Mad Skills of Goat Girl

2011-12-26T12:01:00.000-05:00

New addition to the family, Brycen Lawson born December 11, 2011.

Skagit Eagles 2010

2010-12-31T12:35:00.002-05:00

This year's trip included the in laws, getting up at 3am, and a 3 hour drive. We had a blast and saw twice as many as last year. After last year we decided binoculars would be a big help and it was this year. After this year, we decided we need to upgrade the camera with a longer zoom to capture the eagles without the graininess of my digital zoom. Perhaps next year, we will get the amazing in focus shot we so want to capture. In any case, we have memories of seeing them swoop down from trees and grab at fish in the water. We saw them down on the shores, not just in the trees. Something we had not seen before.

Waterton Lakes National Park

2010-08-12T13:03:00.002-04:00

Waterton Lakes was our first Canadian National Park. It was also the only day of the trip in which we had a lot of rain. So we endured cloud cover, pouring rain, and wet dog smell for the day. Waterton Lakes was a pretty small park, but had some amazing views, unfortunately most of the views were blocked by the rainclouds.

Close encounter with some Mt Goats

2010-08-08T12:05:00.002-04:00

During our recent trip to Canada, we were lucky enough to see some mountain goats that happened to be right next to the road. As some of you know, they are one of my favorite animals, and it was really exciting to see them up close. It was Alan's first encounter with mountain goats. I don't think his hearing has recovered from my squeal of delight upon seeing them.

Oh boy.....

2010-07-19T23:44:00.001-04:00

or girl! :)

Mt. St. Helens....finally

2010-07-15T13:03:00.003-04:00

Alan's parents came for a visit recently. We took them to Mt. St. Helens on a cloudy day here in the harbor. Luckily, the weather was nicer to the south. So we packed up the jeep and took off for Mt. St. Helens. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the mountain and the trip a lot. For Alan and I, it was the third try attempting to see it cloud free.

Umpqua Lighthouse

2010-06-18T09:41:00.002-04:00

During our long weekend in Winchester Bay, we visited the Umpqua lighthouse.

Pups in the river

2010-06-14T17:44:00.001-04:00

We spent the weekend in Winchester Bay, Oregon. There was a little beach near the campgroung, so of course we took the pups. They had a blast

Again....

2010-04-15T15:48:00.000-04:00

So pretty!

Tulips...again

2010-04-14T12:30:00.000-04:00

Some closeups.....

Tulips everywhere!

2010-04-13T23:20:00.003-04:00

The husband and I drove about 3 hours to Mount Vernon WA today. We missed the town's annual tulip festival, but got to see several fields of tulips. We spent the afternoon dogding showers and mud puddles. The flowers are farmed for their bulbs and most are exported to the Netherlands. The flowers are byproducts and usually are left to die after the bloom. These are some pics of the fields, with more to come soon from the Roozengaarte complex.

My Whodeeeee

2010-03-09T21:49:00.002-05:00

Today, I celebrate the best birthday present ever. I got him 2 years ago. Whodee, you are the BEST!

so cute, our kids

2010-02-18T11:48:00.000-05:00

Cape Flattery

2010-02-16T23:02:00.002-05:00

The pups experience waves for the first time! They didn't like it :(

A young eagle hanging out in a tree.

Today, the boy and I went to Cape Flattery, the most north western most point in the lower forty eight states. It was about a 4 hour drive to the trail head. We saw several kinds of wildlife including bald eagles, starfish, seals, a sea otter, a possible puffin, some odd birds with red beaks, yet to be determined. Of course sea gulls were everywhere!

Painted Desert Petroglyphs

2010-02-02T10:38:00.003-05:00

During our trip to Washington, we traveled through Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park. Here are some Petroglyphs contained within the park. It is also home to another "Newspaper rock".

I once heard someone say that if we were to disappear today, the future generations would have nothing solid to figure out our technology or history. Our books and computers would not survive as long as these petroglyphs have. It seems our ancestors had it right, if you carve the important stuff in stone, it will be there forever. Makes you wonder what they were trying to say to the future generations. Makes me wonder what I would say in stone if given the opportunity.

Skagit Eagle trip

2010-01-27T13:20:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, Alan and I got up at 430 and drove about 3 hours to the skagit river area where the eagles come every year to feast on salmon returning to spawn. We were not able to get there during the peak time, due to my work schedule, and some very wet days. However we managed to see more than 20 eagles.

While we saw over 20 eagles that day, we did not get any great photos, they were just too far away, and my camera was just not good enough to capture good clear photos. Makes one rethink the camera they have and thoughts of a new one are there.

Alan poses like his neices do for photos....what a funny guy!

The last three are just some pretty things we saw along the road.
Maybe next year, we will have gotten a better camera with better zoom and telephoto lens and luck out with the eagle sightings.

Alison's visit

2010-01-05T13:00:00.003-05:00

So when your friend comes to a conference in Seattle and only has an afternoon to visit, what do you do? Well, we took the underground tour of Seattle. It was pretty neat with lots of good stories and humor inflicted thoughout the tour. A lot of very cool things to see. So here are some photos of the underground and the last picture is Alison! We also visited the market and saw some fish being thrown. Then we capped off the afternoon adventure with a dinner with my brother. All and all we figured we walked about 3 miles ....the boy and I are feeling it today.

More Puppy Photos

2009-12-20T08:48:00.002-05:00

Grandma sent us some great things to torture the dogs with this week. As you can tell, we turned them into reindeer. Molly was not happy as evidenced by the last photo.

Typical play

2009-12-04T13:53:00.002-05:00

Being Super Cuties

2009-12-04T13:29:00.001-05:00

Just the kids being adorable.

More Hoh Rainforest

2009-11-23T21:22:00.002-05:00

Mono Lake

2009-10-31T14:10:00.001-04:00

Views from Mono Lake. A surprise sidetrip for us. Very pretty.

Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park

2009-10-25T12:25:00.003-04:00

Alan took this photo of a Northern Pygmy Owl. It is tiny, I thought it was just bird that the birdwatchers were excited over, but it turned out to be an owl.

