What an absolutely gorgeous day! Fall is finally here, and today is "Color Sunday". This is the day where everyone makes the trek up to Grand Mesa to take pictures of all the trees in fall color. We were going to go up there, but instead decided to visit Piñon Mesa (Google Maps link) to avoid the crowds. Brian's family has a cabin up on Piñon Mesa as well, and I'd never had the chance to visit. The drive up the Colorado National Monument was very nice, not too much traffic; mostly bicycles. I would imagine that's a tough ride up, the monument road is pretty steep. I didn't take any pictures until we got up to Piñon Mesa. The roads were dirt, and there weren't too many places to pull over where I wanted to take any. Brian showed me his favorite camping spot, and we got out and walked around the area a bit.  There was someone back in the spot, but we got some pictures out by the road: The colors were stunning, my pictures really do not do it justice. The dogs had a great time, they'd never been in the woods before and OMG THE SMELLS CAN'T YOU SMELL IT IT'S SO COOL MOM. Yeah. We drove up the road a bit more, and finally reached the cabins. It looked like there was someone there for the weekend, but there was nobody around when we stopped. I love it up there... the cabins are tucked back in a stand of aspen, and with the colors changing it was just gorgeous. We didn't stay long, there were cows and an electric fence so we left the dogs in the truck. We didn't need them getting zapped or stomped on. I told Brian we need to come up next year and spend the weekend either at the cabin or just out camping. I think I could survive a weekend out in the wilderness if I had an air mattress; I used to go camping all the time when I was younger. I miss it. The trip down was a bit different, we drove through several enormous cattle ranches to get back down to Glade Park. I took some pictures from an overlook, and made a panorama (click to get the full size view): Brian thinks that the creek running through the middle is Beezer Creek, if you're curious. We stopped at Serpent's Trail to get one more picture on the way down the Monument, I made a panorama of that one as well. Click to embiggen. One of these days I want to do the hike down Serpent's Trail. It's about two miles down from where I took this picture, but the path is really good. I think if I went on a good day, when it wasn't too hot, I might be able to make the trip down the trail if we had someone to pick us up at the end. It might take me a while, but I felt really sad when I was taking this picture and I realized "this is all I'll ever be able to see of this trail". But, after Brian described it to me, I think I could do it. As long as I can stop and rest on the way, right? Here's hoping that someday I can do it. All in all, it was a wonderful day. I'm tired and sore, but I had such a good time. I've been getting so tired of being cooped up in the house all the time, and days like today are so necessary for my sanity. I want to do it again.

Yes! After wanting to go to this for many years, we finally went! It was a lot of fun... Meeker is about a hundred miles from where we live, so it was a bit of a drive. We got up early, headed out to grab breakfast, and got on the highway. It was a beautiful day; cool, but the sun was shining, and the sky was so blue. The drive was a bit hard on me; that's a long time to sit in the truck. We got there around 9am, and things had already been going for a while, but we found a nice spot to sit and watched a few runs.  It was in the mid 40's, but sunny and really nice.  This is the first time I've seen Border Collies in action where it wasn't a "demo" course. It was amazing to watch them work. On the run in this picture, one of the sheep decided she was going to go stand by the fence, and she would NOT be moved. They finally had to call off the run (they gave the team a chance after lunch). They eventually had to hog-tie the sheep and cart her off in an ATV. I got a few more pictures, but not many of them came out well. My little point and shoot camera just doesn't have what it takes to do the long distance photos. Here are a few of the best: Look at the blue sky... there wasn't a cloud in it. Colorado is beautiful, especially this time of year. The last team we watched was Ian Zoerb and Freckles. Former Canadian National Champions, this pair was amazing to watch. I really enjoyed it. After their run, it was time for the lunch break, so we grabbed a fajita (delicious!), wandered around the vendor tents for a bit, and then headed out. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I was really pushing the edges of my stamina on this one. The drive home was great; Brian and I had a spirited discussion with topics ranging from global warming to Prop 8 and gay marriage. All in all, I'm glad to be home, and I'm definitely going to pay for this trip physically... but it was totally worth it.

Just a random picture I had to share... Apollo was napping on the floor with "his" pillow and his elephant. So cute!

My Fibroduck arrived this weekend! I've been waiting for a few months for her to show up... the previous duck decided to go wandering on the way over the pond from the UK. Maybe he'll show up someday. What is a Fibroduck, you ask? According to fibroduck.com:

Why FibroDuck is travelling the world

Fibroduck.com is owned and run by Jamie Goodwin – Freelance writer and former stand up comedienne. To contact Jamie direct: jamie@fibroduck.com The aim of fibroduck.com is to raise awareness for Fibromyalgia, whilst making you smile. We are a non profit making, doing it for fun, awareness campaign. We do not raise money for any charities. Can you or anyone you know help FibroDuck travel around the world? If you would like to take part, please order your Duck from our shop. The duck is always free, you only pay postage costs. If you have problems ordering please email admin@fibroduck.com

If you want a Fibroduck of your very own to help raise awareness of Fibromyalgia, head over to fibroduck.com and order one! You only pay shipping from the UK, which was about $6 when I ordered mine. Get one for everyone you know!

Just took this from my phone, using an app called "Retro Camera". I plan on playing with it tomorrow when there is more light, but I had to share this off the cuff shot of my guitar. I love it!