Mesa Verde ~ Day 1

Road Trip!

~ Four Corners ~ Mesa Verde ~ Natural Bridges ~

Our first day at Mesa Verde was cold & snowy!  When we woke up at the hotel we had a good inch, if not more, of snow on the ground.  It was cloudy and cold.  When we arrived at the park, we learned that only Spruce Tree House and Balcony House were open.  But, the mesa top loop and hiking trails were open.  Turns out, that was plenty for us to do!   We're already planning our next trip there, to see what we couldn't this time.  Leaving the visitor's center, we drove to the ruins through the clouds and fog.  We drove up to Chapin Mesa to begin with Spruce Tree House.  Spruce Tree House was named for a tree that grew in front of it 100 years ago when it was discovered.  However, the tree was not a spruce.  Kinda funny... Anyhow, it's is a self-guided tour, but there are Rangers there to answer questions. (And, I'm sure, keep people from going where they should not!)

I have a small confession to make... I am a shutterbug.  I love to take pictures of things that catch my eye.  I am absolutely positive my husband views my digital SLR camera as a wise investment, saving him lots of money on film and developing.  So, that being said, this post is rather long.  Just giving a heads up!

 Here's Spruce Tree House as viewed from near the beginning of the trail.  You have to descend one side of the canyon and then up again to reach the dwelling. 

A cactus growing out of the rock that caught my eye...

The Ancient Puebloans would build these upper rooms to use as food storage.  They'd carve hand and foot holds in the cliff faces in order to reach them.  These are on a ledge near Spruce Tree House.

Looking through a doorway into a room, and beyond.  Shows the depth of the dwelling.

The three holes are doors to kivas - round, underground ceremonial rooms.  I love this view - you can totally see a city street here.  Notice some of the doors are T-shaped, others are not.  No one knows why they shaped some this way, and others are just square.  I think maybe it was to accommodate people carrying things, or maybe they were used more so they were made to accommodate shoulders.   Just one more Mesa Verde mystery...

Looking to the left of the above view.  Some rooms have two stories, some only one depending on space available.  The ceilings are black from fires used for cooking and warmth.  

 A view from the right, looking back

There was a kiva we were allowed to climb down in.  Here's Hope as she's almost all the way in, and Hannah getting ready to climb down.  

 Hannah climbing in!

 And Hayleigh...

 Inside the kiva... In here it was relatively warm - we were out of the wind!

Climbing out!

James emerging from the kiva... I believe I have a picture of him, like this, from our honeymoon. Hard to believe it's been nearly 23 years!

A few more shots as we were leaving...

That wrapped up Spruce Tree House, and we were on to the Cliff Palace Loop.  Even though it was closed for repairs, we could still view it from the overlook where the tours begin.  A Ranger was even there to chat with!

Another small ruin across the canyon

More dwellings visible at the next overlook we stopped at.  This one is in the middle of the cliff.  

This one was tucked into the side of the cliff we were standing on at the overlook.

 This is House of Many Windows...   It is in the center of the photo, but kinda hard to see...

And yet another tucked into the cliff under the overlook...

Now, it was about time for our tour of Balcony House, so we headed over there.  With Balcony House, there's a lot of climbing and stairs.  And ladders.  32 feet tall, to be exact...  For those of us who are not fond of heights, just keep looking up.  

It was wide enough to climb two abreast.  Here's Hayleigh & Hannah going up...

And then, if that wasn't enough, you go through this tiny little hall and up another ladder.  Thankfully, not another 32 feet...

And out this rather small opening.  I am of the opinion these Ancestral Puebloans were rather small in stature...  And, I believe I have another picture of James coming out of this opening, from 23 years ago!

Pictures of Balcony House... 

There were probably 40-50 people on our tour.  I am pretty proud of myself for capturing most of these without other people in them!  We wrapped up our day after Balcony House.  The sun was finally starting to break through the clouds, but it was still pretty cold and we were done... Driving through the park, it was astonishing to see the scale of the wildfires that burned in 1996.  We stopped to snap a few pictures of the burned trees.  Most of them burned from the inside, so the outside appears mostly uncharred.  James gets the credit for these...

Stay tuned for day 2!

~Kel

Four Corners

Road Trip!

  ~ Four Corners ~ Mesa Verde ~ Natural Bridges ~ 

We've quickly discovered that living on the western slope of Colorado, we are much closer to a multitude of national parks and monuments.  This is awesome, because we love to take trips to these amazing places.  We've wanted to take the girls to Mesa Verde for a while, because our two younger ones have been enthralled with Native American history. It's also where we went on our honeymoon.   We decided to go to Four Corners Monument on our way there.  I've never been, even though I've lived in Colorado my whole life!

