Colorado on my mind (with apologies to James Taylor)

With the dude having flown off to Big Colorado, leaving the kids and me here at Little Colorado, I have grown nostalgic... yes, again. I've been doing that a lot lately. I've had memories triggered by conversations about random topics, which elicit the smiles that only sweet memories can elicit. I am reminded that life is full of some fun and interesting times and of course, dwelling on loss seems so pointless when your heart, and your photo books, are so full of the good stuff. Lee asked me on the phone last night when I was going to fly out and go skiing. In my mind, flying out to Colorado would be so much more interesting off the slopes. Sure, I should learn to ski, I should have learned long before now, having gone to college and graduate school in close proximity of ski resorts and then living in Colorado... What the heck is my problem? I just simply never got around to it. That's not the point of my entry today. I dug up some old photos from our brief time out there. Living with the dude is so much fun sometimes because he loves to check out what's out there when there is adequate time available. When we lived in Milliken, the three of us traveled about two weekends each month just to see what was around. I loved that there were so many places to see out there in close proximity to us. These photos are just a sample of some of my favorite sites and memories. I'll start with the view from my bedroom window. The front range is a nice thing to see in the morning. This particular mountain is called Long's Peak. I wish I had a clearer photo of it.

These are windmills in Northern Colorado. As James Taylor would say, "and it seems like it goes on like this forever..."

One day, my good friend Jenn, with whom I went to Appalachian State, was up at Beaver Creek, so we went to say hi. Of course, me not being a skier, opted for ice skating. Because she lives in Florida, this was such a treat! I miss her so, Boone would have been a drag without her!

Everywhere we traveled, we took our son, Rudy-dog with us. Hotels are mostly pet friendly out there and when they aren't we had a great traveling-condominium in the back of the truck for the ol' boy. He was always a good traveler!

There was always something cool for Rudy-dog to do, like run along the Rio Grande in the early morning while the dude broke camp.

My favorite place to be in the entire state of Colorado! Great Sand Dunes. I love this place. You just have to go there and experience it for yourself. Ese gave it a thumbs up :)

This place is just too amazing for words. You can see Rudy-dog in the distance in this shot.

The Sand Dunes wore Rudy-dog out! At this point, by about 9:30 a.m., the sand is beginning to get a little hot.

This is one of my favorite photos of Ese from back then. Hiking in the Rocky Mountain National Park with her stick and her dandelion, she was always such an awesome little trooper! Man I miss those little adventures! Little Bug has never had these adventures like Ese has had, I do regret that.

Like I said, close proximity to some cool places. Ese called this "the guys in the rock".

Devil's Tower, of course, found in Wyoming, was dubbed "The Big Rock".

Winterfest in Steamboat Springs.

So Hot and Steamy...

Winter X Games 2003 at Aspen.

Buttermilk Mtn. - Aspen

We present day, Americanos think we're so smart. If it was all stripped away from us right now, would we have sense enough to build a cliff dwelling? I am fascinated by the Anasazi people and the Mesa Verde lifestyle.

After hiking what seemed like straight up for 2 1/2 miles to the Hanging Lake, I was rewarded with this amazing place. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to rotate this photo on this blogger thingie... oh me...

But isn't Hanging Lake just gorgeous?

We visited Red Rocks a couple times and I never got over how lovely that place is. The amphitheater offers a wonderful, intimate concert experience, but the beauty of the rocks is just amazing.

I sit back now and look at my photo albums and think about how I'd love to go back, especially now that I have a way better camera with which to work. I'd love to live out there again, although, I'm sure we never will. It seems like Little Colorado is where we're going to stay for so many reasons. But Lee has me thinking, when am I going to get back out there? May not for skiing, but just for being. I just miss so many things. Heck, I miss things like eating Happy Meals at McDonalds with Ese and watching the prairie dogs pop their heads up and down in their holes. We used to just sit at the little playground there and watch prairie dogs. What a thing to remember, what a way to pass the time.