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!

trip to colorado

Saturday AM I embarked on a trip with my parents to have a little vacation in Estes Park, CO. This is a place that they have visited often, particularly in September after tourist season. Yesterday I drove about 450 miles in Iowa and Nebraska (Go Big Red!) and today another 250 or so to end up at the Saddle and Surrey Motel which will be our lodging for the week. This is their favorite place to stay, the rooms are very comfortable, extremely clean, and include kitchenettes in some. It feels good to be in one spot for a bit.

On our last leg of the trip, from Loveland to Estes Park (about 25 miles of winding road) we warily watched billowing smoke not far from our road. Thankfully, the fire was over another ridge so did not cause any problems for us, but I am sure someone somewhere is thinking otherwise. I hope it is not near any towns or areas of population. The people we talked to in Loveland said it had only started this morning. It definitely is dry around here. Smokey Bear says the fire danger is Extreme!

We will be setting out for a walk this afternoon and connecting with my Aunt and Uncle who are also vacationing here right now. It is a beautiful sunny sky and 75 degrees. Yay! That is my favorite temperature!

several things

How's that song go? "We are the champions, we are the champions" or something like that! Yes, Bob played a tough round of golf Sunday, went into overtime, and came home with a big grin on his face! That's my guy!

This followed a perfect cabin weekend on Potato Lake (near Chetek, WI) with friends Bob and Debbie. Bonfire with s'mores, pontooning and fishing, reading, knitting, sitting by the lake, golfing, paddleboating, lots of laughs and plenty of good food. Just a couple highlights:

Also did a little nature study:

The spider was identified as a Nursery Web spider and it was larger than the ordinary spider but no one wanted to get close enough to stick their hand in the picture for some perspective. I'm guessing it was about 4-5" across the legs. Sitting on a nest of eggs, which is what really has Debbie creeped out because that means there will be more! Not sure what the mushroom is, but it sure was a bright yellow on top.

Brita's bridal shower platter is done just in time for Bob to take it with him on his drive out to CA. He leaves tomorrow for Colorado, spending time in Estes Park with Danny and planning to climb Long's Peak together. Then to Mammoth Lakes for a couple days with Dan before going to San Francisco where we will meet up for nephew Scott's wedding. Fun things happening!