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Life... ya gotta be doin' something...

 

2010 Adventures

Updated:  30-Jan-2011

January

Ohhh how time flies...  

January... enjoying the wonders of the desert around Tucson:

tucson in january

tucson january

February

Hmmm... kinda chilly when I arrived back home in Colorado...

home snow

March

Back to southern Arizona... a whimsical cactus character:

crazy catus

Another crazy cactus hairdo...

bushy headed cactus

dead wood... or is it a sleeping critter...

fallen wood

Delicate little wildflowers in the increasing March heat of the Arizona desert:

flower 1 flower 2 flower 3
flower 4 flower 5 flower 6
flower 7 flower 8 flower 9
flower 10 flower 11 flower 12
flower 13 flower 14 flower 15

Meandering in the Chiricahua Mountains of southwestern Arizona:

chiricahua 1

The native american Chiricahua Apaches often hid in these rock formations and were able to easily shoot the annoying soldiers who were chasing them:

chiricahua 2

April

Yes... this is a real road sign! Not very helpful as a road sign, but certainly a good reminder about life in general:

unknown conditions ahead

Enjoyed a couple of days at the Nature Conservancy's Muleshoe Ranch, near Wilcox, Arizona. The ranch was originally called "Hooker Hot Springs"... named for the owner, not the profession.

muleshoe hillside 1

Thanks to abundant winter rains, the hills at the Muleshoe Ranch were alive with magnificent wildflowers... such diversity!

nc flower 1 nc flower 2 nc flower 3
nc flower 6 nc flower 4 nc flower 8
nc flower 11 nc flower 7 nc flower 9
nc flower 10 nc flower 5 nc flower 12
nc flower 13 nc flower 14 nc flower 15
nc flower 16 nc flower 17 nc flower 18
nc flower 19 nc flower 20 nc flower 21
nc flower  24 nc flower 22 nc flower 23
nc flower 25 nc flower 26 nc flower 27
nc flower 28 nc flower 29 nc flower 30

Me, at Muleshoe Ranch:

me at muleshoe ranch

Then off to Las Cruces, New Mexico for a couple of days. My college roommate Bob and his wife Lynda bought a house there. Cactus and wildflowers in bloom.

lc flower 1 lc flower 2 lc flower 3
lc flower 4 lc flower 5 lc flower 6

Then headed back home to Colorado where the snow is melting and the first of this year's wildflowers are popping up:

april flower 1 april flower 2 april flower 3
april flower 4 april flower 5 april flower 6
april flower 7 april flower 8 april flower 9

April view out my kitchen window... still a bit chilly, but thankfully getting warmer every day.

april view

May

Deer duo, still wearing their shaggy winter coats:

two deer

Still too much snow to go up into the higher terrain, but the May wildflowers in the Colorado foothills around Boulder and Lyons are delightful.

I've really developed quite an interest in the different varieties of wildflowers, not so much about their names or characteristics, but more about the amazing diversity which the Creator has chosen to express... each different flower a unique manifestation of a specific creative impulse which then merges and melds and morphs over time. So amazing!

And if even the simple flowers of the field are given such grace and beauty, how much more grace and beauty has the Creator placed in the heart of every person?

may flower 1 may flower 2 may flower 3
may flower 4 may flower 5 may flower 6
may flower 7 may flower 8 may flower 9
may flower 10 may flower 11 may flower 12
may flower 13 may flower 14 may flower 15
may flower 16 may flower 17 may flower 18
may flower 19 may flower 20 may flower 21
may flower 22 may flower 23 may flower 24
may flower 25 may flower 28 may flower 27

A cute little fox... it seems we have mutual curiosity about each other...

fox

June

After 220,000 miles (360,000 km), it was finally time to replace the lower ball joints in my trusty Nissan Pathfinder... so I spent a couple of days doing car repair, replacing the ball joints and repacking the wheel bearings:

ball joint work

Then, off on a road trip... Joshua trees near Kernville, California:

joshua tree

Me, in front of a rather large Sequoia tree, in Sequoia National Park::

me and tree

Scenery in Sequoia National park, looking east into the Sierras:

sequoia scenery

The majestic Yosemite Valley:

yosemite valley

Me, in front of tufa formations at Mono Lake, California with the snow covered high Sierras in the background:

me and tufa

Then up into Oregon, and very chilly Crater Lake... what a magnificent sight... a volcanic crater filled with water:

crater lake

Then into the rainy, mossy area around McKenzie Falls, Oregon... spectacular greenery everywhere:

mckenzie falls

Next, back home to Colorado, and a hike to Lily Lake, near Silverthorne:

lily lake

Then, on up the road to Cataract Lake:

cataract lake

Met this coyote along the trail,  apparently heading home with dinner:

coyote

Magnificent flowers... Scarlet Gilia, Fairy Trumpets:

fairy trumpets

And lots of Blue Columbines:

blue columbine


July

Just staying in Colorado this month... so much to explore here at home when the weather permits.

