Home from Denver, and Up to My Usual Mischief Once More

/ Marcia Meara


Red Rocks Park and Natural Amphitheater

Brace yourselves, folks–she’s baa-aack! And bringing photos and news along with her! We had a lovely time in Arvada (just outside of Denver) and enjoyed the nippy (20 degrees or so) weather. Even got a bit of snow, but nothing like the 18″ that fell a couple of weeks before we went. 

We visited several outdoor areas and parks, including the one above, and took a long drive into the mountains. Sadly, our planned trip to Estes Park was cancelled due to heavy snow up that high the day we were planning to go, but we’ll see it in the spring, I’m sure.

We did visit Lair O’ the Bear park, but could only hike a small ways along the trail, as it was iced over and very slippery. Will visit that one again in the spring, too. Still, as you can see from the above photo, it was beautiful, and we had a great day.


Red Rocks Amphitheater from the Top


Some of the Fantastic Rock Formations at Red Rocks Park


More red rocks at Red Rocks

We had a fabulous time at Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater, where many, many concerts have been held. Mark got a nice shot of the amphitheater itself, but by the time I made it up there, I was too winded to think about pictures. But I DID make it, and it’s a pretty steep path. I am ecstatic to be able to say I sat on the stage where so many groups have performed! Yay, me, for persevering through all the huffing and puffing! I’d share the pics of Mark and I at the top, but they are somewhat less than flattering, so I’m sparing your sensibilities! 😀

John Denver “Spirit”

One of my favorite things about the park was this fantastic statue of John Denver, an icon of the area, for sure. (You can hardly keep yourself from singing “Rocky Mountain High” under your breath as you hike along!) We really enjoyed the day. I was also excited (birdwatcher that I am) to spot my first magpies on this trip. Got a great look at one at Red Rocks, as well as seeing a small herd of mule deer.

Mule Deer (a first for us)

Gramps and Kaelen

Here’s another shot from one of our outings, though I’m not sure which one.  Gramps and Kaelen usually led the way on our adventures.


Picnic in the Snow, Anyone?
(We ate FAST, then went for our hike!) 😀


Back at the (WARM) House!


Erin, Me, and Reya 

And I think I’ll close this with a picture of three generations of happy ladies, windblown, red-cheeked, and having a great time.

Hope all of you have been enjoying the season, so far, and are ready to celebrate the holidays. Me? I haven’t bought a single Christmas gift, so I suspect I’m going to be very, very busy this week! 😀 But I’ll be ho-ho-hoing all the way! 

Merry Christmas!

 

32 thoughts on “Home from Denver, and Up to My Usual Mischief Once More”

  1. Great to have you back, Marcia, and looking so well and with such great pics!
    That looks like a fabulous place, though you made me laugh with your ‘nippy’ 20 degree weather! It’s around 7 here this week, and dropping…

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    • Thanks, Debby!
      With the wind blowing like crazy, 20 degrees can feel positively frozen, especially since it was a drop of well over 60 degrees for us. 😀 It does get MUCH colder in Denver, but it warms up a little between the really freezing spells. They got 18″ of snow a couple of weeks ago, and it had warmed up enough to melt most of it. It will be back off and on, I’m told.

      We did have a great time, and I’ve been feeling MUCH better the last two weeks. Hardly using the cane at all. (Except on icy paths and steep trails.) I can’t wait to see it all in the spring. Brand new wildflowers for me to enjoy, and so many new birds that we don’t have in Florida. (Like Oregon juncos, Black-capped chickadees, magpies, etc.) I’m hoping to see elk, too, next time. Everything there is brand new to me, so I’m going to enjoy my visits for sure.

      Glad you enjoyed the pics! 😀 Now I have to go Christmas shopping! (Thankfully, I’ll be doing most of it online! 😀 )

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  2. Welcome back Marcia:) That looks like a lovely trip. I will have to add the amphitheatre to my list of things to see when we visit my sister and law and hubby who just moved to Fort Collins. CO looks so beautiful and you took some lovely pictures. I would singing that song, too. Happy shopping and holidays.

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    • OH, do! The amphitheater is amazing! A totally natural rock formation shaped like a huge “U”, and I’ve heard the acoustics from performers on the stage at the bottom is fantastic! I really, really enjoyed seeing it, and the photos don’t begin to do the rocks justice. Some of the formations are unbelievable! It was a real treat to visit.

      And thanks for the welcome back, Denise. It always feels good to get home, no matter where you’ve been. 🙂 ❤ Hope you are having a great holiday season! 🙂 ❤

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  3. Good to see you back. Looks like a lovely trip. I’m not a fan of cold and snow, but I do love going on nature walks and would love to see those parks. I’m not ready for Christmas myself. I’ve bought gifts, but since I’m moving this weekend I haven’t bothered decorating yet.

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    • If I have to go to either extreme, I’ll take cold over heat any day, and I don’t do sun at all! But my favorite temps would be between 40 and 65, all year round. Never over 72, if I had a choice. 😀 Of course, we don’t control the weather. It WAS pretty cold out there, but not unbearable and it beat fainting from the heat, which is what we usually get here. 😀

      And thanks! It’s good to be home, though I’m already looking forward to going back. The sights are AMAZING out there, and something radically different from the type of “nature” we have here in central Florida. I loved it!