Yesterday, the weather was due to be nice so the boy and I headed to Olympic National Park, specifically the Hoh Rainforest. We had some lovely weather and got to see sunlight throughout the rainforest, something a bit unusual. We walked the Hall of Mosses trail and it did not disappoint, we saw a ton of moss. As we left the trail to head back to the parking lot, we came across a bunch of excited people with huge cameras pointed up. We knew they saw something good in the trees, it took a minute to find the pygmy owl, it is one the world's smallest owls. Alan got the only shot that ended up in focus. The remainder of the posted photos all come from the Hall of Mosses trail.

Sunset Crater

2009-10-11T11:39:00.002-04:00

Sunset Crater NM is a small park in Arizona that has some great views! I found this park in March 2008 when I went on my solo adventure into the Utah parks and came down into Arizona on the drive home, it was along the way. So when we were planning our trip up to the same area, we decided to stop for a some quick pretty views.

Cedar Breaks

2009-10-11T11:25:00.001-04:00

Cedar Breaks NM is much much smaller than Bryce Canyon, however both the boy and I feel it has prettier coloring. It is worth the trip there because it is much less crowded than Bryce, and you feel like you have the whole place to your self. We saw no one at the turnouts and only a few at the main viewing area beside the visitor center.

Doggy Park

2009-10-04T19:42:00.002-04:00

We get to play soccer in Washington!

OH NOOOOOOO!

The big dogs kept stealing our ball!

One of the best things about our new home is the off leash dog park about 15 minutes away! So the corgis get to go to the park to play soccer, meet big dogs to play with, and make new human friends everyday.
The park has a large open grassy area to play soccer, but also has a bunch of trails in the woods. Today is the first time we explored the woods, and loved it. The dogs did really well off leash mostly heeling very well.

Point Sublime (name says it all)

2009-09-21T21:53:00.003-04:00

Which way?

The road that was described as "very rocky"

Overcome by the sheer beauty!

Hazy pollution, but still amazing view

While researching our trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, I came across a road that lead to Point Sublime. It was described as a two hour one way drive along a rocky 4 wheel drive only road and that if you were brave enough to do it, you could be surrounded on three sides by the Grand Canyon. Seventeen miles for that view. I was interested, so I tried to find more information, only finding it described as a horrible rocky, better carry a spare tire road. Having been on roads like this with Alan, I decided to mention it to him to see if it was something we could do in my jeep. He was up for it! I figured it could not be worse than the road to the Crystal Mill in Colorado.

The road starts out as a gravel road to a trail head that quickly turns to dirt. It did get rocky, but not like it was described. We did need a high clearance vehicle, and we did use 4 wheel drive in one spot. We both thought it was totally worth the drive for a view that was just for us, no one else was there. We passed a few other vehicles, but not many. For an experienced off roader like Alan, he called it "a country road". A very easy road for him to drive. I think I could have driven it and I do not have much experience off road. (we did it in a stock 2001 Jeep Cherokee Laredo)

So is it worth it? It depends. If you have four hours to spare, and are comfortable with easy off roading using 4 wheel drive at times, than YES! The view is worth it, the completely non crowded space is worth it. It was one of the most beautiful views of the canyon I have ever enjoyed. We had time for this view and paved road for views, after driving in from Jacobs Lake.

Here is the short video of the entire view. Of course it was a little smoggy :(

Made it to Washington

2009-09-18T22:48:00.002-04:00

We made it to Gig Harbor! However, we had a little accident along the way. We were in California needing to stop for gas, and had to get into a station that we thought we could get in and out of okay. We thought wrong.

The back of the 5th wheel hit a concrete barrier and the corner got a little messed up. However, that is why we have insurance. So we will be displaced for a little while until it can fixed. The repair place unfortunately is backed up for a few weeks, so we get just enough time to settle in for while, before packing up our house and taking it to the shop.

I start work next week, am very excited. As for the trip, we made it to all the national parks listed except for Mt. St. Helens, it was fogged in again. We did get a bonus park, Mono Lake!

Big Bend....not what you think....

2009-09-04T22:06:00.006-04:00

The boy and I made it to Big Bend today. It was not what either of us expected. I expected to see a river and Mexico in the distance. I knew there was some desert life, but I did not expect it to be so green, I did not expect to see petroglyphs, be above 5000 feet in the mountains, or for it to rain.

We only did some of the park, due to time constraints, however, I think we did well. We went Chisos Basin. There were some very unique mountains, it was also where we ended up above 5000 ft. It started to rain up there and the temp dropped to 63 degrees, and about 30 minutes later we were back down to 2000 ft and it was 83 degrees.

We then went south to Rio Grande Village. It was mostly shut down for the season, be we saw a really green campground. The highlight of the trip was a 2 mile dirt road to Hot Springs. We found old buildings, petroglyphs and the boy dipped his toe in the River. We also found a huge palm tree (see Family on the road), and what we think is bamboo. It sure looked like bamboo to us!

Oh, then it started to rain in the desert...like a serious rain. So I got to drive through water that was flash flooding. It looks deeper than it is!

Driving 90W from Uvalde to Marathon, we saw what we think were golden eagles, and the most vultures I have ever seen in my life. They were everywhere, covering the entire road, and on fence posts seven in a row. We also saw too many to count border patrol trucks. We even did our first immigration checkpoint. They make everyone stop, and ask if you are a citizen. Me being the whitest white girl ever, had no problems!

We're Off!!!!!

2009-09-03T09:54:00.004-04:00

We are off.....sort of!
We will be leaving very early tomorrow morning for Gig Harbor. In the last post I mentioned our trip would be long and have some very scenic stops, now that the route is planned I can tell you the stops along the way.

We leave from our current town of Uvalde TX, and are heading to Big Bend tomorrow. Then north to Albuquerque, west to the North rim of the Grand Canyon, stopping at Petrified Forest NP and Sunset Crater NM. After exploring the North rim with hopefully a trip to Sublime Point, we head north to Cedar City Utah, with stops at Cedar Breaks NM and Bryce Canyon (my favorite park ever!!) We head west through Vegas to Sequoia and Kings Canyon. Next we go to Yosemite, possibly seeing an old friend, then off to Redwoods NP. Our last stops along the way north will be Crater Lake NP and Mt. St. Helens. Of course once we get to Gig Harbor, one of our first stops will be Hurricane Ridge of Olympic NP.

