2/29 Monday

Happy Leap Year!  We went to the recycling center today to get rid of a bunch of cardboard that Louise had accumulated and then we went on a driving adventure.  We drove south to within 10 miles of the New Mexico border and turned east at the town of Romeo.  When we got to the town of Manassa, we discovered the Jack Dempsey Museum.  The Manassa Mauler as he was known was born here (the very small house where he grew up is now the museum, but unfortunately it was closed on Mondays).  He fought his way to the heavy weight championship of the world in 1919.  We continued on until we got to San Luis.  This is the oldest town in Colorado.  It was founded in 1851 by 15 New Mexican families who were given a land grant by the King of Spain.  We had lunch in a small cafe and then set out on our goal.  Louise is trying to walk 16000 steps per day and heard about this shrine on the top of a Mesa.  When we started up, a dog joined us.  We tried to get him to go home, but he continued to follow us.  A man nearby said not to worry, he would return on his own.  Well, he followed us all the way to the top and escorted us down.  The Mesa was about 500 feet high and we followed switch backs all the way up.  This Stations of the Cross Shrine was built in the late 1980's by the townspeople and there is a lovely chapel at the top with great views of the valley.  When we came down, we looked in at the information center/town hall and the clerk told us that Bam-Bam (the dog) is the unofficial mayor of the town and regularly escorts people to the shrine.  We returned home on a different route and passed by Fort Garland, a late 1800's frontier fort where Kit Carson was the scout.  We will come back here for another field trip.  We had dinner, Fusilloni Al Forno, cleaned up the kitchen and went into the hot tub to soak before bed.  The hot tub felt strange to us as ours is inside and this one is outside so your body gets nice and warm, while your face is cold - strange sensation.  Well, tomorrow is back to work at the ReStore.

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.