Vacation!

On occasion, even us ranchers get to take a vacation. Last week, we travelled to Colorado to see the sites and explore the adventures of that state. Here are some of the things we say and experienced ...

Fraser and Winter Park
The lodge we were staying in was right in the heart of the Fraser and Winter Park area - ski country. While we planned our trip hoping to avoid most of the snowy season, we were trumped by Mother Nature. During the week we were here, several snow storms and unseasonable events occurred. One morning, we woke up to find 12" of fresh snow on the ground. Another day that started out warm and sunny, ended with near white out conditions! The scenery in the area was beautiful, and the towns were quiet since it was off-season for them. We enjoyed the friendly people and found some great places to eat. As we make our way from Fraser to venture around the state, we found ourselves traveling across the Great Divide almost daily.... an adventure in itself!

Garden of the Gods
Our first adventure in Colorado was in the Colorado Springs area. We spent several hours driving thru the Garden of the Gods. The day was warm and sunny and many folks were out on horseback in the park. We enjoyed seeing the many rock faces and gorgeous views God created in this park. Truly a peaceful area.

Pikes Peak
As many visitors to Colorado do every year, we took the cog railway up Pikes Peak. The view was truly stupendous; we could see for miles and miles. Some of the additional high points of this venture were seeing the wildlife and scenery on the way up and down. On the way up, a herd of bighorn sheep decided to cross the tracks in front of the train. The train stopped to let them safely cross... we had a prime seat right in the front of the train!!! One the way back down, we passed by a Yellow Bellied Marmet on the side of the track; he seemed undisturbed by the large train and just sat up and looked at us as we went by. The snow was beginning to melt in the lower mountain area and the streams were flowing creating several small waterfalls along the way.

Phoenix Gold Mine
While the gold rush happened many years ago, there really are still active gold mines in Colorado. We visited the Phoenix Gold Mine near Idaho Springs which is a working mine. Since it is still off-season here, we got a personal tour of the visitor's mine by a very personable and knowledgeable miner. We saw the gold producing vein running thru the mountain side, and saw how the mine was developed thru the years. Our miner guide explained how the gold is imbedded in the rock and how it is extracted by the miners. We also got insights into how old mines are being reactivated, and how bears have been known to take up residence in the old mine shafts. Outside the mine, we enjoyed meeting the chipmunks who have befriended the miners and seeing the many ore samples they had on display. Overall, this was another enjoyable learning experience.

Rocky Mountain National Park
The main trail going East/West thru the park was still closed due to snow in the high country. So, we ventured into the park on both sides; at Grand Lake and then at Estes Park. On the Grand Lake side, it was still snow covered in most areas. We did not see much wildlife, only a grey fox... but we saw big footprints from moose in the snow. On the Estes Park side, the tundra was mostly thawing and wildlife abounded. We saw many elk, a few bighorn sheep, and lots of little critters like prairie dogs, chipmunks, squirrels and unique birds.

Horseback Riding
We took a short horseback trip thru the Snow Mountain area. Since most of the area was still covered in snow, we rode on trails with a guide. The views of the surrounding mountains were gorgeous. Most of the horses here are really big draft crosses and were great to ride.

Fiber Processing Mill
We had the pleasure of visiting a wonderful, family run fiber processing mill. The Dewey family made us feel very welcome at the Lonesome Stone Fiber Mill in Granby, CO. The Dewey's raise alpacas and process fiber from their own herd as well as for clients sending them alpaca, llama and even buffalo fiber! Their facility was impressively clean and well organized. Their products were beautiful produced with obvious attention to the finest detail. We truly appreciated the friendly tour, and the great education in fiber processing they offered us - we are definitely planning to send our usable fiber to them this year!

Coors Brewery
Golden, CO is home to the Coors Brewery. We took the free tour of their facility there and learned so much! Did you know that Coors also brews beers for Killian's, Molson, Blue Moon, and Keystone? They also produce other products including Zima - in THREE flavors! (Pineapple was our favorite). Their brewmasters develop and test new tastes every year and only a few of those appear in our local stores. This tour was great - made even more impressive by the tasting room at the end of the tour! Definitely a recommendation if you are in the area.

Clear Creek Canyon
On our way to and from Boulder and Golden, we travelled thru the very scenic Clear Creek Canyon. Nestled between the mountains, this casually winding road follows a beautifully clear flowing creek. The scenery is all nature, undisturbed. In some areas, the sheer rock face comes right up to the edge of the road, while in other areas, a little meadow gradually climbs up a craggy hillside. The canyon is the perfect place for bighorn sheep to play. Gorgeous.

