hanging on by a thread

This title explains how I felt driving 20 miles up the side of a mountain and then turning around to drive back down! I have been up this road, the Trail Ridge Road, previously as a passenger. I remember having to cover my eyes on some of the turns. Not so good when I am the driver! I guess I need to explain that for me, looking down from an elevation is fear-inducing, and I know it has no rational basis but I get the feeling that I am about to fly off that cliff/chair lift/rooftop, ferris wheel to my death! I have been working on conquering this annoying situation with marginal success. I can now go up on sorta tall ladders without fear, and I can ride the gondola at Mammoth Mt. to the very tiptop and now I can drive the Trail Ridge Road! Woo-hoo!

Truly, it is a very fine road and probably pales in comparison to the Old Fall River Road, which goes to the same Alpine Visitor Center at the top of the mountain, but is a much steeper grade, gravel and one-way (uphill) only because it is too narrow for 2 lanes. It gets to the top in about 10 miles instead of 20, so that gives you an idea of the steepness factor. My parents have driven that way in the past, but also walked that route, too! I think they were young and unencumbered by children at the time!

This time they were happy to sit back and enjoy the scenery on a beautiful Saturday morning in Rocky Mt. National Park. We stopped for a couple of Vista spots. We also stopped for the policeman who told us to wait because the road was blocked by wreckers and cops trying to retrieve a truck that had gone over an edge. We couldn't see the truck, but I think it must have happened the night before because there were no ambulances in the area. But kind of an ominous way to start up the mountain! We had waited until our last day in the park to make this drive because there is construction on the road during the week resulting in long delays. On a road like this there isn't any leeway for re-routing cars so everything has to stop now and then to allow the equipment and workers to do what is needed to get the job done. Thank goodness for those people who do the work, making it possible for a fraidy cat like me to have the opportunity to see the earth from a different perspective! It is a harsh world up there, cold, windy, treeless. Funny how it can be harsh yet seem so fragile, too.

But now I am back in the comfort of my own home, far removed from mountain peaks. We had 2 long days of driving, passing from Colorado to Wyoming to Nebraska to South Dakota to Minnesota to Iowa. Whew! We figured out that I chalked up over 2000 miles in about 10 days! I am grateful for reliable transportation, I did not have to worry one iota about the mechanical side of things. Finding a good radio station, that is another matter altogether! In the end, I am super glad that I had the good fortune of taking this vacation with my wonderful parents. I am very lucky to be able to do so.

One other fun thing we did--there was a film festival in Estes Park last weekend, and Friday night we went to a showing of Earthwork. It is a true story about Stan Herd, a Kansas artist who creates art on a monumental scale, best viewed from an airplane. I have tried to find a good picture to show you, but only came up with these little ones--imagine that each picture is created as big or bigger than a field. A very interesting approach to art!

So that is all for now, folks--I will be posting soon about the projects in my life!

a trail of lakes

Another hiking adventure today, my flatlander lungs are sucking out every speck of oxygen from this high-altitude air. We take the uphill climbs slowly with plenty of rest stops, which I need just as much as my parents! They are troopers! Today we again used the excellent shuttle bus system to ride to Bear Lake Trailhead. Then we walked up to a string of lakes, the first (after Bear Lake) was Nymph Lake--

Then on to Dream Lake, where we chatted with a fly fisherman who caught this beauty--

a green back cutthroat trout, the state fish of Colorado. It wouldn't hold still for long and was quickly back in the water.

Finally, after many uphill steps, we reached our destination of Emerald Lake--

a beautiful and serene spot, I could have spent the entire afternoon there! We sat on the rocks in the sun and ate our lunch, admiring the surrounding peaks

And even with all these wonders of nature, I still have to show you some fabric that I picked up that I couldn't pass up! This is from Material Girls in Grand Island, NE. A great fabric and quilt shop that you would not expect to find in the middle of Nebraska! They are one of the Top Ten Shops in the American Patchwork and Quilting fall issue of Quilt Sampler.

These are pieces of a collection called Wheels by My Mind's Eye and distributed by Riley Blake Designs. They just seemed like too much fun to not add to my stash!

But back to the topic of the quilt shop--I make it a practice to always research shops that I might be able to visit when I am on a trip. Since I work in a fabulous shop I really don't get to many other shops in my home area. So when I hit the road, I love to stop at new places and look for things that are new to me. And I have developed a sort of rating system of these places in case I return there. There are basically 3 levels in my rating system: places that just don't interest me, places that I would stop at again if I was driving on that road and had all the time in the world, and then there are the places that I would go out of my way for or even plan a whole trip around! I think Material Girls fits in that last category! So I'm just saying, if you ever find yourself within 2oo miles of Grand Island, NE, get yourself in there!

a walk in the woods

I'm relaxing with my feet up after showering off the dust and sweat of a 3+ mile hike today. I feel a very good kind of worn out. It has been a perfect weather day and I took a few pictures to share. It is very beautiful here, and it is impossible to get all that gorgeousness into a little camera.

Here's my hiking group--

On the left are my parents, Bob and Sally from Lake Park, IA, and on the right are my aunt and uncle, Alan and Mary from Ankeny, IA. They are all experienced wanderers. I felt lucky to be in this group of good people from age 74-84, showing what it means to be actively mature!

We set out from Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, using the excellent shuttle bus system to get there. The water was so clear and pretty.

From there we hiked about 2 miles to Bierstadt Lake, and then another 1.2 miles to the shuttle bus stop. Thankfully, the last mile was all downhill so much easier to go that direction. The aspen trees are turning and make some beautiful scenes.

This evening will be a quiet one and I am sure I will be sleeping soundly tonight!