      Good luck with your move! And happy holidays, in spite of it! Merry Christmas! 🙂 ❤

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    • Thanks, Janet! It really was a fantastic experience and a fun time! Glad you enjoyed the pictures. And the amphitheater (and the entire Red Rocks Park) was mind-boggling. Pictures just can’t capture the size and power of those rocks! 🙂

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    • Thanks, Mary. It’s always good to get home after a trip! Glad you enjoyed the photos, and I like that 3 generations one, myself. I actually have a picture of four generations: Erin, me, my mother, and my grandmother. It’s very special to me, since both my mother and grandmother have passed now.

      Hope your holidays are shaping up wonderfully! 🙂 ❤

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        • I think this will be the first year that my House of 1,000 Santas will only have a dozen or so out and about, and only one Christmas tree. Between publishing The Light and traveling to Denver, and a few other interruptions, I haven’t had time to decorate more than the bare minimum. 😦 But Christmas will come, anyway, and it will be happy! (The Whos down in Whoville taught me that, along with their lesson for the Grinch.) 😀

          Hope yours is merry, regardless! 🙂 ❤

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  6. What a fabulous trip. I loved all the pictures. I enjoy looking at interesting rock formations. You look very happy. I’m glad you didn’t risk walking on slippery slopes. Just order books for everyone on your list and have Amazon deliver them. That’s what I do. No malls, no post offices, just sitting at home in my jammies! I might have to go out and buy the hubby something.

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    • Thanks, Darlene! Glad you enjoyed them. The trail we had to turn back on was a very gentle one, chosen because it was doable for me, even if I needed my cane that day. But even a level patch of ice can cause a bad fall, and since I’ve been there and done that, we turned around. Several people ahead of us (much younger than I) had already come back saying it got way too slippery for anyone to walk on.

      At Red Rocks, it was a paved path, and it hadn’t snowed there, so I was able to make it up and down, with the aid of the hand rails and my cane. It was steep, and I don’t think Mark was sure I could do it, but I just went slowly and carefully, and by golly, I got to the top! It was great!!

      And yep, I’m doing everything that’s left via online orders, for sure. Already ordered some things this morning, in fact. 😀

      Happy Christmas, Darlene!! 🙂 ❤

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    • Thanks so much, Kass! I’m glad you enjoyed the photos, and the three smiling faces! We were having so much fun! And it’s great to be back in every way! I’m doing much, much better, hardly needing the cane at all, unless I’m having a bad day. (I keep it close, though). My energy level is increasing again, and most of the cognitive things seem to have either gone away completely, or are much improved. I’m still having troubles with numbers and math, though. But it’s slowly improving, and of all the things I could lose, math isn’t so bad. After all, I have a calculator on my phone! 🙂 And it beats the heck out of losing words! 😀

      Happy holidays to you, too!!! 🙂 Ho, ho, ho!

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  10. Oh, what fun pictures! I LOVED seeing these. I’ve visited red rock country in Arizona, but had no idea there was red rock in Colorado. Duh! Consider me educated.

    It looks like you had a wonderful time. I loved the statue of John Denver (I’m a huge Denver) fan, and all the other fantastic shots. You look fabulous, my dear and so happy. I’ve got a big ‘ol sloppy grin on my face!

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    • My kids make me happy, for sure, Mae! Thanks!! And there’s plenty of “red rock” (actually red sandstone) in Colorado. But Red Rocks Park’s amphitheater is a mindbender! And the slabs of rock on each side of it almost don’t look real.

      If you love John Denver, you should definitely head to Colorado. He’s (understandably) very, very popular out there to this day. And btw, I loved him, too. The statue is so perfect! That place really spoke to me, and it was the best outing of all. (And they were all very good.)

      I’m glad you enjoyed the photos, and that they made you grin! I’ll share more another time. 😀 ❤

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    • And the few pictures we stopped long enough to take do NOT do them justice, I swear! You really would love it, I’m sure. It’s gorgeous, and the gift shop is full of music memorabilia from groups going back to the sixties, since it has been the site of so many outdoor concerts! The little town below, Morrison, is a fun place, too, with tiny little shops, etc. I hope to see it in every season, if at all possible. Spring trip being planned to include Red Rocks Park, Estes Park, and various other scenic wonders. 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by and Merry Christmas, Pete! 🙂

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    • Guess it’s time for you to enjoy OPS (Other People’s Snow)! 😀 We lucked out in missing the 18″ that had already fallen and melted, so we mostly had piles under trees or scattered patches on the ground. But we did drive home from Lair O’ the Bear through a lovely, soft snowfall just soft enough to be beautiful, without making for hazardous conditions on the road. And it snowed really hard in the mountains right before our planned drive to Estes Park. Roads were closed, so we went to Red Rocks, instead. Turned out to be so beautiful and unusual, we had just as much fun. I had to remind Erin that everything we saw would be new to us, no matter where we went. We weren’t disappointed at all. 🙂 We had a great time! 🙂

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        • Haha! I’ve lived in several snowy places over the years, including Pennsylvania, Indiana, and one WINTER in Alaska (when I was 12), so I do understand about snow. And it’s difficult to deal with in a city, for sure, especially after it’s been piled up for days and days and is no longer looking very beautiful. But to this day, I love seeing it. It’s ICE I hate. 😦 Cool (but not Arctic) weather is my friend, though. Sad to say, I’m trapped inside in Florida for far longer at a time than I ever was up north. I hate the heat worse with every year–and I’m a native! (Yep. There’s me, and some guy up in the panhandle! 😀 😀 😀 )

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