Saturday, August 31, 2019

August 25-31, 2019 Fort Collin, Colorado

99, hot and sunny. We have decided to leave Labor Day or the day after so I am trying to get in as much glass as possible.

Some beveled and polished pendants I made in the last couple days.


Some more pendants. The left pentagon is cracked on the back. Bummer. I set it in resin to use as a basket center.

I have been casting  bears and turtles and such out of dichroic scrap glass in my kiln all summer. So I set them plus old pendants and some of the faceted polished pieces that are not good enough for pendants into resin and drilled holes around the edges to use as basket centers. Three more pendants today. I have three more I finished this evening, but need daylight to photograph them. I am getting the hang of getting a nice polish on them now. It still is taking me over an hour on each one. It is fascinating to see how all the combinations of glass come together in these. 

I finished this wall hanging. I fused the balloon, then set it in resin and stitched around it. It will be one of my entries into the glass show this fall. Tonight my friend Katy and I went to see Louise Penny. She is one of my favorite authors. It was billed as a book signing, but it was so big that it was at the Paramount Theater in Denver, so it was more of an interview. Her newest book came out two days ago and we got a signed copy with each ticket. We sat almost in the front row. I tried to take a photo of her, but the lights were too bright. She is the one on the right. I loved hearing her talk about her characters. 

The bus left the crowded storage and is now in front of the house so we can pack her up and take off on Mon or Tues. I can't stop- I am still faceting and polishing glass. These came out very nice.  

Sunset tonight over dinner on the deck.  John started the day washing the bus. I cleaned the inside later in the day.
Today was the Tour De Fat parade. It is sponsored by New Belgium brewery, makers of Fat Tire. It was a 2 hour parade of thousands of bicycles with riders and or bikes in costumes. It was pretty amazing.  After the parade New Belgium had a big event at the brewery with live music, food and of course beer the rest of the day. Our neighbor next door, Parker in custom for the ride.  They had a big Tour De Fat party going on. biscuits and gravy and a keg. Everyone was in costume. A bicycle pulling a coffin, a pirate ship bike, and a dinosaur.  

Another boat, toga party, a man in a dress and a rocket ship with astronauts riding. An angel, a costumed lady with her child in the front basket, a woman in a chariot, A big bike and maybe a fairy with children in the front.  

Team Banana, man in a dress on a trike, some kind of unbrelled vehicle, and flamingo head. The parade was huge, here is part of it.  

Neptune, Willy Wonka, fish people and skiers.  Penguin, small girl in a covered wagon pulled by a bike, two nuns with the pope mobile in between with their dog dressed in a pope hat, a man walking in a wheel, a man in a kissing booth and two girls with shirt that say Tour De Fat bottomed girls on their shirts.  
I did squeeze in a bit of glass faceting. . . Three more masterpieces. 









Friday, August 23, 2019

August 23, 2019 American Basin hike, Fort Collins, Colorado

Today we hiked American Lakes.

We rode bikes from Camaron Pass on the Michigan ditch road 2.5 miles then ditched the bikes and hiked 2 miles up to the lakes. The flowers were incredible.  

Creek crossing with blue chiming bells and yellow senecio. Lia, Gary and Mandy in waist deep flowers.  

Approaching tree line with Noku Crags on the skyline. A mama and baby moose. Mandy took the baby photo, she has a better camera.  

Flowers on the trail. Gary and John G brought up champagne for our lunch. John with a bottle.  

Snow lake is in the upper cirque above the lower lakes. Seniceo, delphinuium, and hemlock flowers, Rams horn lousewort, amanita mushroom, and stone crop. 

The group lunch toasting to me taking a photo. Lia, John G, Gary, Mandy and John M. Mandy outstanding in her field of flowers. 

View back the way we came. The fields of flowers were amazing. 

More amazing fields of flowers. 

A red bistort-they are usually white, queens crown, rosy paintbrush, and a gentian. Elephant heads, delphiniums, senecio and paintbrush, moose antlers ahead, hemlock, delphinium and senecio in a creek bed and a deer in John and Mandy's backyard. Mandy served us a delicious dinner after our hike.  

A field of elephant heads, another field of flowers. 

View on the way down. Flowers along a creek bed. 

John, Gary and Lia crossing the creek bed. We saw we think 13 moose on this trip. These two guys were right beside the trail. We bushwhacked around them, but we were way too close to them.They are big and mean, but they were more interested in eating than us. 

Two photos of the same mooses, one walking across the meadow and then in the bushes.  John and John walking through chiming bells and senecio. 
Loading up 4 bikes on a bike rack meant for two. Gary and Lia rode on a tandem bike they called the mothership. 

Thursday, August 22, 2019

August 22, 2019 Straight Creek, Summit Co, Colorado

Katy and I drove up to Summit County and stayed at her condo above Silverthorn in preparation for an early hike in the morning.

John meanwhile was working on roofing the shed.  A rainbow from the condos. It rained and hailed the whole way up. 

Sunset from the condo porch. You can see Lake Dillon below lit up pink from the sky. The next day we hiked up Straight Creek from the east side of the Eisenhower tunnel to the continental divide at the top of Loveland Ski area. The flowers and the weather were beautiful.  

Beautiful flowers. Rosie, Suep, Lucy, Katy and Cathy. 

Looking west on the way up. Purple fringe, dusty pentestamen and yellow paintbrush. 

Lucy, Katy, Rosie and Cathy in a field of flowers on the divide. Sue, Cathy, Katy and Rosie with a Loveland Ski Area trail sign. The top one says Continental Divide 13, 010 feet. 

Delphinium, columbine, arctic gentian- the last flower to bloom before fall and red fall foliage of alpine avens and  pygmy bitterroot. Katy and Lucy playing in the snow. 

A view of Loveland Ski area from the ridge. Lucy silhouetted on the ridge. A thunderstorm rolled in and we headed back down with rain, hail and lightening hitting the ridges around the valley. 

Looking down on the east approach to the Eisenhower tunnel. Pink and white bistorts, a marmet and yellow flowers.  

Kings crown, butterfly, sneezeweed and sky pilot. Chiming bells, elephant heads and a field of senecio and paintbrush.  

Columbines, chiming bells and senecio, delphinium and senecio. The trail back down with Katy, Lucy and Cathy ahead. 

Katy and Lucy. Rosie, Cathy and Katy. 
Beautiful flowers and a great time with good friends.