tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12191779370456202024-03-16T01:08:54.322-06:00It's a Horse LifeAllenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.comBlogger789125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-10231198655446445032022-12-01T10:41:00.003-07:002022-12-01T10:43:31.937-07:00Bill's Memorial Service<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOwYwm3dU50_bOo5dL1uw7Fd8KDAlXqhN68bqumOCP7sfg3GzS79CkZKneeQNBu1-WV67glsI6lAUfuKwFrUYJlS0c-UfkTY4QCqnmTO8yEg_4K9eLlRZGSggHymTXI_183ZmitZKxVwOPSuaXgvtWz6hmms66sb2Pu1cz4Wph7m3MMSyIt0Zhtz-/s640/IMGA0355.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOwYwm3dU50_bOo5dL1uw7Fd8KDAlXqhN68bqumOCP7sfg3GzS79CkZKneeQNBu1-WV67glsI6lAUfuKwFrUYJlS0c-UfkTY4QCqnmTO8yEg_4K9eLlRZGSggHymTXI_183ZmitZKxVwOPSuaXgvtWz6hmms66sb2Pu1cz4Wph7m3MMSyIt0Zhtz-/w400-h300/IMGA0355.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken at Bill and Juanita's 20th Anniversary trip to Yellowstone</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>We are having an in-person memorial for Bill, but he touched so many people worldwide, we wanted to be able to Zoom it as well. The Allenspark Community Church has been kind enough to set it up for us.</p><p>Bill's service is scheduled for tomorrow, December 2 at 2:00 p.m. MST. If you'd like to join us virtually, the information is below.</p><blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #242424; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" type="cite"><div dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; color: #500050; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Topic: Bill Martin Memorial Service</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #500050; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Time: Dec 2, 2022 01:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #500050; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0433ff;"><br aria-hidden="true" /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #500050; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Join Zoom Meeting</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #500050; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0433ff;"><a data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0" href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88634081098?pwd=OVJhWVZSZVZRWk8wYklCOXR1dS9XUT09" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88634081098?pwd=OVJhWVZSZVZRWk8wYklCOXR1dS9XUT09</a></span></div><div style="border: 0px; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyY4pc86aPo4tZBdUWI2OfUHP1IHdLKRYeahod4sDifbrBF01OlcgfbgF7msNUULSiK3_uXID_U5dOi4Kj5y1IOOE_LKHYTz1bZKQcGb2w_vS790V2pJOs8NdLNN-9gPNFQS_elW1UeDtJzgFn6KCL0zd4viKeLT6yHzOG-Cq-GD00dCEPZCEgV4fL/s910/Best%20picture%20ever.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="902" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyY4pc86aPo4tZBdUWI2OfUHP1IHdLKRYeahod4sDifbrBF01OlcgfbgF7msNUULSiK3_uXID_U5dOi4Kj5y1IOOE_LKHYTz1bZKQcGb2w_vS790V2pJOs8NdLNN-9gPNFQS_elW1UeDtJzgFn6KCL0zd4viKeLT6yHzOG-Cq-GD00dCEPZCEgV4fL/s320/Best%20picture%20ever.jpg" width="317" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 20pt; text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">With the
heaviest of hearts we are sharing with you that Lodge owners, Juanita and Bill
Martin, were involved in a tragic vehicle accident on Monday, Nov. 21 outside
of Moab, Utah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Juanita was flown to
Grand Junction, Colorado for treatment of her injuries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is already on the road to a full recovery.
Reba, the Lodge Dog, was treated by a local vet and has been released to
friends of the family. She will resume her Lodge Dog duties shortly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, Bill was lost to us in this
tragedy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">To allow
time for our family to heal, the Lodge will be closing for the winter and will
be welcoming guests again in March.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
will continue to take reservations throughout this time, though responses may
be delayed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In honoring
Bill’s legacy of kindness, compassion, and love of humanity we would ask you to
do a simple random act of kindness that does not involve monetary support and
may be a tad outside your comfort zone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
would bring such joy to him!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Feel free to
share your favorite memories of, and about, Bill in the comments section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We would all love to read them and it is
important for the rest of the world to understand the impact that one wonderful
man can have. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p></p>Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-27136596542729472952022-09-22T10:23:00.004-06:002022-09-22T15:34:49.375-06:00Seize Your Day <p> This morning I went out to feed the neighbor's chickens and ducks (she had her shoulder replaced a couple days ago).</p><p> As I was holding the gate and walking out of the chicken pen I started t</p><p> I woke up on my knees wondering "Who? What? Where?" </p><p> I slowly stood up. Everything was working but I was still a little confused. <i> </i>I thought<i> </i>"My God! I think I've had a seizure!" </p><p><br /></p><p> After I stood for a few more seconds, I understood.</p><p> There was a hot wire strung <i>just above </i> the gate. The <i>metal</i> gate I was holding onto. In the rain. Wearing a wet ball cap.</p><p> I had taken a 10,000 volt hit from an electric fencer through the "ouch button" on my ball cap while the rest of me was as grounded as possible.</p><p>Damn.</p><p> Have you ever been laughed at by a couple dozen chickens and ducks?</p><p>Damn.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Bill</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHTBX8h9xR24wz_A9LaqBwhChWE3SDiiY9l07LoKizRk7B04FDvVq1WkNGXv616Vw4gCtsE8xtHIff9gpQ2I82CR_8LMIpsdtrmiumQ2I_-nd_TUjUABM2jq_Pay34q1QE40X3ueGmnhMkDE2trChKwg5IaKftH-ynJfNO2vfNMPijYtXwy3th0M9/s766/zap.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="766" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHTBX8h9xR24wz_A9LaqBwhChWE3SDiiY9l07LoKizRk7B04FDvVq1WkNGXv616Vw4gCtsE8xtHIff9gpQ2I82CR_8LMIpsdtrmiumQ2I_-nd_TUjUABM2jq_Pay34q1QE40X3ueGmnhMkDE2trChKwg5IaKftH-ynJfNO2vfNMPijYtXwy3th0M9/w430-h291/zap.JPG" width="430" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-19570826978237620892022-07-03T17:33:00.005-06:002022-07-04T07:06:53.269-06:00Funday<p> </p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not my best afternoon. My daughter's facebook post on our noontime "ride"...</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> We'd planned to have a nice little ride this afternoon. But ... things got a little exciting and now there isn't a hitch rail. </span></p><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">It was just a cascade of bad things - I asked <span style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 q66pz984 b1v8xokw" href="https://www.facebook.com/wmemartin?__cft__[0]=AZVv6g-V1DNppAh_VK3Mzb8GGff-BWNQsY6RsFBlkbib3BJeZGohkE5TFZIfULmFKWIV7Jwu18E4RFYmuqOCl7bLWxyQQfVYr3AeUP6ft7_xrGsw-2jHDA8hDpOhVMnuduvimxpNeEBTqYvi9myc1WMX-ROSElDbC5weuHodO62lYA&__tn__=-]K-R" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; animation-name: none; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor none medium; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation; transition-property: none;" tabindex="0"><span class="nc684nl6" style="animation-name: none; display: inline; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">Bill</span></a></span> to help me tent Skeets' saddle pad, so he left Al tied with his saddle on his back, but not cinched on. Skeets let me fix her pad, but scooted sideways when I went to reach under for her cinch. Al thought that was scary and jumped, which caused his saddle to fall, which caused him to start bucking. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">He stopped bucking and when Bill reached for him, he started up again, then Skeeter thought bad things were happening and pulled back, which made *her* saddle fall off, which made everything worse, so she pulled back harder and Washoe got to go for a ride when the whole rail broke off and the two of them skittered across the street. They stopped nicely and let us go untie them. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">Al got put away, and Skeeter got re-saddled. For the very first time since her first saddling she bucked and bucked. Weird, but then I realized bad things had just happened while I was trying to saddle her. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">Bucking didn't work - Grandma's dealt with pissy mares before - so once she settled down, she got to walk around the block while Grandma and Washoe rode. Her brain was firmly back in her head by the time we got back, so I mounted up and we rode around the parking lot before calling it a day. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">When we got back, Bill saddled Alloy and made him go for a ride. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">Now that that silliness is out of their system, the parade tomorrow should be a breeze. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="animation-name: none; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">Everyone is okay (humans and horses), but leaving the horses tied is going to be interesting for a while.