A walk in the park

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Yesterday, we finally took our first hike in Rocky Mountain National Park and hiked to Gem Lake. Should have.been a piece of cake. It wasn’t. Apparently I am not acclimated to the altitude yet. With any climbing, my heart rate increased to the 140’s and was mildly uncomfortable. Nonetheless, the views were lovely with several optical illusions, at least to my eye, or maybe it was oxygen deprivation. Elevation gain 1000 feet, give or take.

Love these clouds, getting ready for strong winds to arrive.

There were loads of cool rock formations. This is one of them. Not quite sure how such a perfect round hole was created.

Rock formation in a different perspective.

I see a monkey riding a dog. How about you?

Bowels of the owls???

The lake was most remarkable for the rock formations, which surrounded it.

The walk out was a breeze.

Once you spot one, that’s all you see

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I finally saw my first elk and then that was all we saw on the drive into town to swim. It’s also the first time the clouds cleared enough to reveal the mountain range.

This one is much smaller than the two Tim saw at the ranch but he was a beauty. Then we saw a field filled with elk, lounging about.

These two had a little tussle and then hung out together and snacked.

After 12 days at 8,000 ft elevation, I didn’t feel sick after swimming. I read it would take me 22 days to get used to this altitude. I’m definitely getting there.

Finally this morning, I saw two bull elk grazing from my front porch.

And here are the adult and juvenile bobcats walking along the field off the dining room.

This mountain chickadee hopped towards me to say hello on the porch. Not as imposing as an elk, but adorable.

Here’s a view of the ranch from the road. Pulpit rock, in the background, is very impressive.

I’m having fun with new to me gadgets: a ninja blender (very powerful), an electric floor washer (not convinced yet it’s better than a mop) and this jar opener. I was dubious at first but it does the trick.

If it wasn’t labelled, I wouldn’t have noticed it.

And finally a fiber update. I started this hap shawl in October and finished it last week. I plan to give it as a baby gift but I have to confess, in the meantime, it is keeping me warm.

It’s from Heirloom Knitting’s Shetland Hap Shawls: Then & Now. I’ll wear it now and give it then. The Jamieson and Smith shetland yarn is so soft and warm.

Footprints and hoofprints

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Tim saw the bobcats cavorting in the yard before dinner last night. There were paw prints under the bedroom window this morning. Could this be a peeping bob?

Bobcat tracks at the cabin

Today, I slept in and, while I snoozed, Tim saw two elk walking through the field. I shouldn’t be surprised because our first day here, a checkout cashier asked me if I had seen any elk in town yet.

Pulpit rock was aglow with sun and snow.

This weekend was the first ever skijoring event in Estes Park. Yesterday was cold, windy and snowing but today was perfect.

It was a hoot.

I had heard of skijoring with dogs but this was with horses. There were more cowboy hats than I could count.

Catching air

A good time was had by all.

Scene in our backyard

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Another beautiful sunrise

For some reason, the sky only glows in the west for both sunrise and sunset. Perhaps it has something to do with the mountain valley?

I’m still getting used to 8000 ft altitude. Tim wanted to hike yesterday and I had all sorts of excuses not to. But I went with him for the part of the way.

I spotted this on my walk home.

Road kill?

This is our backyard.

In the morning, while we drank coffee in the dining room, a young bobcat stopped by and meowed on the rock garden.

Later we saw it walk away with its mother, or perhaps father. I found their prints on my return walk.

And in the evening, we had a mushroom leek quiche.

Best pie crust ever

Today, I am going to try to make scones.

Where the snow blows

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Looks like we will have to shovel even if it’s not snowing. We only got about 4-6″ snow but then the wind blew for a couple of days and created drifts where we didn’t want them.

I may have found a new favorite pastime. I have to knock icicles off the buildings. It is very gratifying – immediately rewarding, with an accompanying tinkling sound.

Snow blows up
Sunroom

The sunroom is cozy even when it is below 0 degrees f. Passive solar plays a big role in keeping the buildings warm.

View from down the valley to the barn

Such a beautiful, dramatic setting.

