Snow... snow... snow...

You know how that happens in Colorado - nice and warm day, plenty of sun and nothing tells you to bring an umbrella. And the rain starts in the afternoon, and the sky is gloomy and it's pouring... But nothing tells you to bring snowshoes. And when it's dark and you need to drive back home you find two inches of fresh (and wet) snow covering the roof of your car, the roads, the lawns... And you have no choice but drive through the blizzard and hope to be at home before the weather really starts acting up... And all of this happened yesterday and driving wasn't fun at all. I know, the video makes it look better, but still, look here and be glad you were sitting at home and enjoying the snow looking from your window ;)

 

Between Christmas and New Year...

- Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells, Jingle all the way...

I know, Christmas was a couple days ago, but this tune is still here and will be until at least New Year, so we all are still in a Christmas mood, aren't we?

 

The exotic beauty of the orchids

Nothing can beat the day in the Botanic garden, isn't it right? But some days are better than others and some days are just as good as they can be... So, one cold October day we happened to stop by the Botanic Garden and visit the Orchid Showcase. Hundreds of these exotic blooms were on display and we were unable to pass on this opportunity.

 

Chihuly Glass under the snow in the Botanic Garden

Chihuly Glass is an art. No doubts about that. It looks great anywhere but especially nice installed in the natural environment. We were so fortunate a few years back when Denver Botanic Garden had Chihuly's sculptures around for almost a year... Look here how nice the glass looks in combination with grass, flowers, leaves and how amazing it looks at night... click here - Chihuly in Botanic garden

And you would like to see how the same sceneryChihuly glass in Botanic Garden looks like under the bright sun - click here - 

A couple weeks after I got these night shots the snow covered the ground and changed everything. So I had a good reason to come back to the Botanic Garden and take a few more pictures with a completely different mood and appearance...

 

Washington Park in April

It is cold outside today. And the snow covers everything. It is Winter after all and I have no complaints about the weather... but... let's travel back in time (or forward?) and enjoy the warm April day in Washington Park...

 

Trail of Lights in Botanic Garden at Chatfield Farms

It definitely could be better if the snow would cover the surface and make everything look more Christmas-y... But we cannot control the weather, can we?

 

Fall colors - Echo Lake

Fall colors in Colorado are bright and bold. To enjoy them all you need is to drive up to the mountains and look for the aspens. Echo Lake is one of the most popular destinations to look for the orange and gold...

 

Farewell, Bisti wilderness... Part 6

To look at the sunset in Bisti wilderness, click here - The sun was rolling down... Part 5

I know I promised you to come back here and explore some more of the Bisti wilderness. And... let's do it! Even more, let's go back in time... Not too far, just a few months back... From April to October... Why? From the dry season to the rainy days. In fact it was raining hard just the day before we visited Bisti for the first time and it made a huge difference with our Spring visit. We got there early in the morning and started walking towards the north side of the valley. Immediately we realized that wet clay is the hardest thing on Earth to walk on... It sticks... sticks... sticks... more and more and soon every boot weighs at least 10 pounds (I am not kidding or exaggerating)... Just look at our tracks... You know what saved us? Grocery bags! ;) We wrapped the boots before entering the clay field and... surprisingly it helped - less clay stuck ;) But.. nothing is perfect on this Earth and we still had heavy feet but kept going... we had no option but to keep walking ;)

 

The sun was rolling down... Part 5

Click here to look Into the space hatchery... Part 4

It wasn't really easy but we left unhatched aliens because we realized it was getting late and we needed to return back to our car before the darkness hid it.The sun was rolling down and we had only an hour before the sunset so... We had enough time to find our way back if we walked directly to the parking lot... But as you can guess it wasn't gonna happen...

 

In the space hatchery... Part 4

To look at the Moon landscape, click here - Can you change my ticket? Where? The Moon! Part 3 

We said goodbye to the Moon landscape (or Martian, we were unable to agree about that) and continued walking. Just a few dozen steps and everything changed, the colors returned and the hills were beaming calling us... I still believe a couple of sirens were singing there...

 

Can you change my ticket? Where? The Moon! Part 3

To see the Martian landscape, click here - Yes, I said one, right, to Mars! Part 2

One more turn and again we stopped surprised... We couldn't believe our eyes... Were we on Mars? Probably... Was it the Moon? Possible... What about Earth? Hm... doubt it...

 

Yes, I said one, right, to Mars! Part 2

To look on how our journey started click here - Can I have a ticket to Mars, please? Part 1

As I said before, it doesn't matter where you are going, everything looks different there. And when we climbed down the valley just a hundred yards from the place we started we found out it looked completely different... I mean we were staying on the bottom of the canyon but the surrounding area just wasn't the same... The colors were different, the shapes, the hoodoos... Everything was just a-m-a-z-i-n-g!

 

Can I have a ticket to Mars, please? Part 1

I think everyone dreamed of conquering space and exploring the planets. At least once, while still being a child... Have you ever thought of walking on the Mars surface and wandering around? Just looking... I definitely have... 

We discovered this place during one of our trips but didn't have enough time to really hike there so we decided to return later with only a goal to roam at this inhabitant place and explore it like a planet.... So one Saturday morning in April we started our space journey. Don't believe me? You are right, I don't believe myself either, but when I am looking at the pictures I don't believe we stayed on Earth all the time. Because it looks like a Moon, or Mars, or Jupiter but definitely not our planet...

That day we were heading to Bisti/De-Na-Zin wilderness, located near Farmington, NM. Even though we started early enough it took a while to get there so we were a bit too late, but had no chance but to start exploring. We dropped the car at the parking lot and walked in the desert, moving on the valley bed toward the hills on the right.

 

Denver from the bird's eye

Did you even fly in your dream? Just like a bird, circling around some familiar place and looking at it from an unusual angle... and waking up with a faded feeling of the fly and disappointment with the dream. Because it was only a dream...

I don't know about you, but I always wanted to fly... Not on a big airplane (I did it and that's not that exciting), but a small one. The one where you can open a window and feel the wind, and where you can see the shadow of the screw in front of you...

 

Red Rocks Amphitheater

I've been to this place many times. And every time it feels new... like it never happened before...

 

Cherry blossoms...

When the weather is cold and unpleasant the best we can do is to remember the moments of joy and warmth...