The boy and I were at Crater Lake and Mt. St. Helens last year in early June. Crater Lake was still beautifully covered with snow, and only a mile of the rim road open. Mt. St. Helens was fogged in, so we are hoping for an open road and a fogless morning!

I left my job in March of 08 to become a travel nurse, since then I have had some awesome jobs in some great places. Not to mention that I met my boy, got two corgis and got married. I wanted to see more places. Below is a list of all the cool places I have been since leaving Pennsylvania not so long ago. I accomplished much more than I thought possible. I now live in a fifth wheel (with a boy!) and two dogs!

Royal Gorge
Great Sand Dunes NP
Colorado NM
Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP
Arches NP
Canyonlands NP
Capitol Reef NP
Bryce Canyon NP
Natural Bridges NM
Mesa Verde NP
Zion NP
Lake Pueblo State Park
Garden of the Gods
Corral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Craters of the Moon National Volcanic Monument
Crater Lake NP
Mt. St. Helens NP
Mt. Rainier NP
North Cascades NP
Columbia River Gorge Rec. Area
Northwestern Paradise St. Park
Glacier NP
Yellowstone NP
Grand Tetons NP
Grand Coulee Dam
White Rim Trail in Canyonlands NP
Dewey Bridge Rec. Area
Calhan Paint Mines Int. Park
Great Salt Lake
Rocky Mt. NP

Lake Brownwood SP
The Alamo
San Antonio’s Riverwalk

Guadalupe Mt. NP
Carlsbad Caverns NP
White Sands NM
Three Rivers Petroglyph site
Valley of Fires SP, NM
Petrogylph NM
Bishop’s Castle
Capulin Volcano, NM

New Adventure!

2009-08-17T20:28:00.003-04:00

No photos this post. The husband and I are moving to Washington State in just a few short weeks.
I will be starting at a hospital in September. We are super excited about a big move, and of course will have a route that will allow us to explore some more national parks along the way up. :)

Bishop's Castle

2009-07-30T23:46:00.002-04:00

I first heard about Bishop's Castle my first few days in Colorado, apparently it is quite the local attraction. It wasn't until over a year later that I finally made it there. This castle has been built by one man, he started the project for his family, and it has turned into a massive non profit local landmark. He digs up all the rock himself, does all the ironwork, and literally does not have help. He states he works on it everyday, and it remains a free outing for families. You can climb up all the towers and walk in to any room in the castle. The detail work is incredible! I made it half way up one tower before I had to stop, the ironwork can be a little shaky when walked on and the height made it hard for me to continue. I think I am becoming more cautious in my old age. The husband went all the way to the top of the large iron dome, and said it swayed quite a bit and upon hearing that, I knew I would not like it so much.

Carlsbad Caverns

2009-07-27T08:29:00.002-04:00

Saw this little guy before entering the cave.

Walking down through the natural entrance.

About a week before our wedding in March, we traveled to Carlsbad Caverns NP. We walked down through the natural entrance and then explored the great room. Taking photos is pretty hard in a dark, moist environment. I found the closer I was to features, the easier they were to shoot. So enjoy some close up features. I would highly recommend this cave to anyone. It is very different from Mammoth Cave, has much much unique features, and is somewhat easier to navigate. I would recommend walking downhill through the natural entrance, however they do have an elevator at the visitor's center that goes down and even has some wheelchair appropriate trails.

Furkids turn 1!

2009-07-25T19:43:00.002-04:00

Grandma and Grandpa sent the kids a birthday toy. They loved it, played with it, and destroyed it in about 10 minutes. Our pups are finally dogs, which is hard for me to accept, because it does not seem like a year already. I guess the saying is true, enjoy them when they are young, because they grow up fast.

Critters from Rocky Mt. National Park

2009-07-20T01:33:00.003-04:00

On the great father's day adventure to Rocky Mountain National Park, we were lucky enough to see several types of animals. Just finally got around to posting them!

More soccer

2009-06-23T17:30:00.002-04:00

Molly is our flipping corgi!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T22:27:00.002-04:00

He can climb mountains.....

And without breaking a sweat!

Just for the record, I didn't do this to them, they were like this before I met them!

So this is an exciting day for me. I get to celebrate Father's Day for the first time in a really long time. I got the cream of the crop when it comes to father in laws! I cannot image having a better one. I think I may have stolen him away from Alan! :) Shhh....don't tell Alan!
He is such a good Dad, and has taken on that role for me! I am so glad to finally have an awesome Dad that I can be proud of. We went to Rocky Mountain National Park for his big Father's day adventure. We saw some great views, marmets, ducks, and big horn sheep.

My mother in law made me the "official family photographer". Shirley, if you give me that title you will eventually end up in the blog, and you can't complain! That's what you get for "monkeying" around :)

Playing soccer, sort of

2009-06-01T18:14:00.002-04:00

We recently discovered that our little Molly is a very athletic girl. We have an old basketball that we use to play soccer with the dogs. She will leap really high to get the ball before her brother. They both love to chase it, and now have started doing flips mid-air to get the ball. It is quite entertaining. It is their new favorite game!

3.21.09

2009-04-14T15:13:00.002-04:00

Our Cake!

The Gettysburg Girls!

Bachelor/Bachelorette Party

2009-04-14T14:51:00.003-04:00

Wearing the appropriate gear!

Drinking the appropriate drinks!

Kissing my maid of honor, who had a hand in the appropriate gear.

Explaining to the boys, it was time to go.

Further explanation about how tired I was...with some posing for emphasis!

More Snow Dogs

2009-04-14T14:45:00.000-04:00

Snow Dogs

2009-04-13T20:26:00.002-04:00

Our pups LOVE snow! We had two snow storms in the past few weeks, and they did not want to come in, and we didn't want them to, because when they did come in, they were soaking wet.

