Trip Memories....

Traveling thru Texas on the way to Santa Fe, NM

A trip to Colorado to photograph the aspens in the Fall led by my friend and mentor Lou Nettlehorst, good golly yes, I'm in. That plan began much earlier this year with my blogging/photographer buddy, Jeanne Stone. We have made 2 trips together, one to Charleston, SC and another to photograph the Hill Country in Texas during bluebonnet season. We are compatible companions, even with my snoring and enjoy the beauty of the outdoors and nature. We get it when we take 30 minutes to photograph a wildflower, unlike those who do not see how we photographer's see. You guys out there know what I'm talking about.  Jeanne has breathing issues in high altitudes and her doctor advised her to drive to Colorado instead of flying to help her lungs gradually get used to the difference. OK, instead of flying to Colorado as originally planned I flew to Dallas (where Jeanne lives). A wee bit off track but not only did we plan on joining Lou in Gunnison, Colorado on Saturday, Sept 16th we decided to extend our trip by driving from Dallas to Santa Fe, NM...

staying 2 nights in Santa Fe (which was not nearly enough), then drive to Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, New Mexico, the land of Georgia O'Keefe spending one night there (again not nearly enough) and then on to Gunnison, CO to meetup with our group for dinner and a get-together before outings began early the next morning. And what I mean by early is setting my alarm for 3:30 AM, holy mackerel who gets up at 3:30 except maybe to go pee. Lou has a habit of choosing places that are a bit of a drive for those early morning sessions, but it's all worth it for the end results. 

The night we arrived in Santa Fe we ate at a restaurant known for their tasty margaritas. Now I'm a frozen fruity margarita fan so that was a choice I decidedly agreed upon. Jeanne could only take a few sips, while I enjoyed every last drop and didn't feel a thing. While in Santa Fe, we wandered thru the streets, popping into churches to admire their beauty, touring the Georgia O'Keefe Museum and stopping at the rail station where the rail runner still had regular scheduled departures. Notice the rainbow in the scene....I took this as a positive sign that our trip would be filled with good times. It was until the phone call from my daughter came on Sunday evening. 

After leaving Santa Fe we headed to Ghost Ranch, the iconic place where Georgia O'Keefe created some of her finest work. The ranch itself is over 22,000 acres, but to my surprise, Georgia only owned about 7 acres of this grand space. Apparently she tried with earnest to buy the whole 22,000 acres, but in the end the owner, Arthur Pack left everything, except the 7 acres to the Presbyterian Church. It now resides as a retreat and education center with over 300 classes taught there each year. In fact, our humble abode (and they are rather humble, with no AC and concrete floors) was right next to a large group of oil paint artists that were in the midst of their last creation before packing up and leaving the next day. What a panorama for a subject. 

Yeah, that's me on the back of the horse, not the good looking cowgirl in front leading, me on the back of blonde horse, clinging (not really) to the reins and trying desperately to take photos with my big girl camera as we rode around Ghost Ranch for 1 1/2 hours. Please don't inquire as to my butt condition after that ride. Let's just say, I didn't fall off and the scenery was amazing. 

Our two wranglers, very kind to us oldies....

That evening we wandered down to the entrance to Ghost Ranch to capture the sunset. You can see from the wagon that the golden hour was indeed golden.  Wonder if riding in the wagon would be any more comfortable than the back of the horse...probably not. And that sweet little cabin is the one (so I have been told) that was featured in the movie, "City Slickers" with Billy Crystal.  In the visitors center there are a whole slew of movie posters featuring movies that were filmed at Ghost Ranch. 

Next stop (except for a few minor pull off the road I need to get that shot episodes) Gunnison, CO. 

PS - Thank you all for leaving such kind comments on my last post. I so appreciate your prayers and love that you have expressed. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!! 

Until next time.....

Fence Friday

I love to photograph fences, don't ask me why, just do.  I think it started when I joined Flickr last year and came upon a weekly challenge entitled Fence Friday.  Gorgeous fences are displayed each Friday, but since I began the Big Picture Classes, blogging, various challenges, etc, I just can't do it all.  I don't know how young mothers keep up with doing all that they do and sleep too.  Maybe that is the answer, no sleep.  Sometimes you have to pick and chose, not that I want to.  If you are like me you want to do it all.  Maybe I like fences because they remind me that "the grass is not always greener on the other side." or not to let fences stop me from finding joy in the everyday (metaphorically speaking).

