I'm Tarred

That's right. I'm tarred! You know, the way a true Texan pronounces tired. That's what I am tonight. So tired that I'm tarred. So, only one photo. I do have a cute video I want to put up , but we just back from Queen Creek and I don't want to spend the time to take it from iPhoto into iMovie, save in smaller format, upload to Blogger. All of those things take time. Yes, more time than it took me to type all that. Don't be a smart-aleck. Why am I so tarred? Well, Kendall spent the night with us. Just her, not Bella. She was up for a while during the night, but my loving wife got up and cared for her and fed her. Thanks, dear.

I am still getting used to my camera. So, I sometimes forget to turn on the flash. My point-and-shoot always did it automatically unless I said not to. This one is the opposite. I ended up with this dreamy looking photo of Kendall sleeping that I kind of like. I also took the flash shot, but this one is a nice effect.

Have You Missed The Girls?

Have you missed seeing the granddaughters while I trotted out a series of Ouray photos? Well, fear not, faithful readers. I do indeed have new pictures. As always, they are cute as a bug.

Here they are playing in their tent. As you can see, Bella is checking out whatever it is that Kendall is checking out. The book is always more readable on the other side of the fence, or tent, or whatever.

After playtime, we got to eat ice cream. Who doesn't love ice cream? Bella obviously does, although she doesn't seem to love spoons so much. Why use one, when the tongue comes out far enough to reach the food.

No Way!

There is no way I can let Lindsay stay ahead of me. So, of course, I had to add the new Blogger feature that gives a little more detail about updated blogs. I used the setting that will always keep them sorted in the order of most recent update. Some of you seem destined to remain toward the bottom, huh?

Check out the moon over the mountains out near Dallas Creek between Ouray and Telluride.
But even cuter were these little hummers at a B&B on Main Street in Ouray. Or maybe that's only one reflected to the other side??

Peas In A iPod

Here's Two Old Dudes looking at something (a waterfall, perhaps?) off-camera. Aren't they cute? Nice hats, for sure.

I dodged a bullet today. I was at a User's Group meeting for our project tracking tool. It was the inaugural meeting of this group for the AZ area. So, the last agenda item of the day was to choose a president. My boss asked if I wold like to be nominated. At first, I joked that I was going to put his name in, and we let the topic drop. Right before lunch, another who had already nominated himself said he had to leave, so could we decide before lunch? Paul and I began to discuss it more seriously, but before he could put my name in, the company rep asked, "Does anybody object if we just let John be the president?" So, it's not me. I know it might be prestigious, but I am still learning my job, and I think this will end up a lot more work than I can spare right now. Well, maybe next year, huh?

Falling In The Dark?

Oh come on! Surely all of your Ouray veterans recognize this scene. We saw it almost every night last year (and quite a few times this year).

Now this one looks familiar, but there is a twist. I dragged Kathie back out there after dark one night. She was standing guard so no bears would get me while I took 20-40 second photos in almost total darkness. We didn't really see the scene until later when we reviewed the pictures. Most turned out blurry, because I had to focus manually and I couldn't see the falls. This one came out OK. At first, I adjusted it in Photoshop, but it turns it so bright that you couldn't tell it was a night photo. So, here you go. I know. Turn out the lights in your house and then look at it. That'll give you a sense of what we faced.

The Real Deal

Here you go, ZKW.

I will update this post later when I have more time. Check back this evening.

Well, it is the evening here in PHX. So, as promised, a little more.

Here is a video of Box Canyon Falls. We stayed at Box Canyon Lodge, about 200 yards from the falls. Unfortunately, it is uphill both ways to get here. There is an entrance fee of $3, but it is worth it every 5-10 years. While we were up the hill, I took this panorama of Ouray from an overlook.
Zachary, you can see Cascade Falls above the town to the left of center (or is it to the right?). It even has the correct colors.

Earlier, I was listening to Gaither Vocal Band. Y'all keep an eye out for there first 4 albums or so. I'd like to rip them and have them for my iPod. If you have them in digital form already, send me a copy. You remember the stuff before they went country? Yeah, that's good stuff. Which ones?

1981 The New Gaither Vocal Band
1983 Passin' The Faith Along
1984 New Point Of View
1986 One X 1
1988 Wings
1990 A Few Good Men - I have this one
1993 Peace Of The Rock - I have this one

Here are a few of the covers I am looking for.

Here You Go, Zachary

Zachary, I appreciate your asking to see the Cascade Falls photo in color. Here it is in purple, blue, black and white. Aren't you a nice young man?

A week ago, we saw Wanted. Don't!

Bats, Black and White, and Box Canyon

Hey, we went to see The Dark Knight today. We really enjoyed it. We all thought it was the best of the Batman movies.
Just playing with Black and White on this photo of Cascade Falls.
And here is a video of Box Canyon Falls shot with my old camera.

