San Fran Clan

Brandon was a sweetheart and got me a trip to San Fran for Christmas. He went all out to ensure I was well entertained. We fit in some cat snuggling (really! I think Curie likes me. Except when I went in for the belly rub...), dance classes, house hunting, games and a lot of eating. Cor was even awesome and shared her bed with me. I love my sisters. And Jona is pretty great too. :)

Back in Denver. I can't resist an aerial shot. 

Colorado Beauty

I love having 3 reservoirs so close to home (5-20 min drive). Lately I've been hanging out at the beautiful Aurora Reservoir. Above is a pic taken in December when the WHOLE FAMILY agreed to go on a walk with me. WHAT!!!  It was a beautiful day and coats were shed before we got too far in. Of course the only picture that I got was when we were almost back to our car.... So you only get the far west finger of it.  Abundant wildlife. It seems I can't go to the reservoir without crossing path with a coyote. And also the ever present rabbits, prairie dogs, hawks, flickers, ducks, geese, etc.

Have passed this sign many times, but this is the first time that I really took a good look at it. Nice to see our city employees are enjoying their jobs enough to inject a little humor.

I took my bike back to circle the entire lake last week, which I had never done before. It's a little over an 8 mile loop which only took about an hour including all my stops.  Just minor hills, ups and downs, all the way around. A really pleasant ride.  It was a little chillier this time. If you look at the picture above you can see a man ice fishing. His sled of supplies are to the left. I am not that brave, even if the ice DOES seem solid!

Had to get a selfie!

If you ever wondered what goose heaven is like, this is it.  And it is LOUD! We've lived here for 6 1/2 yrs and I still am awed by the skies. Almost every day. I can't stop looking up. So breathtaking.

The Gorge

 A couple of days after Christmas, Brandon and I went on his Christmas present- a winter ride down in the Royal Gorge in Canon City (west of Colorado Springs). No snow but there was some cool ice sheets to look at. What looks like water froth on the edges of the river in the pic of Brandon to the right, is actually ice. In some areas the ice sheets were stuck to plants and the water had dropped a full foot below it. Which was cool.

 Here was the narrowest part of the gorge- only 30 feet wide at the bottom where there was no ledge for tracks. Consequently this 'hanging bridge' was installed to suspend the tracks. This was the only time that we ventured out to the open car. It was freezing!

Above you can see the suspension bridge that crosses the canyon at the top. The is some sort of small amusement park on one side of it and you have to pay even to walk on the bridge. We thought this was a better view, so we didn't shell out the cash. 

Nice little 2 hour winter jaunt.