</div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyMRqWFBwsZx3GN8WXTjqB6-8r0FB34k7f-pAZE5oKpRtwigN9YHnnnc66jD98BZl3Y6VRDCX7V7vgdGv0MjkOVgulJax0PszvsP4Z4Rma6c73-r5d-fn2pRJKURGF3agRaBl610wryF_yoVE_l9WrJDzhOEUm-scYhn_kA5MmXJIDRfD98RNCxIL0/s502/1111.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="502" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyMRqWFBwsZx3GN8WXTjqB6-8r0FB34k7f-pAZE5oKpRtwigN9YHnnnc66jD98BZl3Y6VRDCX7V7vgdGv0MjkOVgulJax0PszvsP4Z4Rma6c73-r5d-fn2pRJKURGF3agRaBl610wryF_yoVE_l9WrJDzhOEUm-scYhn_kA5MmXJIDRfD98RNCxIL0/w400-h400/1111.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"> After riding Al around the block, I was sitting with an ice pack on my leg from a kick (or something during the explosion), when I was asked by a neighbor if I could "put down" her injured pet duck (broken leg, bad prognosis from several vets).</div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">Her whole flock of chickens and ducks watched the execution, and RAN AWAY from me when I left the yard, I don't think they will ever trust me again.</div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">So coming back into the lodge, limping, with a bloody machete in my hand, I was greeted by a young woman that had pulled up asking for directions to a nearby camp ground. She pretended not to notice that I looked like a mass murderer of some sort. Blood splatters and all.</div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">O.M.G.</div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">I'm having a beer.</div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">Bill </div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"><br /></div></div>Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-82751310048420425392022-05-26T17:51:00.005-06:002022-05-26T17:53:00.084-06:00A Long Winter<p> This was supposed to have been published in May of LAST year, but I just found it as a draft...</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> Last week I was driving down Hwy 7 in Estes Park and almost hit a hawk. It flew from the side and turned to fly directly in front of me about 3 feet above the ground right in front of my bumper. It refused to drop the rabbit that was weighing it down, and finally veered off. I was <i>so</i> glad I did not kill a federally protected raptor. It would have been even worse, because I was driving a mail truck.</p><p><br /></p><p>Yeah, I've been delivering mail over the winter to help pay the utility bills at the lodge. Last Monday was my last day doing it, and now I'm back to working the lodge full time.</p><p><br /></p><p>It had been a long, and pretty lonely winter up here due to the Covid pandemic. Maintaining "Social distancing" and wearing a mask in my home was getting kind of old. So Juanita and I, having been fully vaccinated, made a corporate decision to not require guests to wear masks here in the lodge if they can provide proof of vaccination.</p><p><br /></p><p>Last weekend we had our first full lodge mask free retreat in over 14 months. EVERYONE was vaccinated. It was wonderful being able to smile when telling a dumb joke and be sure people knew I was joking, and not just being an idiot.</p><p><br /></p><p>Eating breakfast at the same table with our guests had been sorely missed. Passing around bowls of food rather than individual plates of food causes less waste, and is a lot more flexible. I like "family style". </p><p><br /></p><p>It was like coming home. We loved it.</p>Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-46730045765219037322022-03-28T09:40:00.001-06:002022-03-28T09:41:54.184-06:00Bad Cop, Good Cop<p> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal">Saturday, March 19<sup>th</sup>, 5:00 p.m.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Phone rings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Hi
Scott.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How are you?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Juanita, I just wanted to call and let you know I moved
the horses from the north section to the south.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“OK, thanks.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“I really called to tell you … that brown horse of yours ….”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, oh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What has
Alloy done now?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently, after
getting caught, loaded, and moved, Al had decided he couldn’t get out of the
trailer fast enough, so he went charging out backwards, breaking the hay string
that had been used on his halter to lead him and load him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(We tend to use whatever is handy to move our
horses around, be it a dog leash, hay string, belt, whatever – as they are
generally very good about it.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was
no way anyone was going to get near him again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So we got the call that we now had a horse loose in a very large pasture
with a halter on; an absolute no-no in all our books.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAlE3zGw3RAhESDzN4htU_gQJb9FD2dVf-YNFBNlsD2-SvqynvntD3_iMe0tEnOLpFKWAT48Tfu-g-VoomsnuQkf9lIIn8-GiE_VaE8ZS5e0T3XvWS0om65ZTwO4zyYvNuRTTe5eu8y5ZheMHIwtxXmT0IXpnIMIxyUtxkk_2lCYoDVcQ_cV4h-gAu/s1506/20220320_090706%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="1506" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAlE3zGw3RAhESDzN4htU_gQJb9FD2dVf-YNFBNlsD2-SvqynvntD3_iMe0tEnOLpFKWAT48Tfu-g-VoomsnuQkf9lIIn8-GiE_VaE8ZS5e0T3XvWS0om65ZTwO4zyYvNuRTTe5eu8y5ZheMHIwtxXmT0IXpnIMIxyUtxkk_2lCYoDVcQ_cV4h-gAu/w446-h300/20220320_090706%20(2).jpg" width="446" /></a></div><br /> We headed the 18 miles down off the mountain to see if we
could be of help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately, the time
was just right for us to use our own canyon to make the trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our canyon is under construction to fix flood
damages from 8 years ago and you can only drive it certain times of the
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got to the pasture, found the
horses and discovered we also were not going to get near them; even my boy who
comes at a trot when I call said, “not now, there’s grass!”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hRo7AGcrVKVte4KLnmOBPF5QX5PYNw9UrynmXQksteABD9zlX62ElXAIdnM8L3tfrkrIHKkZSuVHASFIJYVGsAhJGaRij0OmblT-hd5ddfmNVr_arjCED7MJ1XEF7FP3KXGU7Qw0DnkmURRjNPh1yxl8165idOG3tZ55TXCy8Atb4n3gNq7o40VD/s3140/20220319_183642%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="3140" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hRo7AGcrVKVte4KLnmOBPF5QX5PYNw9UrynmXQksteABD9zlX62ElXAIdnM8L3tfrkrIHKkZSuVHASFIJYVGsAhJGaRij0OmblT-hd5ddfmNVr_arjCED7MJ1XEF7FP3KXGU7Qw0DnkmURRjNPh1yxl8165idOG3tZ55TXCy8Atb4n3gNq7o40VD/w490-h182/20220319_183642%20(2).jpg" width="490" /></a></div><i><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Washoe is the white horse, Alloy is hidden behind him.</i><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We decided to just come back the next day and ‘walk them
down’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sunday dawned bright and sunny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time Washoe walked right up to me and
let me brush all the mud off, a good deal of winter hair, and detangle the
dreadlocks from his mane; all without a halter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We spent the morning walking the pasture behind a stubborn bay horse
with a <b>more</b> stubborn black mare, who seems to have become the lead mare
and wanted nothing to do with Alloy getting caught.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Washoe went back to the other horses and started
grazing and the two errant horses decided to circle them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You would have thought they were inside a 30
ft. round pen, instead of on 30 acres of pasture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6EMwdf1wcBhAbsbiZJJitQik0hc51rSApFYIdYPzDxAiUUOM94xA86og9sUYjco7eTp0ItJBfrQOhY2tuAhjqNFC5o7lyOFZeS3E2kTYzX2RP-EhrAV8zrK0SnIkWd_S1M9hyhY72yK6PCuknpVERQ0FRkELmJguCnnTejdFlYte06KEKB0xkhmKj/s1665/20220320_084221%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="1665" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6EMwdf1wcBhAbsbiZJJitQik0hc51rSApFYIdYPzDxAiUUOM94xA86og9sUYjco7eTp0ItJBfrQOhY2tuAhjqNFC5o7lyOFZeS3E2kTYzX2RP-EhrAV8zrK0SnIkWd_S1M9hyhY72yK6PCuknpVERQ0FRkELmJguCnnTejdFlYte06KEKB0xkhmKj/w434-h289/20220320_084221%20(2).jpg" width="434" /></a></div><br /> Fortunately, the mare is not the endurance horse Alloy is,
and finally tired and joined the others grazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That made the circling game not so fun any
longer and Alloy finally joined them after a few more circles. Bill did almost
all the ‘lunging’ while I stayed on the outside incase one of them decided to leave
the circle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, Bill walked back to
the car for some water and more snacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the interim Al decided to just hang with the others so I walked into
the group and started rubbing faces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Guess who wanted his face rubbed, too?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After a couple of attempts, he stood still when I offered him an oat
granola bar in exchange for his halter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was very still while I unbuckled it, then almost forgot his oat bar. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He sooo wants to still be a wild horse!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The whole process really only took three and a half
hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill said Alloy considered him
the ‘bad cop’ and me the ‘good cop’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
a great way to spend a gorgeous day – with the horses.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bionic Cowgirl</p>
Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-13051100174898811322021-09-12T21:32:00.003-06:002021-09-12T21:32:43.186-06:00Just Moosed Me<p>My heart is still pounding.</p><p>Earlier this afternoon I had told one of our guests that moose are more dangerous than bears or mountain lions, and 4 or 5 people have been injured in moose attacks this year. The victims had been walking their dogs, and the moose (mooses?) had taken offence.</p><p>This evening I was crawling backwards out of the chicken coop after checking to make sure they were in for the night, and had my little pocket flashlight in hand. I closed and latched the coop door and was still on my hands and knees when I heard something behind me. I turned and lit up a moose kneecap about 15 inches from my face on the other side of a chicken wire fence. I made some sort of growling/shrieking sound and the moose ran off, followed by another moose a pace or two behind it.</p><p><br /></p><p>I know moose are big, but when you are on your hands and knees right beside two of them, it gives you a whole 'nother perspective.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dPtxHM50xLI/YT6_1Mh-6mI/AAAAAAAAGpg/k8gIcaeJaGMzxrNfxIZmxZIw1xvWZxKkQCNcBGAsYHQ/s546/mooseknees.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="546" height="249" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dPtxHM50xLI/YT6_1Mh-6mI/AAAAAAAAGpg/k8gIcaeJaGMzxrNfxIZmxZIw1xvWZxKkQCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h249/mooseknees.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Since they both left, I guess chickens don't offend them as much as a dog would have.<br /><p>(And surprisingly, I didn't even crush the egg I was holding in my hand...)</p><p>Bill</p>Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-16827486473991124362021-08-29T21:15:00.001-06:002021-08-29T21:15:49.759-06:00Horse Time<p>Soooooo .... we have actually done some really fun stuff this summer with the horses, the last of which was an obstacles clinic with our favorite Mustang trainer, Jessica Dabkowski at <a href="http://www.twosprucefarm.com/" target="_blank">Two Spruce Farm</a>. <br /></p><p>The owner, Jody Marken is also very knowledgeable and was a huge help teaching me to slow down and learn how to move your horse 'one step at a time'. It's a lot harder than it sounds. It's much easier to ask your horse to move in any given direction and have them move three, four or more steps, than it is to have them just move one foot, one step. Try it.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uqdwo9ZTBSM/YSw0iJw8WPI/AAAAAAAAGfo/tc5cC2clkFsZrmQ4sUVCi_1AoRBmIyz7gCNcBGAsYHQ/s530/20210822_114528small%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="530" height="305" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uqdwo9ZTBSM/YSw0iJw8WPI/AAAAAAAAGfo/tc5cC2clkFsZrmQ4sUVCi_1AoRBmIyz7gCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/20210822_114528small%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Here Washoe and I finally did the gate <b>correctly</b>, by doing it in one step segments.<br /> <p></p><p>Bill sat this one out due to a migraine, then ended up being the photographer, getting some pretty great shots. GunDiva daughter, Miss LE, and I all had a great time challenging ourselves. As Jessica and Jody kept telling us, it wasn't about the obstacle, it was about the communication between you and your horse. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EvI1btLPIuU/YSw2lOl8OTI/AAAAAAAAGf4/T_kuH9UxSjkV-kYzkyM1uRIumj-I6wQ0gCNcBGAsYHQ/s1095/20210822_100511%2Bsmall%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1095" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EvI1btLPIuU/YSw2lOl8OTI/AAAAAAAAGf4/T_kuH9UxSjkV-kYzkyM1uRIumj-I6wQ0gCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/20210822_100511%2Bsmall%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Since my horse is pretty great with true trail obstacles, once he understood these were just funky items to play with, we first practiced 'sending' our horses through on their own, then having them stop in the middle of one, or even trying to have them do something on 'just a thought'. Later I rode Washoe through this particular obstacle, and asked him to stop in the middle. He did .. then reached down and pulled the yellow noodle off with his teeth and spit it on the ground. Challenging our communication with them on a large scale - in both directions.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7NBd3ViuWog/YSw3wz2VM-I/AAAAAAAAGgA/fz8Yi8viHYk5zxHy1OOrdvtRFZkOPnGtQCNcBGAsYHQ/s884/20210822_115520small%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="884" height="244" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7NBd3ViuWog/YSw3wz2VM-I/AAAAAAAAGgA/fz8Yi8viHYk5zxHy1OOrdvtRFZkOPnGtQCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/20210822_115520small%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p> </p><p>Another fun one. Washoe couldn't decide if he was supposed to step between the tires - or on them. After this he totally ignored them and just walked all over them, stepping wherever, and even just standing on them. <br /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lUMpPHl-hd8/YSw5G6PcCRI/AAAAAAAAGgI/g3iv7M7DTiw-f1ZfYPd6vXg8d4jq76CNwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1672/20210822_115705small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="1672" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lUMpPHl-hd8/YSw5G6PcCRI/AAAAAAAAGgI/g3iv7M7DTiw-f1ZfYPd6vXg8d4jq76CNwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/20210822_115705small.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Turned out GunDiva and I wore the same shirt that day, making us 'twinsies' according to her. The horses standing together remind me of the Beatles' song <i>Ebony & Ivory.</i> Dating myself big time here.<br /><p></p><p> </p><p>Right now, plans are to haul our horses over to Estes Park at the end of September to a Mustang challenge there, happening after one of the TIP auctions. So we brought our daughter's horse up here until then, so we could practice together on some maneuvers, such as side-passing over a log, backing through poles, and opening gates. Today, I decided to ride her horse just for fun; Washoe's nose was definitely out of joint, until I put Skeeter away and climbed on him. Both horses did very well, although they are worlds apart in their training. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bYbaucfXXXg/YSw7mqJhGaI/AAAAAAAAGgQ/aHxSYQOw6kcz9riWbVJ7TUPNoBd6Ll4zwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1247/DSCF9460small%2B%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1247" data-original-width="1149" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bYbaucfXXXg/YSw7mqJhGaI/AAAAAAAAGgQ/aHxSYQOw6kcz9riWbVJ7TUPNoBd6Ll4zwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSCF9460small%2B%25282%2529.JPG" width="295" /></a></div><br />Bill and Alloy had a great day today, too, making it about 17 rides or so this summer with NO BUCKING!!! They seem to have had a great breakthrough in the communication department, mostly Al deciding he could discuss things with Bill without yelling (bucking).<p></p><p> </p><p>The lodge is running as well as can be expected with all the virus confusion and variants, so we are happily enjoying any spare time we can get with the horses.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Until next ride,</p><p>Bionic Cowgirl<br /></p><p><br /></p>Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-6899890140527635042021-07-20T17:04:00.001-06:002021-07-20T17:04:45.048-06:00Just Horse'in Around<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0peeD2jTQVc/YPdWDpRDUtI/AAAAAAAAGdk/n7BD9vUQT4gdH9Q0U1ufhM8lIcFBcQ1ewCNcBGAsYHQ/s498/Al%2Bjoke.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="498" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0peeD2jTQVc/YPdWDpRDUtI/AAAAAAAAGdk/n7BD9vUQT4gdH9Q0U1ufhM8lIcFBcQ1ewCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/Al%2Bjoke.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Bill</p>Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-13828609452285397692021-06-18T14:37:00.002-06:002021-06-18T14:37:19.873-06:00Spring Pollen<p> Juanita and I have been riding 2 or 3 times a week for the last month. Her horse Washoe has been behaving himself (for the most part. Just occasional snacking on the trail.) And Alloy hasn't dumped me on the ground so far. </p><p>Ten rides now. </p><p>I really hope I didn't just jinx it...</p><p>This spring has had it's normal pollen season that seems to be just about over. Riding down the trails, if you bump a tree limb the yellow cloud poofs down around you. It kind of cool looking. But the pollen does settle down all over everything.</p><p><br /></p><p>One of our guests came in and told me about some prints on the back of her car. The pollen was acting like fingerprint powder and showed everyplace the car had been touched. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-94OFBfHiDVc/YM0BZXan61I/AAAAAAAAGb4/zNFAgiobRl8DS9Wa4J3w0nj_w505Hxh4gCNcBGAsYHQ/s824/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="824" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-94OFBfHiDVc/YM0BZXan61I/AAAAAAAAGb4/zNFAgiobRl8DS9Wa4J3w0nj_w505Hxh4gCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>For reasons I do not fully understand, I decided to "roll" my face across the back window. The next morning, THIS showed up.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XS7VOfRIPKA/YM0BlyXPsWI/AAAAAAAAGb8/G_Jfg_DxRwsYVIMZSDjYGZaPS7JcDfQNQCNcBGAsYHQ/s826/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="826" height="367" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XS7VOfRIPKA/YM0BlyXPsWI/AAAAAAAAGb8/G_Jfg_DxRwsYVIMZSDjYGZaPS7JcDfQNQCNcBGAsYHQ/w492-h367/2.JPG" width="492" /></a></div><br /><p>I find it to be equal parts cool and terrifying.... </p><p><br /></p><p>Bill</p>Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-64884974472641085562020-11-13T11:31:00.000-07:002020-11-13T11:31:30.667-07:00Continuing to Stay Safe<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">In keeping with our practice of staying socially responsible we have
