How about ANOTHER hike?  Approximately 4 miles into the Mt. Zirkel Mountains.  The trail was very well kept and full of wild raspberries and wild flowers.  We didn't see any animals, unless you count a bunch of hikers. 

Wayne, Colleen, Shelly, and McCray were all troupers. 

And, McCray.......oh to be young again!  He's 10 years old running all over the mountains. 

Ole Scooter,....he walked 8 miles, twice as far as we hiked.  Up and down the trail, chasing squirrels.  He was the first one in the car for the drive home.

Hot Springs

Shelly kept talking about the "Hot Springs" and all I knew was I wanted to go.  Shelly, her Mom Bev, her Aunt Colleen and Uncle Wayne hoped in the SUV and took off toward the mountains.  The Strawberry Park Hot Springs was an amazing, well developed mountain hot springs.

The gang at the entrance.

I took this photo from a bridge hiking into the springs.  The very hot water is running down the mountain side on the left flowing into several pools.  A cold water creek runs through the pools to keep the water running and tolerable.

This is Shelly and her Mom Bev admiring the metal fencing.  Shelly would like something like this around her new deck,.... maybe.  Oh, she has so many decisions to make!

We were getting sweaty and hot by this time.  Everybody, out of the pool!

A Day Off Work

Jim took the day off and we decided to take a 3 mile hike into Willow Creek Lake.  We drove several miles up a pumpy dirt road.  We could see a rather large lake on "Navagale" off the road to our left.  We finally found a trail, so we started off.  The trail petered out about 1 mile in, so we hiked over land and finally found this green pond.  Apparently the lake use to take up this entire meadow.  As we stood there looking at this beautiful meadow, we saw two gray wolf running up the opposite hillside.  They didn't want anything to do with us.   

Jim stops to capture lavender wild flowers.  Wish I new the name!

I had to stop and take a photo of this very large mushroom.  Notice the size of the pine cone next to it.  It was a photo-op.

I took this photo of Steamboat Lake from the highway.  There were skiers, sail boats, and party boats on the water, but of course I miss the opportunity to show the action. 

We also drove into Pearl Lake.  Notice the trees across the lake that were attacked by Japanese Bark Beatles.  Loggers can't keep up with the dead trees. 

I found this sign a little weird! 

Clark Rush Hour

Jeff, Shelly, Jim and I were sitting under the white canopy having a glass of wine looking at the mountains behind their new house.  When all of sudden Jeff spotted a little doe, then out walked a two point buck, then another deer.  I didn't take photos because you could hardly see them through the brush. Jeff called the experience the Clark Rush Hour!  He He!

Jeff is an avid fly fisherman and bow hunter being from this area all his life.  In fact he and Shelly use to be guides at the Three Rivers Guest Ranch several miles north of Clark, and have had their photos in a couple of magazines fly fishing the middle of the Yampa River.  They know where the elk and deer hang out,.....and where the fish lie. Neat couple and fun to be with.  Kurt and Mike, you should make a trip to Clark, CO and have Jeff tell you where to go......I mean, where to fish and hunt.

This photo was shown in Steamboat Magazine last fall.  Shelly's on the left, Jeff's on the right catching brown and rainbow trout.  Wow!  What a life!

 

House Remodel in Clark, Colorado

Our little camp area where everyone gathers for breaks, lunch, and happy hour.  Look at that blue  sky!

This little deer ran through the yard one morning and Jim caught a photo of her. 

Beautiful view of the house and motorhome before construction began.

This is Lee, the General Contractor.  He works very hard every day and barely takes breaks.  Here he is deciding where the deck is going, how far out the master bedroom is extending, and where all the footings will be placed. 

So, here comes Jeff on the large tractor to dig the holes. He's really working hard talking on this cell phone. 

Thank God for large earth movers!

This cutie is Cam, Lee's son.  He takes after his dad and works continuously.  Lee and Cam left yesterday to drive back home to Kalispell, MT.  Cam is leaving soon for New York to obtain his masters degree in English and Theatre Arts.  He was very excited and anxious to leave.  His dad is a slave driver!  Lee will come back soon to finish up the job for Jeff and Shelly. 

 

What a hole!

Boys will be boys!  Jeff and Shelly's son had some friends over the other day and they were playing war.  They saw videos of Ian competing on the BMX track and thought that was very cool!

Shelly, her Aunt Colleen and I were pulling weeds in the garden which was surely senseless.  The weeds and wild roses were thick as pea soup around the house.  We saved some Day Lillie's and Iris's which are now replanted.  It will be a full time job for Shelly keeping weeds out of this garden.  Colleen and her husband Wayne live in the Phoenix area and drove to CO to see family.