The barn

We took a short walk the other day, I’m still acclimating to 8000 ft altitude, and came across places where the elk laid down.

We joined the local pool and our first swim was punctuated by many rests to catch our breath. Otherwise, I feel fine. When we went backcountry skiing in the 10th Mountain Huts outside of Leadville, CO, which is at 10,000 ft, I never acclimated and had the worst headache, despite meds, for the entire time.

High altitude baking intimidates me. My first attempt can’t count because I forgot to add the egg until a crumbcake was already baking. It turned out surprisingly well.

Last night I made a cobbler and pizza. Both were delicious.

This time, I remembered everything.

Lighthouse keepers gone astray

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We usually volunteer on islands or coasts, where lighthouses are useful.

Now we are close to the equivalent of Point Nemo in North America.

Point Nemo is located in the South Pacific Ocean, 1670 miles from the nearest shore.

On land, its equivalent is the Pole of Inaccessibility, which often refers to the most distant point from any coastline. In North America, the Pole of Inaccessibility is located in South Dakota

We are a mere 6 hour drive from this pole of inaccessibility.

We made it to Rocky Mountain National Park. I can truly say, “We are not in Kansas anymore”, since we drove through it for several hours on our trip west.

We arrived at Mcgraw Ranch Friday, about two hours before the snow and arctic chill fell.

And here we are! Sunrise this am.

‘Tis the season

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Every year as Christmas approaches I start making projects, lots of them. I think I knit 40 hats, scarves, cowls and sweaters. Most have been distributed.

This is my current tour de force. A drop shoulder fair isle sweater I designed and knit on a machine. It’s being stretched on my new woolly board from the Wool Brokers in Scotland.

I made this pullover from a simple pattern written up in the 1980’s. The body is cashmere, sleeves are alpaca silk and sock yarn. My granddaughter thought it was soft enough to keep.

Star Wars was my theme this year.

When I wasn’t knitting, I baked, lots of different cookies. These buche noel cookies were a hit with me!

These stained glass window cookies were fun to make. The centers were a surprise though. They looked like chewy candy but were actually melted lifesavers and hard. I won’t be making these again.

Decorations were kept to a minimum. I pulled out two candle chimes and a star.

We kept the lights on an evergreen from last year, plugged it in and voila!

Then we hit the road, to Christmas celebration in Kittery, Maine, and skiing at Killington, Vermont in spring conditions.

Complete with a rainbow.

The Champlain Bridge, on our way home, was picture perfect.

A few more days at home and then we are headed back out. We will be caretakers at Mcgraw Ranch in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Can you say ROAD TRIP?!

Wedding preparations

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This means something different for everyone. Last weekend my daughter married a kind, respectful, wonderful man in a beautiful ceremony and celebration.

People kept asking ME if I was nervous. Why would I be nervous? I wasn’t. My work was done.

In the months leading up to the wedding, I sewed furiously. I pieced a large quilt on my Singer treadle sewing machine, then quilted it on my Husqvarna workhorse.

And finished it with one day to spare.

My daughter incorporated two shawls I made into the day’s events.

It was a beautiful day.

And marks the beginning of a beautiful life together, filled with love, laughter, golf, and delicious meals.

What’s worse than a snake in the grass?

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Snakeskin in the grass

One in the basement!

I found this little guy in the basement and another under the outside stairs. A quick search led me to Snake Away to try to keep them from the house. We probably also need to seal a few cracks.

That’s Tim on the roof, for the last time, cleaning the chimney. I’m belaying him from the ground and hate the whole process. He agreed to hire someone next time. I may have to get this promise in writing.

My zinnias keep blooming. Every time I cut a flower, two more appear. They may be my only crop next year.

Here is the last bloom in my wildflower garden.

Honey is in. It was a sticky day. Best advice was to have a bowl of water and towel nearby to rinse your hands, repeatedly.

I harvested about 17 pounds. Since then, I have fed the bees about 80 pounds of sugar to keep them fed over the winter. We traded.

Will you look at that. So pretty. I need more garlic and rosemary next time but it was quite the creative focaccia.