Colorado Vacation

 This week I've been away from home - driving, hiking. and riding around my lovely state! We took a nice ride thru Glenwood canyon to hike the trail to hanging lakes.

 On the east end it is dry open brushland, right next to the river is the only color. It's been a dry year already, and many spots look like late summer instead of spring!

 The canyon quickly becomes deep and narrow. The highway is a bit of an engineering marvel, with the lanes crossing over each other, over the river, thru tunnels long and short, and suspended from the canyon walls. The bike path winds back and forth under the highway in many spots, making for an interesting vista.

 But when you're riding you get to take your time and really enjoy the scenery.

 Then we arrived at the trail head. On this part of the canyon the highway has disappeared into a long canyon, and only the bike path and train tracks line the river. I forgot to mention the train tracks that wind a narrow and precarious path along the canyon walls.

 It becomes very lush as you walk up the gulch. The trail is very steep and well traveled. We follow a small creek most of the way, with many little trickles flowing to meet it. I had to wonder about the first poor slops who broke this trail - they didn't even know what's at the top!

 There are plenty of little benches along the trail, so be sure to rest often.

 Nearing the top of the gulch one can no longer see the main canyon, and the steep rocky sides dwarf the tall trees.

 Tada! We've reached the top! The beautiful lake is kept this color by the dissolved minerals in the water. The lake was teeming with little fish and covered in a layer of algae.

What a wonderful place to have lunch! What's your favorite local attraction? I'll have more about the rest of our trip in the next post...

Drinking with Style!

 Project of the day today, was to take my plain flask, and make it awesome. Why? Besides the fact I would hate to have a mix-up at an out-door boozing event... Drinking is even more fun with cool drinking vessels.

 Start with a random leather scrap (yes, I do just have these sitting around, it's a messy craft room.)

Cut to size, there's a flap for the bottom and a top flap which will be cut to fit over the cap.

 I punched all the sewing holes with an awl. I can never stand to let things be unadorned so I also punched holes in a leaf pattern to add beads.

 The beads went on with a two needle technique - one needle strings the beads straight, the other tacks down the cord. It was tough to find a needle that fit the heavy cord and went thru the beads!

 I had an old belt closure to use for a carry clip, so I sewed one piece of it on the back...

 Then stitched up the bottom and side.

 I cut a hole and sewed the flap over the top, securing the whole case on the flask. My fingers were getting sore at this point, and I was using a pair of pliers to pull the needle thru.

 The other end of a scrapped fashion belt became the belt loop piece. simple enough design, but this belt is thick! It was tricky, but a short seam.

Here we are, a nifty side flask! I can easily pull it off for drinking and refilling. It;s going to be perfect for camping and hiking this summer. Are you getting ready for outdoors time with your crafts?

Take a Hike!

It seems a little early, but it's mountain time already! We had such a dry winter that the hill sides are mostly free of drifts, but rain over the last week or two has giving some needed moisture to growing plants and the underbrush is springing to life!
We took a short hike in the Pike Forest, three hours of Ponderosa forest, scrub oak, wildflowers and a light breeze. If there is a better place for a lunch break I can't find it! This area is very prone to fires, and many small communities and homesites dot the valleys. There is a lot of fire mitigation going on in these woods, selective thinning of trees and firewood harvesting. Just last week a prescribed burn shot back to life on a dry windy day and ravaged many acres nearby here. After so many years of dry fire suppression and dry summers the Pike continues to be a dangerous fire zone.
The return to the mountains on foot (instead of skis) marks the start of another backpack season! Hopefully I'll explore many new corners of the Colorado Rockies. Are you getting back into the wilds?

Camping

It's a little late but I thought I'd throw up some photos from my camping trip last week. I never miss a chance to show off how awesome Colorado is! My sister and I camped at Cottonwood Lake up Cottonwood Pass
And I was knitting in the woods, this should surprise no one...

