2/28 Sunday

I just looked at the pix from yesterday's blog and noticed that most of them are cut off for some reason.  I have no idea what happened.

We had a great day today.  Temps were in the 50's and we went out to Great Sand Dunes National Park.  They had a very nice and informative ranger station.  We went for a small walk right out the door of the station, then drove a mile down the road to be closer to the sand dunes.  We were going to walk on the dunes, but there was a stream to cross to get to them and it looked to be about 8 -10 inches deep in some spots.  We decided to come back next weekend with our waterproof hiking boots and give it another shot.  We did watch as some people hiked the dunes and others slid down on special sleds.  Louise wants to hike to the top, but I know how hard it is to walk in sand so I know I can't make it that far, but will go as far as possible.  We then went to the Dunes hot spring swimming pool.  We sat at a table with another family and had lunch.  The other family were very nice and we had a lovely chat.  They were from San Luis, which is south of Alamosa.  They gave us some great tips on things to do in the area.  We opted to go to the adults only pool as Louise saw some of her patients in the larger outdoor one.  The water was lovely and we tried out a couple of the hot tubs also.  One of them was very hot - about 115 degrees so we didn't stay in that one too long.  It was very relaxing.  We were going to stop at the gator farm on the way home, but the family said it wasn't worth it and was quite hokey so Louise decided not to stop.  She really needs to go to the Everglades so she can see them in the wild - much more interesting and humane.  We put our feet up for an hour and then took care of a few chores around.  The beavers are out again (they seem to like dusk) and we watched them for a bit.

I am putting a few pix on again:  sand dunes, male mule deer by the side of the road (we also saw some pronghorn antelope, but too far away for a pic), the outdoor hot springs pool with the Sangre de Cristo mountains in the background, one of the beavers, and a pic of the clouds reflecting in the pond.

2/27 Saturday

Louise went into work early this morning to finish up some paperwork so while she was busy, we did a load of laundry and baked a banana bread.  When Louise came back, we went to the Rio Grande Healthy Living Park to volunteer for their clean up day.  This is a 38 acre park very close to downtown.  They use the land for recreation (bike and walking paths along the river), an orchard for the local food bank and a community garden.  Dave helped to clear the irrigation ditch by raking out the tumble weeds and leaves.  They made a huge bonfire in an open space to burn all the dry debris.  Louise and I walked around the perimeter and picked up trash that had blown in or was dumped on purpose (you know that some people are just pigs) - food wrappers, liquor bottles, soda cans, bits of plastic, etc.  When I came back to drop off my full bag, I noticed that two men were building something.  It turned out to be a hoop house for composting.  They seemed to need a bit of help as they had never built anything before so I helped them get set up and cemented the plastic piping for the spine and ribs of the house.  Patrick, an agronomist, and Francisco from Guatemala were very nice to work with and seemed grateful for my suggestions.  We left before the structure was erected as the glue wasn't dry enough yet, but I will stop by later to take a pic of the finished product.  We stopped for lunch and then headed out to the CO gator farm as Louise really wants to see some gators.  When we got there, we discovered that today was an annual free day and the line was very long.  We stood there for a few minutes, but the line didn't move very fast so we decided to leave and come back another day and pay the entrance fee.  We came back and relaxed for a while and then made chicken and salmon for dinner.  Dave and Louise thought they saw a baby beaver in the pond, but by the time I got out to the deck to look, it had disappeared.  Oh, well, maybe tomorrow I will get lucky.  Dave threw some more sticks in the pond and we saw a beaver come to take them away.

2/26 Friday

This morning we saw a hawk sitting on the top of a telephone pole on our way into town - very cool.  Louise had jury duty this morning, but she wasn't selected so she stopped in to see us at the ReStore before going home to do some work.  Dave and I had a busy day.  Dave and I finished pricing the items from the back room and got everything out on the shelves.  Rhonda said that Friday is usually a slow day, but we did the most customers of the week - 121 and over $600 in sales.  When we got home we all went for a walk with the dogs.  Dave picked up sticks and branches along the way and threw them in the pond for the beavers.  We made dinner and talked until time for bed.  Am including a pic of the hawk and another beautiful Colorado sunset.

2/25 Thursday

It was chilly again this morning - 19, but got up to the low 50's by this afternoon.  We had a busy day at the ReStore.  Dave found a few shopping carts of items in the back room that needed pricing so we dealt with them and got them out for the customers to see.  We were fairly busy again today, which made the day go by faster.  We saw the beavers again today and are fairly certain we know where their lodge is.  We have one more day to our work week and then will do some sightseeing this weekend.  I hope to have some new pics on for you then.  Louise texted that she would be a bit late so we ate dinner and saved her a plate.  We just watched the local weather and it may get up to 70 on Saturday - crazy weather.