Jim and I are going to take a day off tomorrow and hike around Steamboat Lake.  While all the cats (bosses) are away, the mice will play.   :o))

Trip to Breckenridge Ski Resort

Last Monday Jim and I drove from Steamboat Springs to Breckenridge (about 2 1/2 hours) to help Joe (Jim's nephew) celebrate his 52nd birthday.  His girlfriend, Linda, is lighting the candles on the carrot cake his mother Gerry baked.  It was delicious!  The "French Street Inn" is owned by Linda who rents it out year around to skiers and hikers.  It has 8 bed and 5/6 baths.  I couldn't count them all. Tom and Stacy, there friends from Australia, Steve and Kay, Gerry, and Jim and I spent the night very comfortably.  Thank you Linda!

After a fun night of celebration, Gerry, Jim and I drove about 10 miles south of Breckenridge to the cabin that Joe built. The winters in these mountains play havoc to structures, so after only 15 years constant work needs to be done on the outside.  

This is the view from the cabin deck.

We drove back to Breckenridge and rode the gondola up the mountain to check out the skiy area.  It was amazing the number of lodges located at the base of the ski slopes at about 10,000 feet elevation.  They have developed quite a summer festival of fun things for kids and adults to do, for instance a huge alpine slide, miniature golf, and bike riding.  I've been told the powder snow is spectacular in the winter.

Jim checking out the crowds.

The city of Breckenridge taken from up above.

Jim and I drove a back road home on Tuesday afternoon and passed this sign along the way.  We just had to take a photo of it!

New Location!!

While I was in North Carolina, Jim moved the motorhome to Steamboat Springs, CO to his nephews new property.  Jim's going to help Jeff renovate his newly purchased house for the next 3 weeks on this beautiful property.  Check out these local photos Jim took from  rock outcroppings above the property.   I have no idea what these wild flowers are called....some kind of daisy.

Beautiful skies!

That's our motorhome next to the house.  We have a fantastic view of the valley. 

Jeff and Shelly have many plans to develop the property and enlarge the house. 

It's not a bad place to park and enjoy the scenery.

Greensboro, North Carolina

Just return from Greensboro, NC after attending a fabulous MA International Conference. BIGGER, BETTER, FASTER, EASIER was the theme this year. Learn all about the new, updated, and improved Web portal.

Famous basketball player and new Hall of Famer, Scottie Pippen, was on stage promoting MA’s new Isotonix Prime Joint formula.  http://www.marketamerica.com/bonmid/

Here is a youtube news clip from the event.  Copy and paste.

MA In the News: 2010 Convention (WFMY-2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHP3c4Sxa2E

Hamburger

Gerry came across this poor little bird with a bad wing, too young to fly or feed itself.  Soft hearted Gerry became the surrogate mother, hand feeding the bird and rehabilitating this darling little creature, letting it heal.   I became the birds aunt!  I dubbed him "Hamburger" because that's all he ate for the first few days.  We began digging worms from the garden but because everything was so dry, we ended up buying worms.  When we run out of worms, we feed it chicken livers. 


Gerry keeps  Hamburger in the garage at night and in the back yard during the day trying to teach him to grub for bugs and worms.  He can now fly and spends time in the nearby trees, but continues to return to Gerry's deck chirping to get feed.  He is so sweet, but too dependant on humans for survival.  We all love Hamburger.  What is his destination?  How do you teach a bird to be independent?  I fell in love with Hamburger.  I'll keep you posted on his progress.

Party Time!

Tom decided to have a BBQ at his property last Sat. and approximately 32 people showed up.  Tom set up a 9 hole golf course and mowed the tall grass so we could tee off and walk from hole to hole.  We played with sponge balls and each hole was about a Par 10!  :o))  What fun.  We also had horse shoes and botchy ball to keep us entertained.  Of course the beer was flowing, along with multiple other iced drinks.  For dinner everyone pitched in and cooked pork loins, hamburgers, and hot dogs, corn on the cob (10 for $1.00!), cooked veggies from the garden, Gerry's wonderful potato salad, Charlotte's famous baked beans, and watermelon. 

This cutey is Tom's girlfriend, Stacy.  She's a doll!

And this cutey is Stacy's boyfriend, Tom.  :o))

Here we are playing botchy ball.  Quite a challenging game.

This is Gerry and her son Mike.  They're pretty cute too!

How about a game of horse shoes?

Beautiful Margaret had a great time hanging out with her sister.  I think we pooped them out as they left shortly after dinner.  

Charlotte worked hard getting people to start the BBQ and get the show on the road.   The kids and older folks were getting hungry!

Here's Jimmy Joe saying hi to all of you.  He's pretty cute too! 

All in all is was a very successful party!  Thanks Tom!