Erich's Photo and Travel

Nothing like getting up and immediately feeling bored.  What to do?  Get in the car and drive three hours south east to La Junta to visit Bent's Fort and stop and take photos along the way. First off, Rocky Ford.  A small town that we passed through on the way to La Junta, CO Next Stop:  Bent's Fort Historical Site - What an awesome place to photograph.  Michelle picked this place.  That is the rule.  She picks, I drive, pay for food and shut up about it. One the way we spotted a broken down farm and noticed that there was no gate (one that we couldn't squeeze through at least).  No place to turn around so we hit it on the way back. We felt so lucky that we got there in time to shoot it before the sun went down.  The pictures looked really good through the lens however, after working on the previous pictures of Rocky Ford and Bent's Fort these pictures just didn't seem to be all that impr...

We were a bit busy in the kitchen today.  Michelle made some Moroccan bread with Za’Atar Spice Blend.  Then I made some Broccoli, Quinoa, Egg and Cheese Muffins. Low Carb & High Protein.  Then we tag teamed some preserved lemons.  And finally, for dinner I made one of our favorite tagines:  Elk Meatball in Lemon Sauce. Time to eat. 

We decided to take an easy hike-walk today as Michelle’s foot has been hurting. She sprained it somehow while stunt doubling for Charlize Theron’s upcoming movie, Focal Point.  Anyway, easy walk. 

Okay, you have seen some pictures from the Rocky Mountain National Park in the winter.  Well, here are some pictures that were taken on the same hiking trail as the winter shots. There may be some snow and fog in the pictures but these pictures were taken in July 2017. It only takes you one time not to bring a jacket when going to the high country.  Even though it was in the 90's at home, weather can change in a moment at the park. A rain jacket is a must.  Especially after 12pm.  That is when the weather rolls in.  Thunder, lighting and heavy rain.  When it does rain, the weather is really nice.  Warm.  Almost like the tropics but in a manly sort of way.  Does this make sense?  No?  Good...I am not the only one then. Pictures, pictures, pictures.  You're just like my wife...except she says, vacation to an international location, vacation to an international location...you get the picture(s)

Here are some pictures that were taken on a spur of the moment trip to the Badlands in South Dakota. South Dakota is a hop, skip and a jump away.  Okay, I am lying.  SD is about a six hour drive.  But it is a nice drive except when the CD skips, Michelle is hoping like a rabbit cause she has to pee and I have to jump out of the way of her punches when I refuse to stop. Anyway...Here are the pictures.  I'll shut up now.  Just this once.  You've been warned.

Since it seems like it has been winter forever, we were jonesing for a hike in the great outdoors.  Looking for a new place to hike, we decided to check out some trails in the Fort Collins area. Fort Collins is about an hour drive from our house in Thornton so we figured we could get a good three hour hike in.  Weather is supposed to be nice (high 60's which is extremely nice when the temperature has been in the teens to mid 20's). Using an iPhone app called All Trails we found a nice six mile hiking trail called Reservoir Ridge Trail.  Sounded easy enough.  Rated Moderate with a 673' elevation gain. We packed up the RAV4 with water, gas and a cooler with sandwiches, fruit and tasty beverages and hit the road.  We we arrived at the trail head, there was a sign posted stating that the trail is closed due to severe mud and ice.  We were prepared for the mud and ice...we were not prepared for the closure.  Dammit! Plan B Find another trail! Usi...

Back in November, our nephew Travis came out for Thanksgiving. Travis joined the Air Force a few years ago and spent his first two years in Japan. Now he is stationed at Langley in VA so we get to see him a little more often.  We took Travis on one of our favorite hikes in the Rocky Mountain National Park.  Usually we go in the spring or summer so it was a new experience for all of us.