temporarily shut down the Lodge for the remainder of November, 2020, to help
quell any new uptick in COVID-19 cases for our guests. This is only <b>temporary</b>; we have major
plans to reopen with some exciting new winter packages that we think will help
get people through the harshness of our cold winter weather with a bit of fun
and quiet peace – and do our share to help stop this pandemic. We will, of course, reassess the situation
for December, but let us all do our part to get our nation healthy and keep our
people safe.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">As a good example, Estes Park has announced they will still
hold the Catch the Glow parade’s Festival of Lights – but safely. You will be able to drive through the town’s
events complex (rodeo grounds) and “watch” the parade displayed from the safety
of your car. Use this link<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px;"><u> <a href=" https://www.estesparkeventscomplex.com/catch-the-glow-parade.html?fbclid=IwAR2b6uUyr4USPKcQ-nrXOX99kt9e71VGxeGesAfuEQXobkl2lGE0-U-Uz-U" target="_blank"> https://www.estesparkeventscomplex.com/catch-the-glow-parade.html?fbclid=IwAR2b6uUyr4USPKcQ-nrXOX99kt9e71VGxeGesAfuEQXobkl2lGE0-U-Uz-U</a> </u></span></span>for the
formal announcement. </p><p class="MsoNormal">On the plus side of things like the pandemic, it so easy to 'social distance' while riding. We had many, many good rides with friends and neighbors. A new neighbor for the summer.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l_bqftdo3FU/X67FCrXU3PI/AAAAAAAAGTA/hsrUOY9i7K0LLfl2Ys8wge9_5xf608pwACNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2020-09-15%2B13.30.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="308" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l_bqftdo3FU/X67FCrXU3PI/AAAAAAAAGTA/hsrUOY9i7K0LLfl2Ys8wge9_5xf608pwACNcBGAsYHQ/w411-h308/2020-09-15%2B13.30.23.jpg" width="411" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A new found friend and neighbor.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">We actually were able to enjoy so many things this summer that are not our norm. We met many of the neighbors on long walks; those who are normally here and those w</span><span style="text-align: left;">ho moved here from their town locations, now able to 'work from home' up here.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F6A8k4M1PCE/X67IDg8LsVI/AAAAAAAAGTc/Llx_kUO22v4m63x_E7E_g8QSbsOxE4V2ACNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2020-06-28%2B12.19.00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F6A8k4M1PCE/X67IDg8LsVI/AAAAAAAAGTc/Llx_kUO22v4m63x_E7E_g8QSbsOxE4V2ACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/2020-06-28%2B12.19.00.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;">We had time to teach our youngest grandchild the basics of riding.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-he68CR5oc0Q/X67IrQ9lLzI/AAAAAAAAGTk/sJTxA0JR6CASrOSIssjW8TQauJ6wo5T9wCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2020-07-28%2B10.36.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="299" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-he68CR5oc0Q/X67IrQ9lLzI/AAAAAAAAGTk/sJTxA0JR6CASrOSIssjW8TQauJ6wo5T9wCNcBGAsYHQ/w399-h299/2020-07-28%2B10.36.15.jpg" width="399" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;">Time to visit with friends from out of town.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8RzIKwxjrT0/X67MKifGFDI/AAAAAAAAGUk/X3D3riNsWDQvkYUlTB9s_qX80gOj8PLiACNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2020-06-14%2B13.04.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="304" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8RzIKwxjrT0/X67MKifGFDI/AAAAAAAAGUk/X3D3riNsWDQvkYUlTB9s_qX80gOj8PLiACNcBGAsYHQ/w405-h304/2020-06-14%2B13.04.06.jpg" width="405" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;">Time to lay flagstone at our daughter's new house.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fFlAUn5NzqE/X67MlbpRVtI/AAAAAAAAGUs/4ouC4Y_1pVoP7HADapd19fscf41izxbIACNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2020-06-15%2B11.52.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="305" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fFlAUn5NzqE/X67MlbpRVtI/AAAAAAAAGUs/4ouC4Y_1pVoP7HADapd19fscf41izxbIACNcBGAsYHQ/w406-h305/2020-06-15%2B11.52.19.jpg" width="406" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;">Expanding our chicken <strike>herd</strike> flock.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LPdZ0R4lH6Q/X67JUWmwO5I/AAAAAAAAGTw/sUN3IM39erMF7HHYqPvM3t_pAIr14UarQCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2020-08-22%2B13.44.30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="304" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LPdZ0R4lH6Q/X67JUWmwO5I/AAAAAAAAGTw/sUN3IM39erMF7HHYqPvM3t_pAIr14UarQCNcBGAsYHQ/w405-h304/2020-08-22%2B13.44.30.jpg" width="405" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Time to visit grandkids at local campsites - who fed Alloy his first grapes.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yh86vC4QILg/X67Nu-Bt4XI/AAAAAAAAGU4/UJlzvUOIcXACznuU0NcMupv4Y_r1k_mqQCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2020-06-15%2B14.09.43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="293" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yh86vC4QILg/X67Nu-Bt4XI/AAAAAAAAGU4/UJlzvUOIcXACznuU0NcMupv4Y_r1k_mqQCNcBGAsYHQ/w390-h293/2020-06-15%2B14.09.43.jpg" width="390" /></a></div>Time for hiking with family in RMNP.<br /><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JC89smrCmoU/X67J2TNojVI/AAAAAAAAGT4/izcMX5mGxgcddL58EQOohXNd0KNaxOR0QCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2020-09-03%2B12.53.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="309" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JC89smrCmoU/X67J2TNojVI/AAAAAAAAGT4/izcMX5mGxgcddL58EQOohXNd0KNaxOR0QCNcBGAsYHQ/w412-h309/2020-09-03%2B12.53.45.jpg" width="412" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Growing my first garden in 23 years - even if the veggies were on the small side.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dKUJv-BgMNE/X67KDXDzJ-I/AAAAAAAAGT8/CRh87V9KTXUDphWsPsChoQsci1UM7wa0ACNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2020-10-13%2B12.32.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="301" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dKUJv-BgMNE/X67KDXDzJ-I/AAAAAAAAGT8/CRh87V9KTXUDphWsPsChoQsci1UM7wa0ACNcBGAsYHQ/w401-h301/2020-10-13%2B12.32.40.jpg" width="401" /></a></div><b>The best of all - the bond that Bill built with his horse Alloy!</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">All in-between serving guests at the Lodge. Looking back - it was a mighty busy summer.</div><p class="MsoNormal">Watch our Facebook page for the newest specials – coming soon!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><u>Many, many thanks to all our guests for all they did to help
keep us and future guests safe this past season.</u></i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bionic Cowgirl</p>Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-8265384288730282862020-08-26T16:29:00.000-06:002020-08-26T16:29:21.831-06:00New CatOne month ago, we lost our old cat, Kitten Caboodle.She went peacefully during her afternoon nap.<br />
<br />
Our other cat, Pounce de Lion, misses her. A LOT. <br />
<br />
When you have 2 cats, it's like only having one cat, because they spend most of their time bugging each other. If you only have 1 cat, it's like having 10 cats, because it really thinks it needs a lot of attention. Poor Reba the lodge dog spent every night getting rubbed against, head butted and generally annoyed by the lonely remaining cat.<br />
<br />
So we started looking for another cat. Preferably a feral kitten. Preferably a female. Preferably a "grayish" short hair.<br />
<br />
One of our daughter's friend's daughter's husband's grandmother's kittens was just such an animal. In Nebraska. Eastern Nebraska. We met them halfway, in Ogallala Nebraska. Yes, we drove 4 hours each way for a free cat.<br />
<br />
Meet Demi (Demi is short for Pandemicat)<br />
<br />
<br />
The drive back from Nebraska<br />
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<br />
Hanging out in the lodge's spare quarters.<br />
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<br />
.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
She is really cute, and very sweet, But she has a sneeze, so she is in quarantine.<br />
<br />
Welcome to 2020 Pandemicat.<br />
<br />
Bill<br />
<br />Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-57744405286049830552020-07-21T19:24:00.000-06:002020-07-21T19:27:07.421-06:00SpeechlessOur vet called today and asked if he could come by and give Alloy his shots. (He was in the neighborhood.)<br />
