weekend today because. FALL!!

Fall is my Absolute Favorite Time of year - and so!! I begged the man to take a vacation day ( didn't take much begging)

and off we went - to see what we could see - and lawsy Mercy....

I found what I was looking for!!!

The Drama of the colors - the contrast between land and sky.... 

The ability to watch a storm move in.... the smell

and lookie there!!!

a Big ol Daddy moose was watching us - and you can bet... we did NOT get closer, or even try to be friends - he was amazing!! and protecting a momma and baby moose.... I value my life...

These were my favorite shots of the day - but you know ... there were more!!

I even found another barn for QuiltDivaJulie of the Build  A Barn Book Fame!!!!

A Jeep Tour ( on Day one)

 After we Attended the Military Reunion - we headed out on our adventure! The first thing we did ( after the Wine Tasting of course) was take a Colorado Jeep Tour!  This company was awesome!

I had never been to this region, and so we thought - why not take a Jeep Tour - learn what is out there and then - we can go adventure on our own... BEST decision!!

Our Jeep Driver was Scott - and I wish I had taken a photo of him - he was awesome. He is a school teacher in the regular year and a guide in the summer!

I should warn you - I might have a lot of photos in this post... go get your coffee??

This is looking back at the Territorial Prison. Maybe you knew this - but before Colorado could become a state they had to prove they had a place to lock up the bad guys... Can you believe that? so this is the present day prison - but they started with a small Territorial prison - and a Women's prison.  The first woman arrived at the prison system in 1873 - having been accused of Manslaughter - and they didn't have a place for women - so ... the built a women's prison It was built in 1884 with only 6 cells.

A new one was later built with 40 cells... and they housed women from other states too - Wyoming, Utah and South Dakota.

That little white thing there in the center? That is the Steeple of one of the oldest churches in the town - and for perspective - I wanted to look down on it - to see how high we had climbed. 

Looking down into the river. I think this is the pretty part - then it heads into the gorge - and to me - that was a bit scary to look at - solid rock walls!!  ( and yes - Claustrophobia is a problem ha!)

My dads rule when we were kids was - the First one to see Wildlife gets an ice cream. and so! I documented that I saw the wildlife - and yes - I was actually the first one to point these two out.  We also saw some deer - but I was not fast enough to get the tour guide to stop.

'

We thought these two were amazing - their horns are so big!

Then!! We got to the Royal Gorge Bridge!! They stopped letting traffic cross it after 9/11 = but the Colorado Jeep Tours has an agreement with them - and so we got to drive over it!

Oh man - my feet got the Jitters SO bad!! I mean really bad!! You are high up there - 

And it is not very wide - Two cars could not pass each other. If I remember right he told us it was one way traffic -  but still - I held on tight!

I tried to get a little brave and stick my camera out for a downwards shot. I am not sure you can see the train tracks and realize how FAR down that is. K was videoing from his phone and I was yelling at him to hold that phone for dear life!!

Just a rock - but see the edge of the jeep there? ( to the left) Scott left the big door open for me so I could take photos.

The Aerial Tram = this goes over the Gorge from one side to the other - too cool to watch right?

This was such a cool trip - there are way more photos of just this half of the day - but I know you are out of coffee!  If you go to the Royal Gorge - I totally recommend Colorado Jeep Tours! Its a great way to see the area. and if you get Scott - you get THE best history lesson....

Come back soon... There is more....

Traveling in Black and White

 Taking a little trip into towns and places unknown to us!! It was a great little getaway and we learned a ton about a part of our State we haven't traveled in. So of course , I took a million photos!! and want to share all of them - 

Today I am starting with my Favorite Black and Whites...

This town was one of the first to pop up in our State in 1860 - And the amount of Historic places and things to see was really cool for me!!

This is the St Cloud hotel - it was originally built in 1882 in  Silver Cliff. That town was originally under consideration to be the state capitol - along with Denver and Leadville. Silver Cliff was the third largest city in the state.  

The St Cloud hotel was a grand hotel at the construction cost of $30,000 - And the Grand opening was a huge success - Flowers in the hallways, decadent food, a band - and as soon as it had opened.... it starting have financial stress....

The land under the hotel was sold, but not the hotel - in 1883 DeWoody bought the hotel, with no land - so in 1886 he decided to move the hotel.

He moved it to Canon City, Brick by Brick - The bricks were disassembled , numbered, loaded into wagons and moved be rebuilt - it was a grander hotel. It went from 3 stories to 4, had an elevator and an electric bell.

Of course - you can't just stay in town - so we headed out to hike some trails and check out some sites we had heard about - and I found..

My favorite thing - Old Barns!!!

Aren't they just cool - sitting out there on the range - Owning the place!!

I also found an old cemetery. I love to find these and just pretend I knew what was going on at the time. the stories of the lives there. 

So those are my favorite in Black and White.... now I will have to go day by day to share the other million photos I took!! ha!! 

More Wild Animal Sanctuary

 First off - Nope - The Tiger did not catch the duck.... that duck flew away like his life was on the line!!

And now!!! Are you ready for a totally photo laden post?  I mean really - you can't go to this place without taking a gazillion million trillion photos - But I really did pare it down for you... sort of!

I think these animals are just so gorgeous - and every time I read about where they came from.

Kiro: 

 Mexico Government Confiscation

 - Kiro is a male Leopard that was 

confiscated by the Mexican 

Government agency known as 

PROFEPA

 due to his being trafficked illegally.  

When rescued, 

Kiro was suffering from abuse 

and neglect including having been 

declawed on all four feet and being 

malnourished and underweight.

  Kiro is now at a healthy weight and has regained his agility and mental health.  

This handsome Leopard can look forward to living 

a wonderful life in a sensory-rich habitat with the Sanctuary’s many other Leopards. - TWAS

 

And you hear their rescue stories:

"Pleiades" is another example of human meddling, as White Tigers are inbred to such a degree that all of them have genetic issues as well. Although Pleiades is less than one year old, he has severely crossed eyes as a result of the endless inbreeding that took place when person after person bred White Tiger fathers to their White Tiger daughters... TWAS

I love the look Pleiades

gave the other tiger when the mean came sailing through the air - I think that was not an amused look.... Until more meat came!!

Now the Bears!! Oh My the Bears - these are truly my spirit animal... They eat, they sleep and they lay around.... sometimes they even swim!!

These two heard the truck coming....  

And then Oscar says - hey!!! I can't see - so he stands up to check things out!!

And Clementine - not to be outdone says - Heck Fire - If I stand I can see too!!

Do they just make you laugh? I know - I am easily entertained - but seeing them in a happy place - makes me happy!

I Belive He knew the camera was on him - and of course -had to give me a little pose right>?

And this bear - Oh my stars did he make me laugh - he played in the water, got out and ate - got back in and goofed off - he was the best!

Here is the website for the sanctuary - you can read more about all the animals they have there - and learn their rescue stories. They always need money - but sometimes they need donations of things you have around your house - and you can ship them there. One time they had a towel drive - and That was pretty cool - I cleaned out a closet!!

The WIld Animal Sanctuary

Enjoy!!!