Hiker

H is for hiker

Since I've lived in Colorado all my life, I'd better be a hiker, huh? I mean, really, what's the point of living here if I don't get out and hike. For a "serious" hike, I don good boots, sturdy clothes, and a silly hat. Then, I think of Edward Abbey. In April 1967, he wrote the introduction to Desert Solitaire at Nelson's Marine Bar in Hoboken, New Jersey. And in that intro he wrote the perfect description of what a hike should be:

     "...you can't see anything from a car;
      you've got to get out of the goddamned
      contraption and walk, better yet crawl,
      on hands and knees, over the sandstone
      and through the thornbush and cactus.
      When traces of blood begin to mark your
      trail you'll see something, maybe."

And I take his words to heart. I get down on the ground and crawl around to really, I mean really, see what's there. And, I'll stop mid-trail to see what's at a distance. When hiking, it seems that most folks are narrowly focused on the trail. They miss the trees, the flowers, the mountains, or whatever lovely scenery that surrounds them. And they never stop to study what's at their feet.

This past spring, I crawled around at the Balcony House in Mesa Verde National Park. It's known as the "toughest" of the ranger-lead tours. 

The hike starts at the top of a canyon, with the ruins tucked away, unseen, on the cliff below. Then, a 30-foot ladder to the Ancestral Puebloan ruins. The ladder is made from wooden poles, and there's enough room to travel up it two by two.

Not for those faint of heart.

Not for those afraid of heights.

Not for those wearing flip-flops.

As we started up the ladder, the ranger said to repeat the motto: "don't look down, don't look down." I didn't.

This is the top of the ladder.

Can you see the bottom of it? 

NO!!!

This is why "don't look down, don't look down" was so important.

If I would have looked down, I'd still be there, hanging on forever!

Anyway, I made it. Hoo-Haa!!! Here I am in the ruins.

Camera in hand, I topped the 30-footer. But when I went to take a pix, no luck. I was a-shakin' in my boots! 

But, I'm a-smilin'. Wow, was I proud that I "conquered" the dreaded ladder!

Have I told you I have acrophobia?

After wandering the ruins, you crawl through a small tunnel. There are two ladders leading to the end, the last of which is off-camber on a rock cliff. Not a good place to take photos!

So, here's my challenge: get outta the car, get onto the trail, and get down and dirty. Get zany!

And when you do hike, make a remembrance of the trek. 

The applique on my Colorado Memories quilt depicts the snowy winters. The Columbine promises spring will come.

The photos are ones taken on hikes.

Gardener

G is for gardener

But in Colorado where I live, where half of the state is arid, hot plains and the other half is snowy, cold mountains, gardening is tricky!

I first lived on the plains in Arvada, a suburb of Denver, where my flowers and veggies flourished.

Then, on my 35th birthday, I moved to the mountains. It was early spring, just the right time for planting. Since I had moved a mere 20 miles distance, and my new place was only 2,000 feet higher, I thought the only difference would be a shorter growing season. 

Wrong-o. The shorter growing season is not a problem, but the elk, deer, and cute little bunnies are. They smelled my flowers and ripe-for-picking veggies from many miles away, and they loved my city garden in the hills!

With help from the local garden shops, I've learned what to plant that the critters won't eat. At last most of the time! One summer an elk ate the leaves of my rhubarb plant. Only once, though!

The above photo of my kinda-critter-proof garden inspired this quilt. It's made from triangles cut from fabrics reminiscent of things in my garden:

~ Tans for the Kansas limestone fence post, which is topped with green triangle printed with a sundial.

~ Gray geometrics for the rocks. (When traveling, I collect rocks as souvenirs.)

~ Yellow florals for my yarrow plants, and green prints for my herbs.

~ A triangle with a butterfly and a triangle with a bumble bee. Look closely at the bottom left triangle and you might spot the yellow head of a creepy-crawly!

The quilt was published in Quiltmaker Magazine.

Gardening is awesome!