<br />
He apologized for not getting back to us sooner to set up an appointment saying that he has been swamped with work since the pandemic went into full swing.<br />
<br />
He figured people have a lot more time on their hands to worry about their animals, and he told us about several of his calls. The one that really stuck out in my mind was a call he got because someone's goat had laryngitis.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
Really?<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
This old goat doesn't know what to say, either.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Bill<br />
<br />
(Alloy stood nicely for his shot, by the way)Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-61848692515691659112020-07-08T19:48:00.002-06:002020-07-08T19:48:34.094-06:00Timeout for AlloySometimes, Alloy the horse loses his mind. And I lose my seat.<br />
<br />
No damn fun being bucked off. <br />
<br />
So sometimes he just has to stand in timeout for a bit, saddled and at the hitch rail. As he was standing, I noticed some "rolls" on his hip and accused him of being overweight.<br />
<br />
<br />
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I'm not above fat shameing a horse that just tried to kill me.<br />
<br />
Jerk.<br />
<br />
<br />
BillAllenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-60053038124382346892020-06-10T11:10:00.000-06:002020-06-10T11:10:08.656-06:00Up and Running!It's been a good week so far.<br />
<br />
We have done a "soft opening" to see how our Covid-19 plan of operation will work. I think we have got this. Mostly.<br />
<br />
We had a single guest in the other day (a hiker), and just a couple minutes before the food was going to hit the table, we got a call from a neighbor. "My horse is STUCK! She can't move her front feet! Can one of you come and help? We may need to call a veterinarian!" Juanita stayed to eat with our guest, and I drove over to the neighbors place a couple miles down the road.<br />
<br />
There were 3 people standing by the horse, looking worried. The horse was standing on the hillside, weaving back and forth. It's flanks were drawn in, and it was quivering slightly with its' lips slightly pursed and a distant look in its' eyes.<br />
<br />
"We just can't get her to move!"<br />
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<br />
<br />
I looked under the animal, and there was a small aspen sapling rubbing the horses' belly. Apparently in JUST the right spot. I could almost hear the horse saying "Feels! So! Good!"<br />
<br />
I showed the horse a halter and asked "Boots, do you need to work a little?" And the horse took off like a shot and galloped UP and DOWN the pasture. WHEEE!!!<br />
<br />
"Your horse is fine, Just had an itch." I got back in time to eat breakfast.<br />
<br />
***<br />
<br />
I fenced in the wood shed and installed a screen door on it so the young chickens can get out of the livestock tank that has been their home for the last couple weeks, and they can look out at the two BIG chickens running around it the chicken yard. Everyone seems to be happily ignoring one another.<br />
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<br />
<br />
***<br />
<br />
We also fenced in the back yard with a hot wire so the horses can go out and mow for us for a half hour each day. They seem to like it, and I do not like mowing, so it's a win/win.<br />
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<br />
***<br />
<br />
Our youngest son (The 40 year old. Jeeze.) came up the mountain on his motorcycle and helped us take down a couple standing dead trees out back. He got some training at that back in the day when he was a wild-fire fighter. No building or power lines were damaged during the process. Another win.<br />
<br />
We left one dead tree up that had some holes in it that the birds might be nesting in. The kid told me "You might want to take it down anyway, it's on it's way out...". but I didn't want to bug the tenants.<br />
<br />
It fell over the next day in a wind storm.<br />
<br />
I had to cut it up without the kid's help. Rats. But Juanita was around so I chainsawed it up and she hauled off the logs.<br />
<br />
"Bill." she says "You need to come look at this." She pointed down at one of the holes in the sawed up tree. It was stuffed with Oreo Cookies. It was probably 15 feet up when the tree was standing Must have been one <i>TALL</i> Keebler elf to fill that hollow tree.<br />
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***<br />
<br />
Juanita and I were inside doing chores when Reba the Lodge Dog barked. Again?!? That's the second time this week! What is it this time, dog? A homeless guy? A bear? Uh, no. Remember when I talked about the horses mowing for us? Well, Washoe the horse had wandered onto the back porch, Reba was incensed. It's her porch, don't you know.<br />
<br />
***<br />
<br />
So, we are back up and running now, on a limited basis. Full social distancing and masked like bandits in the common areas. You should come and visit!<br />
<br />
We have cookies.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
Bill<br />
<br />Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-47114373733543578432020-06-05T10:02:00.000-06:002020-06-05T10:16:40.314-06:00Rural TerroristsYesterday morning I walked outside and was attacked.<br />
<br />
Several angry hummingbirds flew at my face and eyes. "What in the...!" I shouted. I looked up on the second floor deck and sure enough, the feeders were empty. "Sorry guys. I'll be right up there." and I took the jug of home-made nectar up to fill the feeders. When I stepped out on the porch, there was someone already out there. Oops. Wait... We didn't have any guests the previous night.<br />
<br />
"Excuse me. Can I help you?" I asked the sleeping form on the couch.<br />
<br />
The still very groggy homeless gentleman said "I climbed up the wall to sleep up here last night." "That's nice" I told him. "You need to leave now. Why don't you come inside and go down the stairs to leave, rather than climbing down the side of the building."<br />
<br />
He packed up his pack, and headed down and left through the front door.<br />
<br />
Very strange. We've been here for over 22 years now, and that's a first.<br />
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
This morning I woke up just before 4:am. I lay in bed for a bit and got up to get a drink of water. I was just snuggling back in to go back to sleep when the dog barked.<br />
<br />
The dog barked. One "Woof". In the 5 years we have had this dog, she has NEVER barked in the bedroom. Ever.<br />
<br />
"Crap" I thought. "The homeless guy is back." Only the dog was facing the other way. She was looking at the bathroom with it's open window.<br />
<br />
And then I heard the bear.<br />
<br />
Sort of a long low moaning and huffing... I've heard it before I reached for the half open bathroom window and SHOUTED!!!<br />
<br />
Actually, I screamed like a little girl, because just as I opened the window, a clawed ball of fur hit me in my bare chest, HARD! Damn cat was watching the bear out the fricken window.<br />
<br />
When I caught my breath I shouted out the window again, pulled on pants, boots and, at Juanita's suggestion, a sweatshirt, and headed out with my shotgun. (When we first moved up here, the Colorado Dept. of Wildlife recommended people keep a shotgun handy loaded with rubber buckshot for this sort of thing.)<br />
<br />
Juanita and I wandered around for a while, making noise and shining the flashlights around and we saw nothing. We went back inside, and I replaced the batteries in the shotgun's barrel mounted flashlight/laser pointer sight, and then we went back out again. Still nothing. I was just getting ready to head back in when I heard him again. That low moaning and huffing. Behind me. Up high. In the dark. In a big tree.<br />
<br />
I shown the flashlight into the big ponderosa pine tree, and could <i>just </i>make out the eyes of a black bear reflecting down at me.<br />
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<br />
Okay, now what.. Shoot the bear in the face? That just doesn't seem polite. Juanita found a better angle. Only butt showing.<br />
<br />
BOOM!<br />
<br />
Okay, let's clear out so he can leave. Make it easy for him to do the right thing.<br />
<br />
We went up on the back deck and listened to him. He moaned pretty loudly for about 15 minutes or so, and then we heard it shuffle down the tree, and he was gone. I felt terrible, but it's important that bears are afraid of town and the people in it. If they become a nuisance, the DOW will put them down. And I don't mean by telling them that they smell bad, or that their mother dresses them funny.<br />
<br />
And speaking of unpleasant smelling and odd clothes...<br />
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As I am finishing this story, I realized something about myself. I am guilty of "Species Privilege".<br />
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It never even <i>occurred</i> to me to shoot the homeless guy in the butt.<br />
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(But, in my defense, the guy wasn't after my chickens...)<br />
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Bill<br />
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<br />Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-83766717056837072062020-05-27T20:28:00.000-06:002020-05-27T20:28:46.318-06:00A Quick Rundown<br />