Ouray Retrospective

Remember we mentioned on the folk's blog that we went to Cascade Falls in downtown Ouray one day. Here is the sign at the entrance.

Here is the falls. It was running quite nicely due to the snow melt. It was higher than we've ever seen. You can see the people on the left to get a sense of the size of the falls.

More soon.

I'm A Yankee (doodle) Boy

Actually, Mom was the doodler, drawing watercolors while the rest of us wandered and photographed Yankee Boy Basin. Speaking of Mom, y'all keep checking out their blog this week. We are adding travelogue notes and photos every night.

I added a photo to yesterday's blog on my site. Last night, Blogger wouldn't let me upload, so I posted without the pic. It's there now. All is right with the world.

Here we are at Yankee Boy Falls. Don't we look happy? Don't the falls look full?

Here Dad and I are at Yankee Boy Falls. Don't we look happy? Don't the falls look full? Here is a puzzler for you. Why is Dad pointing off the the left when it is obvious the falls are off to his right? I will give you no answer. It is our secret.

The Direst of Ouray News

La Papillon, the famous donut place for years and years in Ouray, is NO MORE. We went looking for it today (just out of curiosity. We weren't going to eat that stuff. It's bad for you) and couldn't find it. We asked at the local grocery store and they said it was closed permanently and when we asked if it was making money or losing money, they said "It's more complicated than that." Ooo. Ominous sounding, huh?

What does an Arizona person does when it turns nighttime here in Ouray? That's right. They put on jackets or even huddle under blankets. This is what Kathie did while I was taking sunset photos.

A New Decorating Trend

Lyndsay, look at the newest trend in model home decorating! Check out the mirror beside the tub. That's right! It seems you leave the cardboard corners on them now. So, the one over our piano is quite stylish. You might want to try it yourself!

Getting There Is....What???

Check the folks blog. We will post our trip reports there.

It's Been Another Week Already?

Wow! Sorry my posting has dropped off. I don't know how you working people do it. Between work and helping Alison with classes, I am even behind in reading my newspapers.

We head out for Ouray in one hour, so I'll keep it short and sweet. Well, short, anyway. I seem to have lost my manual for the new camera already. Getting old is no fun. I do still have the Spanish version, so I am taking that with me in case I need it. I also downloaded a copy onto the computer, so I do have access to it.

Let's see Isabella playing with one of the floaties while she patiently waits for the rest of us to finish eating so we can swim. Did we wait an hour? I cannot say. My parents might read the blog.

Yes, Kendall was here, too. She went in the pool and had a great time. She really likes the water.

After we swam, I had to tell Kendall a secret. Sorry I cannot share it with you, but it is a secret between us.

Friday the Fourth was Fun with Family

We spent the Fourth with Kyle and Lyndsay and her family. I am sure more photos will come, but for now, here's two.

Here is last night's sunset. It was pretty.I took it as a series of five pictures with my camera tilted upright. That way, it captures more pixels, and you know how important those pixels are. Then, I assembled them in Photoshop.It is a 20" x 8" pic and I am thinking of printing it.

We had five little ones with us. It was a blustery night and we were not convinced that the nearest fireworks shows would happen. So, we decided to just watch what we could see from their neighborhood. This is my best shot. Also, since I am still learning my camera, it is my only one that you can actually recognize fireworks in.

1IE+0U=1NP

Yes, you heard me. The title says it all. OK, fine. I'll translate it. One interesting experience plus no updates equals one new post.

I just woke up this morning for no reason. It did not feel like time to get up yet, but you never know. So, I said to myself that if it was 5am, then it was God waking me up to pray. Guess what! It was 4:59am. Close enough. So, I began praying and an arrangement of a song came into my head. It was beautiful. I had a way to weave parts together. It had orchestration. I knew I had to write it down. So, I focused on the first verse so I could write it down in an hour when I got up. Then, I went back to sleep.

The alarm woke me at 6:15am. I dragged myself into the shower and started thinking about the song. Oh, what was it? I can remember the way the first notes went. Here. Listen. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da. Yeah, me too. Just teasingly out of distance. In the shower, a thought came to me. Did I decide it or did God tell me? Anyway, the song was part of prayer time today and not for sharing. It was a way for me to communicate with and praise God. Maybe some day, he'll let me share it, but I guess not today.

Still, how can you go wrong with that?

Guess what!! I got paid! That's right. After just 56 weeks without a paycheck, I got one. Well, that's not true. I got some from substitute teaching. But it sounds more impressive to say 56 weeks than 8 weeks.

We are heading out to Queen Creek for the Fourth. That's good. I bet it is 2 degrees cooler out there, so it might only be 105 by the time for fireworks.

Have a good holiday.