Saturday, July 25, 2015

It's All Good!

Tucson/Lazydays KOA
Tucson, Az
July 24, 2015

We have been sitting here in Tucson for two weeks. Well worth the wait...



It's all good! What a relief...Joe's CT is all clear and we don't have to check again for 6 months.


We can't leave just yet though. Two of the three biopsies from the dermatologist came back positive so MOHS surgery is scheduled for Monday. 



Wrecks' x-rays and blood work are A OK as well. Must have been a really bad virus! 


Have a great week-end. Until next time...

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Killdeer

Tucson/Lazydays KOA
Tucson, AZ
July 21, 2015

Telluride, July 7, 2015


Today was the day I finally said, "It is waaaay too hot!" It topped 106 degrees and walking in the parking lot when we left REI took my breath away. It's hard to believe that just two weeks ago it was raining and cold when we visited Telluride. 


Usually when we travel, new places and new adventures fill our time and current posts are written. So many pictures that never make it to the blog get deleted or filed away with plans to revisit them in months/years ahead, and are never shared with you. But as you can see, I am stuck in Colorado if only in my heart...   

Afternoon walks with Sally were a real pleasure for me when we were in Montrose. We strolled along listening to and watching the birds. One in particular that was quite amusing was the Killdeer.  

Killdeer nest on the ground...often on gravel. They don't line the nest with anything and their speckled eggs look like stones. 
They are very noisy. Their voice is a "far-carrying, excited kill-deer  sound".  
They run across the ground in spurts, stopping with a jolt to check their progress or to see if they have startled any insects to snack on. 
Killdeer are plovers common to lawns with low vegetation. This species is one of the least water-associated of all shorebirds. 

Until next time...make a little noise and  


 HAPPY TRAILS!

Monday, July 20, 2015

Happy Monday

Tucson/Lazydays KOA
Tucson, AZ
July 20, 2015

Happy Monday...


It rained a lot when we were in Montrose. Taking a walk after the brief showers always put a smile on my face. Oh happy days!





Have a great week!

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Wildflowers

Tucson Lazydays KOA
Tucson, AZ



We have been here in Tucson for a week now and have been so busy with appointments. Joe has had blood work and a visit to the Oncologist. All looks good and his CT is scheduled for this coming Wednesday. Sure will be glad to get that over with. We both had a visit to the dermatologist. Joe had 3 biopsies done and we are waiting the results. It seems chemo does a great job breaking down the immune system and consequently leaves nothing to fight off those bad cells that cause skin cancer. We also both saw the eye doctor and have new glasses to pick up next week. Yippee!


The weather hasn't been too bad. Monsoon season has started and just about everyday we have thunder and lightening either close by or off in the distance.

Wrecks has had an upset tummy. He threw up for 2 days so on the 3rd day we made a trip to Ajo Vet Clinic. He had x-rays done and thank goodness there were no masses or obstructions. Blood work should be in by next Wed. He is much better and holding down a bland diet of chicken and white rice.

I haven't had the camera out so the pictures in today's post are left over from Montrose. The wildflowers peak about now so we missed that beautiful explosion of color. We did enjoy some scattered spots of splendor...  










American Bistort Flower

King's Crown
Fringed Bluebells


Blue Columbine...declared the Colorado state flower in 1899.  

Some say the blue represents the Colorado skies, the yellow center represents gold ore and the white, the snow-capped mountains...what a beauty!
Monument Plant...a mountain meadow plant. The plant can live up to 60 years storing up energy to bloom and make a seed. All the energy is used to grow a stalk that may tower up to 9 feet tall, bearing hundreds of flowers. After the plant flowers, it dies leaving thousands of seeds to carry on. 

Blooms on a monument plant...
Rosy Paintbrush...all the "paintbrush" flowers are in the
Snapdragon family.
Tundra Paintbrush
Purple Fringe Flower
Moss Campion...each plant may live over 100 years and can become a "nursery" plant for other alpine species providing shelter, moisture, and soil for seeds to germinate and grow. 

Mountain Blue Violet


Marsh Marigold




























Blue Flax...each five-petaled flower blooms for one day and then sheds its petals. A single plant will bloom for several weeks and then develop dozens of tiny bowl-shaped pods full of seeds to be scattered in the wind. 
Wild Rose
"Living is not enough. One must have sunshine, Freedom, and a little flower." Hans Christian Anderson

Well, until next time...
HAPPY TRAILS!







Saturday, July 11, 2015

Ophir Pass

Tucson Lazydays
Tucson, AZ
July 6, 2015


We are no longer in beautiful, green, cool Montrose. After two days of traveling, we have relocated in Tucson. Next week will be busy with appointments and not much to blog about. But, I haven't quite finished posting from our last stop...soooo...





A few days before we left Montrose, Imogene Pass was still closed (this time due to trail damage). Ophir Pass was third down on our list so off we went.


From the RV park, the trailhead is about 45 miles...which includes about 18 miles on the Million Dollar Highway.  




The trail is rated moderate only because of a narrow, rocky shelf road on the west side of the pass. Otherwise, it is very easy. 
The sign at the pass says elevation 11,789 feet. 

The pass...the snow is thicker than it looks.
Just crossing over the pass and heading down.

The narrow, rocky shelf road...zoomed in.


We had to pull over and wait for the jeep in the picture above.








Looking down on the little town of Ophir in the valley.





These plants were so tall, they were right outside my window.






Once the shelf road ended, we entered an aspen forest. Queen Anne's Lace grows so thick and tall under these trees. 





Usually the water flowing off the mountains is so clear, but here it is a golden color.


Ophir was born in 1875 when gold was discovered. Today, a few original buildings remain and new cabins have been built. It is a Home Rule Municipality governed by a general assembly. 






There is a Post Office and we even passed the UPS truck headed there.














HAPPY TRAILS!