Flowers

Just because it's a summer day and I wanted to blog about something :) So today's topic of choice is flowers. I am just going with the old adage a picture is worth a thousand words.


These are pictures I have taken over the years of various flowers that I thought were cool.

Longmire Days 2015

I have watched Longmire since it first aired! I had read the first Longmire book by Craig Johnson and have slowly read through most of them from the Library - I am a hardcover snob and I won't buy the paperbacks - I must find the all the hardcovers.

This year was the 4th year for Longmire Days and took place July 17-19, 2015. I signed up for hotel the moment the dates were posted in like February as I have not been able to attend the other 3 events!

Then I started daily watching the Buffalo Website.

Rumors floated around the internet about who would attend: Craig Johnson, Robert Taylor (Sheriff Longmire), Louanne Stephens, Adam Bartley, A. Martinez, Zahn McClarnon, and John Bishop.

I was not able to drive up Thursday so I missed the morning events on Friday because I was driving then. I arrived about 1 PM and was able to go to the Cowboys v. Indians Softball Game- Prosinski Park – commentary by Rob Taylor, Craig Johnson and Marcus Red Thunder (image below).

Getting ready for the coin toss

the Umpire for the Game - Zahn McClarnon

The Cowboys won something like 24-4 :( I was rooting for the Indians. 

I got to meet a lot of great people and especially Pamela Ladypn the head of the Longmire Posse (fan club).

Saturday was a busy day with Autographs, Motorcycle Poker Run and the Street Dance. 

The morning started off with the Autograph signing. 

Craig Johnson

Zahn McClarnon

Bullz-Eye with his autographed jacket

Signed program

I had made a model horse figure for Actor Zahn McClarnon (Officer Mathias) - from when he was in the Mini Series INTO THE WEST and gave it to him and then I had done a model for Robert Taylor (Sheriff Longmire) and he was so gracious about it and wanted to talk about how I had done them. 

Then they had the Motorcycle Poker Run - there were a lot of neat bikes and Zahn McClarnon, Adam Bartley and Craig Johnson were part of it. 

Really Cool Bike

Zahn McClarnon on his bike

Then there was the street dance and a chance for photo opps with some of the actors. 

Me with Zahn McClarnon

Me with Robert Taylor

Me with Adam Bartley

Sunday there was either a horseback ride or skeet shoot - I chose the horseback ride - in the morning. The evening was a BBQ (I was unable to attend as I had to drive home :( )

Here are some of the shots from the horse back ride.

A. Martinez. Zahn McClarnon and John Bishop

Me with A. Martinez

A's wife Leslie, John Bishop and Zahn McClarnon hanging out at my truck after the ride watching the horses being run to the pasture. 

This was so fun and I am so bummed that I missed the BBQ - but I am already planning for next year!! 

Dream Lake

There are tons of places to Hike in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) - one of my most favorite hikes is Dream Lake.

You enter the park and go to Bear Lake Road (the Road dead ends at Bear Lake) and there is quite a bit of parking unless you get there after 9 AM in the morning.

Bear Lake is the first Lake and has a roughly 1 mile easily accessible for handicap trail around it.

Then you start up a trail that is only accessible by hiking and has a pretty steep incline. The first lake you come to is Nymph Lake. It is covered in lily pads usually and in late summer they have big yellow blooms. 

A lot of the trail looks like this with "stairs" 

There is a lovely waterfall that comes down just before you crest to the lake. 

And some neat bridges that the park made over the streams and marsh areas. 

This sign directs to Dream Lake and then Emerald which is the last stop  (go right over the little wood plank bridge) - if you go left the lower sign directs you to Lake Hiyaha (which I really need to do one of these days but haven't yet.)

Then there's the lake with Hallet Peak (on left) and Flattop (on right) - it is really a beautiful site. 

If you are coming to Rocky to hike it's one I always suggest. It's not horribly difficult but it is not a flat hike it's up and down. But the views are well worth it. 

NAN - North American Nationals Part 2 - Show

SO I want to put a HUGE thank you out to Dayle Steinke for taking my models to California for NAN and to Stacy Quick for Proxy showing them for me.

Mine is the Pink one on the top :) 

I had models in classes: 5006 CM Pure/Part/Grade Gaited - sadly no placings in that class. 

 6006   AR/OS Other Pure/Part/Grade Light (Incl NSH) - sadly, again no placings in that class.

503  TR/CL Pinto (All Patterns) - sadly no placing in this class.

508  Fantasy (Pegasus/Unicorns/Pegacorns/Thestrals) - TOP 10!! Thessy (#1029), 26 points, owned by Melissa Addison

604 TR/CL Bay/Chestnut/Sorrel - sadly no placing in this class

608 Decorator/Unrealistic/Fantasy - Pip (#1033) 17 points - lost on the tiebreaker, Riabhach  (#1033) - 4 points - Both Riabhach and Pip placed on every judge's card - just not enough points and horses for top 10's! 

Not bad overall - Thank you again Stacy and Dayle for taking care of my babies! 

Aspen Majestic Lady

She came into my life in 1997 after moving from Colorado to Missouri. She lived at my mom's place in Kansas as I lived in the city in Missouri with no place to keep a horse.

We got her at a sale barn. I rode her before she went through the sale and loved her. When a black Tennessee Walking Horse went through the sale at 7 PM it sold for $5000. Everyone thought it was her and most of the people that bid on her had left by the time she actually went through at like midnight-1 AM. We got her for $1000.

Her registration papers hadn't been signed in years and were a mess - a mess that would have cost me close to her $1000 cost to get fixed with the TWHBEA. At the time it wasn't important to me, now I really wish I had done it so that I could prove her pedigree.

Aspen - her name on her papers when I finally got the mess from her previous owner said Aspen Majestic Lady. She was born June 16, 1985 - today would have been her 30th birthday. 

Me on Aspen, My mom on Miss Robin Skip (QH mare)

I found a wonderful model to use for Aspen - it's the Mirriam Resin sculpted by White Pine Equine. 

I miss this mare so much. 

Trail Ridge Road

The highest continuous road in the United States. It's open usually from Memorial Day until late September or early October - all depending on the weather

Wikipedia

Rocky Mountain National Park

I live in Estes Park, Colorado - the East side of Trail Ridge Road - they were able to open it around May 30 this year. I went over on June 7 to Grand Lake and back to Estes.

There is a lot of snow up top still, especially above timber line. I hope to go up again in a couple of weeks - we have had a lot warmer weather this week so might get to see some tundra flowers and a little less snow.