Just as we are nearing the end of our stay we are completely in cabin mode. We don’t really pay attention to any kind of schedule (except for the dogs) and we get up when we feel like it, eat when we feel like it, and go to bed when we feel like it. Last night we turned in around 8:00 p.m. I think. We got up at 5:30 because the heater wasn’t coming on fully. (Rick had replaced the batteries in the thermostat and the cover was not on completely.)

We do shower every day but tend to wear the same clothes for several days. Fashion mavens we are not.

We’ve done really well planning and buying meals this time. We are really getting the most out of the ingredients we bought, such as we had to buy italian sausage for the Lasagna Soup and we used the rest of the sausage for italian sausage with peppers and onions last night.  Thrifty!


Sunset over Bull Mountain on Monday evening.

The weather has not been typical at all for this time of year. We didn’t bring any really warm clothes as we never need them. I am usually running around in shorts with layers on the top, but this year I’ve worn shorts once in two weeks and that was yesterday when the temperature was about 70 degrees F.

We are usually longing for keeping a fire going in the wood stove and this year have pretty much had one every day, although we let it go out in the afternoon.

The wind is something else that is not normal this year. It’s been extremely windy most days. I am not a big fan of the wind but if you live up here you get used to it. September is not usually a windy month—mostly winter and spring is when it blows. The wind also becomes your friend up here. Why? Because Wind=Power! Everyone has a wind generator (our is decommissioned now). We were discussing the wind last week when we had our neighbors over for a drink and they all said they celebrate when the wind blows by staying up late watching movies! Ah, high country life.

The aspens are not behaving as they should either. Some have turned while others’ leaves are still on the tree, but they were touched by the frost and snow last week and instead of turning color they will just fall off.

We took a drive yesterday over Sand Creek Pass and up a BLM road on the back of Bull Mountain. It’s usually a beautiful drive in the fall, but again, the trees this year are pretty much hit and miss. The view of the Rawah Mountain range is always beautiful from the top of the pass.




There are quite a few antelope around and we saw this little group of girls that was being watched over by a big male. He was pretty possessive of his little harem and while I was trying to snap their photo one female broke off from the pack and started to run. We watched him run after her, covering a large amount of ground in a very short period of time, and turned her right around and chased her back to the other females. Very cool.





We are expecting some snow on Thursday night into Friday, the amount of which seems unclear at this point. One prediction is for not much while the other one is for “a substantial snow event.” If that happens we won’t be leaving on Friday as planned, but will have to wait a day. We left the snow chains at home with the thought that surely we wouldn’t need them in September!

Rick has been posting some very interesting and enjoyable blog posts over at his site too all about our days at the cabin. I encourage you to go over and visit him, read a little and learn a lot!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad at the cabin 8,650 feet above sea level

Joining it with Kath's Song-ography for "Up On the Roof" this week. All photos taken on vacation in Cartagena, Colombia from the roof top lookout of our small boutique hotel.

We had to laugh at this menu board in Cartagena. Bless their hearts, they tried to translate the menu into English, but if you look at the fourth item down from the top "Pulpo en Salsa de Mani" gets translated as "Pulp in Peanut Sauce" instead of octopus. I could eat ceviche all summer long, it's so refreshing. Especially as good as what we ate while we down there.

P.S. I caught my reflection in the window which I just now realized!

I seriously need to post about Cartagena or I'm going to forget I was ever there. Not to mention the fact that whoever reads this blog has already forgotten I was ever there!

Fruit vendors were everywhere on the streets of Cartagena. Some sold freshly pressed juice while others sold cups of freshly sliced mango and watermelon sticks that looked like fruit fries.

Coconuts were plentiful too. They sold the juice, they sold shaved coconut, and I think they toasted some of it. The juice carts vendors squeeze the juice right there while you wait with a press they have on their cart. There are also vendors with ice shavers from which they made a snow-cone and flavor it with your choice of syrups. I didn't manage to get an actual photo of one of those carts, but to show you how popular they are, they even have a metal sculpture  of one in one of the main squares of the city.

The other kind of fruit vendor was my particular favorite: the native women dressed in colorful clothing. Even though I know they dressed for the tourists, I still thought they were wonderful. They usually had a big bowl of fruit which featured watermelon and pineapple as the star attractions, but also included bananas and strange melons I had never seen before.

And of course, there was the opportunity to pose with them for a small gratuity, which I personally would have found demeaning, but I guess money is money.

It's a true art to carry a heavy bowl of fruit on your head, trust me.

On Sunday we took a drive in Mia to Milford, PA. Milford is a quaint little town right on the Delaware River. We took twisty-turny back roads the whole way there and it was a lovely drive even though the day was quite hot. I love that about where we live: you can take back roads to just about anywhere if you so choose to do so. 

We walked around a little, talking in the historic buildings and quaint shops but it was just too hot and stifling to do much. 

We headed to lunch at the historic WaterWheel Cafe where it seemed everyone else in town was also eating there. We waited for about 15 minutes or so before we could be seated but I really didn't mind since we got to stand right in front of the air conditioning unit. Ahhh, cool bliss! Our little table was right by the window looking into the mill and we could see the wheel turning round and round. The food was good.

All in all, it was a beautiful drive and a great way to spend the day with a little convertible car.