Four Corners Monument is literally in the middle of nowhere, on Reservation land.  Here's a look at the GPS:

We took the obligatory pictures of being in 4 states at one time...

Hope doing her own thing...

 Here's a picture of the center without anyone in it... 

Four states, here meet, in freedom, under God

And a close up of the geological survey marker in the center. This particular one was laid in 1992.

This is looking up the Utah/Colorado border... We live in that direction!! (Well, 18 miles to the east from here, and a few hundred miles north)

These are marble markers, one in each state, explaining who mapped the state lines, and when.  It seems that the states do not exactly agree on where the exact lines should be.  It amazes me that they could even do this with the technology available back then!

One of my favorites... 

                                                         

 And then, after a long day in the car, going from Colorado, to Utah, to Arizona, and into New Mexico, we're back in Colorado!

~Kel

The Week In Review...

Tonight I'm sitting at Starbucks while the girls are at American Heritage Girls.  I'm watching the sun shine on the Grand Mesa while it sets as I type this.  The scenery here is so beautiful!  The Bookcliffs turn an amazing red at sunset.  I'll have to take a picture to share here...

Anyhow, here's a little recap of our week...

We had a nice, quiet Easter Sunday.  We got up early and went to Mass, then back home where the girls got their Easter gifts.  No egg hunt this year - they've all pretty much outgrown that.  And since I'm not sure which box our Easter baskets are in, we just placed their Easter candy at their spots at the dining room table.   James got up early and put a tri-tip roast on the Traeger to smoke, so it was cooking nicely when we got back from church.   After church, I made hash browns and he made omelets while the girls watched Big Hero 6.  The meat didn't take nearly as long as we thought it would to smoke, so we found ourselves eating our Easter dinner just a few hours after we'd eaten our brunch!

Monday, we spent the day straightening up and cleaning, because we were having company!  My mom came to visit us for the week.  It was so good to see her!  It really is strange not to have her nearby.  In the Springs, we were about 5 minutes from her house.   She arrived Monday afternoon, and stayed until Friday morning.  We had a lot of fun while she was here!  We went to Buffalo Wild Wings and had lunch and played trivia, went to the mall, she took the girls to see the new Cinderella movie, we played games of Phase 10, and just enjoyed her company.  We're planning to visit the Springs next month around Mother's Day.  

After a busy week, we just ran errands on Saturday and relaxed on Sunday.  This last week was not good for my step totals!  I think I only hit my 10,000 step goal once.

Some of the time I used to spend trolling Facebook, I've been browsing Pinterest.  I'm finding new recipes and craft ideas, as well as gardening stuff.  I can't wait to try some of the stuff that I've been finding.  I'll probably share some here, so stay tuned!

Hello again!  It's been a while since I have updated this blog.   We've had so many changes over the last couple of years that I thought that I'd start blogging again and bring everyone up to date.  I've decided to spend significantly less time on Facebook, so this is how I'm going to keep everyone up to date on our adventures!  

So... What have we been up to?  

Well, for starters, we moved to Fruita, Colorado!  Fruita is about 8 miles north west of Grand Junction.  It's about 300 miles - or a 6 hour drive - from Colorado Springs.  It's a small town - only about 12,000 people.  I think we have a whopping 2 stoplights, and they're both by the highways (I-70 and Hwy 6&50 both run through here). 

What brought us here?  Well, James was unemployed for about 11 months.  After about 9 months of searching and not finding anything in or around Colorado Springs that paid enough to pay the bills, we decided we needed to expand the search to the whole state of Colorado, and also look out of state.  In January of 2014 James was offered a job with Xcel Energy in Grand Junction, and our moving adventure began.  

While there are things I miss in Colorado Springs, Fruita is a really nice place to live.  We are about 15 minutes from the Colorado National Monument and lots of BLM land, which means lots of hiking and outdoor places to go.  This area is a top destination for mountain biking, and there are lots of festivals throughout the summertime.  We also have a community center, which has the Fruita branch of the Mesa County Library, an indoor and outdoor pool, a gym, an indoor running/walking track, a gymnasium, and the senior center.  The girls are looking forward to spending lots of time at the pool this summer!  

In other news... Hannah was diagnosed with food allergies and celiac disease last spring.  We've all made the change to gluten free, and we've discovered that we all have some form of gluten intolerance.  Interesting... So, now that we're settled in our new home, I've been working on mastering gluten free cooking.  One book I've read, Wheat Belly, has proven to be a very interesting read.  I've kicked all grains to the curb, so while they're all gluten free, I'm grain free as well.  I'm looking forward to learning to modify recipes and create yummy new ones! 

That's about it for now!

