We got babies..............

birds folks just little sweet baby birds.............I was afraid to get too close so I used my long lens and lightened it as best I could.

This is the Momma looking on but hiding in a fence. Click on the photos for a better view.

As of today the babies have taken off with the Momma who I saw earlier yesterday showing those sweet babies how to dig for worms.....no photo of the feeding, didn't wanna upset the Mom.

I am honored

I have been presented with the Arte Y Pico award by Chris at Refining Life.

Muchas Gracia chica ;o )

The link to the award will take you to a blog written in Spanish. My Spanish is iffy at best but I do know my way to a language translator so was able to read most of the blog.

I agree with Chris that my life has been enriched by blogging; both writing and reading. What with the traveling we have been doing, blogging is a perfect venue.

Here are the rules :

1. Pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribution to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Each award should list the name of the author and a link to his /her blog to be visited by everyone .

3. Each award winner should show the award and put the name of and link to the blog that presented her/him with the award .

4. The award winner and presenter should show the link of the Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

Here are five blogs that inspire me, but in no significant order.

Being involved in the food blogging community I'm gonna give a few of those as well as some photo blogs I am quite fond of.

Ilva........Italy what more can I say and her photos are stunning

fried green tomatoes and a whole lot more.......a southern gal with lotsa flair and fun

Sylvie.........wanna BBQ this is the place

Mel Cotte....did someone say desserts you gottem here folks.......Check her out and if you’re in the Atlanta area you to could enjoy her marvelous creations..

Barbara's photos are to die for and from Southern California - yep I'm partial.

And then there is http://frenchbenefits.blogspot.com/

the writer is my sister and has just the greatest sense of humor of anyone I know and OH so smart and clever.

I know, I know I picked six………..so shoot me....... do yourself a favor wander over to these amazing blogs.....then come and tell me what you think........I hope y'all agree. Or just come back to keep up with our traveling journey........thanks again Chris. We sure do welcome new visitors here at tombstone tumbleweed

Photo's

see that link over in the left hand column??? titled my photo blog. That's a blog of mine that I started when taking a lot of photos while on the road. Well we're not on the road for the next few months and the opportunity for takings snaps is somewhat limited. But I have had a few excursions with photo ops. So once again I started posting just snaps over on my photo blog........check it out hope y'all enjoy the view.

fuel prices

are certainly not affecting the business here at this RV park we are staying for the summer.

The place is hopping and keeping us all on our toes. Many long time guests keep coming back year after year. But then the folks that were going to travel the country in their RV are now rethinking that and coming to an area near their home. Gunnison, Colorado is a destination for fisherfolks, lotsa hiking and walking trails coupled with events many, many upcoming events, like the Cattleman's Rodeo, Wildflower Festival, Quilt Show, Art's and Craft's Festival just to name a few. Oh and the weekly Farmer's Market starts this Saturday..........that I am really excited about.

Being that we have the weekends off, how the heck did we get so lucky, we will be able to attend many of these events if not all of them. Mr Doodles is really excited bout the rodeo cause he just loves to take photos of the cowboys and cowgirls.

So get ready for some pics of bulls and horsies, wildflowers and some food I'll find at the farmers market I'm gonna cook up for our PBE food blog...........stay tuna'd.

tighten that butt..............

Not often do I recommend a product of any kind but ya gotta see theses shoes. Yes I am recommending shoes.

This photo is of my new FitFlops and I love, love, love them. I know kimmy I had to get red. Are they not just the cutest summer fun shoes. Thongs and I haven't always gotten along cause of that dohickey between my toes but these seem to be just fine. They are comfortable, I know they look clunky but easy, easy to walk in and that's the idea the design is to help tighten your butt. Oh I can hear my sister now......."I don't think so!!!" I wore them all day yesterday, never tripped because of the clunky shoes. I'm a bit of a klutz so was a tad apprehensive........but nope did fine.

Product information

Get a workout while you walk!

FitFlops help tone and trim your legs!

Improve muscle activity, circulation, balance and posture

Good heavens I need a pedicure......but I do use my PedEgg often another product I highly recommend. Sister thinks it's a cheese grater.

I frequent a message board where the talk is just about everything. Fitflops came up a few weeks ago and it reminded me I had seen them on Amazon awhile back. I poo poo'd them until I heard other reviews. So off to Amazon I went. My luck in stock, correct size and shipped to me in two days. Google fitflops and see what you come up with, I purchased mine thru Amazon cause I get free shipping and was ordering other items as well.