We went to an old pegmatite quarry so my sister could rock hound. She and her rock hammer did a lot of "speeding up erosion"
And after I had found a pretty rock for me I practiced my archery skills. I'm getting better, but thank goodness no one is depending on me to feed them with a bow!

Out for Nature Break

For the next few days I'll be headed out for a wild fairy romp! (Also known as a backpacking trip for those of you who don't speak elvish) As the mood took me, I did a search for Wood Elf goods, and came out with a wonderful basket of great picks for long eared style!
Here in Colorado even in the midsummer it is often chilly enough for woolens, particularly out in the forest and mountains. This pixie worthy hat from BeautifulPlace will keep you toasty even in the coldest of beautiful places. Don't forget that those pointy ears will need to stay warm!

On a cold evening in the woods one might need a little more warmth than even that tho, but ditch the sweaters and coats ---> this is what you need! A custom piece from FrixieGirl that is both rustic and modern. The warm natural wool felt will be warm and durable, and help you to fade into the trees. One could even try to match the colors and shapes of your local flora.
Perhaps one would want a little bit more camouflage? For sneaking about in the lush woods and leaping from tree to tree right... These Woodland earrings from LuxePlumes would be right at home in any forest, the natural feathers will make you the cutest elf on the block (err, the hill? Tree?)

One needs to have a way to pin back your hair, have to show off those lovely ears right? Petalmix has a variety of wonderful Tsumami Kanzashi flowers, a nice mix of traditional techniques paired with a little modern bling! One could cultivate a collection to match your every outfit, as these dress up a t-shirt, and finish an evening dress...

SilkStoneDesigns creates these silver leafs directly from the real deal, then matches them with lovely leather that is reminiscent of a willow branch. Simple adornments that will be happy in the woods, or will bring some woods into the city! It's even made from recycled silver, so you can be green while you're being green...


Naturally, I will be bringing knitting on my trip, and here's some yarn that warms a wood elf's heart! Kittygrrlz colorway Forest Snake, with a fabulous interplay of greens and browns with a little bit of magic sparkle! Imagine your own Fae creation with this funky art yarn...
I'll be hiding in the trees for a few days, dreaming of wild adventures and enjoying the fresh mountain air. Until then, stay crafty!

Hike to Hanging Lakes

Just a short way up the Canyon from Glenwood is a hiking trail to Hanging Lakes. It's been a tourist attraction for almost as long as the Springs! We drove, but one could take the easy bike path at Railroad grade up from Glenwood.

The hike is up a steep creek bed which climbs out of the canyon. The trail has seen very heavy use, but it is fairly difficult. Rocky and winding, at least there are lots of nice places to sit and rest by the side of the creek...
The trail is a little over a mile long, but takes over an hour. The walls of the canyon spur are lovely book cliffs that host a clinging forest.

Finally one comes to a section of pipe handrails and super steep stone steps. Likely built by the CCC this section is tricky and a little scary for those of us who don't like heights...Ahhhh, then the lovely azure pools!
The water is super clear, fed by a spring from above. The spring minerals are depositing layers slowly on the pool bottom and anything that falls in. There is a boardwalk to prevent damaging the pools.

Lots of little chipmunks around, these guys have figured out that tourist carry snacks, though they must not see anyone in the winter, they're not as fat as most "tame" critters get.


A few more natural wonders, this "oil shale" columbine. Petite and pale yellow it thrives in the unique soil chemistry, and nowhere else. These plants are perched on the top of the waterfall which cascades down from the pools to the creek below.


And these little fishies! (Trout?) They enjoy the shade of the trees and the calm parts of the pool. I'm not sure if they ever more downstream though, as it really is a big drop in a few places on the stream...


We braved the steep climb down, it's a good thing we went somewhat early in the morning as the crowds were building on our desent. All kinds of people were on the trail, families with little kids, old folks, those crazy people who like to jog on rocky mountain trails...

And little ol' us. I felt a bit out of shape but we didn't have any trouble getting there. Now I've got the hiking bug again I think I'm going to plan a backpacking trip, with any luck the rain will let up for a few days1