Watermelons

I tried my hand at growing watermelons this summer. My
dad gave me 6 plants. I lost 2 of them, but 4 survived. I was
not really familiar with how they grow. I kept having to hoe
and prepare a bigger space. I was hoping to get at least one
melon. I have picked one and have 3 more on the way. I had
14 going at one time, but I think they got too much water
at one time and they sort of rotted.

Here is one before it was ready. Daddy told me it would
be ready 30 days after it was touching the ground or when
the stem(piggy tail) was brown.

Another view of the melon waiting to get ripe.

My first melon. Randy estimated it to weight about 25 pounds.

Although I followed Daddy's rule about when to pick, I was
still apprehensive about it being ready. When we cut into
it we could see it was nice and red and it smelled great!

Nice, sweet melon

I have to say it was one of the bests melons I have ever had!

I am thinking of growing some pumpkins for fall, but I better
get on it!

Last Dollar Road

There is a road in west central Colorado named Last Dollar
Road. It is west of the town of Ridgeway if you know some
Colorado geography. A guy Randy works with had told him
about it. We had looked it up online, and saw that it was
gorgeous...especially in the fall. We were given one line of
advice...Don't try it after it rains. Well, we did try it after the
rain....and we should not have. I will just say...too slick to go
up, backed down, got stuck, people from Missouri pulled us
out, they had a jeep. If you want to know more, ask me!
We were determined to see Last Dollar Road, so the next
day Randy and I drove up to Telluride...the other end of
the road. We decided to just go exploring for a little ways.
Although there were a few rough spots and I held my breath
a time or two, we made it all he way through(past the spot
where we had got stuck the day before). It was worth it.
I want to see it in the fall.

If you know me just a little bit, you know that one of my
favorite things is sheep. I was thrilled to see this flock...
while passing on Last Dollar Road.

Ahh...that fair maiden(ok,not fair, but slightly dark) is me
in field of beautiful wild flowers. Last Dollar Road was
full of beauty.

We even saw a deer. It was not afraid at all.

One of the beautiful views we saw on Last Dollar Road.

There were so many aspen groves along the way.

In the fall, the Aspen leaves are golden.

With there trunks so white, there was sort of a celestial feel
to the road...at least I thought so.

I do not know why it is named Last Dollar Road. It was
free to drive on the road, but it was so beautiful I would
think seriously about giving my last dollar to see it in
the fall. I feel so blessed to have been able to see all of
the beauty of Colorado. When I have doubts that God
is always around, I only have to remember the wonders
I saw on that road.

Rocky Mountain Flowers

While on my hike around Spud Lake, I was blessed to see
many different flowers. The sky was blue, the sun was
shining brightly, and the flowers looked so fresh and
colorful.

I think this is a columbine...state flower of Colorado.

Various wild flowers

White ones, yellow ones......................

More wild flowers

I think these are Indian paintbrushes.

Hike, Hike, Hike

One can not go to the Rocky Mountains without getting in
them. We decided to hike to Spud Lake. It was a relatively
easy hike...one mile each way and not a big change in
elevation. Getting to the trail head was a rough ride in
Sarah and Greg's car. We were beginning to wonder if
we were going to get there.

Liam in his "pack pack". ready to go.

Spud Lake. It was beautiful. I walked all the way around
it. I found some gorgeous flowers.

Everyone waiting for me to get through with my lap
around the lake.

Liam found the perfect rock for sitting and sunning!

New Background

As you can see, I got my background back. I got tired of waiting on Cutest Little Blog, so I switched to this one. There are several out there on the Internet. Anyway, I am glad to have a background back.

More Colorado.......Mesa Verde

To those of you who are not as historically inclined as I, then
bear with me as I share our trip to Mesa Verde. I love history
of any kind, so this place was a delight to me. I also teach
about this in 5th grade social studies, so I took lots of pictures
to make a power point for the students. We only went to
one of the cliff dwellings. There are several. This one did
not need a ranger guide. It is a little bit of a climb getting to
them,but well worth the effort. This one is called
Spruce House.

