Fall Is Coming!

On Wednesday I got up around 7:30.  Threw on my clothes and took the dogs outside.  WOW!  It was cold!  When I came back in I saw 27 degrees on the thermometer.  Later that day -- on toward the afternoon it was nearly 70 degrees.

I had forgotten what fall was all about in all the years I spent in California.

On Hwy 12 

 Here, the leaves are turning golden and orange.  Last week Les & I took a Sunday afternoon and drove west of Trinidad a little bit.  We took Highway 12, the Highway of Legends.  Last year my friend Joelle told me about a valley where the elk go to rut.  She said that she turned a corner where the valley opened up and it was filled shoulder-to-shoulder with elk.  Since I didn't see any in Estes Park, I wanted to see them here.

The drive was beautiful as always.  The leaves are turning.  The higher mountains have snow.  And even though it was a gorgeous, relaxing drive... still no elk.  We saw wild turkeys, several deer and a big black bear... but no elk.  I think I'll go back in a couple of days and maybe they'll be there.  It's only a few minutes west of here and the rut should be happening any time now!

Les is leaving for California bright and early tomorrow morning.  He'll be gone for about a month.  Andy is still here for now.  He feels as though his job will last until December.  Then he'll be laid off and will be looking for work again.  He's wondering where he'll wind up.  He needs to room with someone reliable -- the last house he shared with several people didn't work out very well.  People would steal from him... money, his winter jacket, things like that.  Then he gave one of his roommates money for the gas bill (which was in Andy's name) and they didn't pay the bill.  Now he has to come up with that money all over again.

So he's thought of Seattle.  There's a good music school there where he can learn recording and producing.  Or he might just go back to California.  I'm not very crazy about that idea since most of his friends in Newbury Park were not good for him.  I don't want him going back into that situation again.  But he needs to follow his dream.  And since he's almost 21 now, there's not much I can say.

21 -- how did that happen so quickly?

Curious Deer

Changing Weather

Fall on the Highway of Legends

We had such a hot and dry summer.  But suddenly the weather is giving us a glimpse of things to come.  Today it is very windy and cool.  Snow has can be seen on the higher mountains.  Night-time temps are in the 30's.

I LOVE IT!

Our bear hasn't been seen in a couple of weeks.  The last time I saw him was in the middle of the afternoon -- just watching the happenings on West First Street in the early afternoon.  There were cars and kids and dogs and just way too much commotion for a shy animal like this... so he turned and went back to his little hideaway in the back yard across the street.

Unusual clouds

We have new neighbors.  The contractor who had rented the other side of our little house had finished his part of the construction job on Mt. Carmel.  He went back up to the Springs to start another project.  The house sat vacant for nearly a month -- which is the longest we've ever gone without a tenant.  I had our realtors on the lookout for a tenant, but I also advertised on Craigslist.  But the thing that set our rental apart was the fact that I am a dog lover.  Most people say no pets.  But why narrow the field when I just love the critters anyway?

Ask and you shall receive!  I got a call from a frantic woman who had a rental all lined up.  They were to move on 10/1 and I talked to her on 9/28.  The rental they had all lined up and ready to move into was out in the country because they had 3 dogs.  But she worked from home and the house had no internet access.  So they had to back out of that deal at the last minute.

3 dogs -- yikes!  So with a quiver in my voice I said OK.  But just in case it didn't work out I wanted a short lease.  That was agreeable to her... so long as they had a place to hang their hats during the holidays.


Stephanie and Dave moved in with Stephanie's 13 year old daughter and their 3 dogs.  They have Myla -- a lab mix.  Sam -- a boisterous 100 pound golden retriever.  And Gus -- a long haired chihuahua whom Les refers to as, "Little Hitler."  With the daughter on poop patrol and with some stern corrections to Myla about barking -- it seems to be working out.  Right now Mindy and Lucy are ganging up on Sam in the front yard.  They're having a ball!

Colorado Cruising - Part 3

Les standing next to a "Stanley Steamer," in the lobby of the Stanley Hotel.

Who doesn't know the movie, "The Shining?"  Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall were so great in that movie.  And it was written by my favorite author... Stephen King.  I just love the imagination that goes into his books.

The true story is that Stephen King stayed at the Stanley Hotel in room 217.  After dinners, he would wander the halls and imagine what it would be like for people to be stranded in a haunted hotel.  It was from these halls that "The Shining" took root.  But that's pretty much where the relation to Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece and this great, old hotel ends.

However... what a beautiful and historic place.  I asked for a room on the 4th floor and we were registered into room 406.  Those who know me know that I believe in ghosts, fairies and aliens -- among other mysteries.  Yeah, I know... but how can I not believe in magic in this world?  (Or in other worlds??)  The 4th floor is reputed to have the most "activity,"  although room 217 is pretty busy, too.

Room 217

While outside getting our bags to bring up to the room, I could have sworn I heard, "Mommy," spoken close to my ear.  I looked around and didn't see anything, so I'll just chalk it up to a weird thing that happened.  And while retiring to our room later that evening, I heard bumps and creaks, but I'm sure that was just an old hotel talking.  We fell asleep while watching, "The Shining," of all things.

It was such a beautiful place.  Earlier in the evening Les and I sat on the long, white porch and drank a glass of wine.  We talked about the history of the place.  It's over 100 years old and has hosted presidents, movie stars and plain-old folks like us.

Modern comfort is more to Les's liking - but I just love to run my hand across a window sill or a banister that has seen some history.  The woodwork in the lobby was spectacular.  The glass in the windows had the same feel as our cozy little house -- with the bubbles and the imperfections of old glass.

The Stanley -- what a beautiful place! 

I was looking forward to seeing the elk in Estes Park, but there were none while we were there.  It's been a strange year in the weather.  The animals are doing what they can to survive.  The park ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park said that the elk were going to be a couple weeks late this year.  So we didn't see any.  But maybe with some luck I might see some up on our little mountain top.  I see their poop... I know they're around somewhere!

Les and Mary at the Stanley Hotel

Hallway of the Stanley just outside of our room.