Connections

Cyber Connection--Again!

Ten years of knowing, first time together in person

The internet is amazing in that one can connect deeply with people without ever seeing them in person.  I've met Elaine--in blue--before but neither she nor I had met Connie--in white.  While Connie's husband was in town on business, the three of us met at the Garden of the Gods to take in its beauty and get to know each other in person.  My hubby went along to do some hiking and to serve as official photographer--on three different cameras.

An example of the magnificent rock formations--with climbers.

Though it was a hot day, and a Wednesday, there were a lot of people walking the paths, hiking, climbing where permitted and photographing beautiful wild flowers. We walked for an hour and a half, catching up on family and friends between photos and exclamations of awe. The Gardens are filled with "charismatic" formations that cry out for names.  Some of the more obvious shapes already have them:  balancing rock, the kissing camels, the three graces.  Others challenge us to come up with our own images and names.  I hadn't been here in over 15 years and now I wonder what took me so long to get back to this spectacular place.

 

The formation to the left had no name that we could find but if it doesn't have one it seems like it should--it seems to be a gathering of characters for a particular purpose. 

After we met Bob again we drove to, Manitou Springs, a delightful little mountain town with a lot of colorful history surrounding its famous soda water springs.  In fact we had lunch in Adam's Mountain Cafe located in an historical building that was once a Spa. The history and some transformation photos of the remodel from spa to restaurant can be found here.   What a fantastic building--and the food was great as well.  The next time I have occasion to be in Colorado Springs, this place is on my list to revisit.

A photo Adam's Cafe interior, copied from their site.

 

Lorakeets

A pair of Lorakeets in the Denver Zoo

It's been slightly more than a year since the Denver Zoo Lorakeet Enclosure was completed, but I had never been inside.  Like we--as grandparents--often do, we used our enthusiastic granddaughter as an excuse, no-actually just a reason, to go see the lorakeets.  In this new enclosure we estimated, as it difficult to count a room full of flying color swatches, about 50 lorakeets lived, flew, preened and bounced their heads.  Clio was ecstatic, running from one to another.  I took too many photos and a few 6 or 7-second video clips (which I had hoped to post here but couldn't figure out how to do it without reading and researching and opening a ticket etc.). So, I'll just share a few of the still photos:

This one was very animated, bobbing up and down.

The red bird below made several flying circles before landing on the fence perfectly posed on the hypotenuse of two triangles in my lens.

People's Fair

Scene of booths and people with Colo. St. Capitol behind

Every first weekend in June for 35 years Civic Center Park has become the third largest city in Colorado for two days.  Some years the crowds and the heat become almost prohibitive to a good time.  This year someone actually planned some open space into the design of the hundreds of booths, the five main entertainment stages and the long rows of porta-potties.  It seemed less crowded but the numbers were still there. The weather co-operated as well--it was warm but overcast.  I took the bus downtown and stayed about 5 hours.  What a pleasant afternoon!

In contrast to the other two public festivals in this park--Cinco de Mayo and Taste of Colorado--this one is all about the ideas, values, crafts, opportunities for volunteering as well as music, food and culture of Denver's population.  The five stages change entertainment every hour and a half or so.  There was even a "soapbox" with mike where anyone could speak for 30 minutes about anything they felt strongly about as long as it wasn't obscene.  Sometimes people lined up for rebuttal time. The Fundamentalists of several religions each had a booth.  The atheists and agnostics had a booth.  Planned Parenthood's booth was two doors down from the Anti-abortion booth.  Sometimes the volume of discussion lifted a little but basically there was respect for each belief to be represented.

I particularly liked this one:

And then there is the music. My favorite stage is the one located in the Greek amphitheater but I was there in the early afternoon and though the music was varied and well-played, the crowd was thin.

The Greek Amphitheater on the South side of Civic Center Park

There is something for everyone:  a kiddie corner complete with a giant bubble blowing machine, a bungee jumping ride and gyroscope for teens, face-painting for all ages, music, dance, demonstrations and food sampling from the cuisines of many countries. Even though I went alone, I had a great time just wandering and sitting and felt a sense of true community at the aptly named People's Fair.