OK I must now go find something that could tighten my abs and arms...........that would be exercise wouldn't it ; o {....dang!!!

edited to add I believe you can find them at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Crested Butte

Another old mining town located in Colorado......population about fifteen thousand year round. YIKES!!! the snow fall this past winter has been tremendous. So those are very hardy folks that live there year round. Driving about forty miles from our summer location in Gunnison we see Crested Butte. Driving there is quite picturesque, with emerald coated hills, huge pine trees dotted along the way. It's a cute little Victorian style town that has grown to be a destination for the ski crowd. The day we were there they were having a bicycle tour called ride the rockies. Now that sounds rather bland but hey Crested Butte is at approximately 8800 feet. Congratulations to all riders who participated. There is still remnants of snow tucked away in the mountains up there as seen in this photo.

Sweet little churches on the side streets.

And of course I always see cows and love taking photos of them......cause look at those faces they have such a wonderful personality. Or so I think HA!!!



In the next few weeks Crested Butte will be a burst of color. I bet y'all didn't know that Crested Butte Colorado is the wildflower capital of the state and will be host once again to this annual event. What with the very late snow melt of over 400 inches of snow, this years festival should be outstanding. Lordy this will be my third wildflower bloom as well as third spring. I know it says summer on the calendar but Southern Colorado is a bit late this year. If the cottonwood trees don't get me.........aaaaaaaachoooooooooooooo then the wildflowers just might. My netti pot is getting a workout.

So as I have said many times before ....................stay tuna'd for some photos.

Bad Drivers are everywhere

Some of you know we used to live in South Florida. Author Dave Barry is King there along with author Carl Hiasen running a close second. Both of these award winning authors started out writing for the Miami Herald. I get Barry's column sent to me by email cause of our travels. Glad I do cause he is not in the Denver Post.

I have driven a lot in Miami and what Dave says is true........sadly true about the drivers.

DAVE BARRY

Bad driving: It's not just for old people

The other day, The Miami Herald ran a story concerning a 73-year-old motorist who was stopped by police.

This in itself is not remarkable. The streets of Miami-Dade County are teeming with motorists who should be stopped by police.

But this man was not driving on the streets.

He was driving on a runway at Miami International Airport.

Really. According to the story, the man ''burst through the southeast gate'' in his Chevrolet Cobalt and "drove down runway 9.''

You will be relieved to learn that the police don't think he was a terrorist. Apparently he was just a driver who, like so many older drivers down here, got confused. Chances are that, even if the police hadn't stopped him, once he saw a 757 taxiing toward him, it would have dawned on him that he wasn't on Le Jeune Road.

Although not necessarily.

You have to wonder about the security at Miami International. I, personally, have had my shampoo and my toothpaste confiscated at MIA because they were in containers larger than three ounces. If I can't get near an airplane with personal hygiene products, how did this guy get through with a CAR?

But this incident raises a larger question in my mind, one that has been nagging at me lately: Are the drivers down here getting worse?

You're thinking, ''They can't get any worse!'' I used to think that, but lately I'm not so sure. For example, the other night I was driving on the Palmetto Expressway. (I know, I know.) Normally, on the Palmetto, traffic moves at an average speed of 53 miles per hour, calculated as follows:

• 49 percent of the drivers are going 80 miles per hour.
• 49 percent of the drivers are going 30 miles per hour.
• 2 percent of the drivers are, for a variety of reasons, backing up.

But the other night, there was a fourth group of drivers out there: Young male idiots racing each other in cars traveling at -- this is a very conservative estimate -- the speed of light. It was terrifying. You're flowing along with the traffic, going either 80 or 30 miles an hour, and suddenly you see lights in your rearview mirror and, ZIPPPPPP, this weaving blur hurtles past and cuts you off, and while the swear word is still forming in your brain, ZIPPPPPP, another one cuts you off, and then ZIPPPPPP ZIPPPPPP ZIPPPPPP, more of them, using the Palmetto Expressway as their own personal video game, with you playing the role of Annoying Obstacle. It's no use honking your horn at the idiots because the sound waves can't catch them.

If you're wondering how I could tell, at night, that these particular blurs were young males, the answer is: because that's who drives that way. That's how I would have driven when I was a young male idiot, except that I was driving my mom's 1961 Plymouth Valiant, which had basically the same top speed as the Lincoln Memorial.

But today's young male idiots are equipped with much better automotive technology, and they're out there on the same streets as the confused older drivers (of which I am rapidly becoming one). To make matters worse, a new driving hazard is popping up all around Miami-Dade: the traffic circle.

