Cinnamon Pass via Carson

Tuesday morning was COLD!  We all dressed warmly for the trail and headed out, knowing we had a long rougher day ahead of us!  To take the route from the ghost town of Carson is about 78 miles which is not bad on a normal trail but this rough rocky trail is TOUGH!  But of course the aspens made it all worth while!

As you can see, we had on everything we could GET on!!

The ghost town of Carson - we walked around the old buildings and took some snapshots and wondered about the people who used to live here!

I had forgotten how rough the trail was - Becky and I got off several times to let the guys maneuver the ATV's around some of the rocks - it was rather dicey at times and when I can't stand to watch them, I just shut my eyes till it's over!!  WOW were there some bad spots!! (remember this Patty when you come out - this is NOT a trail for you and Leonard!!!!)

Since the sun didn't shine a whole lot, the trees didn't look as magnificent as the day before, even though they really were!!  Lots and lots of oranges again...............
By the time we actually made it to the Cinnamon Pass road, we were all a little weary!  Craig's shoulder was bothering him and Glenn thought he had pulled a groin muscle - just too many rocks to get over!!

The hillsides were covered with the golds, oranges and some green that hadn't turned yet but it made for some gorgeous pictures!!

Now this is quite the picture!!  Glenn with his crazy goggles over his glasses and me freezing - yes, I did have gloves on!!

We were 4 exhausted people by the time we made it back to the cabin!!  But we beat the rain as when we left to go into Lake City for dinner, the rain was coming down!!  We had a great meal at the Lake City Cafe and once again, hit the sack pretty early - I think we were all wishing for a hot tub that evening!!!  To Be Cont'd...............

Lake City Aspens

Our fall trip to Lake City was planned!!!!  2 nights in a cabin by the lake and then on to South Fork to spend another night in a cabin - I was excited and happy to know my favorite trip of the year was about to happen!

Friday cousin Craig texted me and wanted to know where we usually ATV'd in the fall as they were heading out in a couple of weeks - I told him Lake City and that we were headed there on Monday - he said they couldn't come out yet and I advised him the leaves could be gone in 2 weeks in that area - and also that we had a 2 bedroom cabin already rented and they were welcome to join us!!

And before long, they had decided to head out to Colorado from Iowa and ATV with us!

The 4 of us headed out early Monday morning for Lake City - breakfast stop at Gunnison at Glenn's favorite restaurant and then coffee next door for me before we headed out again!!  We headed right to Engineer Pass since we have to trailer there anyway and began our journey up the pass!!

 It was definitely peak season for the aspens!!  They were absolutely gorgeous and some of the prettiest trees I remember in a long time!  My favorite spot to photograph - and yes, I already have this picture enlarged and hanging in our new house!

 My favorite trail is the Nellie Creek trail and it's the perfect trail to see aspens!!

 It was cold at the top!  So we never waste a lot of time up there even though the scenery is amazing!!

 There were a lot of oranges this year - that has to do with the amount of rain we receive and I love seeing the oranges mixed in with the golds!!

 Craig and Becky certainly enjoyed the trail - there are some rocky spots but they were real troopers and handled them like pros!!

It was a fantastic first day - as Becky said, a 10 out of a 10 for scenery!!

We headed into Lake City that evening to eat at Southern Vittles for dinner - and I think we were ALL ready for an early turn in after our day!!  To Be Cont'd................

Tidbits of Our Busy Life

A 10 x 12 tough shed is now sitting on our large trailer - but it's in pieces!  Cousin Gary had told Glenn about his neighbor who had this shed that he wanted to sell - we headed down to Co. Springs to check it out and it was in great shape and a whole lot bigger than what we thought!  But the price was outstanding and because we didn't get the huge shop built this summer, we really needed something to put the tools in for the winter!  Glenn headed down one day to tear it down and the next day we loaded it up and brought it up here!  Now to find some help to get it back together!!

