Fire and Rain (Lots of it!)

Five months ago Ian surprised me with concert tickets to hear James Taylor live in concert at Red Rocks.  This has seriously been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember and Ian is always surprising me with things that I love.  What a great man.  I grew up singing James Taylor songs and they are somewhat sentimental for me.  Well, last night was the night we had waited for for months.  Red Rocks Amphitheatre is an incredible venue where you sit on the red rock with a view of the city.  Amazing view.  Being with my favorite person, in one of my favorite places, listening to some of my favorite music was heavenly.     

About halfway through, it started raining pretty hard.  We just put our rain jackets on and toughed it out until they stopped the concert because of a severe weather alert.  Just as they were advising everyone to seek shelter and safety in their cars, the power went out.  We decided being in the open, on a large rock, amidst a lot of metal probably wasn't a great place to be with all the lightning going on around us.  So, sadly we left the concert early with a large majority of the crowd.  What a night!  We finished the night out singing to James Taylor all the way home and eventually made it home safely.   

July 4th on the Western Slope

Before we move to California, Ian and I have been trying to check things off our bucket list in Colorado.  For July 4th, Ian's parents and brother Evan were nice enough to meet us in southern Colorado for a few days.  On our way down to Durango, Ian and I stopped at Sand Dunes National Park.  It was what you might imagine, hot, dry, and very sandy.  

Ian was especially excited to see the Sand Dunes.  

I was especially excited to get out of the car for a little while.

We finally made it to Durango and met Ian's family for a BBQ and parade watching. Apparently the original Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is located in Durango - we couldn't resist.  I sure am going to miss this place when we move.

Our group took a day to tour around Mesa Verde.  I hadn't been there since I went with my family in 4th grade.  

On a tour of the balcony house, we had to climb these really steep ladders - my legs were definitely shaking as I have developed a fear of heights as of late.  Some parts we had to climb through really tight spaces.

A view of their dwellings in the balcony house.

There was a hike to some petroglyphs that we enjoyed.  

In case you're wondering, my brother in law does have a boot on his foot because he had surgery two months ago.  And yes, he hiked several miles with us, went up and down ladders, and even participated in this jumping picture.

I just really like this picture of Ian.  What a handsome man.

The Animas River runs through Durango so we thought we would raft it.  

The rapids got a little rough in places and Ian was in his element.

The Western Slope of Colorado has many mining towns tucked away amidst beautiful mountain vistas.  It was a perfect day driving through these towns and enjoying the beauty.

A section of the highway from Durango back up to Glenwood Springs is called the Million Dollar Highway.  It cost $10,000 per mile to build.  Sure glad they have improved the million dollar highway since this picture was taken. 

Our group happened upon the Russell Stover factory outlet on our way through one town.  All chocolates were an additional %50 off the outlet prices because the store was moving.  It was heavenly.

One of my favorite stops was in Paonia, CO.  We happened upon the town's cherry days festival.  We tried their cherry soda.

We stayed at The Living Farm Cafe and Hotel.  Breakfast was organic, fresh from the farm.  Yum.  

We all enjoyed picking cherries in the morning.

Brad (Ian's Dad) was especially in heaven.  We all ate ourselves sick eating cherries.

We ended the trip by hiking Hanging Lake near Glenwood Springs, CO.   

I will sure miss these mountains when we move to California.  Thanks for a fun trip Finlays!

Sad Day

The other day I saw this addition our car tire.  Sad day.  Apparently, I had been driving around with this screw in my tire for a long time because the screw head had been worn down.  

A Visit From Don

Last month we got a visit from Ian's high school teacher, Don LaPlante.  All of Ian's siblings had him as a high school teacher and he has kept in touch with the Finlays.  We enjoyed showing Don around Denver.   Lunch was jalapeno elk and reindeer hot dogs at Biker Jim's downtown.    

We visited the Denver Mint and the 1 mile marker on the steps of the state capitol. 

Ian and Don went to a Rockies game.

Thanks for a great visit Don!

Panama

After the El Salvador ambulance trip, we spent a few days in Panama.  The Panama Canal is under construction right now as they are building a third lock (that is where the ships come through the canal).   We took a tour of the construction and learned how they are constructing the lock.  

We were able to go on a special tour (the last person to go on this tour to the control tower was President Clinton - no joke) to the control tower and watch as the ships went through the locks on either side of us.  We had to walk across the lock to get to the control tower.  

This was our view of the ships passing by.

When we arrived in Panama, we met up with Ian's grandparents.  They have always wanted to ride the train along the Panama Canal, so we jumped on the train in Colon and rode the train along the canal as the sun set.

Our big group headed up to a hotel along the Panama Canal for a night.  We took a boat the next morning to visit the native Embera Indians.   

This was our welcoming committee.  

Our group walked around their community and took a walk through the jungle learning how they used all the different plants to build with and eat.

These people make beautiful baskets and jewelry they were selling.  

Our group stayed the last night in El Valle.  This city tucked away in a dormant volcano.  It was so pretty and green.  

We took a zip line through the jungle.  

Even Grandma went!