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In the Middle of last November, we took our horses down to their winter pasture to run free for a few months. It's usually a little warmer for them down there, they have other horses to run with, and WE DON'T HAVE TO FEED THEM! (That is a good thing when there is 3 feet of snow on the ground.)<br />
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Usually, during the winter, we try to stop and see them at least once a week, pet them, give them treats, and generally keep them used to seeing us and maybe even look forward to it. This year, with the Covid-19 pandemic, we didn't get to see them NEARLY as often. And it showed.<br />
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Juanita and I went down to get our horses and bring them home yesterday. We knew it would take some extra time this year, so we took some stuff for a picnic and set it up under the herds favorite tree in the pasture. Next to the neighbor bulls. RIGHT next to the neighbor bulls. "How they hanging, boys?" is not what I would have expected from Juanita...<br />
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We set up our portable PVC catch pen next to the trailer, and then had lunch. Almost all of the herd (7 or so horses) showed up to see what we were doing. The bulls left. One of them muttering something like "There goes the neighborhood." We snacked of sardines and crackers while the horses had carrots and crackers.<br />
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Wow! This is going to be EASY! Unless, of course, you touch a halter. Then it's all over.<br />
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RUN! <span style="font-size: large;"> RUN! </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">RUN!!!</span><br />
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Most of them took off (including our two, of course) and started running around the 60 acre pasture, crossing the seasonal river, and circling the area between the 2 ditches. They would slow down enough that we could <i>just </i>catch up with them, and then they would continue the figure 8 journey. They could cross the first river, but we chose to use the bridge, which added considerably to our walking.<br />
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A couple hours into our walk, I changed from a halter to a lariat. Now I haven't thrown a loop in over 10 years, since I tore a rotator cuff (and I was never very good even before then). When I tossed the rope over Alloys head, I caught the whole nose, but only one ear. When he tossed his head to shed the loop while he was running off, a quick loop formed in the tail end of the rope and took part of my left hand with it. Or tried to, anyway. Just the little finger. Not too important compared to the others...<br />
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I was glad I was wearing gloves.<br />
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I put the rope away, and picked up the halter again. Just because.<br />
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After another couple hours, Juanita said "I think there is some sweet feed in the back of the trailer." And there was, so we salted the ground in the catch pen with it. After just a few minutes, Alloy came in to see what the excitement was all about, and (after one of the other horses smashed the fence PVC, you know) Alloy was caught and had a halter on his head. Suddenly he was a perfect gentleman. And he walked right into the trailer.<br />
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Jerk.<br />
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Now to call Washoe over for the trip home. He's such a good horse. All Juanita has to do is call him and he runs right up to get his halter on,<br />
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Until yesterday.<br />
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Earlier in the winter, we had the vet come out and remove a growth from his ear. I don't think he ever forgave Juanita for that.<br />
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Another hour running the figure 8, and we finally caught Washoe, too. Unfortunately, we were on the WRONG side of the river. Being ever the gentleman, I told Juanita to take the very narrow foot bridge back, and settle my horse who was hollering in the trailer. I would lead Washoe across the river.<br />
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Now I don't think I have told you about this seasonal stream. The stream over the years has cut a 8 or 10 foot deep cliff walled rut in the pasture. Just a couple very steep slides into or out of it. And the field is on a clay base. So it is a couple <i>slick </i>slides into or out of it. I led the horse up to the cut, carefully worked my way down to the stream and looked up at the horse.<br />
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He said "Oh <i>hell </i>no." And spun and ran away. With all of the time we had spent catching the little hay-wrecker, I was NOT going to let go. He pulled me up that cliff and drug me a little over 20 feet on my belly, face first, until I rethought my strategy.<br />
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I let go.<br />
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Juanita hadn't gone too far, as she had thought I might need some help, so we caught the horse again in a hurry. Then we both headed for the river crossing. She thought she could convince him to walk down with her.<br />
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Now, Juanita was in standard slick soled cowboy boots and when she hit the path down... well... have you ever seen the mud-slide scene in "Romancing the Stone"? Yeah, pretty much. I was wearing hiking boots, so I got down with her (still holding the horses lead) and gave her a rear end boost to get her back up so she could convince the horse to walk down with me. Just a couple taps on his rear end and he stepped down, nice as can be, and we crossed the river. <br />
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The stream was only about 20 feet across, but it is a seasonal stream. We had snow in the mountains last weekend. Seasonal streams in Colorado are full of snow melt in the spring. Snow melt is cold. Very cold. And the stream is about 3 inches above crotch high. Guys will understand. "How they hanging...?" Nope.<br />
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By the time we got up the other side, I was less happy than I had been all day. Washoe loaded nicely, and I sat on a blanket on the truck seat to keep the leather dry, and my tush warm(ish).<br />
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A half hour later we were home, and the horses were unloaded. When I went back to the truck another half hour after unloading, there were 2 puddles where my feet had been during the drive.<br />
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I really am glad the horses are home.Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-23801773096333118302020-04-16T09:19:00.000-06:002020-04-16T09:19:57.805-06:00UpdateApril 11th<br />
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April 12th<br />
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April 16th<br />
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April showers bring frostbite.<br />
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BillAllenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-7315589764368287842020-03-31T08:56:00.000-06:002020-03-31T08:56:19.564-06:00A Day in the Life of a (Quarantined) Horse OwnerWith the covid-19 quarantine in full swing, we are spending a lot of time spring cleaning here at the lodge.<br />
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Yesterday, Juanita and I went down the mountain to visit our horses on their winter pasture to get out for a bit.<br />
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About halfway down to Lyons, one of the windows in the back seat rolled down. Reba the Lodge Dog was THRILLED. She looked surprised when it started down because we NEVER let her stick any body parts out the window of a moving car, but she took advantage of it and jammed her head out the window to feel the wind blowing in her face. We moved her off the button so the window would stop trying to roll down, and I disabled the back windows. That's a trick we don't want her learning...<br />
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When we got to the winter pasture, the 3 horses still on it were standing WELL apart. Like a hundred yards between them. Practicing "social distancing" horse style, I guess. Our two came up for treats and stood right next to us anyway. I mean, treats, don't you know.<br />
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Washoe had some fresh blood on the side of his face that had been dripping out of something at the base of his ear. We didn't have a halter with us, so Juanita couldn't get a good look at it. Burrs tangled in the hair? A ruptured sarcoid growth? It was just a little wet from fresh blood, so we will head back down to check it in another day or so. With a halter. And a water bottle to rinse it with. And of course, more treats.<br />
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Then we went on into Fort Collins to drop off some paperwork to our renters, and then visit our socially isolated grandson. We had to drop by after he posted on facebook <span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px;">Day whatever in quarantine... I've named the dust particles.. Steve's a real asshole</span><br />
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He cracks me up...<br />
