Black Canyon

Deep, Steep and Narrow*

Big enough to be overwhelming, still intimate enough to feel the pulse of time, Black Canyon of the Gunnison exposes you to some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock, and craggiest spires in North America. With two million years (editor's comment: ?? and God) to work, the Gunnison River, along with the forces of weathering, has sculpted this vertical wilderness of rock, water, and sky.

*National Park Service Website

 Just an hour from where we are staying, Glenn and I enjoyed a full day at the Black Canyon National Park.  It was spectacular!

The Black Canyon is so named due its steepness which makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate into its depths. 

Another picnic lunch as we enjoyed God's beautiful canyon.

What do you see?

Psalms 104:24

 O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

Grand Mesa

Sunday we took a leisurely day to enjoy God's beauty on and around the 
Grand Mesa.

Ham and cheese sandwich picnic overlooking Island Lake.

The Grand Mesa is a large mesa in western Colorado.  It is the largest flat-topped mountain in the entire world.  It has an area of about 500 square miles.

The Hole in my Heart

Yesterday, we had one of the happiest days in our lives,
 yet it was one of the saddest days!

I have a David and Emily size hole in my heart. I've enjoyed playing, reading stories, singing and "going on a bear hunts" with them for the past few weeks.

Yes, you see, since June 28, we have been with our grandchildren all this time (except 3 days). 

 Here is another way to look at it.

34 days is equal to 4 weeks and 6 days.

The total time span from 2014-06-28 to 2014-08-01 is 816 hours.

(and I'm thinking, only 816 hours???, really)

 

This is equivalent to 48,960 minutes

You can also convert 34 days to 2,937,600 seconds. 

In summary, we have enjoyed spoiling the kids.  

In the past 5 weeks, we have...

• enjoyed taking the kids to Animal Kingdom
• flown on American Airlines (David loves flying, planes, pilots, anything to do with "up, up, up" guess he gets it from his Grammie)
• changed many diapers
• taken them on bike rides from Vail Pass down through Copper Mountain to Frisco
• enjoyed a Gondola ride in Breckenridge
• participated in Vacation Bible School in Frisco, CO while we were waiting on the part for the van to be delivered
• taken the kids to Focus on the Family Welcome Center at Whit's End 
• celebrated 3 birthdays in July (David turned 3, Ellen turned 32 and Glenn turned 59)
• Enjoyed the cabin with dear friends, Captain 19 and Dr. Barbara, along with Grandmommy, GrandDaddy, Uncle Rick, Aunt Bea, Uncle Steve, Aunt Sherrie family and Rosenberger family. 
• gotten used to hearing sweets words such  as, "I'm not David, I'm BatMan!", "MYami", "I love you Grammie", "Eh-ma-ly", "Whatcha doin', Granddad?", "What's that noise?", "I love you, GrandDad", "Again"(over and over and over:)
  
  
•  giggles and giggles while the g'kids went swimming
  
  
  
  
  •  Sweet David closed his eyes when he was getting his hair cut at Sports Clip.  "Look Grammie, there is Denver Bronco"
    
    
    Thank you Ellen and Luke for allowing us to spend some unforgetable days and weeks with the grandkids.  They were precious.  Yes, they had their moments, but hey, they are 1 and 3 years old.  Thank you for letting us feed them ice-cream, rock them to sleep, go on bike rides, and just spend some "never to forget precious moments" with the kids. 
     Thank You.    
    
    
  Yes, my heart is empty. It has a hole the shape of 3 year old David and 17 month old Emily, yet it has been full of joy over these past few weeks.  I love my grandchildren!  Yes, we love them!
  
  

Go Tell it on the Mountain

 Sunday morning Glenn and I attended Copper Mountain Community Church.  It is high up in altitude, about 11,000 feet.

We took the chair lift ride up.  This time we made sure we lowered the ski bar before leaving the platform (last year, Ellen, Emily and I were scared silly since the bar wasn't lowered for us).

We started to look for a letter box along this trail, but we decided to turn back since we didn't have too much time.  Next time.

I am reminded of the words of the famous Christmas hymn, "Go tell it on the Mountain".  It can't get better than this!

Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.

Vacation Bible School and Van Troubles

 This week while Ellen and Luke have been attending an MTI (Missionary Training International) sponsored "Debriefing and Renewal" program, Glenn and I have been watching the grand-kids.

David was old enough to attend Vacation Bible School down at the local Bible Church.  He was barely old enough - 3 years old.  He was 3 years and 1 week old.

Glenn and I would take the kids down on the bicycles and then Emily would enjoy the ride back by herself.  This also gave us time and energy to spend with just Emily and also time to start cleaning the cabin real good.  Thanks to my sister Sherrie and bro-in-law, Steve, who helped vacuum. They also used their special floor cleaning machine.

During this same time frame, last Thursday, Glenn discovered that the alternator wasn't working. He went to a NAPA store where he had a lifetime warranty on the unit.

Long Story short.

We were told it would arrive on Tuesday and Glenn would change the part out.

Tuesday, comes and goes.

Wednesday, the UPS truck didn't deliver it, finally the Fed-Ex truck had the alternator. Praise the Lord!

Glenn was creative in "hauling" off the trash in the bike trailer.

Our plans have changed, but we're making the best of it.  I'm glad I have a mechanical husband who can fix things. 
~J

What a H!gh!

This past week, Glenn and I escaped with the 2 kids and took them for bicycle rides, car rides and even a picnic in the park.

Since David likes Thomas the Train, it was no wonder he would enjoy climbing all over the coal train up at the pass going towards Leadville.

Yes, that is 11, 318 above Sea Level!

After climbing on the train, we drove towards Leadville and then up to Minturn.

{bridge at Red Cliff}

We found this children's park with a wooden train for the kids to play in.  Here we had a picnic lunch to top the day off.

Next came a bike ride from Copper down to Frisco.  Of course we had to stop and see the geese.

Again, we had another fun day with the g'kids.

Yes, the kids enjoyed their little trailer ride, just as much as GrandDad loved taking them down the hill.

4 Letterboxes in One Day

We drove to EGE Airport to drop Scott and Barbara off and as we made our one hour return back to Frisco, we took our time and found 4 letterboxes.

Letter Box #1 

was located at a Rest Stop on I-70.  There was a Rio Grande Rail Road Car in the park.  It was a Great location and great idea for the letter box.

Letter Box #2

was also located in a Rest Stop on I-70.  We had to find it between the trees and under the rocks.

Letter Box #3

was located off of I-70 in Avon, off the cliff.  

It was very creative, as the letter box was in an old soda bottle.

The rubber stamp was in the cap of the Soda Bottle and the paper with the stamps was rolled up and stuck inside.

Letter Box #4

was located in Minturn, Colorado.

Minturn is a small but very busy town, as on this Saturday there was a bike ride with thousands of cyclists traveling through the town.  The Letter box was on the other side of the rail road tracks near the town cemetery.

I would say, 4 letter boxes in 3 hours is a very good find.  

This was a fun activity and we saw parts of the country side that we would never have stopped to enjoy.