The timing was dictated by another celebration: The graduate with a Master of Science Degree in Management and her proud Mima.followed by an awesome meal…A few nights in Key Largo – perfect weather, our feet in the sand, watching the sunset. A night that dreams are made of!Palm trees with Christmas lights. Celebrating 12-12-12…Key Lime Pie in the Keys!
The youngest nephew and his girl came to visit. Great weather for early December.Remembering our concerts we had seen there: Peace Love and the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.It has been a healthy year for us. We both got into cycling again did many 27 mile workouts to Cherry Creek State Park.Such gorgeous Colorado scenery!
Don’t you wish you owned that bike?!!! We got up early to see the start Saturday in Golden and then went up to downtown Boulder to watch the riders come through before the final ascent. We also got our picture in the Boulder Camera blog
We got close to the start for the Time Trial in Denver Civic Center Park (with the professional photographers) under wilting, scorching, unbelievable heat – but was great to be able to cheer on each rider and see them (and their bikes) up close. Good fun!
Straddling the beginning of the Colorado River at the summit of La Poudre Pass after hiking the Colorado River Trail through Shipler Park and the site of Lulu City. This was a 15 mile round trip hike! We were ready for the hot tub back at the condo.The Colorado River starts mainly as runoff and becomes swamp area near the summit of La Poudre Pass. The Grand ditch catches snow melt from a large portion of the Never Summer Mountains and also feeds into the Colorado River at the summit.The Little Yellowstone Canyon is on the Colorado River Trail south of the La Poudre Pass.
Gorgeous claret cup blooms against the black canyon. We enjoyed our stop here on the way home from Utah. We met a fun Australian and enjoyed swapping stories – it is he that told us where to find this bloom and we set off just before sunset to find.
A weekend of hiking and camping fun with friendsGreetings from Us in Needles DistrictLost Hikers Joint Trail Hike PanoramaChessler Park PanoramaColorful Opuntia bloom in Chessler ParkSpring in Chessler Park with Opuntia bloomsViewing The Solar Eclipse Ring of Fire at Pot Hole PointPlaying around with Shadows during The Solar Eclipse Ring of Fire at Pot Hole PointThe Shadows look like pictographs on Pot Hole Point during the Ring of Fire Solar EclipseEnjoying the quiet times at sunset. We appreciate all the ranger led programs in the National Parks – Thank you! This special telescope allowed an amazing view of the solar eclipse – although the image was upside down.
Ready to do some MINI fun raising camping and hiking in Goblin State parkCaught in the narrow slot of Little Wild Horse CanyonGorgeous blue skies to hike White Canyon in Bridges National MonumentAdmiring the petroglyphs and reflections under Kachina BridgeCactus bloom in White Canyon areaAwesome campsite near Bears Ears PassEnjoying the Panorama of Goosenecks State ParkMoki Dugway! Those are some serious Twisties!Motoring towards Monument Valley
Working with Stephen Talasnik to set up his Floating World Bamboo installation in Monet Pond. Part of my role was to attach the white cable ties, they move in the wind looking similar to haiku wishes tied to trees in Japanese gardens. The team did a fun time lapse video of the water flooding back into the pond which you can see on this link.
This tower of black bamboo adds a bit of the New York moment to our western plains. It was really fun to help build this and to watch it grow in the gardens.Fun to try to capture the spirits, reflections, and just to contemplate the changing patterns of the ripples in the water. A bit of Wabi Sabi in the gardens.I was inspired to write this haiku Artist Talasnik – Chaos meets Serenity: Float, Surrealist worldThe opening of the expanded Sho-Fu-En Japanese garden added a new area to view the floating sculptures.Tetsunori Kawana also created green bamboo sculptures that aged to a golden patina. The sculptures engaged all five senses: Sight, Smell, Sound, Taste, and Touch.When the 5 senses are united with the 5 elements (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, Sky) there is harmony.These sculptures changed each time they were viewed. It was fun to experience and to photograph.Kizuna means bonds between People, Art and Plants. It was great to give tours and hear people’s reactions. I appreciated working with the other 80 plus volunteers which helped install, the artists with their visions, the staff/volunteers who supported the exhibit, the horticulturists/volunteers for the gorgeous plantings, and the public for visiting.