Encountered this moose and her young calf in the rocky Mountain national park, near the Green Mountain trail:

moose and calf

Fields of wildflowers encountered whilst hiking to Lake Isabelle:

wildflower field

These tiny Elephant Head flowers are so amazing:

elephant head flower

Picturesque Lake Isabelle, nearly 11,000 ft elevation (3300m) in the Colorado Rockies:

lake isabelle

A few more of the magnificent July wildflowers in the high mountains:

flower 7 1 flower 7 2 flower 7 3
flower 7 4 flower 7 5 flower 7 6
flower 7 7 flower 7 8 flower 7 9
flower 7 10 flower 7 11 flower 7 12
flower 7 13 flower 7 14 flower 7 15
flower 7 16 flower 7 17 flower 7 18
flower 7 19 flower 7 20 flower 7 21
flower 7 22 flower 7 23 flower 7 24
flower 7 25 flower 7 26 flower 7 27
flower 7 28 flower 7 29 flower 7 30
flower 7 31 flower 7 32 flower 7 33


August

Encountered this delightful butterfly moth on a hike to Buttonrock Reservoir near Lyons, Colorado:

butterfly moth 1

 butterfly moth 2

On a hike in the mountains, looking across Diamond Lake, near Nederland Colorado, at about 11,000 ft elevation:

diamond lake 


September

Fall colors near Aspen, Colorado:

apen 1

aspen 2

Magnificent red rocks near Moab, Utah:

moab_1


"Figures" on the right remind me of Kachina characters:

moab_2


Such diversity of shapes... pointed, rounded, curved, arched!

moab_4


Beautiful arch... lots of arches are found around Moab:

moab_3

More red rock country around Sedona, Arizona:

sedona_2

Majesty!

sedona_3

Wonders!

sedona_4

Everywhere one looks... more wonders!

sedona_5


Along Oak Creek, looking toward Cathedral Rock, Sedona, Arizona:

sedona_6

Fall colors near McClure Pass, south of Redstone, Colorado:

mcclure_1

Looking up:

mcclure_2


October

More fall colors, on Wolf Creek Pass, heading toward Pagosa Springs, Colorado:

wolf_creek_1


Unusual sign on a restroom door, on the Navajo reservation near Cortez, Colorado:

sign_1


Northwest of Sedona, Arizona, a popular "vortex" location:

sedona_oct_1

Oh such wonders!

sedona_oct_2

An arch... view from the outside:

sedona_oct_3

And a view from the inside:

sedona_oct_4

A dinosaur head?

sedona_oct_5

Hiking up Bear Mountain, getting quite a view of the red rocks below:

sedona_oct_6

Coming back down from Bear Mountain:

sedona_oct_7

View across the valley:

sedona_oct_8


Magnificent Bell Rock, south of Sedona, Arizona:

sedona_oct_9


Saguaro National monument, east of Tucson, Arizona:

saguaro_10­_3

saguaro_10­_4

saguaro_10_1

Sunset over the Arizona desert:

sunset_10_1


Hiking in Honeybee Canyon, northwest of Tucson, Arizona:

honeybee_10_2

honeybee_10_1

honeybee_10_3


Hiking in Esperero Canyon, on the northwest side of Tucson:

esperero_10_1

Little frogs all over the place in Esperero Canyon:

esperero_10_3


November

Picture Rock, northwest of Tucson, Arizona:

picture_rock_11_2

picture_rock_11_3

picture_rock_11_4

Scenery along Picture Rock hiking trail:

picture_rock_11_1


Cool, hazy fall days in Colorado. Hiking south of Boulder, Colorado:

flatiron_11_1

flatiron_11_2


December

Out for a stroll, east of Tucson, Arizona:

suguaro_12_2


Near Agua Caliente wash east of Tucson... cactus, cactus and more cactus:

suguaro_12_3


Rosy sunset light in the clouds over Saguaro covered hillside in Sabino Canyon:

tucson_12_1

.... more adventures to come in 2011... (God willing)....