Up, Up, and Away!

On our way this morning to the Under the Wire Fly In!  Smooth, clear, skies made for a nice flight!  Saw lots of planes, lots of airplane folks, and enjoyed a yummy burger!  With thunderstorms popping up in the afternoon we took off and headed home.....got the plane in the hangar just before the rains came.  A good day!

Rocky Mountain High!

Up, up, and away to Denver.....well almost!  We circled Denver airport waiting for a thunderstorm to move, but had to land in Colorado Springs to sit on the tarmac and refuel before heading back to Denver when it opened.  We picked up our rental car....Don't use Budget....and headed to Estes Park running a couple of hours late.  We stopped in Loveland to pick up groceries and spotted Big Horn Sheep on the mountain side on the final leg of our journey. Darn...nowhere to stop and grab a photo!

We arrived at Swiftcurrent Lodge about dark....but I had made arrangements by phone to check in since we were running late.......the cabin was great.....a bedroom, two bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen set on the banks of the Big Thompson River. A quick supper, showers, and we crashed!
Up the next morning we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park.....driving to Bear Lake and Sprague Lake for some hiking.....we saw a herd of mule deer grazing in a field on the way. Both lakes were pristine and provided a beautiful backdrop to the mountains. Back at the cabin we soaked in the hot tub, relaxed, and fixed supper....then sat near the river as the day came to an end in Colorado.
It was a bit chilly the next day, with the thermometer reading about 40 degrees!  Our plan today was to drive the Trail Ridge Road, it is the name for a stretch of U.S. Highway 34 and is the highest continuous paved road in the United States. Armed with our heavy jackets, a cooler with drinks and snacks, binoculars, and a couple of cameras.....we were off!  Snow capped mountains dotted the landscape, wildflowers filled the fields, and elk, moose, and deer grazed on the lush grass. We saw marmots, pikas, magpies, and lots of other critters. 
At one point we reached an elevation of over 12,000 feet.....it was very breezy and chilly! Sunday morning I had booked a photography/wildlife tour with Yellow Wood Guiding and we had a 5:15 am picked up.....so we were up at 4 am!!!  Jared arrived and we entered the park....it was like we had the whole park to ourselves!  We stopped to take some photos as the sun came up, we looked for animals, and he educated us on the park.  We headed for the tundra in hopes of finding some bull elk........we rounded a curve, and in a grassy area by a small lake we saw 7 bull elk grazing in a field of yellow flowers.....Wow!  Steam coming off the lake provided the perfect backdrop.  The Big Boy of the group had begun to lose his velvet on his rack....it draped and hung like Christmas tree garland on his horns.  In an effort to get a shot I stepped on a slope thinking the ground was firm...but it wasn't and my foot slipped, turned, and something popped!  Ouch!  Got the shot, but limped back to the car....not saying a word to Jared or Dale!  I wanted to continue the tour. We spent about 4 hours with Jared and he gave me lots of tips on using my camera.....it was a great tour....even if I did something to my knee!  Back at the cabin, we had lunch and tried to nap....but my leg was hurting and I could hardly put weight on it.  I told Dale I need to go to the emergency room....so off we went for x-rays!  Nothing broke, but they thought maybe I did something to my IT band!  Crutches, an ice bag, and pain killers were the order for the rest of the day and part of the next week!
The next day we left for Glenwood Springs and road construction was the name of the game....a detour that took us off the map.......with our GPS unable to find our location made things kinda tense!
But we made it.....and checked in to the Red Barn Suite at Four Mile B&B outside of Glenwood Springs.  The suite was adorable....very eclectic and furnished in a shabby chic design. We had a cute little kitchen, a gas wood stove, and an adorable claw foot bathtub.  All our breakfast were delicious, with plenty to eat, and other guest to meet and enjoy conversation with!  The owners were perfect host and gave us lots of hints on where to go and what to do.  Glenwood Springs Hot Springs was on our agenda....and a long day of soaking and relaxing at the hot springs was perfect.  A road trip to Aspen and the Maroon Bells, the most photographed mountains in North America filled another day....we also made stops in Carbondale and Redstone.  Our last day we drove up to the Ruedi reservoir high up in the mountains outside of Basalt driving along the Frying Pan River....a gold medal trout fishing river.  We saw and talked with fly fisherman and watched them catch and release brown and rainbow trout.  We joined other guest later in the day along the river banks to talk and relax.....when Dale spotted a black bear eating berries in the bushes...WOW!  I got a few photos, but it was late and daylight was fading...but it was neat just to watch the bear!
Up and packed the final day, we enjoyed another great breakfast, then headed back to Denver leaving early in case we ran into road construction again.  This time we had no problems, returned our rental car, checked in at the airport and waited for our flight home!
Our trip was wonderful, we enjoyed the beauty of Colorado, the cool mountain air, and all the folks we met along the way.  Thanks Colorado for a Rocky Mountain High!

Floating with Friends!