Traffic circles are a good thing, if drivers understand the rules. But this is Miami, where drivers find the concept of ''yield'' to be more baffling than quantum physics. Some drivers barge into the circle regardless of whether there are cars already in it. Other drivers come to a full stop, even when the circle is empty, eyeing it warily, as if it were a space/time warp that might suck them into another dimension. Still others barge into the circle and THEN stop. (It goes without saying that these same drivers would never dream of stopping at, for example, a stop sign.)

Anyway, my opinion, as a person who has been driving down here for more than 20 years, is that the roads are getting worse. What can we do about this? Several solutions come to mind:

• Young males should be issued restricted licenses that allow them to drive only during certain times, namely, the distant future. If that's illegal, we should require them to drive 1961 Valiants.
• Likewise, older motorists unable to pass a simple test (''Where are you?'') would be restricted to driving in the past.
• Miami International Airport should take some security people off Shampoo Patrol and have them guard the gates.
• Just in case, they should also put signs at the ends of the runways saying "NOT LE JEUNE ROAD.''

I don't have a solution for the traffic circles. Your best bet is to avoid them. If you find yourself in one, close your eyes. That's what everybody else is doing.

I realize this rant has been pretty negative, so I want to end with this thought: I truly believe that we, the drivers of Miami, can do better. I believe that our streets could be safe -- even pleasant -- if we were willing to take our responsibilities as drivers seriously, and to show each other a little basic courtesy.

In other words, we're doomed.

It's his day...........

Happy Birthday

Mr Doodles

this is getting very difficult

I remember when my parents and the older generation spoke of friends that passed away and they would say "oh my he/she went way too early", or "it's not right that a parent must bury their child". I, as a young child, never understood those words. I also remember Mr Doodles parents saying " our friends are all dying". Gads I remember those words being so harsh.

Well it's happening to us also. I recently wrote about the passing of Tim Russert. I feel like I lost a friend, maybe y'all did too. I have mentioned others in my blog that I will miss terribly, famous people, but will miss because of their accomplishments in life.

Yesterday the Drag Racing world lost another driver Scott Kalitta. We have known Scott since he was a very young teenager. We have seen him grow up in this tough world of racing. He drove for his Dad, the infamous Connie Kalitta. Scott moved in and out of the racing world many times. But as many have said he just has it in his blood and couldn't stay away. We weren't close to the Kalitta's like we are to other folks in the NHRA world but we have been in their company many times for dinners and a few adult beverages.

It's a sad loss for the Kalitta's, but terribly sad for a Father to loose his son. Scott will be missed in the NHRA community.

Still crisp mornings

A few days ago we woke to frosty ground....a lite frost was spread on everything. I went outside to see really how cold it was and noticed frost encased the dandelions. This is what farmers do when they know a frost might come. Turn the water on to save the crops. It does help......cause when the sun came out melted the ice the dandelion was brite yellow, a little limp but alive none the less. Just waiting now for the lawnmower dude to run them over.

click on any photo to enlarge

Your cure for the common crowd

That is the motto for this nearby town of Lake City, Colorado

Main Street

We drove the National Scenic hiway called The Silver Thread which starts at Blue Mesa Reservoir, (where we are located for the summer) traverses thru sagebrush country, and winds its way along the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River, over two mountain passes, across the Continental Divide, and follows the Rio Grande River. It was a great day trip and fun to explore the area.




Looking out for bald eagles known to frequent this area. but never did see any. Lake City is a very well preserved town full of turn-of-the-century architecture. It's easy to see that once upon a time, this was a bustling and very prosperous place. The location is remote and beautiful. Lake City began as a mining camp in 1874.The town flourished in the 1880's with two banks, two breweries, seven saloons, and the first church and first newspaper on Colorado's Western Slope. Then the US Congress changed the rules and the silver boom ran out...............leave it to the government even way back then. Modern day Lake City is now a tourist town that relishes in it's history.

We stopped at a sweet little bistro for BBQ brisket samiches and an beverage. When we stopped it was quite cloudy as you can see by the photo of Main Street.
Later the clouds departed and we were able to go on a short hike along the river. What a beautiful day!!!

Oh see that white car in the above photo??? That's the loaner they gave us while Big Louie is being repaired.....hey they supplied us with gas so no complaints here. Stay tuna'd.............Big Louie should be out of the hospital soon.

He will be missed

Tim Russert died at the age of 58 today. Anyone that knows me knows I am a political junkie and have been for many, many years. Tim Russert was a political junkie....I loved listening to him and his views. I admired him as a person and a family man. I liked the way he explained what was going on in the world of politics as he made it sensible for the everyday person.

