Photo Monday: Red rocks for good energy

I haven’t posted in a while but I’ve been having a challenging couple of days that have been leaving me cranky and uber frustrated as an artist and small business owner (not to mention I’m still struggling with sleep).  And as such, blogging has taken a back seat.

Even though mercury is in retrograde for a couple more weeks (which is equivalent to 3 weeks of a full moon and makes people crazy, things go wonky and situations all messed up) I’m hoping to get off on a better foot this week and will start by posting some of my favorite imagery – red rocks.

Yes, the rock really is that red and the sky that blue in the dry climates of Arizona and Utah.

Now join me…positive energy in, demons out.  Ahh…

 

Read Full Post »

Photo Monday: Red Rocks

Since my parents were up for 9 days during Thanksgiving, I tried to plan local trips to keep everyone from getting cabin fever.  Unfortunately it was too cold for my thin-blooded Florida snow bird parents to do anything in the mountain communities, so we decided to do visits more on the Denver side to take advantage of the warmer weather at the lower altitude.

I get my love of nature from my Dad so figured he’d enjoy a trip to Roxborough State Park at the base of the foothills where slanted red rocks pop out of the ground.  I have always wanted to go and am SO glad I went; it’s my new favorite place!

When we first arrived, it was overcast and the temperature was dropping.  My parents were obviously a bit chilly…

David and I were right at home in the cool weather…

Unfortunately no dogs are allowed so we couldn’t bring the pups to romp around, but it was a good 5 mile round trip trail so it would have been too much for Sierra’s arthritis anyhow.

Towards the end of the trail, there was an option to go up an alternate trail for a spectacular lookout where I captured this shot:

By the time we got up there, the sun had burned off the cloud cover and it was warming up nicely.  We packed a lunch with us, so here’s where we enjoyed a nice, quiet picnic.  Divine.

Feel grateful to live relatively close (1 hour) to such beauty.  Can’t wait to come back after a good snow and capture some snow covered red rocks!

Here’s to wishing you a good Monday

 

Read Full Post »

Adios Santa Fe

Sorry I’ve been MIA for the better part of this week!  I had a great time trekking with my sis; we returned Saturday night and she sadly left on Sunday.  I then had to crank out 15 orders awaiting my attention and I’ve just been trying to give my lil’ shop some much needed attention since it’s been a bit neglected this fall.

Anyhow, I can’t help but share with you some last round of pictures of our trip…I’ll combine in collages so you don’t feel like you’re flipping through dozens of someone’s vacation photos…

When we reluctantly left Taos, we took the “High Road” out – no, literally, we did!  It’s a GORGEOUS scenic route between Taos and Santa Fe and felt a bit like we were being transported from CO mountains…through a Tuscan countryside…then onto AZ dessert landscapes.  Bizarre changes of scenery, yet stunning all at once.

On our way, we stopped at El Santuario de Chimayo to visit a very old, quaint church (my sister is a devout Catholic and me, well, I just appreciate the art of religious icons, especially old ones).  There were several other chapels on the grounds with beautiful sacred heart icons, which I just love.

After our visit, as well as some tamales at Leona’s, a local icon in it’s own right, we made it into Santa Fe and just soaked up the beautiful weather on the Santa Fe Plaza…

And we visited more churches, including the oldest church in the U.S., the San Miguel Mission which is said to be the oldest church in the U.S. built between 1610 and 1626 (which appropriately sits across the street from the oldest house in the U.S., built in 1646).  That’s my petite 4’11″ sister fitting perfectly inside the petite doors!

We fell in love with the beautiful adobe architecture, especially against the azure blue sky…

And enjoyed the beautiful artwork, sculptures and galleries on the famed Canyon Road…

Oh, that sky…There was beauty everywhere you looked.

And with great hesitation, we needed to make our way back to Colorado…with no car radio and no cell service to stream music (we sang our hearts out and shared funny stories…what sisters/girlfriends do best!)

But the sadness of leaving the beauty of the Southwest was quickly replaced by the awe of the sunset on the CO mountains…

My sister and I, being set 2,000 miles apart, try to make our sister’s getaway an annual event and next year, my sis has her eye on Sedona, AZ.

More red rock and blue skies.

And I can’t wait.

Read Full Post »

I’ve found the next best place

Taos, that is.  What a charming, quaint town!  It looks like Colorado but with adobe-style architecture, lots of folk, Hispanic and Native American inspired art everywhere and some awesome New Mexican fare.

We started off the day eating at Michael’s Kitchen, a place a bit away from the main plaza that the locals frequent where we enjoyed Breakfast enchiladas and Eggs Benedict smothered in a pork green chile sauce.  Good thing we walked the distance so we could walk some of that breakfast off!

We visited lots of galleries and wonderful boutiques…

And lovely cobble-stoned alleys…

And circled back onto the main Plaza…

We were enjoying ourselves so much that instead of heading out of town at noon like we originally planned, we decided to stay the full day and night to try to take in as much as we could of this incredibly magical town.

Looks a lot like Colorado, right?  I thought so too, from our entrance into town as well as our way out to see a local tourist spot, the bridge over the Rio Grande Gorge…

This sucker is high!!!

Or should I say that gorge is LOW!!!  It popped out of nowhere…

This picture is actually the road to the bridge…it was a crazy scene, a literal 360 degree view of mountains all around us, but this valley part of it was pretty desolate.  It was out of this that we essentially happened across the bridge.  Because it’s such a neat sight, they’ve set up parking on both sides of the bridge and a very accessible pedestrian walkway across.

On our return trip back from the bridge, we stopped at another locals favorite spot, Orlando’s, and enjoyed great chile rellenos, fajitas and sangrias.

I think we are content staying here…

But alas, Santa Fe is calling and so we will oblige the call and make our way down tomorrow…

I think I want to be a professional traveler when I grow up

Read Full Post »

Photo Monday: Moab, Utah

I had never heard of Moab until I moved to Colorado…then I learned it’s where all the outdoorsy folk took their vacations.  And with good reason.  It’s a stunning place full of red rocks (home to Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park) and snow-capped mountains.  We went there several years ago and are dying to go back.  Perhaps we need to do some rearranging of the budget so we can get there before it gets too hot (it is a desert after all!).

David with the pups

If ever you get the opportunity, it’s a place you should definitely check out.

Have a great week everyone!

Read Full Post »