“A woman's dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view.” ~  Sophia Loren



“Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow” ~ Norman Vincent Peale

“The wide world is all about you; you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out.” ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

“It doesn't matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters most is getting off. You cannot make progress without making decisions.” ~  Jim Rohn

“Careful as a naked man climbin' a barbed wire fence” ~  Cowboy Proverb

“There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.” ~  Will Rogers  (Had to add this one, so true)

"If you strive for the moon, maybe you'll get over the fence."  ~  James Woods 

“The grass may be greener on the other side of the fence but you still have to mow it.” ~ Proverb Quote

I decided to add this to a new challenge....this week's challenge is Yellow

Some of these photos were obviously taken on my trip to Colorado.  Other's are just a few of my older stash.  Hope you enjoyed my Fence Friday. 

Until next time.......

First Day Back

This morning I was ready to start my day but as I rolled over to turn off the beeping alarm clock I felt a painful headache in full force.  Not only that, when I got up I was so dizzy I darn near fell over.  I had a cold, runny nose, sneezing, cough, totally all in the head the whole time I was in Colorado.  I have not been sick in probably 3 years, no colds, no coughs, no virus', but since I had a vacation planned, ofcourse it was the time to get sick.  Isn't that the way it works?  So along with the iffy weather, I also battled the sniffles...gosh I sound like I am feeling sorry for myself.  Ahh, maybe I am, just a little.  Anyway, back to the dizzies....I think between the head cold and the change in altitude my poor body said enough is enough.  So today I have been chillin', actually I never got dressed the entire day.  Feeling better this evening, but still a little dizzy.  I guess the term dizzy blonde is true, but I don't think they meant the "fall down" dizzies when they penned that phrase.

I didn't even pick up my camera today, altho I did read my latest "Shutterbug" magazine, along with the latest People Magazine and Entertainment Weekly.  Ofcourse I only read those for the book reviews (I lied, I read them because I like to read about the latest movies, TV, books & music and an ofcourse an occasional gossip). 

Speaking of TV, I have been watching some of the new comedies, "The New Girl" and "Suburbgatory" are both pretty good. They make me laugh out loud which is a good indication of funny, but neither are as good as "Modern Family", still the best comedy on TV.  And ofcourse "Revenge" is superlative as the new night-time soap opera, it's delicious.  Enough is enough, now for some more photos from Colorado. 

A few of the absolutely spectacular take-my-breath-away landscapes and animals from Pagosa Springs, CO.  

"Get up and dance, get up and smile, get up and drink to the days that are gone in the shortest while."
                                                                                                                               ~  Simon Fowler

Until next time........

It's Over

What a grand time I had this last week visiting my brother and sister-in-law in Pagosa Springs, CO.  Talk about beautiful country, it was a visual treat from beginning to end.  A wee damper was the weather; cool, wet, breezy & snow!!  We actually had only one day out of the 7 that was absolutely gorgeous, but it sure didn't stop us from doing all that we could.  I took almost 1,000 shots so, eventho the weather was not the greatest it sure did not stop me from taking pictures.  And what a photographer's dream ...  mountains, valleys, greens, golds, purples, oranges, streams, rivers, pink sunsets, a blue sky that is beyond blue.  I think it is wonderful that we can stay within our own country and witness some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere on earth, from the east coast to the west coast and everything in between.  Each area of the country has it's own beauty, but I gotta admit that Colorado is right near the top of my list. 

And you know all that fuss over the bathing suit....well, it was too rainy and cold to even stick our pinkies in the hot springs, whew, thank goodness. 

I flew Frontier Airlines...never have flown with them before. But I will say, they were on-time and hassle free and they have the cutest animals painted on the tails of each of their airplanes.  I flew on a beaver and a baby otter.  Had to change planes in Denver both coming and going, flying to and from Durango, CO. and I was suddenly back in the 50's.  We are so spoiled boarding and unboarding planes by walking up a large enclosed tunnel thingy, totally protected from the weather, however in Durango, there are no large jets that fly in and out (probably because of the mountains wouldn't ya think??).  We walked out on the tarp to board a prop plane.  When I saw that, I thought I was gonna die.  Not so, it was an easy flight, even in the pouring rain.  The only thing that was damaged was my hair due to the exposures to the elements.   Frontier Airlines has restored my faith in tiny prop planes. 

Not raining yet, but shortly after taking off the rains came.  When is the last time you remember boarding a plane like this??



How could anything bad happen on a plane that has this sweet face on it's tail??

This is what greeted us as we woke up the next morning....clouds so low they didn't even clear the tall pines.  Pagosa Springs is 7,700 ft above sea level, no wonder my ears were popping.

Along with the clouds this family came visiting each morning.  It is a Mom and 2 of her babies (I promise there are 2 babies, you just can't see the other one).  I can't imagine what they found so delicious in that mud.

Well, must close for now...Dancing with the Stars is on in a few and I missed the whole thing last week.  In fact, I watched NO TV for the entire week.  Got lots to catch up on.  But many more pictures of Colorado to come (I promise I won't post all 1,000 of them).

"It seems obvious that the first rule of life is to have a good time."  ~  Brendan Gill

Until next time.......