Mr Russert is now in heaven with the Pope he admired so much..............thank you Tim Russert for keeping it real.

All quiet here

literally........well except for the rain one morning, extremely cold and snowy another and this a.m. sunshine and drop dead gorgeous. So I'm off to town, twelve miles away, to run some minor errands and get my much needed haircut. Ya know that's the worst part about being in an area for long term. I have had some very strange haircuts, a couple a good ones but all in all I give them a three outta five. Oh well it's only hair and it will grow.

Glad I didn't post this.............cause the above much needed haircut and errands to town didn't happen. It seems that the Ford Motor Company has a problem with the fuel pump in the engine of their F450 trucks. I'm tooling down the hiway and lost all power in the truck. Thinking it could have been a vapor lock I got out and did what I was supposed to do.....nope didn't work. Engine turned over BUT fuel is not getting where it is supposed to. Call husband, his sweet boss comes to get me. I get back to the office call the Ford folks, they search for us in the system, "no I'm sorry we don't have you in our system". Excuse me I say don't make me hangup and call Edsel Ford Mam!!! "Oh well give me a phone number maybe that would help". "Oh yes here it is Mrs Doodles, I found it". Lady you are one lucky soul. Arranged for towing and as luck would have it a Ford dealer in the town. Stay tuna'd there is sure to be more drama where this is concerned............Oh and aren't ya glad I insisted on the extended warranty. Back to my regular post............carry on!!!

There is still remnants of snow on the surrounding mountain tops. One would think that would be gone by now what with some good sunshine. Yesterday was a day off so we bundled up literally and went fishing on the local lake. Notice I said fishing and not catching!!! The wind picked up changed our mind quite quickly. When fishing isn't fun and relaxing it ain't no fun atall. Went back home and fixed a big brunch and had a nap. What's not to like about that for a lazy Sunday.

Being that it is still Spring in this area, I know Summer is around the corner on the calendar, flowers are budding everywhere on property. I was surprised to know and see lilacs in bloom, had know idea there were lilacs here.
As you can see they are lovely. Also the owner of the property is a big fan of Iris and she has them planted all over the front of the office, big fat, fluffy Iris. Must get a photo of them.

Paging Mother Nature

June 5, 2008.................. it's SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know I photoshop'd this but it is snowing

Excuse me hello Mother Nature look at the calendar.

It could be worse we just heard that there are tornadoes in mid and south eastern Colorado as well as OK, KS and NE. So say prayers for those folks in that area because they are having more than their fair share of wicked weather.

Another passing

of some very favorite people......one of which was Harvey Korman

How I wish I had a nickel for every minute that man made me laugh. His skits with Tim Conway on the Carol Burnett Show will always be in my favorite memory. Think I'll ask for the DVD for Christmas. Mr Korman you have provided the world with a ton a laughs and isn't that what we all need.

Another favorite would be Yves St Laurent........I know fashion dude huh!!! who could afford him. Well a bajillion years ago I happened to be in Paris and wandered into a boutique shop then happened to purchased a dress with a YSL logo. Who knew!!! I can see myself standing in that shop still this very day trying to decided whether I should or shouldn't I buy this dress. Well I did and it was before YSL ever became the famous designer that he turned out to be WOW!!! If I remember correctly it was Chanel that gave him his chance in the design world. His design label also was called Rive Gauche, I just thought that sounded like too cool at the time. Wish I still had that dress cause it was timeless.........like a lot of his clothes. Thanks YSL you have left your mark on the world

Last but not least...........Bo Didley DANG!!!!!!! I did laundry to his tunes this morning. I'm a bif Bo Didley fan, we went to his place in Memphis when we were there. It happened to be at a time when Mr Bo wasn't feeling that great and the place had a big card that you could sign and send good wishes for him to get well. Mr Bo Didley you will be deeply missed thanks for all your music you have provided the world.

Hard work never hurts

and this summer Mr Doodles will prove that.

The owners of the RV park asked him since he did such a good job doing some landscape job, would he consider taking care of the whole park. Now mind you they have sixty acres but thank heavens not all of those sixty acres has to be mowed or weed whacked.
dusty Mr Doodles

For those of you that know Mr Doodles you know he works hard no matter what the job whether it's his own business or someone else's business. The owners said to me the other day that their property has never looked so good and it just makes them so happy. Being a previous business owner we know how wonderful it is to have a caring, hard working employee, and it makes going to sleep at nite a bit easier.would this be a finch???

He keeps my small camera in his pocket just in case he comes upon a photo op.

So life is good in Gunnison, CO..............stay tuna'd for some photos cause we have a couple a days off coming up.