Rocky Mountain National Park in September

LA Fashion District

When I was in California, I met up with Ingrid whom I met at the CQI retreat last year (CQI is the Crazy Quilt International Yahoo Group). We went to downtown LA to visit the renowned (at least to some crazy quilter enthusiasts) Fashion District. I just thought I'd share some photos of this shopping district. I didn't have my camera (thought I'd have enough trouble carrying my purchases), but Ingrid graciously let me use hers. There are, seriously, store after store after store in block after block of fabric, beads, lace, and trims. You could take a week to go through them all if your budget could withstand it. We only had a day and so missed many of the shops, but one day I'll return!

I left my Heart in San Francisco......!

Muir Woods in San Francisco

I recently returned from vacation in California where my husband and I took a couple of days to visit San Francisco. The first spot we stopped at was Muir Woods where immense Redwood trees take up their residence. My husband and I agree that this is our all-time favorite place to hike. Here is a picture of one tree that doesn't really do it justice. Do notice the people at the bottom of the tree so you can judge the size of these beautiful and striking trees. You can click on the picture to enlarge it, then click on it again to enlarge it further.

The ride home

This last picture was taken on Monarch Pass. I've been trained to be totally paranoid of mountain passes by all the time we go over Hoosier Pass which has hairpin turns and often is covered with snow and ice. We had to go over 3 passes on our vacation; La Veta, Wolf Creek, and Monarch Pass, and each one I anticipated with dread because of Hoosier Pass. All of them were pretty tame compared to Hoosier though. When we travelled over Monarch Pass I was just hoping we'd get over before dark -- you can see the sun is setting on the mountains.

Spring Break - Arches National Park

On the last day of spring break we went to Arches National Park. It was nice enough we took a couple of hikes and then we headed home.

Spring Break Vacation - Bryce Canyon

On last Thursday we arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park. It was freezing cold and the wind was blowing so there was no hiking for us. We did get to stop by several viewing areas, but had to dress up in winter coats, gloves and hats to do it! How do you like the little jay bird -- I think he would look nice stitched!

Spring Break Vacation - Zion National Park

We stayed overnight in Page, Arizona and the lovely picture of the lake is on the way out of town. Wednesday was a gorgeous day with temps up to 67 degrees. We hiked in Zion National Park and it was great!

Spring Break Vacation - Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde was our stop on Wednesday. Mesa Verde is a series of cave dwellings in southwest Colorado. It was a beautiful area and was very interesting to see how they lived. I enjoyed reading how they used the yucca plant to make fibers that they then weaved into intricate baskets. Also, they were beaders!

Spring Break Vacation - Monte Vista, Wolf Creek Pass, Pagosa Springs

Tuesday we got up before the break of dawn to see the sun rising on thousands of cranes. We spent the night in Monte Vista where thousands of cranes come in once a year and the town of Monte Vista celebrates it by having a crane festival. Many people come to photograph the cranes and we were lucky enough to stumble onto it. It was a beautiful site. We drove over Wolf Creek Pass and then continued onto Pagosa Springs where we toured around a bit. We ended up in Durango and stayed in town. I managed to find two bead stores where I relieved myself of the burden of carrying some of my cash, but not nearly as much as I wanted to!

Spring Break Vacation - Great Sand Dunes National Park, La Veta

Left is the valley in La Veta and on the right are the Sand Dunes.

We took a short vacation for spring break last week and are back! It was a great vacation! We drove through south Colorado into Utah and then circled back towards the north on the way back. The first stop was, quite by accident (a sad pun), was in La Veta, CO. There was a fatal accident on La Veta Pass which was closed for 2-3 hours as a result, and so we drove into La Veta to spend the time. Strangely enough, La Veta is where Judyth Baker Montano has her studio so we drove by. I didn't stop - didn't want to disturb her. We drove on to Cuchara, just short of the pass, which was a pretty mountain valley. Our second stop of the day was Great Sand Dunes Nat'l Park which is a HUGE sand dune. My daughter climbed to the top -- my dH and I got about 3/4 of the way up before she met us on the way down and we gladly turned around. For the rest of the trip whenever we hiked up hill or through sand we'd moan "...the sand dunes".

Left: These are the Sand Dunes with a gorgeous mountainous background.

Above is my dH climbing up -- my daughter is the little dot up ahead.

Enjoying the great outdoors

On our recent vacation we visited my sister and her family and my Mom and spent some time at my sister's cabin in Wisconsin. The weather was quite cool, but we still managed to spend some time outdoors. Here are some pics -- my daughter and husband are pictured in one getting ready to go jet skiing. The rest are of us ATVing through the woods. I really loved this as I used to spend quite a bit of time as a kid romping through the woods and it reminds me of when we used to go snowmobiling. It is so pretty and peaceful (aside from the noise of the ATV!).

Great View

this is the view out the deck of my Mom's house whom I visited recently. This is the mighty Mississippi river. Actually the main part of the river is just past the farthest greenery which is an island. We saw dear and heron on the island while we were there, but have also seen eagles, geese, cranes and other wildlife in the past. The picture is deceptive because there is really a large hill down to the river. It is seriously over grown now -- they used to cut out a trail to the river and mow the flat base at the bottom of the hill, but it is quite a chore!