Mr October

So sad...

The Reds did not make it past the Giants...

Love this pic of James.....

.....TravelLady

How They Grow

Look at the Lilies of the field and how they grow.

They don't work or make their clothing...

...And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers...

He will certainly care for you.

Matthew 6:28-30 NLT

 These wildflowers were growing at above 10,000 feet.  We visited the Snowy Mountain Range in Wyoming

this past summer.  I am always amazed at the beauty of nature and all God's creation.

Genesis 1:11

Then God said, "Let the land sprout with vegetation..."

.....TravelLady

Introducing Jack

Jack Daniels Roberts

rescued on August 25

According to the Vet

he is part Mastiff and

part American Bulldog

Still grieving J.D.

but always moving forward.....

.....TravelLady

Man's Best Friend

J.D.

sweet memories.....

.....Travellady

J.D.

J.D. and Toni

J.D. lived November 2010-August 2012

I will miss you, buddy!

.....TravelLady

Thought For the Day

Resting.....

.....TravelLady

Glenwood Meadows

The White Water Rafters

I thought that I would not be able to go rafting...for many reasons.  So, my plan was to stay at the hotel; walk around; read a book; watch some daytime television.  "NO!", he said. (James)  "You get out there and have fun. I don't want you sitting in the hotel all day!"  (This conversation reminded me of a conversation with Hannah when she was about 3 or 4 years old.  James and I would visit Hannah's family in Clarksville; I spent much of my time in the playroom - playing with Hannah.  If I left her and went to talk to the adults, she would come into the living room and say, "Memaw, you get back in here and play right now!")

OK, I said.....

(to both of them)

 

Careful, the beverage you're about to enjoy is extremely hot.

 

Glenwood Meadows shopping area

So I went to the lobby of the Hotel Denver, found a map, and asked the front desk person to call a Taxi.

My destination was, of course, Starbucks!  It was too far to walk.  The gal at the front desk informed me that there is a good coffee shop around the corner from the hotel.  I didn't want good coffee; I wanted a triple tall mocha, non-fat with whip made as only Starbucks can make it!

The Starbucks is located in the Glenwood Meadows shopping area.  Of course, the area is surrounded by mountains and beautiful blue sky and white fluffy clouds!  I spent most of the day here. I walked.  I sat on the benches provided in front of every store and did some people and dog watching. 

After Christi finished rafting, she met me there and we had lunch at the Double Dog Pub.....

.....TravelLady

No ATM.....No WiFi

Glenwood Springs Station

Beautiful Stair Detail

 

See any electronics in this photo?

 

Street side view.

A small train museum is located in the station.

 

I could look at this detail all day!

Time Travel

 Transported to an earlier time and century.....

.....TravelLady

Amtrak

Keith took this photo of the train coming into Glenwood Springs for our trip back to Denver.
The Amtrak station could have been in a movie about train travel in  the 1930s.  It had a large wooden staircase leading from the street level to the waiting room level.  It had wooden benches in one area for waiting and a metal cage enclosed office.  Below is a photo of  the chalk board used to post arrival and departure times.

What a pleasant way to travel!

It is slower than traveling by car so you

get to see the scenery...

and the people.....

.....TravelLady

Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Glenwood Springs is a destination for hot spring water swimming.

The town is located in a gorge or river canyon in the Rocky Mountains. 

And we enjoyed a 360 degree view of the mountains.

 

This image was taken from the Amtrak station.  

These trams take people to the top of the mountain.

 

To this amusement park which included caverns, a roller coaster and a pendulum ride.

The pendulum ride is seen in the foreground of the roller coaster.

What a ride!  I don't want to swing out over the edge of a mountain!

I might not be afraid of all heights, but this one looked scary.....

.....TravelLady

The Colorado River

 Rafters

 Rapids

Beauty

These pics were taken from the window of the train with my Nikon.
The train was traveling at 36 MPH.
On the way to Glenwood Springs, we traveled thru 29 tunnels.
The Moffat Tunnel was the longest at 6 miles and we were in darkness for 10 minutes.
The elevation of the Moffat is 9239 ft.....

.....TravelLady

IKEA

My first trip to an IKEA store.

south of Denver

Centennial, Colorado

by the way I bought two pillows.....

.....TravelLady

The Front Range

Leaving Denver

The Front Range

Can you see the smoky haze on the horizon?  We spent the night in Denver on July 4th and then boarded the Amtrak for Glenwood Springs on the 5th.  According to the news, there were numerous fires burning in Colorado.  The mountains could not be seen from a distance of 20 miles away - the Denver airport. 

The area before the Rocky Mountains begin is called the Front Range.  I snapped away with the Nikon and deleted about 2/3 of the pictures.  The beauty of the area along with the altitude took my breath away. 

with thanks for the beauty of the earth.....