Celestial Seasonings Tea
Did you know that Celestial Seasonings Tea has it's home in Boulder, CO? Their plant started there about 30 years ago, and has grown into an impressive facility working with tea and herb growers around the world. They start their tour by allowing visitors to taste any of their MANY teas in the tasting room. We found teas we have never seen in the stores before! Some of our favorites were the Apple Banana Chamomile Latin tea, and their English Toffee dessert tea. YUM! The tour showed how all the ingredients are processed, mixed, bagged, packaged, and prepared for shipping. The Celestial Seasonings company also has ties to many naturally based foods and cosmetic lines; all of these items were available in the store at the end of the tour. Another highly recommended activity if you are in the area!

Hammond's Candy Factory
Before WWII, the Denver area hosted a multitude of quality confectioners - Hammond's Candies was one of those. Still in business today, this factory offers tours and tastes to the public. This factory has 7 master candy makers on staff and they make ALL the candy BY HAND. Let's make no mistake - this is NOT an easy job! Most of those candy batches weight 70 pounds and are mixed and pulled by hand by these folks. The end result is worth it though - with some of the finest, most unique candies in the area. A tasty adventure to be sure!

Redstone Meadery
Mead is a wine made from honey; one of the oldest forms of wine known to man.... and one of Rob's favorite wines. We visited the award winning Redstone Meadery in the Boulder area to see what kind of meads are generally available. Amongst all the ribbons hanging in the intimate visitors area, they offered us free samples of all of their meads. One of the most unique offerings was the Sparkling Nectars - like a carbonated mead.... Awesome! As is typical with meads, their flavors were all based on honey and fruit combinations. The blueberry and blackberry meads were truly impressive, as were the many flavors of sparkling nectars. The mead master even allowed us to do some creative mixing of flavors which resulted in some awesome combinations. If you are in the area, definitely plan to stop by and experience this unique meadery.

Pictures
Pictures of our trip can be seen here: Pictures
Be sure to click on the two sub-albums for Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak.

Back Home
Being away for a week sure made us glad to be back home. While we were gone, our wonderful neighbor took loving care of our place... many THANKS to Denny!!!!

We are still waiting on a calf from Aimili, a cria (baby llama) from Popo, and several duck nests to hatch.

New Puppies- 05/08/08

Late evening on May 8, Emma gave birth to her first litter of Great Pyrenees puppies! Emma took right to being a Mom and the puppies are getting big so fast. They are just now opening their eyes.

Pictures will be coming soon on Our Babies page.
Reservations for the four available pups are already being accepted.

May Madness

We have been so busy lately here around the ranch! In addition to our "regular jobs", we have been busy with puppies, goat kids, and trying to get a handle on all the Spring-time activities around here (spraying pastures, fixing fences, etc).

Ducklings

One of our mother ducks finally hatched her brood on April 27. Thirteen adorable ducklings! This past weekend, we sent them all to their new home with a wonderful woman who has three ponds for them to play in on her big farm. We are waiting to see if three of our other duck mothers will hatch their nests in the coming weeks. It also looks like the guineas are preparing to sit their nests; hopefully we will have some keets available this Spring.

Pyrenees Puppies

On Wednesday, April 30, Greta's puppies were 6 weeks old... already! They have been growing so fast. This past weekend, five of the puppies went to their new homes. Two will be traveling to their new homes in the coming weeks, and one should be going home sometime in the next week. Be sure to check out the puppy slide show HERE.

Emma is due to deliver her first litter of pups just any time. Based on her behavior, it looks like it will be TODAY!

Casper's New Adventure

Our registered Scottish Highland bull, Casper, has embarked on a new adventure! This past weekend we took Casper to a semen collection center here in Texas. He will stay with them for a couple of weeks being "collected". Twice a week, they will use a dummy cow (a steer in disguise) to entice him to "jump". They capture his semen, then test and freeze it into straws to be used for future Artificial Insemination (AI). We hope to offer semen straws for sale very soon!

Still Waiting

We are still waiting on the arrival of some new babies... one llama, another litter of Pyr pups, ducklings, and it looks like one of our Scottish Highland heifers, Aimili, is going to calve later this month. Stay tuned...