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Then we hit the store for some necessary supplies. Bag of frozen corn, a tube of toothpaste, fifty pound burlap bag of rice. The usual. (Really. Fifty pounds.)<br />
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Then we went back up the mountain and back into isolation. All in all, a great day.<br />
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Think I'll have a bowl of rice for lunch.<br />
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Bill<br />
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<br />Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-41931052613430045652020-02-26T09:23:00.000-07:002020-02-26T09:23:50.779-07:00Snowshoe Time is Here!One of the BEST ways to enjoy the out-of-doors in the winter is just that - get outdoors! We took our own advice and in the company of a couple friends, hit one of the trails in the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mt. National Park, just two miles from us.<br />
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As you can see, the day was sunny and very bright, with lots of snow! A bit windy, but hey, you have to have some sort of challenge. Quite a few people were enjoying the great day, so we ended up parking a good ways out from any of the known trailheads, so we just <strike>hoofed it </strike> snowplowed our way across the unbroken snow to the horse trail that runs next to the Middle St. Vrain River. A few people had used it, making it perfect: you knew where the trail was but it wasn't packed down snow. This trail has a good bit of up-and-down to it without a great elevation rise; perfect for four people who have not been doing much strenuous exercise since the advent of winter. <br />
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We arrived at the trailhead for Finch Lake (maybe 3/4 of a mile) and had worked up an appetite, so when we spotted a dry spot under some trees by the road, we made camp of sorts, removing snowshoes and plunking our backsides down on the ground or handy rocks, to devour our bag lunches.<br />
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We finished up by hiking back to the car, using the road. At one point we crossed over the river on the bridge and had to have a Kodak moment waving at the fish in the open spot of ice. OK, we pretended we saw fish there. In all honesty, we all had such a great time, we forgot to take many pictures. In fact, Bill and I were so excited, we forgot to even take a camera or phone, so fortunately our friend had his phone.<br />
Bionic CowgirlAllenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-45309796421875604922019-08-08T17:16:00.001-06:002019-08-08T17:16:58.233-06:00Poultry in MotionWe have chickens.<br />
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When our granddaughter ran away to join the Army, the Pentagon, very unfairly I think, would not allow her to take her chickens with her to boot camp. So she gave them to us. They live outside the kitchen window and have learned to "work me" for treats. They come up to the window, look at me, and ask for food. I'm a soft touch.<br />
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This summer I've been working with Alloy the horse. For the last year, about every 5th time or so that I climbed on him, he would buck me off.<br />
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Not what I've been looking for in a trail horse.<br />
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Most of the time (maybe 95%) he would start bucking within the first minute or two of climbing on. If he made it past that, he was fine for the rest of the ride. So I have been cautious about approaching bad things early in the ride.<br />
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I have also found that if I let Al keep walking while everyone else is mounting up, he stays calmer.<br />
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So, this morning Juanita, our daughter, and I saddled up to go for a ride. I was first up so Al and I walked around the parking lot and beside the lodge while the gals were mounting.<br />
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We walked by the kitchen.<br />
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The chickens, and the magpies stealing the chicken's food were not expecting to see a half ton of monstrous mammal walking right next to them, so they scattered, rather abruptly.<br />
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The horse, for his part, was not expecting to see a fowl explosion next to his feet just moments after I had climbed on him.<br />
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Alloy. Didn't. Buck.<br />
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He gave me what I'm calling a "straddle spook". All four of his legs shot out at a 45 degree angle and he froze.<br />
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The birds settled down almost immediately, and Al said "Oh." And we continued our walk.<br />
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Alloy. Didn't. Buck.<br />
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I called that a win...<br />
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BillAllenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-47239388607867201032019-08-06T07:00:00.000-06:002019-08-08T19:49:07.156-06:00Have the Bionic Cowgirl and Beel Lost Their Minds? Part III<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
We came back from our second task elated, but tired. However, we had one more task to complete before we could call it a day.</div>
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Usually, mechanical bulls can be found at rodeos, but we were in between rodeos. Around here it goes: Greeley Stampede, Rooftop Rodeo, Cheyenne Frontier Days, Weld County Fair, then Larimer County Fair. This year, there was a break between the Weld County Fair and the Larimer County Fair that spanned the time frame of GISH. The closest actual mechanical bull during GISH was at Cheyenne Frontier Days, but that ended the day before and I couldn't have driven up there anyway, because I was working the Weld County Fair. I was determined to complete this task, though.<br />
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Mom has a mechanical horse thing that she used during the winters before her hip surgeries to keep her core strong and her hips working. I was pretty certain that Mom and Bill had a steer head somewhere, from when Autobot and her ex-boyfriend were playing at roping last summer. Mechanical horse thing + roping steer head = mechanical bull.<br />
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Bill put the "bull" together while Mom and I were putzing around after the ride. We were all so tired - who knew that walking a <a href="https://gundiva.blogspot.com/2019/08/gish-153.html">unicorn into the living room</a>, then throwing a <a href="https://gundiva.blogspot.com/2019/08/gish-80.html">surprise fairy party</a> was so exhausting - but I only had to ride the bull for two seconds. I could do that, so I did.<br />
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Here's the link to the video: https://youtu.be/3FSbKSVxYus<br />
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(Cross posted on Just another perfect day)GunDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965363044411500380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-10573289969120219002019-08-05T14:10:00.000-06:002019-08-05T14:10:38.028-06:00Have the Bionic Cowgirl and Bill Lost Their Minds? Part II<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tdor6nlp_8w/XUS64YeNJ-I/AAAAAAAAIUo/jKvYIShNfBorsJKgrBw8BvPqmP5QQSUSQCLcBGAs/s1600/GISH%2B80.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="346" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tdor6nlp_8w/XUS64YeNJ-I/AAAAAAAAIUo/jKvYIShNfBorsJKgrBw8BvPqmP5QQSUSQCLcBGAs/s400/GISH%2B80.JPG" width="277" /></a></div>
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Our second challenge gave us an excuse to trailer the horses into Wild Basin, where we'd be guaranteed to run into hikers. It's a rare occasion that we see hikers across the street where we normally ride. As a general rule, we're okay with that, but since we needed to have people to throw a party for, we had to go where the people were.<br />
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The <a href="https://gundiva-talesfromthetrail.blogspot.com/2019/07/my-cup-runneth-over-ride-72919.html">ride itself was amazing</a> and we couldn't have asked for better behaved horses. They did a great job as Mustang Ambassadors that day.<br />
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Mom had baked cookies for us to give out as party treats and I bagged them up into individual treat bags. I thought that maybe people would be worried about taking home-baked cookies from strangers, so I quickly made up labels that said "Courtesy of Allenspark Lodge B&B", so they'd know the cookies came out of a commercial kitchen. (That came back to bite me in the butt later.)<br />
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Thank God Bill was the one driving, because I don't think my nerves would have made it. People coming out of the park were kind of a-holes. We were supposed to be spreading love and kindness, but I really just wanted to spread knuckle sandwiches with the way some of those people were driving.<br />
