Stories 1

Sarah and I were driving around the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. I was looking down when she yelled OH MY GOD! I looked up just in time to see this monster crash right across the road, missing a woman (coming toward us) in a VW Bug by only a few feet. She never saw it and just kept going. The white car on the left was Sarah's. You can only see about 3/4 of the tree. (SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE)

We figure it missed us by less than ten seconds. This was in a remote area, and it was hours before they got it cleared. Sarah for scale.

Hiking the Chicago Lakes trail up Mt Evans, we saw these three plaques nailed to a tree.

Hiking the Chicago Lakes trail up Mt Evans, we saw these three plaques nailed to a tree.

Hiking the Chicago Lakes trail up Mt Evans, we saw these three plaques nailed to a tree.

Remember these? That's an Apple IIE, our first computer. It was nothing more than a word processor with a flashing green cursor, but it was amazing to us, the carbon copy and mimeograph generation. Floppy disks on the right, perforated-track printer on the left.

Intense double rainbow, but I couldn't get out of the car and get my camera wet!

Trees, clouds, stars? Or sparkly snow under a bush? I'm partial to the first.

Moreso!

The Shoe Tree outside of Zion National Park. Legend has it that the shoes/boots are hung here in tribute to the Angels Landing hike in Zion National Park - because once you have completed this hair-raising hike, you may as well hang up your boots as nothing else exists to compare with it.

Flying from Denver to Anchorage can be a memorable experience.

This fascinating cave is in the desert canyons that surround Lake Powell. Once in it, my hair stood on end, a strong "sacred place" feeling, reluctant to have this picture taken.

These bear claw marks went up this aspen about 15 ft. Makes you glance over your shoulder, even if they should be hibernating. Near Tabernash, CO.

Made me smile.

Surreal shapes at Tent Rocks National Monument, NM

That's Martha in blue. At one point someone in our party stared at these hoodoos for a while and pronounced, "I don't know who should be more excited by these- women or men!" :^)

Have you ever seen anything like that verrrry thin line connecting those two clouds? Yeah, me neither.

Here's another, seen many years later. I increased the contrast so you could see it better.

South end of a north-bound moose feeding on Guanella Pass willows.

Same moose, earlier, feeding on the lake bottom

Beavers have had a big impact on the cottonwoods along the South Platte River in Douglas County.

Ross brought out the heavy artillery to stalk this rare white Elephant's Head flower. They're usually pink/purple, like the surrounding ones.

Closer look.

Closer still- you can see where it gets the name Elephant's Head Flower.

King of the road!

From Critters 6

Brush fire as seen from our neighborhood.

Spend a half day exploring the Jemez Indian ruins at Tsankawi Mesa in New Mexico. These places are in solid rock, and are believed to have been worn down from foot traffic, or to have collected rain water. Either way, they are striking.

More of the same. For more- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsankawi

I have tried for years to get a good shot of the rainbow of reflections from individual snow flakes. This is as close as I've come.

This and the next photo were both taken on October 20- this one in 2014, the next in 2016. Quite by accident.

This was a gorgeous Pacific coast sunset in and of itself, but it held a surprise.

When I got back to Colorado and looked at my pictures, I was shocked to find I had inadvertently captured a rarely-seen phenomenon known as the Green Flash. Not a great photo, but I'll take it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_flash

Wet going in Puget Sound, WA, windshield wipers at full speed.

#1-"MomcanIgoovertoMikey'sburrowhuhmomhuhpleasemomcanI pleeeeezemom?" #2&3- "Geez, just let him go!" Mom- "You just wait til your father gets home!"

When Richard and I were seniors in high school (1965), we unknowingly gave each other the same Christmas gift- shoe polish boxes. We both still have and use them.

Richard and I became friends in the first grade at Robinson Elementary in Birmingham. One of us has grown emotionally since then. [Richard taught me to stop and say, "This is it!" As in, slow down, take a breath, look around you- don't miss your life. Thank you, Richard!]