2/24 Wednesday

It was a very chilly 10 degrees this morning and the pond froze over again.  We had a busy day at the ReStore - 104 customers.  We sold a large set to a young couple: 2 dressers, a two piece (top and bottom) television console, and a matching end table.  They were very pleased with their purchase and it made more space in the front of the store.  I chatted with one of the customers and she knows Louise - she is her PA at the clinic - small world.  We came home and notice the beavers were in the pond again as the ice melted during the day - 41 by the afternoon.  We fed the animals early as Louise is taking the two long-haired cats to the groomers tonight to get the tangles out of their food.  We went into town and ate at the Rubi Slipper - very good.  On the way home, we saw another beautiful sunset and a great horned owl sitting in a tree on the side of the road.  We are both pretty tired so will put our feet up and read for a bit until Louise comes home.

2/23 Tuesday

Today's photos are of a beautiful Colorado sunset over the pond and three photos from our hike on the Spanish Trail: the ruts from the wagons that still exist, bones of a coyote, and Louise and Dave at the beginning of the trail.

We woke up this morning to an inch of new snow.  We also saw the beavers in the pond and a bald eagle in flight.  On the way to work, we saw a pair of cranes flying overhead.  We got to the Habitat store in town to find that they had 3 or 4 inches so Dave, Mike and Kim had to shovel the front of the store - parking lot and sidewalk.  Rhonda, the manager was sick today so Wilma showed me the ropes with the cash register, etc.  We had 53 customers and sold about $530 worth of merchandise - not bad for a small store.  Everyone we worked with was very nice and we got to know some of the customers, many of whom are regulars.  We read for a bit when we got home and then made dinner.  Louise is not home from work yet, but we have a plate ready for her when she shows up.  We did not take a walk today as we were a bit tired from working, but we will definitely go for one tomorrow.  It was quite cold this morning, but warmed up this afternoon and is chilling down now.  Louise is taking the animals to the groomer after work tomorrow so Dave and I will go into town to try a new restaurant.  

A couple more

Dave caught the two beavers together and a lovely view of the sun setting and reflecting off the mountains.  This view is from the top of the driveway.

A few pix

It is always a process trying to remember how to get the pics on the blog, but I think I have it now.  The top pic is self explanatory, the middle is Louise's home taken from across the pond, and the bottom is of one of the beavers.  We are off to work shortly, but hope to get more pics on tonight.

2/22 again

We took two old televisions from Louise's house to the recycling center in town only to discover that the center does not take electronics, but the person in the office told us of another place across town that does accept them.   Unfortunately, you have to pay to get rid of them and it wasn't cheap - 50 cents a pound!  We then went to Creede, an old silver mining town in the mountains.  It was a lovely ride up, but it was snowing when we got there.  Because it was off season, most of the shops were closed, but we had a great lunch in a small tavern/cafe.  While we were gone, Louise took care of some errands and paperwork she had to do and then we cooked dinner together - peppercorn steak and lemon shrimp risotto - excellent.  The kitchen is now clean and it is almost time for bed, but I did get the part to download some pix so will try tomorrow.  Tomorrow will be our first "real" day at Habitat.  We will be working Tuesday through Friday from 9 - 3.

2/22 Monday

Yesterday was a lovely relaxing day.  We got set up for dinner and then went for a walk with the dogs. We saw some canyon jays and heard a woodpecker.  The weather has been in the 20's in the morning, but gets up to the 50's or 60's by the afternoon.  The sun has been shining every day.  Dave and I elected to go grocery shopping and Louise stayed here and did some picking up before company.  I made a banana bread and a pan of brownies and we all relaxed in the afternoon.  Dave saw two bald eagles fly over the pond, which they rest of us missed.  Around 5 we looked out and saw something swimming across the pond.  At first I thought it was a muskrat, but when it came out of the water, we could see it was quite large and eventually, the tail was exposed and we saw that it was a beaver!  We watched him for quite a while and then he was joined by a smaller beaver, which we assumed was his mate.  Fortunately, the beavers were still there when our guests arrived - everyone enjoyed watching them until it got too dark to see.  Kyle is a nurse practioner and works in the clinic with Louise.  Angel, his partner, works in the call center at the clinic and is rehabbing a house that they bought in Alamosa.  We had a lovely time chatting with them.  They are both very nice and interesting people.  Cheryl, a nurse who lives in one of the rentals next door, came home late and joined us.  She had dinner as we were having dessert.  She lives in Littleton (about 4 hours north of here) and has a crazy work schedule.  She works seven 12 hour days here and then has a week off - drives home for the week and then repeats.  She also seemed very nice.

Today, Louise is going to stay around and do errands and catch up with patient logs, while Dave and I go for a jaunt.  We are headed to Creed, which is supposed to be an interesting town.  I will let you know later today.  Hopefully, I will be able to put some pix on soon as our connecting cord is supposed to be delivered today.

2/20 Saturday

We had a very nice time at the dinner last night.  We sat at a table with a couple who live off the grid about an hour north of here.  He is a retired cabinet maker and I'm not sure if she ever held a job outside of the home, but she does lots of crafts.  Right now she is into felting and making slippers out of the material.  Another couple were not retired, she is designing a line of women's clothing and he is a home inspector.  There was another gentleman who was a retired professor at the table.  Everyone was very nice and we had some interesting conversations.  The dinner was good and we had some interesting entertainment - a guitarist, a small trio of musicians, and a belly dancer.