Mesa Verde is home to ancient Indian cliff dwellings. These
are located near Cortez, Colorado(southwest corner). I have
been here twice before(with my parents and with my kids).
What a treat to go with Liam, although he will not remember
it...all the more reason to go again.

A kiva...ceremonial room

All of this built on the side of a cliff with no modern
equipment.

When I called my parents during the trip, Daddy said,"Did
you see that old corn?"

The old corn...astounding, isn't it?

We all went inside of one of the kivas, including Liam. I
got this picture of Sarah coming out.

Sarah, Greg, and Liam...he loved to ride in the "pack pack".

Liam also liked to explore too. Remember this is a cliff
dwelling..notice the death grip Greg has on Liam.

I asked Randy to take my picture so my students could see
I was really there. If you have never heard of the cliff dwellings
or want to know more I could tell you or.....just Google.

Colorado 2010....Towns

Recently, we were blessed to be able to spend a week in southwest
Colorado. Sarah, Greg, and Liam joined Randy and I there for a
week of relaxation and sigh seeing. I took many pictures of our
activities. I decided to start with the various towns we passed through.

This is Telluride, a very beautiful little town tucked in the
mountains. Like many towns in Colorado, it is a former
mining town turned tourist town. Telluride is ski resort
in the winter. It is also home to Tom Cruise and Oprah, to
name a couple of celebrities who have homes there. We have
passed through a couple of times, but never stayed. It is
also a very expensive and exclusive little town.


Ouray. It is also called "America's Switzerland" It is also
literally tucked in the mountains. It is a neat place to visit
for the day, and the drive from Silverton to there is
spectacular. Randy and I did it on the motorcycle last
year...memorable!

Silverton. I think this is my favorite little Colorado town
Again, tucked in the mountains, it is a very small town that
is the other end of the Durango/Silverton train ride. It is
full of little shops and restaurants. We have eaten at the
Brown Bear Cafe and the Handlebar Saloon. Both of these
eateries were built in the 1880's and are fun to just be
in. The food was pretty good too! For the second year
in a row, Randy and I watched 4th of July fireworks in this
little mountain town....glorious!

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings....ancient city near Cortez.

I can not remember what little town this is. It was in
southeast Colorado. It was the first of 3 towns we went
through where we just missed their 4th of July parade. Just
like here at home, people were gathering up on the sidewalks
waiting for the parade. You can see the flags lining the
little town.

Raton, New Mexico....We stopped and got gas here the
second morning of our trip. They were having a hot air
balloon rally. When I decided to take pictures, I realized I
was not in the best spot, but I did manage to get some of the
balloons. If you look closely,you can spot 4 or 5.

What Happened?

Ok, I changed my background. I did not like it, so I changed it again........I got nothing! What happened? Any idea what happened?

Once again....NOLA

If you have ever gone to New Orleans, you might have noticed
that on opposite ends of Jackson Square are two red brick buildings.
They have beautiful wrought iron work, and for me have always
symbolized New Orleans and Jackson Square. These buildings are
called the Pontabla Buildings. They are touted as being the oldest
apartments in America, but they are really row houses not
apartments....I just sounded like a tour guide. My picture does
not do them justice.

These buildings were built by a woman and she and the
buildings have a story. One of the books I had to read for
the class I took was called Louisiana Women. One of the essays
in the book was about the Baroness Pontabla.

The Baroness married young, it was an arranged marriage.
The Baroness came from a very wealthy French family, the
Alamonsters. Her husband's family, the Pontablas were also
very wealthy. Her father-in-law was greedy and immediately
began to try to take her wealth. He was successful at it. After
all she was a woman in the late 1700's, early 1800's. Her
wimpy husband stood by and let it happen. In a nutshell, she did
something that very few women of the time did....she
sued and took her father-in-law to court. It took time,
but she eventually won some of her money and property back.

