Bear, moose, and wildflowers on jeeping trip

 

Columbine - Colorado state flower

Ahhh the wonderment of mountain peaks in summer. We took good friends Kim and Steve out to one our favorite jeeping haunts: American Basin. You may recall we went there a few weeks ago with other dear friends Leanne and Steve W. It was quite beautiful, but the difference between then and now was staggering. Prime wildflower season there.

Fly fishing for three, painting for me. It was so beautiful and serene and then the flies attacked. My spray did not help and finally had to race back to the safety of the car. Fish were caught and a not bad sketch from me in spite of the pesky nuisance.

As a reminder, our14'er climbing experience-Handie's Peak was here,  which is out of sight to the left of the distant peaks. It's been 10 years since we did it but it remains an amazing memory. I think Kim and Steve may have been inspired to do it. Hey, it's one of the easiest 14'ers. Ok, not easy for us, but we made it!

Happy group and no that's not a necklace around Mark's neck - rather a fly fishing lanyard

Picnic lunch amongst the beauty. We watched people coming down from having summited Handie's. They all seemed in good shape except one guy who promptly took off shoes and socks and plopped feet in the stream. Survivable I think. And no flies here, hallelujah...

Extra special treat seeing both a bear and a moose. The bear ran away even though it was quite a distance away and the moose could not have cared less about us. Great trip!

Charleston Walker Family visit

And what a fabulous week was had! We had perfect weather and packed in a lot of stuff. It is such a joy to have Tiffany, Chris, and the girls visit. The buck above may be one of the two who've been visiting our yard and napping under the deck. I know, they are an odd sort of a pet for sure.

We wasted no time in going over Ohio Pass and descending on CB. Secret Stash for pizza and Third Bowl handmade ice cream (now housed in TinCup -why I don't know)

The green plant costumes are our RMBL(Rocky Mt.Biological Lab) interns

strong roof support I hope

Of course the famous fourth of July parade in Crested Butte. It's still as wacky as ever and thousands of people show up now every year. Not a big enough town to handle the crowds.

Some horseback riding action with Chris, Penny, and Juliet. Fantasy ranch this time with extra gorgeous views. Photos courtesy of Chris.

Fishing at our stocked pond on the common ground. Available for all our owners and guests - a nice amenity. Penny was the winner and caught two trout which we kept. Many misses and one thrown back to live another day. Mark smoked the two we kept and turned them into delicious smoked trout dip.

Sunday morning breakfast at Paradise Cafe with CB farmer's market after. The longest line is always at the bakery and this time Tiffany decided to brave it. Pastries galore were the reward. Rings found for the girls and garlicscapes, pesto, and farm eggs were my haul.

Watercolor painting with the group (minus Mark- he opted out) close to Gothic. Lots of fun except for the bugs. No bug spray brought - ah well.

After many days of late afternoon and evening wind, it finally died down enough to have s'mores. And some tree climbing. Aspen are not the easiest... 

mountain lion tracks

Even with our eyes peeled and ready, no bear or moose were seen while they were visiting. We heard coyote howls many nights, saw lots of deer and elk, and even a badger by our garage. The tracks above I saw on my morning walk right before the family got here. No actual mountain lion seen. Probably just as well...

So great to have the family here and getting to share all the fun adventures in our special place called Star Mt.

Santa Fe ladies trip

 I know I just posted but there's always so much going on here in the summer, I'll get wayyy behind if I don't post now. I just got back from Santa Fe with two friends Marcia and Kim from Star Mt. Great fun and we did a lot for a short few day trip. All things were not photographed sadly - fun group breakfast with sister in law Lisa at Cafe Catron, and the very large rattlesnake I ran over in the car browsing the back hills of Santa Fe. Just have to imagine...

no foam drink for me

Marvelous dinner at Coyote Cafe the first night. Marcia, Kim, and I stayed at an airbnb that made all things easy as we could walk to most places. Such a fun city! 

Mine Shaft restaurant

glass blowing

One of my favorite galleries - Indigo

very fine turquoise stones at Madrid jeweler.

Next day was a short car trip to Madrid - (NM not Spain). An old coal mining town made into an artist and gift shop community. Some movie filming action in the past - anyone remember Wild Hogs? 17 years ago starring lots of famous actors - John Travolta, Ray Liotta, Tim Allen, Bill Macy, and Marisa Tomei. Some purchases were made and we had a fun lunch at the Mine Shaft. Dinner at La Casa Sena another great restaurant. There are so many to choose from, it's hard to narrow it down. 

mystery staircase (railing and supports were not there originally)

native -american sellers off the plaza

Next up more shopping and sightseeing in Santa Fe. Loretto Chapel, a former catholic church that is famous for the Loretto staircase mystery. It was built in the late 1800's, had no railing, and and no one can explain how it remained standing. Beautiful chapel. We also went on Canyon Rd, although we only touched on a few galleries. You could spend an entire day there without question. The last night we went to the many decades old restaurant The Shed. We had to wait 2hrs to get in (but sat in the bar which was a pleasant way to wait) and the food is really authentic New Mexican and good.

Last stop was in Taos. We made a detour and swiftly went through the city square. The UNESCO Taos Pueblo will have to be another time.

On the way home Marcia took us on another detour to see wild horses. We saw three groups and though they were some distance away, it was an awesome sight. They are under no one's control just living a free life. These are not bothered or rounded up. Just a great trip all around!