SPS:The prehoneymoon parks

2009-04-05T00:38:00.004-04:00

I still have one hour to post for SPS, I decided to post a photo from each of the national parks/monuments we traveled to directly before the wedding.

We left Texas early in the morning, because I woke up at 2 am ready to roll on out. So we got to the campground in Carlsbad New Mexico early in the afternoon. After 5th wheel set up and some food we decided to go to Guadalupe Mts NP. We did a couple short trails then headed back home. The next morning we were up early and were part of the rush to be first to go down into Carlsbad Caverns NP. We choose to go in the natural entrance which drops 740 feet in a mile and a quarter. Then we hiked around the big room, and used the elevators to head up to the
visitors center.

We made it to camp before noon, packed up in record time and drove to our next stop in Alamogordo NM. We spent two nights in a wonderful campground just outside town. We made it in time to hit White Sands NM for sunset. Then we got up early and made it there the next morning just after sunrise. I must say, it is an amazing park.

The next day, still being sore from Carlsbad, we decided to do a smaller scenic loop of the area near Alamogordo. North of town we stopped for Three Rivers Petroglyph area. We made it to the top of the ridge line and enjoyed many amazing petroglyphs along the way. This was an unplanned part of the trip, and it was a tiny little area, a jewel few people know about. We found it by the red dot on my atlas! There were no visitor brochures to be had! We also stopped by Valley of Fires State Park. (no photo)

The new morning we packed up and headed to Albuquerque NM for the last campground. The next morning, off to Petroglyph NM. Three days before the wedding, we were hiking to the top of a mesa to find some very cool petroglyphs. It was the last stop on our short but exciting trip back to Colorado Springs.

More wedding

2009-04-02T13:57:00.002-04:00

Some laughing after our toast to each other.

Bridesmaid Amy, and Best Man Rick with us!

My styling looking husband!

The boys!

Just Married!

March 21, 2009

2009-03-26T08:54:00.000-04:00

Prehoneymoon

2009-03-17T11:51:00.003-04:00

Hello from New Mexico!

The boy and I have left Texas and are headed back to Colorado for the wedding which is Saturday!

We are taking a little "prehoneymoon" as the boy says.

We have visited Guadalupe Mountains NP, Carlsbad Caverns NP, White Sands NM, Three Rivers Petroglyph site (highly recommend), Valley of Fires State Park here in New Mexico, and today are planning to go to the Petroglyph NM.

So far my favorite random part of this trip has been figuring out how many National Parks I have been to using the Parks pass I bought after I moved to Colorado last March. So far, 25....tomorrow 26!
I think I have made good use of the pass!

In the coming weeks, there will be some great park photos, and then hopefully great wedding photos.

Surprise morning

2009-03-09T19:36:00.003-04:00

I came home from work this morning and saw a horse on the door. The boy bought us a new window for the fifth wheel and surprised me with it on my birthday.

As you can see the kids were very excited!

He also made this for me! How amazing he is! Seriously!

In 19 days.....

2009-03-02T03:31:00.005-05:00

I will marry my friend!

Getting Comfortable

2009-02-20T03:10:00.001-05:00

Our pups love our comforter more than we do! Every chance they get, they are on or under it.

First blooms

2009-02-19T07:55:00.000-05:00

We saw our first blooms of the year!

Scenes from the riverwalk

2009-02-15T23:12:00.002-05:00

After we went to the Alamo, we walked down to the riverwalk. It was really nice unique experience. The river really cooled the air with a slight breeze. There were not too many people. There were art pieces all over the walls, tunnels, and even the sidewalk. I would highly recommend this to anyone going to San Antonio, however I have a feeling it would be highly busy in the peak of tourist season, and probably really hot!

Around the Alamo

2009-02-14T21:25:00.002-05:00

A window on the wall leading up to the Alamo.

The wall leading up to the Alamo.

Some very large koi hanging out in part of the old Acequia, the irrigation ditch that provided water to the mission.

Some arches with lantern accents off the side of the Alamo.

A reflection of a top of a hotel in a puddle of water. The boy wondered what I kept doing with the camera pointed at a small puddle of water, but he eventually figured it out.

Texas benches

2009-02-14T02:44:00.003-05:00

Apparently San Antonio likes to put benches everywhere! There were some standard nice wooden ones, unique wooden ones, and very Texasidized ones. Yes, I made up a word, but how else would you describe benches with the state shape in them?

Crockett says......

2009-02-10T00:21:00.002-05:00

"You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas"

The boy and I got up early and drove to San Antonio today. We went to the Alamo and wound our way around the Riverwalk. It was a very nice warm sunny day.

We got to the Alamo about 3 pm and waited a long time to get a photo of it without people standing in the way. We went inside, where no photos were allowed and viewed things like David Crockett's buckskin vest, book, and a legal note with his signature. There was also a log from his home in Tennessee. We both thought it would be bigger, but in fact it is a pretty small building.

We then went down to the Riverwalk, and ate some dinner, had some margaritas, had to walk awhile to clear our heads. Then headed back to the Alamo for some night photos.

I was doing some minor touch ups and tried a black and white, I like it!

photos from fall

2009-02-01T07:53:00.002-05:00

While looking for something to post, I realized most of my photos are on my external hard drive. I did not feel like digging it out of storage, because it is on a high shelf that I cannot reach and did not want the boy to laugh at me while trying to get it myself. Of course, I could have asked for his help because he is a tall boy, but I am too stubborn. I found some photos I have been meaning to post for a while. They are from our fall Colorado mountain pass tour of the aspens. I think the cows are particularly cute!

then & now

2009-01-26T17:05:00.002-05:00

Our little Molly as a pup sleeping in her bed.

How she sleeps in the bed now?!?

SPS: Lake Brownwood State Park

2009-01-17T19:44:00.005-05:00

Today, the boy and I went to our first Texas state park, Lake Brownwood. It is not very far from where we are living here in Texas.

We found a picnic area with lots of trees.

This is a photo of the CCC built Oak Lodge. The stone work was amazing.

There was a stone walkway leading down to the water, this is looking up from the walkway towards a pavilion.

