Warm here...72 degrees outside. Overcast. It was perfect as the dogs and I ran through neighborhoods. My older dog slowing to smell everything in the world it seemed. The younger dog was just glad to be outside.

It is nice to be able to move, breathe, think (sometimes I think too much), love...or just to be thankful. Hope yours is a good day!

Exercise is always good for what ails me! Feeling a little chubby, go for a run! Feeling a little stressed, go for a run! (A person could substitue anything in here...."Walk, Swim, bike ride....heck even shopping!")

I went for a run. It had been a few days. I almost feel human again...got those endorphins flowing. Hmmm....wonder what I'd be capable of if it were a marathon.....;--)

Grandbabies make getting older a good thing!

Summer is for........Reading!

Friendships are investments for the soul.

Engery creates more energy. This said after several "lazy" couch potato nights and then trying to get up and run the next day. I have a hunch had I done anythng...cleaned, walk the dogs, went on a bike ride in the evening I would not have felt so sluggish trying to run in the morning.

How do you get the most out of your body?

This morning I tried logging onto my laptop to no avail. So then I tried blogging from the iPod which was all well and good after some hunting and pecking. When I went to post it wouldn't post. I gave it one more shot on the laptop after first shutting off the iPod and the Nook. Can you believe the laptop came on and is functioning fine!

I did read in the online owner's manual for the Nook that 'these devices sometimes interfere with other electronic devices. Could that have been the issue. All I can say is that I am becoming rather dependent on all this technology and I'm not sure if that is a good thing.

I think I'll go for a bike ride where I actually have to generate the energy myself to move the pedals.

Funny how you look forward to time for yourself and then you get it and you don't know what to do.

This morning I startled a fawn and it's mother. My bicycle flew by, the fawn startled the mother remained stoically posed. I felt so bad. Civilization's impact on nature is really something.

Sometimes nature is so heartwrenching I can't give it too much thought or I'd be completely and utterly useless to all around me.

I just wish our imprint, footprint, whatever allowed for all things to thrive. Guess it's not the nature of the beast...eat or be eaten?

Isn't it funny how you do everything but what you should be doing? (I should be running now but I have checked my e-mail, logged into my blog, worked on my grocery list....is there anything else I can do before I put on my running shoes?)

Good morning! I am curious what to write about the visuals I have already seen this morning or the trip to Salida yesterday? Or both...

As the dogs and I headed out on our walk the sun was squeezing itself between the marshmellow shaped clouds and attempting to spotlight one particular tree in the park. This tree appeared to glow with light. The rest of the trees appeared ordinary trees but this one had been set apart by the sun at this particular moment!

~

The trip to Salida began around 9:30 a.m. as we headed west on highway 50. This highway parallels the Arkansas River and a set of train tracks. It takes about 1 hour and 15 min. to get to Salida from home and the sights along the way can be appreciated by the passenger. The driver has to keep his eyes on the road as this road twists and turns through several canyons.

The Arkansas River is very low this time of year. The river was so shallow that we were surprised to see just how many rocks there are sitting in the riverbed. Those same rocks during higher water years create rapids that the summer rafting guides navigate with ease. I would never attempt to raft that river while the water is high but observed yesterday that I could possibly handle it now.

We made it into Salida for breakfast at the Patio Palace. This appears to be a family owned restaurant. We ordered and barely had time to notice the books placed on each table to occupy the customer before our food came. Terrific as always and reasonably priced. We then headed to the Walmart at the end of town to park our truck and pull the bikes out from the back for a ride about town.

My husband of 29 years, had perused maps of Salida and had a vague idea of where it was he wanted to go. Salida has a concrete trail that as far as we could tell begins by where we parked and meanders towards the center of town. When you start out it is framed by Russian Olive trees and is very picturesque. There are cattle and horses along the way to notice  your progress and before you know it you are in downtown Salida.

In the center of town along the Arkansa River we found ourselved watching some young kayakers learning how to navigate rapids. Some were able to cross and head down the river within the rapid, others were quickly toppled upside down. The kiyaks and students were in bright colors which attracked us to their lessons in the first place. It also made it easy for the guides downriver to retrieve students, paddles and kiyaks. We decided it might be fun to learn to kiyak but were not up for that adventure this day.

Our bike ride to this point had not been much of a challege. We had been sight seeing. Heading over to the golf course to talk to the pro was going to be the turning point. My huband asked the golf pro, whom he knew but I didn't, about biking trails. This gentleman told us about a route. He mentioned a hill. This hill was a 'booger of a hill. He stated that he had only been  able to get about halfway up it before stopping. Upon hearing this my husband knew what was in store for him. It seems that lately when someone mentions something they can't do my brain converts it to, 'We can do that! I think my husband even saw it coming as he tried to get the guy to quit talking about the hill . But I heard it! Now in all fairness this gentleman might have played down his abilities. For all I know he may have been talking abou the first time he tried to ride to the top of the hill and has since navigated this it several times. Not knowing our abilities and being somewhat of an aquaintence he may have hated to make off like this hill is a piece of cake. Then you have these people who you don't know real well attempting it and they end up injuring themselves. So I get why he might have made off like it was a hard hill, I get it, we did it, piece of cake!