Another beautiful day here in Alamosa!  We loaded up the back of the car with cardboard and headed out beyond Monte Vista to go to the dump.  The dump was a trip as it was an old tip one in which people dump their refuse in a large hole which is eventually covered with dirt.  The best part of the dump is that there was a sign with a arrow pointing to a Dead Animal Pit - only in the West!      We then parked and walked the Spanish Trail for about an hour.  This trail went from Santa Fe, NM to Los Angeles, CA.  There were places where you could still see the wagon ruts.  We had a great walk - lots of broken glass and pottery from the mid to late 1800's along one part of the trail, lots of small and big animal burrows, ant hills, sagebrush and Spanish bayonet plants, and animal bones (coyote, deer, elk that we could recognize).  After our walk, we went a bit further up the road to Del Norte and stopped into a small family restaurant for lunch.  We came back into Monte Vista and stopped to visit with Louise's friend, Kyle, who was on his lunch break at the clinic.  We drove a short distance and saw Louise's former house and then came back into downtown and stopped into a Thrift Shop.  Dave made the only purchase - an old wooden rolling pin.  We came back into Alamosa and stopped at the hardware store to buy cement to fix the hole the dogs have dug under the gate in the enclosure.  We put our feet up for a bit and then took a walk around the property with the dogs.  We had leftovers for dinner tonight to try and clean out the fridge.  Tomorrow, Louise has invited some friends for dinner so we will do a bit of cleaning and cooking tomorrow.  We have decided to postpone going to the Sand Dunes for another weekend.

2/19 Friday

We had another look at downtown Alamosa today - did a bit of walking around and discovered the local bookstore.  We also stopped at the hardware store on the main strip and bought a rope so we could secure the gate.  The dogs had let themselves out again this morning.  We took a ride out of town and took a picture of our first Recreational Marijuana store and no, we didn't stop in for samples!  Speaking of pictures, we discovered that we left the conversion link needed to connect the camera to the iPad so I ordered one from Amazon and it will be delivered on Monday - so I will keep taking pix, but you will have to wait to see them.  Tonight we are attending a fund-raising dinner/auction at the local hospital for Habitat.  We were hoping that Louise could come with us, but by the time she gets out of work, it would be too late.  She has Saturday, Sunday and Monday off so we will do some sight-seeing this weekend.  Tomorrow we are headed to Monte Vista, which is where she lived until this last December.  She also said something about hiking on the Spanish Trail.  I hope that Sunday we can go to the National Sand Dunes, they sound spectacular.

2/18/16 again

We unloaded a truck, van and trailer for the ReStore this morning.  Everyone there seems very nice.  After we were done, we did a little exploring in Alamosa.  There is a fairly small downtown area, then a small state college, hospital area (where Louise works) and then a "miracle mile" of bigger box stores.  We stopped into the City Market grocery store for a few supplies and then took a walk on the college campus.  We came back home to discover that the dogs (Monte and Sugar) had gotten out of their fenced in enclosure.  The only thing we can think of is that Sugar stood up and loosened the latch on the gate to the fence.  Sugar is a Great Pyrennes so is very big.  We finally managed to get then back inside.  We had lunch and then Dave took a nap.  He seems to be bothered by the elevation here so it may take a couple of days for him to acclimate.  We are cooking dinner tonight - chicken yakitori and feeding the animals (there are also three cats) as Louise is getting her hair done after work tonight.  The temperature hit a high of 65 today, but it is quite windy.  I think we will try to take a short walk before dinner.

2/18/16 Alamosa, Colorado

Yesterday was such a long day!  We got up at 3:30 am to shower and get to the airport.  Our plane left at 6 and we stopped in Charlotte, NC for a half hour layover (Hi, Jonathan) before boarding the next plane to Denver.  We arrived at 11:30, but by the time we collected our luggage (slow) and got to the car rental agency (long lines), it was 1 PM.  We got on the correct road to take us south and quickly got out of the city.  We stopped for a quick lunch in Castle Rock.  This was one of the landmarks that the covered wagons used when traveling out west.  You can see it for miles before you actually get there.  It is a huge rock formation on top of bluff that actually looks like a castle from the distance.  We continued south going through Colorado Springs, home of the U. S. Air Force Academy, and then through Pueblo.  We finally got to head west at a small town called Walsenburg and then over a mountain pass and through a valley to Alamosa.  We didn't stop to explore the town last night as it was almost 5:30 and we wanted to find Louise's out of the way house before dark.  Louise had just gotten home when we arrived.  She had a lovely home (I will take pictures later) and we got settled in a bit before heading back to downtown for dinner.  We ate at the Brew Pub (#2 on the list of things to do in Alamosa) and enjoyed delicious hamburgers and chicken burgers.  We got back and basically fell into bed - so tired!  BTW, it was 70 when we arrived in Denver and 56 here - not too bad considering we had -10 at Mystic on Sunday.  I will get back to the blog later today.  We are going in to the Habitat ReStore this morning to help unload a delivery truck. I also will try to put on the sunset photo I took from Louise's back porch.