We found our way to the beach and found shells.

The entire way there I kept saying I wanted to see an armadillo, because the state park website promised deer, birds, raccoons, and armadillos. We got lucky enough to see one just as we were about ready to leave the park.

Little Helpers

2009-01-17T04:38:00.003-05:00

I was working on the wedding invitations the other day and got some very interested little helpers. They were came up to me and seemed to say, "Hey Mom, whatcha doing? Can I help" They then stole an RSVP card when I wasn't watching.

They looked them over, and seemed to think the invitations looked good enough to eat.

I guess green ink tastes mighty good!

With all the "help" I got, the invitations did get done and have been sent....finally! :)

boy news

2009-01-12T16:20:00.000-05:00

http://www.familyotr.blogspot.com/

Oh dear, the boy started a blog.....

Unexpected showers

2009-01-03T20:04:00.002-05:00

Greetings from Texas! :) 83 degrees today :)

I do not know how many of you have spend any time in new RV's, but we have learned some very valuable lessons.

One of the funniest ones happened the day before we left for Texas. The unit came winterized from the factory, which means they drain the water out of the lines and add some antifreeze. The day before we left, we decided to de-winterize it. The goal being to add water and let the antifreeze run out through the faucets.

After the boy realized he did not have a hose to reach the RV, he used a hair tie around the sink sprayer to put in the hole of our 6 gallon water containers used for long camping trips. He would haul one out to dump in the RV tank while the other one filled. He filled and carried out the water jugs about 6 times.

Once the water was in the tank he turned on the pump and we turned on the faucets. The boy turned on the shower and no water came out the head of the shower. It sprayed out around the handles instead of the shower head. He turned off the water and started taking off faucet covers to find the problem. (He had fixed many minor issues already found in the new RV). The problem, according to the boy, "was the factory had improperly winterized the unit and due to Colorado's wonderfully cold weather, the mixing valve had froze and cracked." Upon inspecting the valve more closely he accidently pulled it out of the wall, causing freezing cold pressurized water to spray all over him the bathroom, and even hit me in the bedroom. We both screamed like girls, and I burst out laughing upon seeing the boy soaked from head to toe. Upon calling a repair shop, the boy took the RV to town to try to get the part to fix the problem. I went into the house to finish cleaning up. I walked to the sink to start dishes, turned on the faucet and the sprayer lifted out of the sink and I also ended up with an unexpected shower thanks to the hair tie still on the sprayer.

However, the days of packing up the RV where filled with recreation time. I took my first trip up Pike's Peak. It is unlike most tourists, as I went up at night. Colorado Springs has a tradition of setting off fireworks from the peak on New Years. The Adaman Club hikes up Pikes Peak and does the fireworks. Several Colorado four wheel drive clubs come together and get permission to go to the top of the peak and bring down the hikers after the fireworks. Tradionally, the boy has done it for eight years with his family. This year he took me. I have been told very few people can go up at night, because the road is always closed at night. It was amazing, the night was crystal clear, and we could see the lights of Denver, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and all the little mountain communities. It was 18 degrees with, 40 mph sustained winds, with gusts 80 mph. So with the winds, the wind chill was about -14. I got my new years kiss on a 14110 foot mountain with fireworks super close. I would love to do it again. It was so much fun!

Lastly, as you might have noticed the blog title has changed. It is all your fault as you have encouraged the boy. He got some comments on one of the photos that he took, and it went to his head. So he asked that he be added to the blog. Since we are to be married here really soon, I agreed. The nickname of "Mr. Man" comes from my friend ASH!

Big Yards are fun

2008-12-28T10:16:00.002-05:00

Over the holidays, the boy and I went to Tennessee with the pups to visit my family. It rained and was colder than ususal the majority of the time we were there. However, our Colorado pups loved the rain and the giant yard at the house. They also loved the big dogs that live there. The one day it didn't rain I managed to get a couple of shots of them playing in the sun.

It was here they discovered down pours and rain spouts. Oh what fun the rain spouts are! They came in dripping wet several times. They also discovered they like horse poop and mud. They also love Uncle Ken and his beer mug!

We are now back in Colorado, packing up the fifth wheel and will be leaving for our new destination in a few days. Texas here we come!

SPS: The Grottos

2008-12-06T13:26:00.002-05:00

The return of SPS. Puppies and house (5th wheel) buying took over my life for a while. So I am getting back to posting about those public lands that are so great. The weekend before we got the puppies, Alan and I went on a jeep trip over some Colorado mountain passes hoping to find some Aspens that had turned golden. We were there a tad too early, but did manage to see some that had turned. We stopped at a little forest service area called the grottos near Independence Pass that had a neat little trail that led to an ice cave and a waterfall. There was a slight drizzle that day. Walking the trail, I found the leaves with water on them. I have always tried to get some good leaf photos, usually without much luck. I think I got lucky for once! These turned out pretty awesome with the water on them. We went to the ice caves that are carved by water and make some neat patterns in the rock. I have to credit the boy with the second to last shot, as he was crazy enough to climb down into the caves on the slick terrian. I was too chicken, especially considered I still had a bruise from the last cave I had been in.
It was a good weekend, and our last before we got saddled with the kids (puppies)!
Oh, and also that weekend, I discovered that ginger pills while smelling and tasting bad worked for me with the altitude sickness I tend to get.

Interior of 5th wheel

2008-12-03T15:18:00.002-05:00

While looking at pattern choices for the 5th wheel, we both decided that the midnight was by far the best choice that suited us and our lifestyles. We chose the bigger fridge, and that is a king size bed! There are two leather recliners, two HD tv's. I am still learning it's secrets, kinks, and it's personality. We have yet to actually try out any part of the kitchen, or bed. We watched a movie on the larger tv, I fell asleep half way through it. :)

Our new home

2008-11-23T13:49:00.003-05:00

In October, we put down the initial payment on a brand new 2009 Landmark Augusta 5th wheel. When Alan and his dad went to get the 5th wheel, they learned that we were actually getting a 2010 Landmark Augusta. Apparently between the time we put down the down payment and the time they went to get it, there had been enough changes for them to label it a 2010. They had been making them about 2 weeks before we picked up ours. Our new home is here and it is beautiful. Inside pictures to come soon!