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Finally, a car saw us coming up the one lane road and pulled off to let us pass. I made Bill give them a cookie, which he tossed to them through the window as we yelled "thanks!". We did that for the next few cars. Sometimes you gotta train humans the way you train horses: make the wrong thing difficult and the right thing pleasant. People who insisted on not giving way on the road out had to thread past the truck and trailer; people who pulled over and let us by got cookies. As Ranger Mustang used to say, "<a href="https://allensparklodge.blogspot.com/2018/04/teacher.html">Peeples can be VERY HARD to train</a>".<br />
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Finally, we were able to get parked, tacked up, and on our way. Along the way, from the trailer parking to the trail head, we ran into some hikers who were thrilled to see horses on the trail. They stepped off to let us pass and guess what? They got cookies. Make the right thing pleasant, right?<br />
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We didn't want to risk losing the "unicorn's" horns, so we didn't put them on the "unicorns" until we reached the hitch rail.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Unicorns and fairies ready</td></tr>
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All that was left was to set out the party sign and find us some people to surprise.<br />
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The hitch rail is off the beaten path a little bit, as you can see, so we had to go trolling for people. The first group wasn't super excited. The kids were, but their mom, not so much. The girls came and rubbed the horses' noses then off they went.<br />
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Mom walked down toward the falls, which are on the same path as the hitch rail, just a little beyond it and found a family that wanted to come meet our pet unicorns. In fact, one of the little girls was wearing her unicorn shirt, so it was perfect.<br />
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The girls were shy, but excited to pet the unicorns and spent several minutes with them. Their parents had to practically drag them away.<br />
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The most surprising reaction came from adults. Remember when I said my decision to label the cookies would come back to bite me in the butt? Yeah, Mom met them where the trail met the turn off to the hitch rail and handed them cookies. They looked at the label and asked if this was some "publicity stunt" for the lodge. Ugh. It was like an arrow through the heart. Once we explained that we thought people would be more comfortable knowing that the cookies came out of a commercial kitchen and that we were doing this for a scavenger hunt, their tunes changed.<br />
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I was hoping to see pure surprise and joy on the kids' faces, which we didn't get. However, the look of joy on the previously dubious adults' faces? Priceless!<br />
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The reaction from the adults were my favorite and I felt like we'd nailed the task. Shortly after, we packed it in and rode back out. We'd entered Wild Basin with 20 cookies, and had three left. Easy, peasy, we just stopped at the ranger station on the way out and spread the love there too.<br />
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*Verbal consent obtained for posting pictures.<br />
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(Cross posted on <a href="https://gundiva-talesfromthetrail.blogspot.com/2019/08/gish-80.html">Wilsons' Wild Ones</a>.)GunDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965363044411500380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-52680668671738799222019-08-05T14:05:00.000-06:002019-08-05T14:05:10.289-06:00Have the Bionic Cowgirl and Beel Lost Their Minds? Part I<i>(Note: GISH is the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt, and I (GunDiva) decided that Jay and I were going to do it. However, when we joined, I didn't realize I'd have to recruit Mom and Bill to help. Lucky for me, I have the world's best parents, who are usually up for trying something crazy.)</i><br />
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Jay and I were placed on a random team with people we didn't know, from all over the world, and I was a bit hesitant. I shouldn't have been, everyone on the team was amazing and supportive and we each brought our own special talents to the team. Jay is far more artistic than I, so the tasks he chose played to his strengths. I signed up for the tasks that I could incorporate the animals in, and recruited Mom and Bill to help me out with three of the tasks.<br />
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Last Monday (7/29/19), I spent the day at the lodge with them working on my tasks. I'm not sure I've laughed that hard in a long time. Everyone worries about making memories with their children when they're young, but I think we should also spend time as adults making memories with our parents. Turns out, it's a lot more fun, especially when you have parents like mine.<br />
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Here's the first task we tackled on Monday:<br />
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You can't tell me that this challenge wasn't custom made for us! Puh-leeze! Unicorns in the living room? I couldn't sign up for that one fast enough. I called Mom when the list was released and asked if we could do this. I really only asked out of courtesy, because I knew she's be all in.<br />
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The first thing we needed to do was transform Mom into the Fairy Mother and Washoe into the Wonder Unicorn. Mom was easy, I found some fairy wings at a costume shop and put her in them. We also dressed up our hats, as they were going to be used for two challenges.<br />
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Washoe's horn took just a bit more work, but not much. A paper towel roll, sliced and diced, then covered with aluminum foil made the perfect horn. A couple of heavy duty bread ties to attach it to his halter, <i>et voila!</i> A unicorn.<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r_TNpvtvwUQ" width="560"></iframe><br />
Despite his little slip on the hardwood floor, he did great. I initially imagined him in front of the fireplace with the Fairy Mother (aka Bionic Cowgirl), but didn't want to risk more slipping on the floor while getting to the area rug in front of the fireplace.<br />
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A friend of Mom's was kind enough to video the whole thing, as I was focused on getting pictures. It always delights people when the horses visit the inside of the people barn, and Mom's friend was no exception.<br />
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Our first task went off without a hitch! One down, two to go.<br />
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(Cross-posted on <a href="https://gundiva-talesfromthetrail.blogspot.com/">Wilsons' Wild Ones</a>)GunDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02965363044411500380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219177937045620.post-78520232919250799282019-05-26T07:14:00.000-06:002019-05-26T07:14:54.014-06:00Colorado's CultureI moved to Colorado over 40 years ago, and noticed the state has a, well, "different" culture.<br />
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People in Colorado don't think it strange that some folks will go outside in weather that can be life threatening, just to play or exercise.<br />
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Some people will climb on their bicycles wearing an outfit that would embarrass any self-respecting stripper and go up steep mountain roads, and not do it to get to work or anything. Just do it for "fun". (It's kind of odd, because I never see them smiling...)<br />
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Some people will hike for hours, and then climb up cliffs just to get up on top. It's not like there's a McDonald's up there or any thing. They just do it.<br />
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On a fairly regular basis I ride my horse. Climbing on the back of a thousand pound fear driven prey animal is arguably not a reasonable behavior.<br />
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The festivals can be odd, too. Like "Frozen Dead Guy Days" in Nederland. "Fruitcake Toss" in Manitou Springs. Or "Mike the Headless Chicken Festival" in Fruita.<br />
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Don't ask.<br />
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I can't help explain most of that stuff, but some of the slang shortcuts can be kind of confusing until you know what they are really saying.<br />
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I've been working on a listing for the people that come into Colorado to help them with the "o-o" abbreviations we use around here.<br />
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NoCo---Northern Colorado<br />
SoCo---Southern Colorado<br />
LoDo---Lower Downtown<br />
FoCo---Fort Collins<br />
LoCo---Boulder<br />
HoJo---Howard Johnsons<br />
PoPo---Police<br />
SoSo---Meh<br />
CoCo---Chocolate<br />
RoRo---Scooby's in trouble<br />
DoDo---See LoCo<br />
GoGo---70's dance<br />
NoNo---Mistake<br />
ToTo---Dorothy's dog<br />
YoYo---Again, see LoCo<br />
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(I have to apologize to my friends in Boulder. Love y'all, but it's <i>so easy.</i> YoNo?)<br />
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Bill<br />
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<br />Allenspark Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06390004633731055728noreply@blogger.com7