Hey! Lloyd finally got the video to work, so I can finish talking about Colorado.
I feel a bit like I’ve lost the right to claim it as ‘my’ state. Born in Missouri, I lived in Colorado for sixteen years, then went to college in Nebraska for five years, two years in Maryland, now back in Nebraska for sixteen years. So, now I can just call Colorado a nice place to visit.
We took a bunch of pictures on this trip, but I won’t show you too many of them. Here’s a shot of Glenwood Canyon:
Here’s a shot of the Colorado River that God used to make Glenwood Canyon.
Here’s me above yon Colorado River. I am not making a canyon.
We actually stopped at all four rest stops in the canyon because I was trying to get a picture of the one that is crazy beautiful outside, then stunningly beautiful inside, then you get into your stall and it’s a composting toilet with the scary hole that takes your business all the way under the river. At each rest stop, though, they just had toilets. I thought I was going nuts, but it turns out they changed over to flush toilets because the holes had ‘filled up’. *jibblie*
We hopped off the interstate and took the super-winding cutoff to my parents’. We wanted to go faster than the 30-mile-an-hour speed limit (seriously, it is a pretty curvy road) but some motorcycles were in front of us in an annoyingly law-abiding fashion. We pulled over to let them get ahead of us while we explored some wildlife, like these ants with a Tower of Babel complex.
Whew, this is just going to be a bunch of random stories, huh? Let’s just get to the end quickly, shall we?
Brad, I saw Patrice at church! She was visiting her parents with her family! (Patrice is an old friend from high school and college and we had just been talking about her last week.) Brad, she says that she remembers dancing with you at our wedding and she was shocked at how good you were. People afterward asked if they were professional dancers and she said, “I just stood there and he made me look good.” 🙂
Lastly, I took a video of my Mom’s garden for Brad. My camera makes everything look blurry, but that’s alright. From one gardener to another, here you go:
Gretchen says
As the years go on I get more and more confused about where to call home. When I meet people and they ask where I’m from I just give them a blank stare.
Brad says
Yay! Awesome video! The animated words are hilarious. I love your mom’s garden beds. Is the flower that goes from yellow to orange and Evening Primrose?
Patrice looks exactly the same. That’s cool that you saw her.
Peggy says
Your parent’s home & property is just beautiful!!
I like the flowers out front & the ones that turn from yellow to orange. I’ve never heard of a plant doing that! (can you run back & video tape them in the afternoon)
The canyon & river are beautiful too! I just gotta get out west one of these days.
(so is the house in the video not the same house you grew up in?)
Annette says
This just makes me 🙂
Mark says
What’s the header picture? Or, WHERE was the header picture taken?
To answer Peggy’s question, no it’s not the same house. Dad retired in 2001 and they built the house in the video leading up to that event. And by ‘they’ I really do mean ‘THEY’ (mom and dad). The only professional help they used were the crews that poured the foundation and installed the roof trusses. Dad did the framing, electrical and plumbing, drywall, etc. Mom was the decorator and designer, and assisted with construction as needed.
The house Lauren and the rest of us grew up in is a 1950’s-era ranch home (the congregation’s parsonage) down in the valley (Delta) at the juncture of the Gunnison and Uncompaghre rivers. You can see it using Google Earth, typing in 1156 Grand Ave, Delta, CO and using the street view function.
Mom’s gardens at that house made the property, and as young ‘uns we didn’t appreciate her work or the beauty that it brought our family
Lauren says
That’s the view from our hotel room in west Denver. Pretty, eh?
Peggy says
Your parents are AMAZING!! What a gorgeous home & to think they built it themselves! Outstanding! Your Dad is like Pa Ingalls.
Lauren's mom says
Lauren, -- Colorado is the place you grew up. I love it here, and I think of it as home for all four of you.
I feel like I live in a campground.
Brad, -- yes, the flower is the Evening Primrose, or commonly called sundrops. Of course, we had the party in the middle of summer when very few flowers were blooming. The roses had just bloomed and died, and the Catalpa tree had just bloomed the week before. The wind blew all of the flowers off of the tree!