day 32/33 "Like a Rock"

Erin and Karli in Boulder

dress made of tea!?!

Erin and I in her ceramics space

Ellie, banjo, beer

Halloween was awesome. I forgot what it was like to party all night long. The next morning we awoke and made delicious egg sandwiches and yogurt parfaits which we greedily chased down with excellent coffee. The snow was melting and the sun was shining brightly outside as we squished in the car and headed toward Boulder for the day. We finally got to see the majestic mountains in the distance that we missed on the way in. Amazing. We stopped at the Celestial Seasonings factory where they mix and process all their famous teas. We got to sample lots of teas and took a fun tour where we got yelled at for stepping over the yellow lines. The tour guide opened the door to the "Peppermint Room" and the minty fumes quickly overwhelmed our senses. Intense. We didn't get to see any of the "tea production" because it was a Sunday but I did get to buy my favorite tea that I can never find in the grocery stores. That was fun. After the tea factory we stopped in the tourist shopping district of boulder to poke around the stores. Karli found an amazing Charlie Harper book and I got one about road trips. Perfect. On the way home we stopped at an Indian restaurant and ate a delicious dinner with leftovers for lunch the next day. We got back to Erin's house and had some of our new teas before heading off to bed. Today Karli and I had to entertain ourselves while Erin worked all day. We had big plans to go to the New Belgium brewing company for a tour and tastes but that failed because it was closed on Mondays! Instead we hit up some local thrift stores then drove to Denver to look at a banjo that I found on craigslist the night before. The banjo turned out to be in perfect condition and came with a case and an instruction book for so cheap! It was meant to be. I cooked up some early Thanksgiving dinner for the three of us and we all sat around giving thanks for one another and our good fortunes well into the night! Cheers!
-Amelia

Erin tuning the banjo

day 29/30/31 "new mexico to colorful colorado"

View in Sedona

Karli with the Red Rocks

Mia and a Dino at the Rock Shop by the Petrified Forest

Petrified Log at the Petrified Forrest

After departing Sedona we drove to Albuquerque, NM for the night. The drive was extended by a stop at a cool little Indian Art outdoor market, where Mia and I bought some souvenirs, and a quick stop at the New Frontier Natural Foods Market in Flagstaff. We had lots of free samples and bought some snacks. On the way to the hotel we drove through the Petrified Forest and saw lots of red stone logs strewn about the vast landscape. The forest was super cool in the beginning, then a little underwhelming towards the end. We stayed in a Days Inn and had beautiful salads with veggies from the market in our room as we relaxed and watched Project Runway and Star Trek. The next morning we poked around the dark rooms at the University of New Mexico and got some Satellite coffee, yum! Next we drove to Santa Fe. Our first stop was the wonderful Georgia O'Keefe Museum. Very impressive. Then we went to the Shed, Sally's recommendation, for a quick lunch. We got back on the road and started driving to Colorful Colorado. We took the scenic route past the Rio Grande and through Taos. It was a very pretty drive. Unfortunately once it got dark during the last 15 miles of the drive through the mountains, we encountered some bad driving conditions. A combination of black ice, unfamiliar unlit roads, gusty winds, and snow drifts made quite a stressful drive for Mia and me. As soon as we got to a town, Walsenburg to be exact, we checked into a slightly nicer hotel with a well deserved hot tub! After a good night sleep and complimentary breakfast burrito we started driving to Fort Collins to see Erin. On our way we stopped at a Michaels craft store to pick up some colorful tissue paper and pipe cleaners to make tissue paper flowers in the car for our Garden Bouquet halloween costume. We also stopped at the Mile High Flea Market just outside of Denver and picked up some goodies. A little before dinner time we made it to Erin's workplace, Jax, to surprise her. We had a wonderful reunion full of hugs and jack daniels ice-cream. Then Mia and I went thrift shopping for more halloween goodies while Erin finished work. We all met up at Erin's for mommy-made stuffed peppers (delish) and more flower making. Erin's buddy Mary joined us and we all dressed in floral prints and covered ourselves in the home-made flowers. We took bicycles to town and saw some amazing costumes while we bar hopped. Tomorrow we are exploring in Boulder and maybe visiting Celestial Seasons Tea Factory. Free Tea!?!

- Karli
rio grande!!

halloween preparations