Keeping cool on the Comal yesterday with friends, Karen and Jimmy! We arrived early and got in a relaxing float before the crowds arrived. Lunch was on the bank of the river under the shade of a big tree.....fried chicken, potato salad, pickles, and fresh fruit....sure did taste good! Later we did another long float! Then we cleaned up and headed to Clear Springs Cafe for burgers and onion rings. Good friends, good food, and two good floats with our guys! A great way to spend a smoking hot day in Texas!!!!

400th dive with Lady Go Divers!!!!!

Off to Bonaire  July 19-26 with the Lady Go Divers for our annual dive trip.  I met up with some of the gals at the Houston airport and we flew down together.  Arriving we checked in, had dinner, and crashed.  After breakfast, a dive orientation, check out dive, it was time for our first dive.  We were assigned to the Sea Queen with Luis and Rudd for the week.
On the third dive on Monday I completed my 400th dive and the gals surprised me a celebration and champagne on the boat, plus a bag of ice on my head.  Earlier we had a photo taken to mark this special occasion......and no I didn't dive naked!  It was great celebrating this special event with a great group of gals.

The diving on Bonaire is so easy, with most dives lasting at least one hour.  We had the opportunity to dive the Hilma Hooker wreck and the Salt Pier during the week.  We saw lots of seahorses, frog fish, turtles, and eels.  The water was about 80* for most of the week.  I had a chance to take lots of photos and managed to get some good shots.  We ate out a couple of times and relaxed around the pool a few nights with some snacks and wine.  The pool was always a gathering place for our group.
My roommate, DJ and I got along fine, and even endured our room problems with a laugh.   We had rented a studio and enjoyed being near the dive operation.
On our last day we did two morning dives, grabbed a quick lunch, then did a kayaking trip in the mangroves.  The mangroves serve as a hatchery for the fish and our guide even had us snorkel in the mangroves.  Back at the resort, we showered and then it was off to our farewell dinner with Luis and Rudd.....the night ended with a yummy cup of gelato.
Up very, very early and off to the airport....we said our goodbyes!  The trip was great fun, great diving, and all with an amazing group of women!

Floating the Fourth on the Comal!

Karen and I decided to begin our Fourth of July Celebration a little early, and floated the Comal a day early to beat the throngs of folks expected!!! In honor of the birthday of our nation we decorated our hats, and color coordinated our outfits...proudly showing off the red, white, and blue! The sun was hot...but the cool water of the Comal was refreshing! We got lots of compliments on our outfits...but maybe a few folks just thought we were CRAZY OLD LADIES! We told everyone it was the 4th .....blaming our day early celebration on having a Senior Moment! Karen proudly wore her "Green Frog Feet"....she loves those darn things! We had a blast and enjoy a hamburger and yummy onion rings at Clear Springs Cafe! Long day, but safely back home with lots of good memories!

Great Folks and Awesome Diving...Eels on Wheels 2014

Dale dropped me off at the airport in Houston where I joined other members of the Eels on Wheels group for a dive trip to Bonaire.  We arrived.....my roommate, Patsy and I checked into our room, unpacked, and headed to dinner.  Up the next morning we had orientation after breakfast and had the option to do a checkout dive on the house reef.  I was on the Sea Queen with a great group of folks, definitely the best group and best boat!  Our divemasters Max and Luis were both great, and put up with our craziness for the whole week.  This year we had only 5 folks in chairs on the trip....seems most that didn't make it had some type of conflict going on...hope to see them next year.
I logged 16 dives during the week and enjoyed some great diving.  We got to dive the Salt Pier twice, which is an awesome dive site with lots to see.  Several dives were made on Klein Bonaire during the week.  We saw octopus, turtles, seahorses, eels, squid, and lots more!  The water was about 81* most of the week with pretty calm seas, no current, and pretty decent visibility.  We got in about one hour of bottom time on each dive.

We did three dives a day....so it was check in at 7:45 am with the boat leaving at 8:00 am for two dives.  Returning around noon, we enjoyed lunch and relaxed before it was time to check in at 1:45 pm with the boat leaving at 2:00 pm for one afternoon dive.  Then it was pool time before cleaning up for dinner at the resort.
Town was a short walk, Patsy and I did some shopping and stopped to enjoy some delicious gelato.  Our final night we all walked to a wonderful restaurant for some great food and lots of laughs.  Pick up for the airport was at 5:15 am with the flight home at 7:00 am....making for a long day.
We had a great time....got in some AWESOME diving.....invented the famous Ponche Cuba Crema Chupacabra drink, spotted the illusive White Moon Fish, and took a poll to see if the Speedo made Joe's butt look big!  There was never a dull moment!  I laughed so hard I cried....what a fun group!

Limited Out!

Limited out! Put the boat in the water about 7:30 am and had SIX nice reds in the ice chest by 12:38 pm....now that is a great day of fishing! We even had time for our picnic lunch out on the water! Back at the dock, we had a visitor at the fish cleaning stand looking for some fresh sushi! Home now, boat washed, and fish in the ice box!