Nap time

2008-11-22T20:12:00.002-05:00

The are super sweet when asleep!

Election Day!

2008-11-22T19:58:00.003-05:00

Election day caused quite a stir in our house. The pups fought over who got to wear the "I voted" sticker. As you can see, they had to share, which is such a hard concept for siblings.

Puppy Love

2008-11-19T06:33:00.003-05:00

What can I say, other than, look how big they are? Look how cute they are!

Big news on "The Plan" front. Our 2010 Landmark Augusta is sitting next to our house...pictures soon, I promise!

The Plan

2008-11-02T01:51:00.002-04:00

It has been a while since a post. We have brought two puppies who are quite demanding into our lives. We bought this truck to pull a 5th wheel trailer we also recently purchased. It will be coming to us within the month. "THE PLAN" has come together surprisingly well.
The plan is to pack up what we need in the RV and take off with my job to travel the USA and see things we haven't seen, and go places we haven't been.
Yes, we plan to live full time in an RV!
The plan was to start this adventure in May, however due to various circumstances we are moving up the time frame a bit. We now plan to start traveling in December.
I am buying my first home, granted it is a bit unconventional in nature. It will take me where I want to go.
The wedding plans are still in place and also going well. We are so close to having invitations done!

The puppies are growing so fast and demanding more and more time and attention. They have come into their own and we were so wrong about them. We initially thought Molly would be the lover and friendly one, she turned out to be more aloof and wanting attention on her terms. Baxter has to be the center of attention...literally. He gets mad if you pay attention to things other than him. We are working on getting him out of that habit.

BathTime

2008-10-15T14:16:00.002-04:00

The other day, the pups were filthy, so we had bath time. The first photo is of Baxter and Molly in a place they cannot get out of, the dreaded tub. The second is of Molly getting shampooed. The last of Baxter back in the tub drying off. They are now 10 pounds each, when we got them they were just over 6 pounds. Growing and eating like crazy. Cute, even when wet!

They are so much fun

2008-10-13T12:34:00.002-04:00

So our little cute fuzzbutts have turned into cute little monsters! Just kidding, they are so much fun, but they love to dig. In the dirt, in the water dish, and add water to the dirt and watch out!
The first photo is of Baxter, post digging a hole. They second is Molly digging in the water dish.

Crystal Mill

2008-09-26T12:37:00.003-04:00

Before the fuzzbutts came, Alan and I went on a trip around Colorado to find some aspens that had changed colors. While we did eventually find some good color, it seemed we were a bit early. However, we did go to the Crystal Mill. I have seen it on postcards, and heard about it from locals. Apparently, it is one of the more famous places to photograph here in Colorado. While the aspens behind the mill were not changed, it still proved a pretty photo. Getting to the mill is not exactly easy, it is a bumpy narrow 4 wheel drive only road. Scary when trying to pass another vehicle. Worth the trip though. This photo is a panoramic of three. I have some wide angle photos I will post at a later time.

FUZZBUTTS HAVE ARRIVED!!!!

2008-09-22T21:39:00.002-04:00

The fuzzbutts have come home. We got our Corgis. Molly is mostly black, and Baxter is mostly brown. They were 8 weeks old on Friday. They have been here 8 hours, and we are totally in love and have learned some of the different personalities already. Molly loves toys and to sleep, Baxter loves to bark and chase the cat.

Got Corgis?

2008-09-15T10:06:00.002-04:00

We will.

Next week, we are bringing home two puppies, brother and sister, eight weeks old.

This week is puppy proofing the house week.

This week is also readying Alan to be a puppy owner, the boy has never had a puppy before. Only grown dogs.

This week is getting puppy supplies.

I cannot wait for those fuzzbutts to arrive.

As the saying goes, "CORGI BUTTS DRIVE ME NUTS"

SPS Castlewood Canyon State Park

2008-09-12T12:10:00.002-04:00

Yes, I have been a slacker on SPS lately. I have miss two weeks. I do not have an excuse. What can I say, I should be disowned by SPS. Last Sunday, the boy and I took out his jeep and drove to Castlewood Canyon State Park. It is a pretty little canyon with lots of green, a color seen very little lately. It has be a relatively dry summer with little rain, and little green. See, we do go places that aren't national parks :)

A special day

2008-09-09T22:46:00.003-04:00

Today, marks six months for Alan and I. Shortly after we started being serious, I had a total freak out moment and started searching the internet asking the question, "How do you know if you are in love?" You should have seen some of the results, however I did come across an article that stated you can only be in love after six months of being together, because anything before six months is just lust. I, of course, thought that it was funny, because even though I did not want to admit to this crazy thing called love, I knew I was in love. It was hard for me to admit, and Alan was soon told about the article. We have both been joking for months that we can't be in love yet...because it hasn't been six months. Today, however marks that lust to love transition and we can finally lay that joke to rest. I am sick with a serious head cold today and am in my apartment. Alan is at his home, after being sick yesterday. When we talked earlier, he told me that we were finally officially in love. It was cute. It's just too bad, we couldn't spend the day together. But it is okay, because in six months we will be married and will get to spend the rest of our lives together.

Six months ago, I had just moved to Colorado. I had been here about a week, and lonely. I got an email from a man that sounded too good to be true. Soon, much to my surprise we started emailing on a regular basis, which turned into almost nightly phone calls, which turned into our first date. We met at Garden of the Gods, had some food at the cafe, and then took a walk in the park. At the end of the date, I thought for sure it was a bust, but he called the next day to set up another date. I was pretty surprised, because those that know me, know that I do not do well with men, relationships, and especially dating. The second date was a nice dinner, which led to the third date, when he cooked for me. I have been telling people that he knew on the first date, and I knew on the second, but the third was just plain magical. We both knew we were in for a long time.....now we are engaged, planning a wedding and sharing more love and laughs everyday. I tell him almost constantly that I do not know what I did to deserve him, but I am glad I did it. Everyday, we talk, we laugh, we share in each others lives. I cannot imagine life without him in it. Amazing how six months can completely turn your world upside down in a good way.

