Friday, June 29, 2012

Benson Park Sculpture Garden

So I took a couple of days off to just be lazy and do nothing. I didn't write, I hardly left the air conditioning, and I went through an entire box of Special K in 24 hours because it's all I ate for every meal (way too much effort to go to the grocery store). I watched TMZ and Teen Mom, I drank Bud Light, and I wore the same pajama shorts and Clash t-shirt sun up to sun down. It was pretty amazing. The smoke from the High Park Fire had us all cooped up, I guess I just reveled in it instead of being annoyed by it. Honestly, even had the smoke not been an issue, I would have stayed in to avoid the 103 degree temperature anyway.

So after the smoke cleared (literally) I got this burst of energy and ran around like a crazy person. In addition to my first run in weeks (the heat has clearly made for unfavorable jogging conditions) and a handful of trips to our local neighborhood park, we drove a town over to Loveland and checked out the Benson Park Sculpture Garden; 10 acres of the old Benson Family Homestead turned artistic ecosystem by the Loveland High Plains Art Council. The Bensons were farmers turned activists in the Colorado Big Thompson project and were giant influences in the develpment of water resources for all of Northern Colorado during the early 1900's. The land was donated by the Benson family to the city of Loveland in the 1960's to use as a bird refuge and wetlands area. In 1985, a group of Loveland citizens turned the gorgeous piece of homestead into a lush garden graced by over 130 sculptures.


There were a handful of seperate entrances, this one with the panthers was by far my favorite.










I wish this picture of a giant wishbone being pulled by 2 kids turned out better, but I was standing on the wrong side of the Sun.











Someone made a sculpture of my dog.

This was by far my favorite. It seemed very Shel Silverstein to me.

So anyway, Thanks to my friends and family for yelling at me to get my lazy self back in blogging mode. I appreciate you guys! It's pretty cool knowing that you're interested in how we spend our days (although I suspect there are some of you who just need their daily fix of Kalynn's adorableness!)
Hope you're all staying cool!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Save The Ducks!

So Colorado is pretty much on fire. The Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs has burned 2,000 acres. The Woodland Heights Fire in Estes Park (we were just there!) took only 20 acres but totally burned down 21 homes.  The Springer Fire in Denver burned 1,145 acres. The High Park Fire here in Fort Collins has officially become the 2nd biggest wildfire in Colorado history and is still burning a whopping grand total of 82,000 acres.
Not to mention on top of the smoke, it was a dry 104 degrees yesterday. We're doing all we can to stay cool and smoke free. I decided on Friday to try a new technique because you can only stay in the air conditioning for so long before cabin fever sets in.

I took a couple of Kalynn's bath toys and froze them in a tub of water.
Toddler Summer Fun: freeze a bowl of bath toys, and then use water guns or buckets to "save the ducks!" www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com
 Then we went outside with a couple of squirt guns and watering cans and spent the next hour "saving" her poor trapped duckies.
Toddler Summer Fun: freeze a bowl of bath toys, and then use water guns or buckets to "save the ducks!" www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

I've never seen a kid concentrate so hard on a project. For that hour, the heat didn't matter, the smoke didn't exist. All she wanted out of life was for her Spongebob Squarepants to get out of the ice.
Toddler Summer Fun: freeze a bowl of bath toys, and then use water guns or buckets to "save the ducks!" www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

When she finally did free a toy, she was so incredibly proud of herself!
Toddler Summer Fun: freeze a bowl of bath toys, and then use water guns or buckets to "save the ducks!" www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

Toddler Summer Fun: freeze a bowl of bath toys, and then use water guns or buckets to "save the ducks!" www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com
We played so long her little toesies turned to prunes!

 I hope everyone is staying cool out there this Summer! If all else fails, just stay inside, soak up the central air and give lessons on Elvis!

It's never too early to learn about Elvis www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Mountains and Ghosties and Cookies... Oh My! (Estes Park, CO)

I sat on my couch a few days ago, drinking my coffee, and reading some of my old posts about traveling. It made me miss the days when I just picked up whenever I wanted and took off. Which I did. A lot. I can't necessarily pack a small bag and take a 10 hour road trip anymore, but who's to say I can't pack up my daughter, some spare diapers, toys, sippies, and snacks and take some day trips?

I was feeling antsy pantsy for an adventure, just on a smaller scale and within an hour or so from home. So... Estes Park was the place to be! The drive up the mountains, with all it's twists and turns along the Big Thompson River, is one of the most beautiful drives I've ever taken in my life. I say that very confidently. There is absolutely nothing like driving up a mountain.

