Wordless Wednesday

Around the campfire in Colorado Backcountry, August 2011

How to Get an 11 Year Old Boy to Sit Still (without the aid of electronic games)

Yesterday we made our annual journey to one of the kids' favorite spots in CO: the little ghost town of St. Elmo. It was the smallest group to make the trip this year though as Kit (my 14 year old son) was golfing with Nonnie B (my mom), Maddy (my 16 yr old daughter) was feeling the need to get back to her AP Chem summer work, and Kyle (my dh) had already returned to NJ to earn the money to pay for all this fun. So it was just me, Grampy Earl and Brett (the 11 year old son referred to in the title of this post).

It's a little over an hour from the house, through the ranches, past abandoned mines and through the oh-so-Colorado town of Buena Vista before you hit the dirt road that takes you up through the chalk mountains and into the little town of St. Elmo. I must be getting used to the "roads" out here as I seem to remember being terrified of driving so close to the edge with no guard rail in sight in years past, yet today it seemed perfectly safe (must be that trip over Independence Pass shifted my perspective).

What's left in St. Elmo (a mining town in the 1800s) is old buildings that some stalwart souls are working to preserve, elevated wooden sidewalks, some cabins that people still live in (at least in the summer) and a general store that caters to the atv'ers, hikers and tourist that make the trek up.

 Downtown St. Elmo

Other than the history, one of the really special things about St. Elmo is the "wild"life, which isn't all that wild. A phenomenon that I've never experienced anywhere else is the boldness of hummingbirds. These minute little creatures seem to have little fear of humans up here in the Rockies and are not bothered a bit by those of us that which to capture them in pixels to share with friends and family...

Lunchtime at the general store.

It was quiet today...I've seen dozens of them

vying for position at the feeders.

As amazing and entertaining as the hummingbirds are though, they aren't what pull us back year after year, and they certainly aren't what keeps Brett motionless and spellbound. Imagine the fascination of a having a little wild animal crawl across your lap and eat right out of your hand! Chipmunks, picas and a few adventurous squirrels have learned that there's no need to scramble around tress for nuts. It seems they've unionized, moved to St. Elmo and entered into collective bargaining with the owner's of the General Store who sell little bags of sunflower seeds for 50 cents apiece. All that's left for visitors to do then is mosey across the street (you have to mosey in St. Elmo--it's the old west), sit down on the timbers and scatter some seeds across your lap or in the palm of your hand....

50 cents is a pretty minimal investment 

for this shot

Brett is a perpetual motion machine, constantly "battling" (he's a pokemon fan), actively imagining, and chatting away to himself in normal circumstances, but take him to St. Elmo and he is transformed. I could easily paint or sculpt him (if I had the ability) he's so still and quiet. I love to sit and feed the little critters myself, but even more I love to watch Brett experiencing it. Given that the teens have already moved on and were too busy to make the trip they wouldn't have missed for anything just a year or two ago, I cherish the opportunity I had with Brett today. If his big brother is any indication (and my Dad, whom he looks just like), before long it will be girls, not chipmunks eating out of his hand.

What a beautiful day....

Day Tripping...

Welcome to the 3rd (or is it 4th? I've lost track) installment of tales of my Colorado journey!

Yesterday we took a road trip to Aspen for the day. If you've never driven over Independence Pass, you really should. It is quite the scenic and challenging trip. This is where I would normally insert an impressive picture that I proudly snapped with my little point-and-shoot digital camera. Unfortunately, I was too chicken to get out of the car or even ask mom to pull over...The scenery is huge, dramatic and stunning, and the road clings to the side of the mountain traversing switchbacks and sometimes dropping down to a mere 1.5 lanes for the traffic traveling in both directions. At the top you reach the Continental Divide, and like the rivers you flow in a different direction on the way down than when you were headed up. Pretty cool.

We lunched at the famous Woody Creek Tavern, the decor of which was not to be missed...

The guacamole and margaritas weren't bad either ;). Part way through the meal, mom leaned over and said, "Charlie Sheen made his last stand just a little way down the road from here." That got me thinking about what we might do after lunch...we settled for wandering around town and visiting a few shops. At Brett's insistence  we made a few purchases at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (ok, he didn't have to work it too hard), after which we bounced through The North Face and Radio Boardshop where Kit settled for a cool new tee after I refused to lay down $550 on a new snowboard.

Then, the 5 of us climbed back into the Rav4 and prepared for the looooooooong journey home. I was fortunate enough to sit in back between the two brothers (Kit is 14 and Brett 11). It was the best way to prevent bloodshed. We had lots of laughs, especially after Kit really got rolling after downing a coke at a rest stop. I've never seen caffeine and sugar hit someone's blood stream so fast before! (One of these days I'll dedicate a post to Kit and his humor. He'll be knocking 'em dead at the Laugh Factory before he's 25.)