The video was taken at Crater Lake NP when we were on our 12 day adventure in June.....before we could possibly be in love.....

Surprise on a back road

2008-09-08T22:47:00.004-04:00

This past weekend, the boy and I went to Castlewood Canyon State Park near Castle Rock Colorado. It's is not a far drive, but we took back roads to make it more scenic and more fun. We were on a a dirt road for miles, and ended up coming across a field of sunflowers. It was amazing, because we had no clue we would run into it. There are also a ton of wild sunfowers in the area, and they seem to take over fields and road sides. It was pretty neat to see the wild ones pale in comparsion to the domestic ones. It was a pleasant surprise.

North Cascades

2008-09-03T11:48:00.002-04:00

Driving through North Cascades National Park, we experienced a foggy morning which gave way to some blue skies. The mountains are simply amazing. The snow of course added to the beautiful landscape. This was one park I thought I would never get to, so I was excited to see it. I can't help but think I am such a lucky person to get the chance to see all these great places. I am thrilled when I think about my future and seeing our national parks with my soon to be husband.

Old Camp Hale

2008-08-27T20:40:00.002-04:00

Camp Hale used to be a WWII training ground to get soldiers used to winter conditions. They trained soldiers to ski, rock climb, shoot, and to endure harsh winter weather. Now it is a giant forest service area with camp grounds and lots of dirt roads and trails. Alan and I went a while ago and experienced some nasty rain. I managed to snap a few photos, but didn't take nearly as many as I wanted due to weather and my jeep started making an odd sound that freaked me out. Alan had to make on site repair. It was a fun campground, and I hope to go back some day to enjoy some trails we didn't get to do.

Butterfly stalking at Royal Gorge

2008-08-25T10:46:00.002-04:00

The flowers at Royal Gorge were enticing to some butterflies. I stalked one and managed to get a few decent shots. Enjoy.

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area -> SPS

2008-08-23T22:23:00.000-04:00

While on our messed up Glacier trip, where we went everywhere else, we traveled the road through the National Scenic Area of the Columbia River Gorge on the border between Washington and Oregon. We decided to cross over to the Washington side of the gorge to take the "more scenic route" It was an incredibly windy day, that literally could blow you off your trail. The river was very impressive and the rock walls were beautiful. Another great incidental side trip that started out by Alan saying, "lets go there", followed by me saying,"okay!". Some people are so easy to travel with.

Non-wild flowers

2008-08-21T16:06:00.002-04:00

While at Royal Gorge, I snapped a few photos of the planted flowers that were part of the sign. They were truly vibrant colors and the camera picked them up well. There was a butterfly zooming around, and the next post will be stalking the butterfly.

A visit from PA

2008-08-20T09:30:00.003-04:00

Last week, I had some old friends come out to Colorado for their first vacation without kids. I got to spend a day with them. I took them to the Royal Gorge and we had a blast. They also got to meet Alan and we all played a competitive round of mini golf. Here are a few photos of Mike and Heather at the bottom of the gorge. They definitely look like they are up to something in this first photo, probably plotting something sinister...

The sign clearly says "NO TRESPASSING", probably trying to determine how to jump the fence for a better view!

These two have been together a long time, and look how much in love they still are. So cute!

White Rim Blooms ->SPS

2008-08-16T23:12:00.004-04:00

While in Canyonlands on White Rim trail we were lucky enough to see a ton of beautiful plants. All of the cacti were in full bloom with bright colors. I enjoyed yelling, "STOP" so I could take some roadside photos.

Bears, OH MY!

2008-08-12T07:04:00.002-04:00

We also had a few bear encounters on our trip earlier this summer. The first streaked across the road in the middle of the day when we were headed to Glacier NP. The second was at dusk while we were leaving Mt. Rainier NP. He was just hanging out in the road and strolled around the roadside.
We didn't get to see any mountain goats, but the critters we saw were pretty awesome.

SPS: Critters and tracks

2008-08-10T22:36:00.004-04:00

For a late SPS post today, I am posting photos of critters found along white rim trail in Canyonlands NP. We spent two days on a dirt road averaging less than 10 mph.

This little guy graciously stood still long enough for me to photograph him. I had a grand time chasing lizards for the entire two days of the trip.

Alan and I saw this huge bird flying around the canyon, I tried to get a photo, but then it swooped away towards a rock formation further down the trail. We kept an eye out for him, but could not see him again. Once we neared the last spot of sighting, I stopped the jeep, and we looked again. I didn't see him until Alan pointed out that he was flying right towards us. This is the shot I got.

We were the only ones to see this guy and his buddy. They crossed the road right in front of us, and I of course started pointing...and Alan grabbed my camera and took this photo...they were on his side of the jeep. Then they were off into the rocks. I doubt anyone else saw this huge guy.

Finally, on the road to the back way into Canyonlands, Alan pointed out these. Yep, my very first sighting of dinosaur tracks.

Tetons at Sunrise

2008-08-01T08:16:00.002-04:00

I did not want to get up at 4:30 to see the Tetons. We were in a tent covered in frost and it was really cold. But I climbed out of my warm sleeping back, helped pack up camp, and we went to see the Tetons at sunrise. I am glad I did it, looking at the results. The sky turned a pinkish hue with sunrise and it hit the snow on the Tetons and made them super photo worthy. We saw huge herds of elk, and I managed to get a decent shot of one that was close by. I know it is early for SPS, but I will be out of town this weekend.

Wild flowers and a whistle pig

2008-07-29T18:57:00.001-04:00

Here are some more photos from the recent jeep trip up to the top of a mountain. There were wildflowers everywhere. You have already seen the marmot photos, however, I was told they do not bark, they whistle and oddly enough are called "whistle pigs". I seem to remember a saloon that goes by that name.

