Catch-up Day . . .

 

Back in Idaho with what appears to be a full-blown head cold.  I thought it was allergies and that as soon as I breathed some Idaho air at a different altitude, it would all stop.

Not the case.

Lots of nose blowing today.  

A beautiful bouquet of dahlias greeted me when I walked in last night.  That was Bill's "Welcome Home" message.  

Nice to be home.

And, today will be the usual "catch-up" day, along with an attempt to start on some of the usual October projects in preparation for winter.  

Yesterday after reaching Denver from Colorado Springs, Annie and I visited the Denver Botanical Gardens and the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Arsenal.  

Neither of us found the scenes we had hoped to photograph.

A few weeks ago, I read a short feature about America's most beautiful spots for fall colors.  The Botanical Gardens were listed.

I'm wondering if the information in the article was correct, as the folks at the gardens knew of no such distinction.  Fall colors had started, but it was obvious that even at their height, the description in the story did not fit.

Still, the flowers were beautiful and the stroll through the area was pleasant and fulfilling.

Annie wanted to photograph buffalo.

So, we went to the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Arsenal, which has a herd.

Turns out the herd grazes in an area where a photographer would have to shoot through a cyclone fence.   

One person we met on our walk said the only way we'd probably get even close to the buffalo is to take the bus tour.

We did not have time for that, but we did hike along the man-made lake which supports a host of waterfowl.  

The place has a nice population of prairie dogs too----and some mule deer.

Probably the highlight of our visit came when a cop stopped and asked us if we owned that "chevy" parked back at the area where we'd started our hike.

He met me first, and I had no idea what kind of rental car we had.  So, he asked me what color our car was.

Upon hearing it was tan, he said that wasn't the car he meant.

There was another car parked near us when we took off for our hike.  It was still there when we returned----and a Chevy.

We still don't know what the problem was---maybe a stolen car left there---but he was pretty determined to find whoever drove it there. 

We shot a few photos, went on our way and headed for the airport before taking our separate flights home from a Colorado packed with memories.

Now, it's back to reality on this Thursday.  Have a great day.