Highway 34 to Estes Park, Colorado #Colorado #ColorfulColorado www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

And of course I made a playlist:

Heartless Bastards - The Mountain
Semisonic - Across The Great Divide
The Butthole Surfers - Pepper
Jane's Addiction - Mountain Song
Ozzy Osbourne - Rocky Mountain Way
Led Zeppelin - Misty Mountain Hop
Yonder Mountain String Band - 40 Miles From Denver
John Denver - Rocky Mountain High
Johnny Cash - Your Wild Colorado
Townes Van Zandt - Colorado Girl
Chevy Chase - Colorado

There is a break in the mountain tops right as you pull into the 7,500 foot high valley of Estes Park and the view coming around the corner is enough to knock you off your feet. 
Aerial Tramway view in Estes Park, Colorado #Colorado #ColorfulColorado www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

Our first stop was the Aerial Tramway. This was my view stepping off the bottom platform into our little red hanging bucket which was about to send me up Prospect Mountain by these 2 tiny wires. I was a bit nervous and just wanted to be at the top already.
Aerial Tramway view in Estes Park, Colorado #Colorado #ColorfulColorado www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

And once you got up there!... The View!!!
Aerial Tramway view in Estes Park, Colorado #Colorado #ColorfulColorado www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

The View!!
Aerial Tramway view in Estes Park, Colorado #Colorado #ColorfulColorado www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

THE VIEW!!!
Aerial Tramway view in Estes Park, Colorado #Colorado #ColorfulColorado www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

You could even see glimpses of the Olympus Dam
Aerial Tramway view of Olympus Dam on Lake Estes in Estes Park, Colorado #Colorado #ColorfulColorado www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com



If you bribed them with peanuts, the chipmunks would walk up to you and take their lunch right from your hand!



This made Kalynn wild with excitement, "Chip and Dale, Mommy!! I see 'em!!"

Coming back down the mountain was just as shady as going up, honestly. An experience to remember for sure.
Estes Park Aerial Tramway view of The Stanley Hotel #Colorado #ColorfulColoradowww.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

This is Kalynn's "Red Rum" finger...

And speaking of red rum... Of course we had to make a stop at the historic Stanley Hotel.
The Haunted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado #ColorfulColorado #Colorado www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

The Stanley was built in 1909 by Freelan Oscar Stanley (of Stanley Steamers) and catered to all the rich and famous Hollywood personalities from way back when. But it's mainly best known for the inspiration behind the fictional Overlook Hotel in Steven King's novel The Shining. The Stanley Hotel is supposedly one of Colorado's most haunted places and has been on multiple television shows promoting it's unexplainable Ballroom phenomenas. I've never taken any of the "ghost tours" nor have I stayed there overnight, but it's on my Colorado Bucket List and I plan on it someday soon!
The Haunted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado #ColorfulColorado #Colorado www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

The Haunted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado #ColorfulColorado #Colorado www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

This is the view of the waterfall and restaurant out the back window.
The Haunted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado #ColorfulColorado #Colorado www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

Of course I had to sneak upstairs and get a picture of room 217!
Room 217 at the haunted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado #ColorfulColorado #Colorado www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

I packed a picnic lunch for us right before we left the house, so we sat on the front lawns, ate our sandwiches and enjoyed a panoramic view of the Rocky Mountains. Our yogurt was mysteriously missing from the cooler, so I'm assuming one of the ghosties must be a fan of Yoplait.

When I was a kid visiting The Stanley, I remember walking off the grounds and down the dirt road a ways to see the fictional pet cemetery which was made after Steven King's novel Pet Cemetery became a movie. I was please to see that it was still there after all these years! It was a bit more run down than I remember, and it's not something most people probably know about, so it was kind of cool to sneak around the side, down the "staff only" driveway and go check it out.
Pet cemetery at the haunted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado #ColorfulColorado #Colorado www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com


After our time at The Stanley, we headed downtown to the local shops and ran into a playground which sat directly on the ledge of the Big Thompson River!

Clearly, you can't go to Estes without stopping at the homemade fudge shop.

Our last stop before heading home was a little picnic table at the end of Elkhorn Ave perfect for eating cookies.

The red rock mountains with the sunset's orange color beaming off of them was the perfect view for our ride home.
Highway 34 from Estes Park to Loveland #ColorfulColorado #Colorado www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

Kalynn and I had such a fun day, I think we have many more mini trips to plan in our future!