We were pretty beat after the approximately 2 hour trip home and everyone retreated to the their books and electronic pacifiers. There was talk of a 7:30 a.m. hike, but somehow that never happened. Ah well...

What the Heck's a Yurt?

So here I am, back in civilization after 3 days off the grid. My little family of 5, plus 1 grandmother and 1 grandfather, returned yesterday afternoon from our stay in the yurts in Colorado backcountry. What's a yurt?... you might ask...In case my last blog entry didn't compel you to immediately google that fun little word (say it out loud--it's rather catchy) let me tell you a bit about yurts.

 One of the two yurts at our little compound

Yurts are round structures made of canvas stretched over a wooden frame. Under the fabric shell that you see in the picture above are walls made of a heavy-duty wood lattice and wooden trusses that support the roof. Their shape and unique design makes them strong & aerodynamic (no, they can't fly, but they are great for windy spots because the wind flows right around them). That's the Cliff Notes version of Yurts 101. If you're interested in learning more, you can visit Pacific Yurts website.

If you're fortunate enough to have a mother who hikes all over and finds cool places like this to stay, you too might be able to visit a yurt. They have more amenities than you find on your average back country camping trip. For instance, there are bathroom facilities...

OK, so it's an outhouse. But I can tell you 

that the setting more than made up for the smell.

And you get to sleep in real beds...

They were pretty comfy, but my 11 year old son can tell you 

that it hurts when you fall out of the top bunk in the middle of the night. :(

And you can cook inside...

Our handy propane cook stove. 

I used it to make "yurtcakes" (you know them as pancakes) our last morning there.

And they even have a heat source (it did get down into the 30s at night, but we just snuggled in under the covers and left the woodstove unlit).

I'm sure this comes in handy for those adventurous souls who stay here in the winter.

But by far, my favorite part of the yurt was the view...

 

It was a great experience and I have lots more to share, but it's rapidly approaching midnight here in the Rockies (I've been here long enough to stop thinking about what time it is at home) and I need to go have a visit with the sandman.

 

I'd love to get some comments from others who've had unique or challenging vacation experiences!

 

Don't be a stranger!

So here I am, enjoying my vacation 10,500 feet above sea level. Yesterday was acclimation day. If you haven't been to high altitude you probably can't relate to the sensation of climbing a single flight of stairs and arriving at the top breathless, feeling like your heart is about to burst. And then there's that strange sensation in your legs when they get the message from your brain that there' a heck of a lot less oxygen to go around and they're just going to have to get in line...But I did start this post by saying I am enjoying my vacation, and despite the lack of oxygen I truly am.

Yesterday had a nice slow pace starting with Coffee over etsy...some reading...hanging with the family. In the afternoon, mom and I walked and took in the scenery and planned and dreamed together. It was so nice to reconnect in that spectacular setting. We talked of plans for the house back east, and the new phase we're heading into as we begin the colllege search for my daughter.

Today will be my last post for a few days as we are heading out into the wilderness until Friday. We are going to experience yurt living in Colorado back country. There will be no electricity and no running water. No wifi or HGTV. Just us, the montains and more sky than I've ever seen in my life.

So I'm off to get packed up and ready to unplug. I'm sure I'll have lots of thoughts, experiences and pictures to share when I return.

Don't be a stranger!

Preparing for Take Off

I'm not quite at the "tray tables locked and seat back in an upright position" yet, but tomorrow morning at this time I (and the 3 kiddoes) will be. It's off to the Rockies for us to meet God's creation in one of the most glorious places on earth and I can't wait!

I took this on one of our summer trips a couple of years ago

when we were doing some hiking and atv'ing. Glorious!

I'm anxiously anticipating time away with family and a chance to unplug (well...for part of the trip--more on that later). I can almost feel my blood pressure dropping already...

But not quite yet. Today is my last day to wrap up all the pre-10-day-trip projects and preparations and I'm feeling it...right in that spot where my head and neck become acquainted with eachother and I tend to carry stress. I have been deep in the throes of a highly productive creative time and have felt driven to constantly be in my studio indulging in the creative process. Add to that the desire to have items complete, photographed and ready to list in my etsy shop for at least a few of the 10 days I'll be away (in between chauferring the kiddoes and various other household duties) and you have a picture of what things are like here.

So I'm up, boarding passes printed, coffee poured, laundry sorted and iron heating...and it's off I go!

Don't be a stranger!