Halloween in Telluride October 31, 2007

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The day started early as Jan, the girls, and I met Dennis at the airport for a 7:00 flight to Telluride. I had woken at 4:00 in anticipation of getting up at 5:30 as I was the one in charge of the alarm clock. It was a clear morning to fly and I got to sit in the co-pilot seat. It was a thrill to be able to see the plane make it's way through the 14,000 ft. snow-covered peaks on our descent into Telluride.

Telluride really knows how to celebrate Halloween. There are lots of decorations, a big parade and over half the adults and dogs all in costume, too. I managed to pull together a quick Zorro (Zorra) costume from among my belongings. Hundreds of adults and children roamed the streets for several hours tonight, trick or treating. There is a real feeling of safety in this closely knit community and children are also able to go out without adults, much as it was for many of us in days gone by. It was lots of fun.

Tonight, I'm feeling a little altitude sickness as we have been below sea level for the past 9 days and are now at 9,000 ft above sea level. I expect to feel better after a good night's sleep. After arriving, the decison was made that we would stay here until Sunday and then head to the farm for a few days. We will need to reorganize and repack as I found out yesterday, that we head to Mexico next week (mid-week). We will spend time on their boat in the Baja....such fun!

Happy Halloween! Tomorrow we will celebrate El Dia de Los Muertos.

Rattlesnakes, Scorpions, Black Widows.....and Roadrunners October 28, 2007

It's interesting to me to be seeing so many unusual creatures here in the desert and in Colorado some harmless and some not so harmless! Since arriving here in La Quinta, we have found several Black Widow spiders right here in the house. We also have one back at our school house...talk about an unusual classroom pet! I also found a scorpion in my cabin but he was already dead. I'm told they are not really dangerous as their bite is not much more poisonous than that of a wasp. I did like examining it though, and added it to our class collection.

The most comical wildlife I have seen is the roadrunner and today had my camera along at just the right time. I had gone out for a morning walk and spotted this funky little bird. He didn't want to pose for me but I was able to get one quick picture. Isn't he cute?

Besides being cute, what an interesting bird.....no wonder one was chosen by Warner Brothers to star with Wile Coyote. Roadrunners are about 24" long and reach a height of 10-12 inches. I was surprised they are not longer for this large body. They can become airborne for a short flight but prefer to run. Members of the cuckoo family, they are carnivores and eat spiders, scorpions, and even rattlesnakes! So, I figure encouraging them to stick around here in the Southwest is a pretty good thing.

Jan got a call yesterday from Todd to tell her that they would be leaving the Baja and picking us up here today around noon. We packed our things last night and had the morning to swim, walk, etc. I stripped my bed and found out after that the maid would be coming to do the cleaning.(not used to the maid thing....) Todd called when they hit the mainland and headed for the plane. When they got to the plane, however, they discovered engine problems and called to say we would not be leaving today.

Todd, Jack, and their friends took a 6 hour taxi ride to reach another airport with commercial planes and will fly into Denver tonight. They will stay in a hotel and another of their pilots will fly up tomorrow to get them. Dennis, the pilot in Mexico, will spend the night in a small Mexican community and fly the plane to Oklahoma tomorrow for repairs if he can get it to go or a mechanic will fly to Mexico to fix it.

I remade my bed....as we are not going anywhere yet! We will wait to hear from Dennis tomorrow as to whether or not it will be a quick repair. They think it might be as simple as bad fuel in the fuel lines. Otherwise, Jan will book us commercial flights out for Tues. morning. The girls are anxious to be in Telluride for Halloween so I expect we will leave somehow. Jan suggested we sit tight, not fly commercial, and wait for the plane repair and asked the girls if they would like to do a Disneyland Halloween instead.... they still chose Telluride.

In the meantime, life is good in the desert!

Not so easy.....Oct. 26, 2007

My apologies for how that last blog looks! I thought I was getting so smart and attached three photos. However, I seem to be having layout issues that I am unable to correct! Sorry for how strange it looks.....I'll keep trying!

La Quinta, CA October 26, 2007

Life in the desert continues to be grand! The grounds are so lovely and I enjoy walking each day. Yesterday, I was lucky and spotted a roadrunner. What a comical bird! I wasn't sure what it was when I first spotted it darting along the maze of pathways between the rooms and gardens. When I approached, the little bird fluffed up his feathers and the plume on the top of his head and stared at me for a moment before running away. I unfortunately didn't have my camera as it was such a delightful picture. In the evening, I spotted a hummingbird; a wonderful green with a rosy pink neck. I had my camera but she didn't stay still long enough to photograph.

As La Quinta was built in a Spanish style, I am having a great time looking at all the talavera tiles throughout. The stairway you see pictured here is the style that one of our stairways will be built in in the Mexican house. Each riser will have a different tile.

Tonight, we went to the outdoor restaurant which appears in picture three, though you see more of the garden than the restaurant. Live Peruvian music entertained us while we sipped margaritas and enjoyed the lovely evening. The weather continues to be great although there is a slight covering of smoke hovering above that has drifted in from the coast.

We still don't know when we are going home as it will depend on when the "guys" decide to leave Mexico and come back in the plane to pick us up! I'm told it will probably be by Halloween. Plans change quickly with this family so I always have to keep my bag partially packed!

Enjoy the weekend!

Love,

Patti

La Quinta, CA October 24, 2007

Wow...I've loaded two pictures......
It was a beautiful day with temperatures around 90 but without the humidity, it was enjoyable. At lunch break, I went to the pool and stepped into the hot tub simply because they are a passion of mine and it was there. I didn't last long before heading to the pool which was so warm...perfect for me.

I am learning so much while in this position. Today, I researched the Salton Sea. Todd had pointed it out when we flew over it on Monday and Krakauer speaks about it in "Into the Wild," a novel I'm reading. (When I had gone to the Telluride Film Festival, I saw the debut of the movie and this prompted me to read the book and find out more about Chris Mc Candless.) The Salton Sea lies just to the east of La Quinta in the southwest corner of CA. It is the largest lake in CA and is of environmental concern as the salt content is getting greater each year and threatening many species. Little water falls from rain so the bulk of the inflow comes from agricultural drainage which carries an abundance of minerals and salt. Forty-four parts per thousand are salt while the Pacific Ocean is 35 ppt. Currently, the lake is teeming with wild life but as the salt level increases, the species will not be able to live. I love how names of places are coming alive to me and my geography is really improving.

I also found out a little about the resort I'm staying in. Many homes are private as is the one I'm in. However, the resort originally started as a hotel with 20 rooms in 1927 at a cost of $150,000 to build. La Quinta means "country retreat" and the area has long been considered a sacred site by the native Cuhuilla Indians. Many movies were filmed here and movie stars such as Ginger Rogers, Clark Gable, John Wayne, and Katherine Hepburn were frequent visitors.
Now, La Quinta has hundreds of motel rooms built in the Spanish hacienda style, condos, private homes, tennis courts, golf courses, and health spas. The gardens are magnificent; a mulititude of colors and layouts. Check it out online.

Jan had hoped to take a day trip to San Diego while here but the fires will keep us from doing that. We are a couple of hours away from the coast and many people are evacuating and coming here until it is safe to return home. It is a shame that while here among this beauty, their hearts are so heavy.

Thinking of all of you!
Love,
Patti

Arches National Park, Moab, Utah October 20, 2007

Hello again friends,

Hopefully I will have better luck with this site in terms of loading pictures. I have seen so many beautiful things but have been unable to load pictures for the most part. I will try this site out for a few times before cancelling the other so check both for awhile!

Love,

Patti