After that ride which I think we could have rode about 3 times over we headed over to Amica's Pizza and Microbrewery for lunch as they offer a gluten-free crust in addition to the regular crust pizzas. Oh my gosh, we both tried the Biella or #13. It was made with spicy oil, mozzarella, carmelized onions, rosemary, capocollo, portobellow mushrooms, fresh tomato, goat cheese, and gorgonzola! I have never tasted anything so delicious. I do think my friend's cooking could rivel theirs but she doesn't run a pizza joint. I'll just have to settle for driving to Salida when I want a delicious pizza. My husband and I ate our entire lunch size portion pizzas!

We returned home along that turn ridden highway 50 both wondering aloud if we'd be able to ever ride our bikes from home to Salida. We'd have to go early to avoid the traffic as later in the day there were a lot of cars heading in the opposite direction and not much of a bike lane. It'd probably take us 2 or 3 days to actually get there. The hills might be quite a bit more challenging that the one we'd rode earlier. However if there was Amica's Pizza waiting at the end of that road, I'd be up for it!

Have you ever noticed how often a small child looks at their mother?

The sky today is as if someone had taken the stuffing from a large pillow and spread it across the sky stretching to the limits of where one could see. While walking at times it looked as if the sun's rays had hooked and opening and were attempting to pull at this opening. But alas as the day has gone on the sun doesn't appear to have been sucessful!

Ours is a little town. If in that little town you are at the center there is really no place that you couldn't walk. This morning I walked with the dogs to return the Redbox rental (Act of Valor) which I had biked to get last night which may have taken a whole 5 min.( I had said it was a little town). Anyway , as I looked at the Redbox this morning I was contemplating what someone would have thought of it 10-15 years ago. It is very interesting in all it's redness, making me think of the telephone booths in London that I would love to see! I imagine they are as outdated now as these Redboxes are new. What would we have thought of these Redboxes in the past? They are pretty interesting. You don't even have to pay any money to peruse your selections and that in itself is rather entertaining or I am easily entertained.

I continued the walk. I came around to our public pool where every summer a swim meet is held right around the 4th of July, usually afterwards. It was interesting to go from walking to where I didn't see a soul, noticing several streets with not a vehicle moving to wham...a full blown public event. The swimming pool is located on a corner next to our highschool. There were cars parked for blocks. RV's and tents set up along along the edges of the highschool. Even a dog in a little dog tent or perhaps a flexible dog carrier whom I imagine wished it were out walking too. The sound of whistle's blowing to signal races ending or beginning and the sight of a familar friend's car whose child had only just joined the swim team this year. I hope the clouds in all their puffiness don't make this first at home meet to chilly for this newcomer!

It is a good morning here in Colorado. The air is unusally cool due to a late evening storm that rolled through dropping much needed rain that of course some dogs, one of mine, find terribly upsetting. However I do believe she appreciated the cool on our morning walk!

What's better that one friend to walk with? Two friends and their four dogs, of course! Quite entertaining to watch  the undercurrent of dog hiearchy go through the pack. Emilee who is almost 14 couldn't possibly be bothered to even argue. She is the leader of everything, don't you know? Libbee fell in love with her friend Quinn who appears to want to annoy everyone but Libbee. Libbee would have loved to just gone home with Quinn and Blue. Blue who is a male blue heeler mix was a beautiful dog and resembled Emilee in breed but not coloring. Max and Ruby. What to say about Max and Ruby? Max stands about 8 inches tall and is in charge of this group and don't you forget it or you'll get the look! Ruby who must be closer to 7 inches was a bit intimidated by Quinn however by the end of the walk she figured that Quinn must be alright enough to occaisionally walk by. 

I wonder if the dogs pay much attention to the adults hiearchy? Is there a hiearchy among friends?

As I looked up while walking through the park the sunshine seemed to light the grass a greener color than I'd ever noticed. The squirrels and birds all seemed oblivious to me and my dogs as we made our way through the shade of the tall trees and patchs of grass on fire with sunlight.

Noticing the grass was a treat especially after a nice long walk with a friend. Just being with and talking to my friend who I hadn't seen in a while was a special treat to my soul. I enjoyed the conversation and the silences our conversation brought.What is it with friends that make everything seem so right?

Running this morning at 5:30, the sun's irridesent strings of color reflecting in my sunglasses, off windows and mirrors was almost magical. The dogs plodding along by my side. The sky not quite a light blue, but more the blues of night. The trees, the grass, the air refreshing! The moon full and sitting in the western sky. Got to love being alive and thankful for this day and every day!

Good Morning! The sky is blue, the water in the river gurgled along it's path and the air is cool. What a nice morning for a bike ride. Had I left town this week I would have missed all this!