Flowers of the Wild

Wildflowers

You belong among the wildflowers

You belong in a boat out at sea

Sail away, kill off the hours

You belong somewhere you feel free

Run away, find you a lover

Go away somewhere bright and new

I have seen no other

Who compares with you

You belong among the wildflowers

You belong in a boat out at sea

You belong with your love on your arm

You belong somewhere you feel free

Run away, go find a lover

Run away, let your heart be your guide

You deserve the deepest of cover

You belong in that home by and by

You belong among the wildflowers

You belong somewhere close to me

Far away from your trouble and worry

You belong somewhere you feel free

You belong somewhere you feel free

Lyrics by Tom Petty  /  Image by PhotoFawn

Fairies Forgive Me

Massive mushrooms were growing in the backyard. I don't know anything about them, so I assume they are poisonous and demolish the lot. I took pictures before and after though, 'cause that's just who I am.
Witness the carnage below.

Fairies forgive me, but I have dogs and cats that roam that yard and who knows what they might eat?
I left all the toadstools in the front. Enjoy.

Love Many, Trust Few, Harm None except maybe a few mushrooms no one will miss.

Peace out.

F. M. Light Fantastic!

I made it!
Dare to dream, people!

Weeks ago I told you dear readers about a famous emporium, in business since 1905, known as F. M. Light and Sons. Having come so close and been denied visitation to this western wonderland, I vowed that I would return to Steamboat Springs and seek it out. I would not be denied again.
And I wasn't!
I found it!

And it is all that I was promised.

You want hats?
They've got hats? Walls full of hats.

You want boots?
They've got boots. Walls and walls of boots. Hand made and handsomely priced.

You want fur covered flasks?
Oh, yes. They have those too.
And so, so much more.
You have to go see. It's just so fabulous.

The myth, the legend, the store. F. M. Light & Sons, Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Established 1905. Last century is so retro.

100 years of having it all!

Need a hat? They've got you covered!

Didn't find one on that wall? How 'bout THIS wall?!

Good advice is available everywhere. Here's some now.

Want uber-cool boots? Point your feet this way.

I believe these are made for walking.

Wildflowers - on your feet!

These are outright fabulous. Those feathers are on a pair of socks!

Pretend you don't want these all you want, no one will believe it.

If none of those suit your fancy, just keep browsing the walls.

Fur covered flasks.

Because, apparently, you can cover anything in fur, including liquor.

Genius.

Handy serving sets!

@CraigyFerg needs one of these to match his mug.

There was so much to see and purchase that I'll admit to being a bit overwhelmed. I couldn't decide on anything.

Now I know all I really needed was a fur covered flask.

Totally going back...

Faster Than Bicycles!

Motorcyclists are quite different from bicyclists in many ways.

They go way faster, for starters.
I learned this while darting in and out of my sunroof at 60mph trying to capture them while riding.
Bicyclists rarely do 60mph on major highways, just so you know.
Bugs do not hit you as hard while you are attempting to do your job with bicyclists.
And, in case you never noticed, the physique of the normal bicyclist is slightly different than the average motorcyclist.
So much education in such a short time! I cannot WAIT for next year's ride!

I even got to attend Cheyenne Frontier Days! Wow. That was something.
Entrepreneurs are everywhere. :)

Got to see more of Colorado and Wyoming while touring with a motorcycling group last weekend!

Awesome scenery and colorful establishments made this trip one that will stick with me forever.

If you ever get the chance to ride in a chase car, sweet readers, jump on in!

This is the Wolf Hotel in Saratoga, Wyoming.

It is a lovely place with a friendly and helpful staff of sweeties.

Take your drink onto the front porch from the hunters' paradise bar area and rest a spell.

Headed down the highway, looking for adventure.

Lined up along the roadside for a scenery shooting stop, the bikes look mighty impressive!

Some of the riders that made the trek. A really great group of badasses, all!

I have many more images, of course. I'll share more later, dear readers.

 Stay tuned and stay fabulous!

Frosty Rainbow

For Those Who Dare

Saw Avon, Vail and Loveland Pass this tour, along with 3400+ riders breathing through the pain that is the Triple Bypass. Some of them rode it twice. Once up, once back. Hard core glory seekers all! Amazing to watch so many compete with themselves and their peers to prove their courage, stamina and sheer determination.  Well done!



More images soon. Tease on these! :)

View from our location on Loveland Pass.

Bike path along Vail Pass.

Bikers on Vail Pass.

Most of the ride was along major roadways, but some sections are actual bike paths, which can be found throughout the fabulous state of Colorado.

Get on your bike and ride!!

Till I can post more - stay fabulous, sweet readers!

For Journey Is Reason Enough

Finally home from two weeks on the road with Ride The Rockies and Bicycle Tour of Colorado.
Whew. What a wild ride!
Saw a lot of this glorious state and photographed some amazing and inspiring people.
I would totally do it again.

Next year. Call me next year.

The scenery this tour was really amazing. Left me in awe.

All along the route are Aid stops, staffed with volunteers.

Port-a-lets, food, bike supplies, SAG rides; offerings are many.

On the road. Again.

Many days we had to take the same route as the bikers.

Great to see them cranking it out, but dangerous to pass when the traffic gets thick.

Scenery & self portrait, mirror style.

Aid station or not, the riders stopped when they needed to rest or re-equip.

Photographers Hunter and Dave wait to shoot the riders.

Aspen grove. I just love Aspen trees.

This trip I took a nasty spill in the dark down a rock pile with my iPhone.

The phone fared better than I, thanks to its OtterBox.

I need to get myself an OtterBox suit. Bruises and scrapes are still healing.

We had snow on this high-altitude tour as well. Beginning to end, no matter the heat, we saw snow.

Tree hugging bike jersey.

We stayed in a few campgrounds during the tours. This is the upriver view from one of them.

River front accommodations are nice.

Icy flood waters roaring by all night while one prays for sleep is less nice. Just FYI.

Here's the cabin by the flooded river. Tres cute!

 

Here are robin eggs in a lovely nest right next to the only door.

Mom robin was not pleased with our stay.

View downriver. Amazing and treacherous.

  

This, for those who don't know, is the ceiling of a port-a-potty.

I saw many of these during my two weeks on the road.

Insert your own joke here. I got nothing.

Rafters floated by while we were setting up camp.

The increased snow melt has been a boon to the industry.

We saw river runners during both tours all week long.

Shot this to show the detail of the fence made of skis.

I totally want a ski fence now. Or a nice ski chair.

Coexist.

Love this reworking of the classic peace sign.

Share the road, readers. Life matters.

More fabulous scenery.

 

Jaw bones on the side of the road by one of our photography sites.

Cool, huh?!

These are not called tee-pees, just so you know.

Loving the zoom on my new camera. Great detail.

The moon shall be our parting sign this time, dear readers. This traveling photog is tired and looking forward, once again, to her own bed.

There are more images to share; I'll work on another entry tomorrow.

Thanks for sharing my adventure, sweet followers.

The journey is reason enough.