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It was our turn to host the annual 4-H Foundation picnic a couple weeks ago - there were a total of 14 of us here and the day was gorgeous!  Glenn even got the 2nd half of our picnic table put together and varnished so we had plenty of places for everyone to sit outside!  My white peach daiquiris were a big hit and we enjoyed showing the house off to everyone!!

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Glenn did get the borrowed chipper fixed so I was all set to start chipping our 100 or so trees that have been cut down and drying for 2 years!  After putting on gloves and goggles, I put a couple of branches in and decided there was NO WAY that the chipper (let alone ME) was going to get through all of the brush and trees that were stacked up.  So we decided to do the next best thing - get a burn permit!  The Florissant Fire Dept guy had to come out and inspect where we would burn and then it was into the sheriff's office to get the permit!  We've burned 4 different days now and the stack is getting smaller but there's still a ways to go!  It's a lot of work to haul it all over to the burn site but eventually we'll get it done!

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We took a day off in the midst of everything and went ATVing at a local trail outside of Woodland Park - it was a great day outside and we took a picnic along to enjoy!  It was the perfect amount of trail time as it started raining about the time we got back to our car!

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Glenn and I love to go to grand daughter Rayna's volleyball games and were so upset when she landed wrong at her first game and hurt her leg -  after the dr appt and the specialist and finally an MRI, it turns out she tore her ACL, her menisus AND her MCL.  Surgery is next and no sports for the next 10 months.  Pretty disappointing for this athlete who loves to play volleyball.................

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I had told Glenn all summer I wanted to host a "neighbors get together" so new neighbors could meet others and it finally happened!  We actually had a coffee at our place one Saturday and it was so fun to have us all together and have new ones meet old ones!  Since the coffee and muffins went over so well, maybe we'll extend it to a potluck for the next one!!

Craftsmanship At Its' Best

Glenn never ceases to amaze me!!  I knew he wanted to put in a stair railing like what we had at the other house -  he had just put up a temporary one out of old boards to get us into the house!  And since we had the annual 4-H Foundation picnic coming up at our house last Sunday, he decided to get into high gear and get the stair railing done!  And of course it's beautiful!

Glenn still has some finishing touches to do on it, but he got it up before the company came on Sunday afternoon!  I am always amazed at what he can do!!

Weekend Visitors

The Keppys came to visit over the weekend!  It wasn't a long stay as they had to leave right after lunch on Sunday to get back home as Gary's mom and sister were in town!  They pulled in late Friday night - I had the beds all ready so they could get right to sleep!!

Boy were Evan and Kenzie surprised when they saw the playset the next morning!!  Glenn and Evan took off rock hounding and Gary took Kenzie to the North Pole so it was just Jessi, Gwyn and I for the morning - more snuggle time with Gwyn!!  And coffee for the two of us!

While Jessi was taking a shower, I went into the bedroom for a little bit - Gwyn had been pushing the baby stroller and when I came out, this is what I found!!

 The kids got in the hot tub after they all got back home - Gwyn was NOT happy she couldn't get in but then seemed content to put her hands in the water!

 Jaime, Rayna and Kylan stopped over for a while - the kids had fun on the playset!!

 Gosh it was bright out trying to take pics!!

 One of the things on our agenda was to get a cute pic of Gwyn in a fall outfit.  I put out my fall decorations last week and I have a fall frame that needs a picture!!  Most of the time we can get a really good smile but had to settle for just a sweet smile!!

 Lunch on the deck is always fun!!

 Gwyn was a riot this weekend!!  We have a really cute video of her bopping to the music from one of her toys - I tried to download the video on this blog but after downloading for 1/2 hour, it was only 1/4 done so I cancelled it - darn slow Internet!!

Every time Papa left to go outside, Gwyn would start pouting - she loves going to look at the chickens so of course Papa would take her outside!!  She is a character!!

We had such a fun time with all of them - but the time always goes way too fast!!

