Not just any day.

This morning as Dusty was driving to work, he called me to let me know that the city below was shrouded in a sea of clouds. So I did what anyone would do. I jumped out of bed, threw on my shoes, grabbed my camera, and ran down the road to catch the Sunrise.





Normally, you can see the city lights down there, but today is not just any day.





Twenty minutes later, I was in the perfect spot to capture the Sun beginning Her daily watch.





As Her light begins to reflect off the silvery clouds, the forest comes to life with sounds of the morning.





Birds and chipmunks begin chirping happily. A deer family awakens, startled by my sudden outburst of song.





"♪ ♫ I have to say it now ♪ ♫ it's been a good life all in all ♪ ♫ it's really fine to have a chance to hang around ♪ ♫"





Rarely is the cloud cover so low.





For the last three days it's been rainy and foggy up here. It's nice to have a clear morning for a change, but I love how the rain turns the mountains so green.





This is my Just-Woke-Up look. I'm thrilled, really!





I meandered back home to finish getting everything in order for our upcoming Road Trip. It's going to be a long day, but it started out just perfect.





♪ ♫ Lyrics by John Denver

The Top of the World

It is necessary to do a lot of exploring, since we have national forestland surrounding our neighborhood.



There is a place the locals call Gog & Magog, although I'm not sure how it gets its name. Gog and Magog are found in several ancient folk traditions, referenced as being giants or supernatural beings or the respected lands of these creatures.



Our Gog & Magog is located north-west of Manitou Springs, at the base of Cameron's Cone.



We plan on hiking up Cameron Cone when we have the same days off again.

The Ice Falls

Not too far from where we live is a waterfall.



By this time of year, the water has frozen in mid-suspension.



Dusty has carefully walked across the ice to pose in this amazing formation of nature.



I'm sure this waterfall is beautiful all year, but there is something pristine about the frozen cascade.



Near the waterfall, colonies of moss and lichens sprawl across giant granite boulders.



The aspen trees sleep peacefully, awaiting the warmth of spring.



Milky quartz rocks are abundant in this area.



Blue Spruce and other breeds dot the landscape as the most prominent vegetation, making our mountain community green all year round.

Magnificent Views

There's something a bit wild about living up here. Taking this curvy mountain road home in the mornings makes us feel so ... free.

On the way up, you will see these historical place markers:







Can you see Kansas way out there?



On most days we swear it's so clear that we can see Kansas! By staring out there for a long time we can pick out the water tower in Security, landmarks downtown, and the bran new monolithic hospital on the far northeast side of "The Springs" (what we locals call Colorado Springs).

It rarely ever happens here, but one particularly foggy morning we left work as the sun was rising and looked down from our curvy mountain road to see this:











Quite a sight!! The clouds covering The Springs looked like they were boiling the people down there alive! Judging by their grumpy foggy-morning attitudes, I knew that not many of them realized there was a blue sky just a thousand feet above them.

Just one of the benefits of working nights and living on a mountain, I suppose. ;)

Now, driving down Crystal Park Road at night on our way to work is "like driving through space" to borrow my husband's description. Indeed, the view at night will be tricky to catch with my camera but it's something I plan to attempt.

Caught in Limbo over "Our" Home

Well, due to this "credit crunch" and ensuing over-corrections made by lenders as if they feel regret for all of the illegal loans given in the last several years, we do not know when our house will be "ours" and we may not know for several weeks or a few days...



Our credit is "golden" as we were told, but the underwriters are unsure of this house we want to buy. How can we convince them it's NOT a log cabin!! The siding happens to be log, but the log part is making Countrywide very nervous, throwing us into limbo, where we will be waiting for our broker to find another lender -- please soon!

Meanwhile, let's look at some pretty pictures of our sooner-or-later-to-be new neighborhood!


This is the view from "our" property:



This is a view of Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs from the road leading up to "our" property:



And this is what the side of "our" mountain looks like at the moment:

The Perfect View

On my way home from work, the sun was rising over the horizon, the temperature was negative six and the sky was a frosty blue. I looked up at Pike's Peak clothed in a thick white blanket and thought: what a great picture that would be!

I drove up to Mesa Road and stopped at a plateau that looks out over the Garden of the Gods. I could only take these few shots before I started losing feeling in my fingers.


Take a close look at the side of that mountain to see the switchbacks of Crystal Park Road.


A view of the south side of the city, that mountain is Cheyenne.


And there it is! Pike's Peak towering over the Garden of the Gods and looking over the city where I will always call my home.