July 24-29, 2015 Fort Collins, Colorado

The microwave decided not to turn off last night. After 20 years it finally gave up the ghost.

John removing the old, really heavy microwave. He replaced it with a new one for my birthday season. He even cleaned up, what a man.

 

I gave my brother Jerry a family  heirloom house warming present, an aluminum bowl we always had popcorn in as children. He hinted that I might get it back for xmas.  We all went out to dinner for my birthday.  Jerry brought our friend Cecil Stump, whom Jerry has know since junior high school.  A small boy photo bombed us!

 

After dinner we took Cecil to Swamp gas and Gossamer to see Les’s art. Here Cecil, I , Les and three young women were playing the sculpture. Last night we walked around town to find a good view of the sunset. As I was taking photos a young woman came by, said she loves taking photos, could she take mine. So here I am leaning on a lamp post.

More of the sunset. It was spectacular. The last two days I have joined Mandy, John and John kayaking. We ran the Bridges run on the Poudre River. The run scares me to death. I have flipped out of my boat, been beat to death by rocks and swam at least 4 times. More than any other place I have kayaked. I successfully ran the last two days. I stayed in the boat. Was less scared and even had a little bit of fun. Of course the water is low. . .This is Mandy surfing a wave  near the take out.

Here I am with my rubber duck (inflatable kayak).  I was never  able to learn to roll a hard kayak, so I use the duck. If it flips I fall out, not hang underneath it panicking. Plus it is like a tank, it plows through anything. It is much harder to flip than a hard kayak.  Also takes more effort to move it around in the river, I get a great workout! Mandy, Anne- Mandy’s mother visiting from Australia and John having  munchies at the take out. The last two days were beautiful sunny days, but hot, in the 90’s, perfect weather to play in the water.

Flowers by the river. Shooting stars, aster, white flower , cedar waxwing, monarda. I finally got my I survived Hwy 50 certificate for driving across Hwy 50-the loneliest highway in America in Nevada.

It was way to hot today. I stayed inside and got a massage and John went boating on a run much to hard for me. John took me out to Jay’s Bistro for my birthday eve.

The next day he gave me a pile of presents. Thank you darling! Katy Hales and Katie Lahaye came up to Fort Collins to help me celebrate my birthday. We started at the Swetsville Zoo.  Fabulous metal sculptures.

 

Swetsville zoo. Katy at the CSU trial gardens. We brought subway sandwiches and viewed the gardens.

Katie and Katy with the Worhol soup can at the arts department.  Our next stop was at Mandy’s house for home made ice cream (and birthday goodies) with Anne and Mandy.

Our last stop was at Les Sunde’s amazing art house.  Mandy riding the door into the house. It spins.

 

Les, Katy, Katie and I on the merry go round table on the roof. It was spinning too.

July 10-23, 2015 Fort Collins, Colorado

They are saying the bus will be ready the week of August 10th!! Knowing how work on motor homes goes we are not holding our breaths, but I am getting excited.

Some jewels I made using gold and enamel decals. I planted these lilies before we moved into the motor home and have never been here in the summer to see them bloom. They are lovely.

 

Sunset view from our deck over dinner. On a rainy afternoon we went to the Digital Dome Theater at the Fort Collins museum of Discovery.  It is a 35 foot, 365 degree dome screen. We saw a movie about Sea Monsters. It is sort of like an Imax, but more 3D. Huge sea monsters swimming right at us!

John with a statue in front of the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. John is peeping through the Magic Mesh he got me for my birthday season. It closes with magnets. We have no screen door, so now the bugs can’t get in, but we can just walk through and it clicks into place  behind us.

The band at the Equinox brewery. I love how they are right in the brewery. A catalpa tree blooming along the bike path.

Pastoral scene north of Laporte, north of Fort Collins off the bike path, and Watson Lake, sort of off the bike path.

 

I finally made it to the flower trial gardens at Colorado State University. There are over 1000 varieties of annuals planted on over 3 acres. Part of a network of similar gardens at land-grant universities across the country. CSU’s is the largest of such gardens west of the Mississippi.It is too big to photograph and breathtaking.

The VW is part of the Flower Power exhibit in the art museum in the CSU building, across the street from the trial gardens.  The art building used to be the Fort Collins High School.

I attended the retirement party for Kris Howland down in Denver. Kris worked the opposite 3-11 shifts from the ones I worked at Kaiser. She had been with Kaiser for 37 years! Many of my coworkers were also there. It was really good to see everyone. The picture is a laughing Kris with the Laughing Lab beer that was part of her presents.

July 3-9, 2015 Utah-Colorado

 

These are shots from the scenic over looks on I-70 looking into the San Rafael Reef in Utah. It was a giant uplift of many colored layers and then it eroded into a bunch on really nice canyons and hoodoos.

A Utah juniper  and a pinion pine and pinion cones, soon to be pinion nuts. I-70 where they cut through the reef for the highway.

 

Welcome to Colorful Colorado, through our bug covered windshield. Book Cliffs outside of Grand Junction, Colorado.

 

We are in Carbondale, Colorado visiting our friends Jimjim and Martha.  John has just written If UR DUMB U gotta be tough on the street.  You can sort of see the dog I drew behind his feet. Jimjim, John and Martha at first Friday in Carbondale.

 

The next day we went boating on the Crystal river outside of Carbondale.  John, Frank and Jimjim securing the boats to the top of the car. Frank, John and Martha on the river. Jimjim is the tiny dot way in front.

This family complete with the dog went by us. Heart  Martha and Jimjim’s kitty.

  

The remains of our 4th of July dinner. The garden when nuts while we were gone, our tomato and basil  plants are about twice as big as they were when we left.

I am working on some peacock feather soap dishes, to test whether I should use some green in the feathers on a bigger piece I am working on.  We visited my brother Jerry’s new house in Longmont last night. He is not moved in yet, these are just some furniture that the seller left him.  We then went out to dinner in Longmont.