Now the Baroness was not poor even while her disgusting father-in-law was taking her wealth. Remember, she came from a wealthy family as well that owned property in France and New Orleans. She came back from France and saw the St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square and thought that the rental property she had there looked shabby next to the grand cathedral. With the help of an architect, she built the twin, red, brick buildings. If you will look closely(my pictures don't do it justice) at the iron work, you will see the letters A and P intertwined with
each other. It is on both buildings in the middle of each piece. Apparently, although she and
her husband lived apart(remember he wimped out when his father was taking her money), she
still was in love with him. He eventually went back to France. She did too. She took care of him for the next 24 years until he died. He suffered from both physical and mental ailments. She not only took care of him. She took care of his money and property. I bet her father-in-law was rolling in his grave.

I probably do not do the story justice, so google the Baroness Pontabla. She was a very interesting early Louisiana lady.

More NOLA

I visited several cemeteries while I was taking the class on
Louisiana history. Some were in Lake Charles, but the most
interesting one was in New Orleans....St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
This cemetery was started during French ownership of New Orleans.
All of the graves are written in French. Being in New Orleans the
tombs are above ground. Also, each tomb can contain a couple of
hundred years of the dead. They just keep sliding them in from the
top. Some even use cardboard coffins so that the bodies can
slide on down. The cemetery is segregated by religion. Catholics
on one side and Protestants on the other. They are separated by
wall. We only visited the Catholic side.

The cemetery looks like a miniature city. I was so fascinated
by each tomb. Some are still kept up by family members and some
are still kept up by benevolent societies started over 200 years ago
to take care of burying the dead and survivors. Look at how ominous
the sky was at that time. We could actually see the lightening and
hear the thunder. Luckily it went around us and all we got was
the cooling effects of a Louisiana thunderstorm. I felt somewhat
anxious being in New Orleans with a thunderstorm brewing, knowing
almost 5 years ago 80% of the city was flooded. The cemetery we visited
was not affected by the flood.

I loved all the iron fences with their typical New Orleans
Fleur de leis.

More fencing.

Still more fencing. I am not sure how old it is.

All of the graves are in French. At least the Catholic side is.

This is supposedly the grave of voodoo priestess, Marie LaVeau.
She was a free woman of color who practiced voodoo. Voodoo was
not a religion of strictly sticking pins in dolls. It originated in
Africa and was a religion meant to bring harmony between humans
and the earth. Marie lived with (they were not allowed to marry)
white French man and this is his family tomb.
She was a devout, practicing Catholic as well. There is another grave
that is said to be her grave as well, but is probably her daughter's who
was also named Marie LaVeau.

Right next to Marie LaVeau's grave is the grave of the first
black mayor of New Orleans, Dutch Morial. I like to think
that Marie is keeping an eye on that Louisiana politician.

The cemetery was a very interesting place. I would love to go
back. There is also a St.Louis Cemetery Number 2. There are
also American cemeteries for when the American's moved in after
the Louisiana Purchase. The city is so full of history.

NOLA

As some of you know I took a class this summer through the
Louisiana Endowment of the Arts. It was called, "Louisiana,
A Multi-Cultural Journey". We learned so much about the
history of our great state. One thing that enticed me to take
the class(and use up a whole month of my summer break) was
a field trip to New Orleans. The other enticement was a $1250
stipend! I also earned 3 hours graduate credit. Below are some
of the sights of NOLA. The city is so full of colorful history and
colorful weirdness. I decided to start with the weirdness.

If you are in Jackson Square, you are going to see a street
musician. Here is one I saw. His repertoire included "How
Great Thou Are", "Amazing Grace", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", and
the Sesame Street theme.

Of course I don't know why,but there was a guy with a pink
pig in Jackson Square.

A New Orleans staple, tap dancing little boys. I gave them
each a dollar.

This is not weird. It is one of the reasons I like New Orleans,
the great Mississippi River. I love to just sit and watch the water
go by and think about all the history that has traveled this river.
I also think of Randy's grandmother who told us that she and his
grandpa lived in New Orleans briefly. She said it was so lonely and the
whistles from the boats made it more so. She also gave a demonstration
of what the boat whistles sounded like. I will never forget her face and
the sound she made....on of my favorite MoMo Burns memories.

Next, I will post some of the history of that weird city on the great river.