Travel Tuesday: Pueblo

For the 4th of the July the boys and I took a day trip to Pueblo, Colorado which is about a 3 hour roundtrip from Alamosa.

Teenage boys are not always keen to walk around old downtown areas just to see what's there, but it is one of my favorite things to do.

Especially when you find an art gallery filled with ceramics, paintings, jewelry and yarn creations.

I especially love the building art we saw everywhere throughout Colorado.

And even had a chance to make some art of my own.

There was a guy doing chalk art on the sidewalk who asked us to draw something so I did.

"Marhaba" is an Arabic word that means "hello" or "welcome".

I figured since it was the 4th of July that there would be more going on.  There actually was a street fair with food, games, live music and fireworks planned for later in the evening, but there was an entrance fee.  Since I was not keen on driving mountain highways at night, which is when the fireworks would take place, we decided to just head back.  Besides, we needed to get ready for the next leg of our journey.

More to come from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

  

Monday with Melissa

Today I took a break from household duties to spend time with my very good friend, Melissa.  We decided awhile back that whenever we got together, we would try out new restaurants and shops.  Instagram has been a great way to discover what's out there.

First we had brunch at The Gathering Bistro.

 I absolutely loved the cozy atmosphere and decor.   

And how drawings on the walls were mixed with the actual physical decoration.  

 Very hard to get good pictures while there were other customers in the restaurant.

 There's a lovely seating area outside, though it is much to hot to take advantage of it right now.

 

We decided that we definitely need to go back again to try some of the lunch items on the menu.

Melissa is always the navigator on these outings as she has GPS on her phone and my sense of direction is severely lacking.  (I would have never made the 3,210 mile journey in the States last month without my trusty Garmin GPS.) 

Our next stop was a shop called Darhaa.

Nicely designed and displayed, but much smaller than I had anticipated. 

 Filled with unique gifts and a gift wrapping service is offered.

 Some things were a little pricey but specialty items usually are.

It was nice to get out and about for a few hours and discover new places, but tomorrow it is back to cleaning.  

Hope you all have a great week!

Stashbusting Sunday: Leftover Cotton

After being away for a month, there is much cleaning to do around here.
But in between cleaning sprees, I am making time to get in a bit of stashbusting.

Quick and easy projects that don't take a lot of thought.

After all, I did find a lovely yarn shop in Denver that required the purchase of new cotton.

Summer stashbusting is happening at Linda's Crafty Corner.

Have a super Sunday.

Sightseeing Saturday: The Great Sand Dunes

The Great Sand Dunes were designated as a National Monument in 1932 by President Herbert Hoover.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton signed an Act designating the area as a National Park and Preserve.

As a child I had visited here with my family on summer vacation.  Who knew, some 40 years later, I would be back with my own children.  Or that my son would be attending college in the area.

The dunes sit to the west of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and are the tallest in North America, rising about 750 feet above the floor of the San Luis Valley.

The perimeter of the dunes is surrounded by Medano Creek which only flows during the spring and summer months.  (The dark area below is the water line.)

You actually have to cross the creek to get to the dunes which I found so interesting.  When I think of dunes, I think of desert where water is scarce.

It would have taken forever to even try to get to the top, so we only walked up a couple of dunes.  Definitely a work out.  Going back down was the easy part.

As we were leaving I found this.

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart."

(Confucius)

Have a blessed day.

July's Journey

I'm back after a month long trip to the States to visit my college boy.

From Kuwait via Frankfurt to Denver.

First we had to drive from Denver to Alamosa where we walked the Great Sand Dunes and hiked Zapata Falls.

 Drove to Pueblo for the 4th of July.

On to Santa Fe rich in culture and history.

Then the tiny town of Las Vegas, NM where my friend Kathy now lives after 4 years in Kuwait.

A day trip to visit the Taos Pueblo.

Durango, Colorado.

Montrose, Colorado which is close to the town of Ouray, known as Little Switzerland.

In Salida, Colorado I was so happy to finally meet up with blog friend, Jan, who is unfortunately no longer blogging.

In Boulder, Colorado we hiked the flatirons and wandered around Pearl Street where street performers are plenty.

We visited Denver where I found a lovely yarn shop.

There were side trips to Fort Collins and Greeley to visit college campuses.

Around Colorado Springs, there is much to see and do from Garden of the Gods to Pikes Peak.

 
And finally back to Alamosa where we packed and planned for our return to Kuwait.  No matter how many times I do it, leaving my college boy behind is not easy.  And the flight is just so long.  But we are back home now, fighting jet lag and getting back into the swing of things.

Hope that all of you are having a fabulous summer!
Best wishes,