Our Very Own Play Park

The last time we ate out with Jan and Jan, they asked us if we knew anyone who would want their outside swing set/slide/playhouse.  Glenn mentioned it would be fun to have for Gwyn when she got a little older but we decided not to take it.  Then Jan texted me the picture of it and I immediately decided not only would Gwyn like it, but the older kids would LOVE it right now too!!

So after we got home from Iowa, we went over with a trailer and the truck and spent a LONG time taking it down and getting it in the truck and trailer - it was quite a job getting it back unloaded and all put together - many hours!!

But in the end all worth it - the Keppys came down last weekend and the kids all loved it!!

Girls Day Out AKA Did This REALLY Happen?

Friday Patty and I were going to have a girls day!  After her eye appt. in Mapleton, we headed to Tecamah, NE (which is only 45 minutes away) to The Master's Hand - a gift shop and restaurant!

The place was cute as can be - lots and lots of unique items one could buy - it was so fun to just walk around and look at it all!

We had reservations for lunch and I loved the chandeliers in the dining room!

They only serve one main entree per day - keeps it simple!!  We started with yummy drinks - I had peach lemonade and it was awesome!!  Then it was on to our fresh fruit cup and then the entree of homemade chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes and bacon green beans - it was all delicious!  But then came dessert - we had a hard time deciding but finally we both chose the chocolate cake that was served with coffee - they were both outstanding!!

I would definitely love to go back to this place again!!  We checked out the bathrooms too - how awesome is this?

We were about 15 minutes out of Onawa when Patty got the phone call from brother Jim that Leonard had fallen off of a ladder and Jim's son was bringing him to the ER in Onawa.  5 minutes later, Glenn called and said his mom had collapsed and the ambulance was on its' way to bring her to the ER!  REALLY?????  Two of them heading to the ER at the same time.

We arrived just as Leonard was being wheeled in to the ER -  and a few minutes later Lolly arrived on a stretcher with Glenn close behind!!  Patty and I spent the next 2 hours going from room to room.  Leonard broke his leg - extremely swollen and they couldn't do much but put him in a boot till the swelling goes down.  He was to see the orthopedic surgeon on Monday to see if he needed surgery.

Lolly was kept overnight for observation - the doctor really didn't come up with anything.  Not sure if a new medication was affecting her or if this was just a fluke but a close eye will be kept on her!

We did have plans for dinner and our farm meeting at a newer restaurant in Woodbine with Jim's but of course we had to cancel that.  Glenn and I ended up bringing chicken and broasted potatoes from Michael's and the 6 of us sat around Patty's table for our farm meeting!  Leonard was feeling pretty good but of course his leg was sore and needed to be elevated!!

Glenn made the rounds on Saturday - checking in on his mom at Onawa, going to Moorhead Days in Moorhead and then on to Little Sioux, his hometown for Little Sioux Homecoming, an annual event.  I chose to stay at Patty's and relax........................

Sunday we were up bright and early for the journey back home!!  This time we took the interstate to make a little better time - I always enjoy seeing the wind turbines!!

Our trip home was uneventful (which is always a good thing) and we were glad to be back home in Colorado by early evening!

Iowa - Part 2

Thursday morning Patty and I went up to visit Aunt Nadine and Uncle Don - it's always a treat to see them and visit!  And after arriving back home, another friend of mine, Lois, stopped up at Patty's house during her lunch break and we talked fast and furious for an hour!!

Leonard had dropped Glenn off at Onawa that morning so I drove over after lunch - Glenn's 2 sisters were around and we all worked on some of Lolly's paperwork before the get together that evening!

Geri and Carl hosted a BBQ that night with lots of yummy salads, hamburgers and hot dogs!  Glenn's 2 boys were there with their families along with his 3 sisters so we were quite the crew!!

Granddaughter Nedelle has really grown tall this last year - she's now in 7th grade!

 The kids were blowing bubbles out back and Maggie thought she would have double the fun!

 Glenn, Neal and Todd - a rare picture of the 3 of them!

 Nedelle and Chance giggling on the couch while playing electronics!!

It was a fun evening for everyone!