.....TravelLady

Summer Travels

View from the 14th floor of the Curtis Hotel

Downtown Denver

July 4, 2012

Thankful for the good fortune to travel....

.....TravelLady

Goslings

They are cute at this stage...

Maybe?

.....TravelLady

Bird Watching

 Beautiful Blue Bird

New Bird Feeder

Filled with seeds especially for small birds....

.....TravelLady

Nikon D60 Great Pics

JD and Toni

Love those teeth!

We have counted four hummingbirds, so far...

Hydrangea 2012

Blossoms of pink and blue and the same bush...

.....TravelLady

Cabbage Patch

Saved to play another day.....

.....TravelLady

Closed on Sundays

James' first time to eat in the dining room of Chick-fil-A

We had a pleasant meal yesterday - dining in.

My thoughts on this great restaurant...

1. They seem to be always busy.  At 2 PM on Saturday, the drive-thru line snaked around the building 1 and 1/2 times. 
2. The Wolfchase restaurant has a person to direct traffic. This allows the people leaving the restaurant to cross safely to their cars. 
3. The traffic director thanked every person for coming to his restaurant. 
4. The spicy chicken sandwich is tasty and HOT and James loved it!
5. It took only five minutes to order, get our food and find a clean table.  (The inside area was as packed as the parking lot outside.)
6. The dining room tables were clean - not sticky.  As the customers left, the tables were quickly cleared for the next guests.
7. Did I mention soft serve cones?  
8. Chick-fil-A has a neat web site.  There is a user friendly calorie counter for all their menu items.  
9. What's Your Story?  Click on this box on the website and you can read customer feedback about the Chick-fil-A experience.
10. Last but most important - they close on Sundays!

hoping that we all get a Sunday of rest.....

.....TravelLady

Home Grown

Red Potatoes

2 1/2 pounds harvested so far

James planted potato eyes last February in a barrel.

I will oven bake these tomorrow with a home grown green bell pepper and red onion. 

always thankful for home grown vegetables.....

.....TravelLady

The Golden Gate Bridge

This beautiful bridge turns 75 years old today.  During my visit to San Francisco, I crossed the bridge several times.  No - I did not walk or bike - I rode in tour buses!  Some of my best vacation memories are from my trip to the San Francisco area.  The bridge is painted a color called International Orange.  Beautiful!

hoping to return some day.....

.....TravelLady

I Think of Her Every Day

April 18

Mother's Birthday

She would have been 80 years old.

She left this life 6 years ago.

missing my mother.....

.....TravelLady

Go M.A.D. Sunday

Today at the Highland Church of Christ, it is go M.A.D. Sunday.    It is Make A Difference Sunday.  We go out into the community and perform acts of service or random acts of kindness.  James' act of service was to mow and edge the yard of our next door neighbors.  The man of the house has been in and out of the hospital for most of  this year.  In the past they have paid a private individual to service their lawn.  But this season they have been unable to contact him.  Because of almost no winter and March temps in the 80s, the grass has grown early and fast!

thank you James for your kind act of service

I am proud of you.....

.....TravelLady

School on Saturday

Christi and I went to an all day class named the Tennessee Concealed Carry Course.  The state requires 8 hours of instruction, a written test and a marksmanship test.  A grade of 70% or greater is required to pass.
I made 100 on the written test and 89 on the shooting test.  Christi made 100 and 95.  We were both happy to pass!  This class completes the first of several steps to get a concealed carry permit.  I probably will never carry a concealed weapon but I am thankful for the right in this state to do so.....

.....TravelLady

from Tennessee - the "patron state of shooting stuff"

(from the movie Shooter)

A Happy Surprise

An e-mail at work is always a happy surprise.

This pic is extra special!

Cruising the California coast...

.....TravelLady

In The Fog

Golden Gate Bridge

TravelLady

The Kitten

This is a precious drawing!!

thanks, Elijah...

memaw/ TravelLady....

Exploring a Beaver Pond

James and TravelLady drove from the South to Wyoming with J.D. and Toni during the Christmas holidays.
We stopped about every 3 hours for a bathroom break and to walk the dogs.  They explored the banks of this pond in central Nebraska.  These trees were perfectly carved away by beavers.  Along side of these trees were 2 others already down and in the water.  At first I thought of this as destruction of beautiful  trees.
After some on-line research, I learned that beavers are a very important part of the ecosystem. 
They help to create ponds and wetlands by building small beaver dams.  These wetlands provide excellent habitat for many other small species - some endangered species.  Beavers are vegetarians and their main food source is tree bark - especially willow and cottonwood trees.  It is thought that they have no natural predators at this point in time.

never too old to learn.....

.....TravelLady

Tangerine Tango

Tangerine Tango 

 Pantone color of 2012

I love this warm, bright color

.....TravelLady

JD

JD

Happy New Year 2012

Happy New Year

from James, Toni, and J.D.

God Bless.....

.....TravelLady