Red Rocks with Verlene and a bit of Broomfield

Ed and I went to Red Rocks today with Verlene. In 30 years in Denver she hadn't been there! Now that she's retired she has time to catch up on missed opportunities!

They have a pretty walking trail around the trading post that is only 1.5 miles long. Not too strenuous for us after our big walk yesterday!

It was nice hiking here in the spring, before it gets too hot! 

We were happy to see they have some of the same flowers we have in Utah, including this paintbrush!

There's a nice view between the rocks from the trading post.

The trading post also hosts the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. We were excited to see a mountain dulcimer on display made by Bonnie Carol, who we knew from Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp.

They also had an Ome banjo, the brand I own. I had been fortunate to go to the factory and meet the owner of the company before I bought mine. We felt like we were a part of the history of music in Denver.

We enjoyed a lunch al fresco at the Shiprock Grill. 

We had a look at the ampitheater that was hosting Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tonight. We had only been here for three events, a Mormon Tabernacle choir concert and the graduations of my niece and nephew. It was always a privilege to be a part of something in such an amazing venue.

We topped off a fun day with dinner with the Reichman's at Ooka's in Broomfield. 

On our way back to Crystal's home we stopped at the Sweet Cow in our search for the perfect ice cream sandwich. I give this one high marks!

Tomorrow we look forward to the long drive home! It was a quick trip, but a very fun one!

Bolder Boulder 2017

We walked the Bolder Boulder Road Race in Colorado today. It brought back some fond memories of walking it in 2009, the last year we lived in Colorado.

This year we walked with Crystal and her roommate, Kerrie.

Walking with almost 60,000 people can be a challenge, but we managed to weave in and out as we power-walked through the course, occasionally even walking all together!

Our wave was the very last to start! Our goal was to make it to the stadium in time to take a victory lap inside the stadium. They close the stadium to only elite runners at 11:45!

We were happy to arrive by 11:10, averaging 15 minutes and 45 seconds per mile for the 10K!

We collected our snack bags and stayed in the stadium for the memorial day commemoration. This year we were smart enough to sit on the east side of the stadium. It had a little more shade and a beautiful view of the mountains!












The program was very moving, ending with parachutists dropping into the stadium bearing flags of the armed services. I loved this picture of the stars and bars with the Flatirons behind it!

We watched the storm clouds brewing in the distance, but happily, we made it back to the car before it started raining! Everything was perfect (if you don't count the giant blister Ed got on the ball of his foot!)

Visiting Crystal in Denver

Ed and I made it to Denver today in time to have dinner with Crystal. We started the morning with  9 a.m. church with Brittany and John and left Provo about 10:30. It was fun to arrive just in time for a delicious home cooked meal!

We got to see Crystal's new apartment, and her new bed that she bought just in time for us to come sleep in it tonight!

It was fun stretching out our legs after sitting in the car all day. Crystal took us on her favorite walk after dinner!

We went right past the light rail station where Crystal commutes to work every day.

It was pure prairie, and beautiful with the sun casting deep shadows. 

We walked as far as Cherry Creek reservoir and then came home and watched a movie about a winning Cross country team (MacFarland, USA). It got us all revved up for our big walk tomorrow morning in the Bolder Boulder 10K!

Memorial Day in Fairview

We had a wonderful day in Fairview today visiting with the living and telling stories about our dear departed ones. My brother, Jon,  and his family were there, as well as my sisters Annette and Barbara (with Kent). Brittany and John and family were also there. Brittany has pointed out that she has been decorating graves for many years, since she has lived in Utah much longer than we have!

Grandma is still the tour guide. I keep thinking I need to make a map of where everyone is laid to rest so we could do this without her someday!

My aunt Nadine and cousin Debra and her husband Gary were also there. It was nice to be able to visit with them!

John's kids were particularly good at wiping down the headstones with water and a sponge!

Caleb helped entertain Mabel by letting her borrow his Rubik's cube!

Kent was pretty handy with a screwdriver and a hammer. The ground is pretty hard, so they had to make a small hole to put the flowers in!

After we finished the upper cemetery we moved down to the pioneer cemetery. Caleb also helped with placing the flowers.

My siblings know a LOT about our ancestors! Jon made sure Caleb knew how many greats each grandparent was!

Afterwards we stopped at the Fairview Museum for a picnic lunch. Mom had made a mountain of croissant and flatbread sandwiches, and we had a real feast despite only planning the party a few days ago!

We made a little side trip to Spring City to see the house of Iver Peter Petersen and Caroline Margret Mortensen, my dad's Danish great grandparents. Not only is the house on the national historic registry, but the entire town is, as well!

But wait, that's not all! We also got to babysit Mabel and Clementine while Brittany and John went to a play tonight. It felt like the circle of life! Ancestors and descendants all wrapped up in one beautiful day!

Poppyland with the Kids

We took Brittany and the girls over to the Lambert ruin to see the poppies this afternoon. Even the house foundation is full of poppies.

The field next to the house was a sea of poppies!

Mabel loved sitting on the logs, despite the fact that we were making her pose for pictures.

She especially liked this big log!

It turned out to be next to impossible to get Mabel and Clementine to smile at the same time, but we had fun trying!

Back at our house they were much more cooperative! Clementine is developing into a real smiler!

Mabel had a ton of fun lining up colored alligators in the window sill. We had a good time just watching and listening to her babble!

In the evening we put the kids to bed and the party continued with the Pinyon Rats practicing in the basement!

We had so much fun we plum wore out the dog. She snuggled up to the bass and fell asleep! Having fun can be exhausting!

Announcing the Alpine Nature Center!

Poppy in Lambert Park

On March 18th this year Ed and I met with Holly Nash to talk about making an online presence called the Alpine Nature Center. The purpose of it would be to educate the citizens of Alpine about the beautiful landscape they live in, as well as the flora and fauna in it.

Brittany got involved and helped us find a great design for the website, using Weebly instead of Wordpress. I did much of the groundwork, using photos from my friend Marilyn Thomsen, as well as from a few people from the community. I took the majority of the pictures for it right here in Lambert Park.

Ed learned to code HTML and did the technical work on the website, as well as writing the Living with Wildlife pages!

We have a long way to go--we need more animals, and more plants, more trails, etc. But, we are very proud to announce the website is up and running. We're hoping to have lots of visitors!

http://alpinenaturecenter.org/

Hot Time in Lambert Park

Ed and I took an afternoon walk in Lambert park today. Boy is it hot in the afternoon! We're used to walking at 7:30 in the morning, and didn't realize we'd be thirsty after the first mile!

It as discouraging that 50 percent of the trees have sustained damage from the frost last week. There are dead leaves everywhere, and in some places the entire tree is covered with shriveled leaves. The question is: Will they get new leaves this summer or not? If you know the answer to that, I'd like to know!

Irises--Not Wild and Not Tasty to Deer

Thank you to the Knudsens for all the pretty irises they planted in our yard. We've had fun discovering them as they've bloomed this spring! We are also happy that the deer don't seem to like them!

They come in all different colors!

Even, good old purple!

We have to make a special trip to the top of the back yard just to see them all!

I feel like we should have a picnic up by the shed so we can sit and watch the flowers grow!