Blanche & Lucy Enjoy the Arvada Farmer's Market

Every Sunday Arvada holds it's weekly Farmer's Market.  So we load the 'girls' (Blanche & Lucy) into the carriage and check out what's new at this week's offerings. Here Cheryl and the girls are waiting for me to cross the street.

This week we noticed a new tent - someone was selling ceramic goods from Mexico - 3 times more expensive than what we can get them for at the AZ SwapMeet.

This Sunday was warm and pleasant to walk through the market -  we always go early so it's not crowded yet.

One of our favorite 'free' samples is at the Kettle Corn tent - now and then we succumb and buy a bag to snack on while watch our evening movie.

Peaches are in season right now in Colorado - and these were especially sweet.

Each week they feature a new entertainer and this week it was a treat to watch this young troubadour sing some wonderful folk songs.

This very festive booth offers tropical smoothies in case you haven't had your breakfast yet... very refreshing drinks.

These garlic ropes were very fresh and the garlic was so amazingly sweet - that we couldn't resist.  Garlic is so good for you and we often use it in many of our recipes... in fact, we used it that night. Sauteed some of this garlic with a little oil and then added veggies & cooked all together ...great for your heart.

We enjoyed these tasty samples - bread dipped in various virgin olive oils.

There was a good crowd around the local Italian Bakery tent sampling their fresh Tuscan Bread - sooooo good.

And these beautiful Beefsteak Tomatoes were others we enjoyed.

In the middle of the town square where the Farmer's Market is held is an ongoing water fountain for the kids.  Here Tyler backs into the fountain.

The off and on water spouts are fun to watch when the kids don't realize that the water is about to pop up - Here Ethan gets a face-full surprise.

Touring Manitou Springs, CO with Blanche & Lucy

Blanche & Lucy visited the Manitou Cliff Dwellings in Manitou, Colorado at the foot of Pikes Peak which were built over 700 years ago.

The fascinating architecture of the ancient Anasazi people was wonderfully well preserved.

Amazingly, we were all able to walk among the dwellings.  You can see that the people who inhabited these spaces were pretty small, Cheryl could not enter this one but Tyler could.

In fact the tour/trail through the dwellings took us into, behind, and through each dwelling and room. Here Ethan peeks out of one of the ground floor windows.

The display plaques tell us that the people lived in the Four Corners area from 1100AD to 1300AD.  And this reserve was first opened to the public in 1907.

The quality of the Pictographs were amazing.  Tucked into the shaded part of the dwelling it did not fade with the sun.

This area was where the children slept - so Ethan & Tyler were very interested in that space... There were little beds in those rooms and only the children could climb up there as it was not originally built for heavier adults. 

The buildings were tucked into an alcove with a large overhang, so that the people were well protected from the wind, snow, rain or harsh climate.

Next to the Cliff Dwellings was this three-story Pueblo-style building. Similar structures are still inhabited by Pueblo Indians in the Rio Grand Valley of New Mexico - Taos, NM is the most famous of these communities.  Until 1984, local Native Americans still lived in these rooms.

Also on these grounds was a beautiful authentic Tipi made of Buffalo hide.

Both Ethan & Tyler enjoyed going inside and sitting on the wooden floor, imagining what the Native Americans would do inside.

Just down the road from the Cliff Dwellings, and still in Manitou Springs,  is Garden of the Gods.  Blanche and Lucy loved the view and the restful space.

This is a free city park (1,350 acres) of beautiful red sandstone rock formations,  (over 300 million years old) ideal for hiking, picnics, horseback riding, and enjoying the beauty of plant and animal life.

While Blanche and Lucy rested, Ethan & Tyler enjoyed climbing.

And Denise and Cheryl tagged along (yes Cheryl without crutches insisted she could climb & hike with the kids).

While the others hiked, I enjoyed the views, a beautiful home tucked in the mountains here fits in well with the red rocks.

Everywhere you looked were beautiful rock formations - some looked familiar.

As I rested with the dogs, this little cowboy came bounding through.

With his 'cork stopped' pop-gun, he was probably pretending he was the marshall hunting the bad guys.

After seeing deer, and horse riders the kids came back very excited.  A great time was had by all - and definitely a place to return to for more fun.

Day-Tripping with Blanche & Lucy

Tyler came along with Blanche & Lucy on our drive today.  Our first stop was the little town of Lyons, CO where we found the biggest chair in the world...

Not sure if you've heard about "Yarn Bombing" but apparently this is a popular activity among Fiber Arts Groups - they will 'wrap a tree, post, bike stand ' or any stationary item in a sweater-like creation.... well we found a tree here in Lyons that has been 'bombed' beautifully.

The older buildings here in Lyons have been restored beautifully - this one is now a tavern & cafe.

And this building is now a Pharmacy & gift shop.

Lucy & Tyler found that this yellow bear sculpture was a perfect resting spot.

Tyler took almost all the photos in Lyons, she found this old watch maker's clock that still tells time beautifully, interesting.

And of course we couldn't resist stopping for an ice cream break at this old-time Soda Fountain.

The outside bench was a perfect resting spot for our ice cream break - and Blanche & Lucy got a little vanilla treat too.

From Lyons -we headed up to Estes Park.

 Estes Park is a popular summer resort and the location of the headquarters for Rocky Mountain National Park.

Estes Park lies along the Big Thompson River.

We found this rest stop to be heavily populated by chipmunks that were very people friendly and not at all afraid of Blanche & Lucy.

Lucy could not believe her luck, so close - yet so far away.

As you can see this little chunky guy was well fed.... we had peanuts for them.

After lunch, we found a great little mountain stream for Tyler to play in.

The rushing mountain water was a bit too cold to go under water.

This is when Tyler said "Hurry up Grammy - this is cold"  brrrr.

Blanche & Lucy enjoyed the cool water too.

Then we went to the little town of Estes Park to walk around the shops.

Tyler found this horse very sweet and friendly.

A trip to Estes Park would not be complete without stopping at the Stanley Hotel. This beautiful hotel has quite an interesting History - check out the stories at this link: http://www.stanleyhotel.com/about/haunted-history

If you have read or seen "The Shinning" by Stephen King, you will recognize that this was the hotel featured in the film.

The 'Stanley Steamer' was on display in the lobby of the hotel.  You can stay at the hotel for as little as $241 a night to $475 a night....

This building, the music conservatory is said to have the most haunting history

There are even a few beautiful old Fire Engines on display at the hotel.