Mt. Rainier NP

2008-07-28T19:44:00.004-04:00

After it started snowing in Glacier NP, we headed west to Crater Lake. Once there, we decided to head up to Washington and see Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Rainer. It was typical coastal weather for that area, very cloudy and overcast. Mt. St. Helens was a pretty much complete washout as once we got to the lookout, we were unable to see anything due to the complete cloud cover. We could not hang out for hours waiting for the clouds to clear, so we left for Mt. Rainier. On the way down the mountain we got to see Mt. St. Helens without cloud cover. We had high hopes for a clear Mt. Rainer. We were disappointed at first. Upon entering the park, we could only see parts of the mountain, and lots of clouds. It was upsetting, however we decided to head to the western part of the park anyways. Once we headed west, the skies opened up and we finally got a clear view of Mt. Rainier. Of course, the photos do not due it justice, it is a very majestic mountain!

Abundance of Wildflowers for SPS

2008-07-26T09:49:00.011-04:00

While scouting wedding locations, we went to Garden of the Gods. There was a wildflower garden near the visitors center that had these gems. I had my old little camera, which is the one I prefer for macro, however I sacrifice photo size. It is also where my new header photo came from.
We are going camping this weekend, so hope to have some more photo opportunities this weekend.

A barking Marmot

2008-07-22T07:46:00.003-04:00

Here is a video of my little marmot friend. He was up on the rock for at least 30 minutes barking at all of us intruders on top of the mountain. It was an interesting sound, thats for sure.

Underworld ice cavern

2008-07-20T09:11:00.006-04:00

As I promised in my SPS post, I am now posting photos of the ice in the lava tubes from Craters of the Moon NM. The tubes have no sunlight and are as dark as a cave, I was really excited that the photos actually turned out as awesome as they did. As you can tell, the ground is really rough and having to crawl across rocks is hard enough and even more so with ice covering all of them.

Another world

2008-07-19T22:16:00.007-04:00

Ice on the floor of the Lava tube, I still have a big lump from when I fell just getting into the tube.

Lava flow field, it really is a strange landscape.

The path through the lava flow to the lave tubes. It is not that easy to walk on, when trying to pass other people.

On our recent screwed up Glacier trip, we stopped by Craters of the Moon National
Volcanic Monument in Idaho. It is a small national park, with a ton of interesting landscapes. There were cinder cones, incredibly large lava flows, and lava tubes. You can explore the lava tubes if you have flashlights that are pretty powerful, and if you can brave the ice in the tubes. I fell before even entering the tube. The ice in the tubes will be the subject of my next post. Stay tuned! Totally worth it to go and at least drive the seven mile one way loop, even if you do not hike any of the trails.

In search of goats

2008-07-17T22:48:00.005-04:00

Alan and I went on a little off roading trip to the top of a mountain last weekend. It was pretty amazing with some great views, and a variety of wildflowers. I, of course, have more photos to share, but these are some general trip photos. The road to the top, his jeep, which works better than mine on off road adventures, some wildflowers, and a little critter found at the top of the mountain that kept chirping at us. We heard from hikers, that mountain goats were spotted in the area, and we saw evidence of shedding goat fur, but no sightings by us. Sad:(

Panoramic Park Photos

2008-07-09T22:34:00.003-04:00

On the most recent road trip, I took a several panoramic photos and have enjoyed them immensely. These are some of my favorites. The first and third ones are of the Grand Tetons. The second is of Two Medicine Lake in Glacier National Park. The first one was taken not too long after sunrise, and the other two were sunrise photos. It is so hard to get up so early when it is cold and there is snow on the tent, but totally worth it. I have more to share, I just took way too many photos!

Don't we look happy.....

2008-07-07T23:44:00.002-04:00

WE SHOULD BECAUSE WE ARE GETTING MARRIED!

SPS RMNP

2008-07-05T22:01:00.005-04:00

Alan and I went to Rocky Mountain National Park last weekend. We had a blast, the drive was beautiful, the weather was lovely, the altitude made me ill. We saw a bunch of elk including some bulls right next to the road and some fawns with their mamas. The last of the snow could still be seen, and made it so pretty. Worthy of SPS!

200 in just over a year

2008-06-24T22:05:00.004-04:00

This is post number 200. Little did I realize it has also been a year since my very first post, a little over actually. So what is a good post for number 200? I went with the biggest change in my life over the past year, and that would be Alan. We took this photo at sunrise in Glacier National Park at Two Medicine Lake. It was an incredibly cold morning, but the water was so calm it led to some awesome reflections. We were there the afternoon before and no refections could be seen in the water. I thought it might be fun to reflect a little on this past year.

Last year at this time I was in Pennsylvania living with a very cool roommate and her two cats. I worked a bunch of hours at the hospital and traveled very little. Now I am a travel nurse, I have been to 21 National Parks in the last three and a half months, with plans for more in the future. I have a fantastic boyfriend that has truly added to the quality of my life. I am again living in the western landscape that I love so much, and have found I love living alone. I am now a believer in love and have found love for the first time ever. I have found a level of happiness and freedom I had not found before. What a ride it has been!

Roadside flowers

2008-06-23T15:15:00.005-04:00

We camped outside the Tetons and got up for sunrise, we broke camp in a hurry and left things a mess in the jeep. After we drove down through the Tetons and got some great photos we stopped at a picnic area to dry the frost ridden tent and make some breakfast. While Alan was cooking, I wandered over to the edge of the woods to a slew of these flowers being lit up by the morning sun rays. I took quite a few photos, and love the results.

SPS is back

2008-06-21T21:36:00.005-04:00

Favorite Park of this trip = Crater Lake NP.

Only 1 mile of the rim road was open, for some serious snow remained. The most wonderful shade of blue to occur naturally I have ever seen. I highly recommend it. I plan to go back and drive the rim. Hopefully it will still have snow, as I think snow adds to the beauty of Crater Lake.

River Road

2008-06-20T22:53:00.005-04:00

I had no clue as to how to start blogging on this incredible trip, so I asked Alan and he said to start from the beginning. So here are a few photos from River Road, a road outside of Moab, Utah, that is sort of the back way into town, but a very scenic drive. It includes the Dewey Recreational area. It is definitely worth the extra time and miles for this trip. The views include some amazing cliff sides with some serious red rocks, and we were lucky enough to find some wildflowers.