~Kel

Eat For Less

When we are leading our Financial Peace University Class, I am often asked how I stretch our budget. So, I thought that I would blog a little on how we make the most of our monthly budget.

Today's topic: Eating for Less

Food in the budget is one of those things that can be as large as we want, or as small as we can get away with without starving. It's the one thing that people see as a variable. Planning, and a little bit of cunning, is required. Food prices keep going up and up, and now more than ever it is essential to make the most of your food dollar!

Meal Planning

Just as it is essential to have a plan for your money each month, you should also consider a plan for your meals. Meal plans can be especially helpful in extremely busy households. When you have meals planned out, it can take that part of the end of the day stress out of your life. I usually only plan dinner menus, because, atleast at our house, breakfast is kind of a free for all and lunch is whatever we happen to have leftover in the fridge. I am not that organized that I could plan out every meal and then stick to it.

Meal planning is also helpful in the budget area, because as you plan your menu, you can also make a grocery list. Then, when grocery shopping, instead of going up and down each aisle grabbing things that you think you might use sometime in the near future, you are only buying things that you know you will use in the next couple of weeks.

To plan, I use a form I created. It's a seven column, five row form to represent the average month. I write in the dates for the month, and the month name at the top. I keep these to refer back to for future planning. I have also used a plain spiral notebook, where I use one page per week, and then I have space on each page for the grocery items needed for that week's recipes.

I usually plan two to four weeks at a time. I have a list of favorites that I rely on, and I frequently peruse cookbooks and cooking websites for new recipes. I set aside one night a week - sometimes two if I'm feeling adventurous - for new recipes. If they are good, I add them to my list of favorites, and then work them into the menus in the future. You can set aside a certain night for a certain cuisine… Monday is Mexican, Thursday is Italian, etc. You can also have a slow cooker night.

Once you have your meals planned out, STICK TO IT! Glance at it each night while cooking the evening meal to see what you need to have out for the next evening's meal.

Use your slow cooker!! Nothing is better than having a super busy day and knowing that dinner is already cooking, and will be ready when you are. A great slow cooker cookbook is Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook. Check it out from the library to get some great slow cooker ideas. One of our favorites is to do a whole chicken in the slow cooker. The chicken absolutely falls off the bone! If, however, you are a fan of the crispy skin that you get from oven roasting, this may not be the thing for you…

 

Your Pantry

Having an adequately stocked pantry is a must. Keeping a good supply of frequently used non-perishables such as canned fruits and veggies, pastas, rice & grains, cereals, soups & broths, herbs & spices, and such will help reduce the little trips to the store for that one item you thought you had, but, as it turns out, you don't. And, reducing the number of times you have to go to the store will reduce the number of times you are tempted to impulse buy. And, as we all know, impulse buying is detrimental to the health of our budget.

The Back Up Plan…

We've all been there. It's late and the kids are hungry, you're tired and the last thing you want to do is cook. It might seem like a good idea to go hit the local fast food joint's drive thru, but from a budget standpoint, it could be disastrous. Having a back up plan is essential for a healthy budget. Even the most efficient meal planners have one. Because we all (atleast I hope that I'm not the only one!) forget to take the meat out of the freezer, and after having a busy day and running late, there is no way that you can thaw the whole chicken you were planning to cook that night and eat before 1 a.m. The go-to meal has to be quick and easy, and can be ready quicker than you can make it through the drive-thru. Here are things that I've done…

Buy hamburger in bulk, take it home and brown it. When it's cooled, place it in quart size freezer bags, about a pound or so per bag (remember that a pound of uncooked hamburger does not yield a pound of cooked hamburger), lay flat and freeze. For a quick spaghetti dinner, fill a stock pot with water and bring to a boil for the noodles. Then, while that's warming up, open a jar of spaghetti sauce, pour into a saucepan, and add a bag of frozen already-browned ground beef. Cook over medium heat. Then, by the time the noodles are done cooking, the sauce will be ready and you've just made dinner in the time it took to make the noodles. You could even whip up some garlic bread while the noodles and sauce cook. You could also whip up a quick beefy vegetable soup with some canned beef broth and a couple of cans or a package of frozen mixed veggies and seasonings, or a quick chili with a couple cans of chili beans and some tomato sauce and seasonings.

Coupons

I don't use coupons very often. Coupons are usually for items that are highly processed and are additive and preservative laden. We stay away from these kinds of foods for two reasons – first and foremost, I have food allergies and most processed/convenience type foods contain one or more foods that I cannot eat without dire consequences; and two, they are just plain not healthy. In theory, I would love to go to the grocery store, get $1000 worth of groceries and pay only $2.53. But, for me, the health consequences just are not worth it for us. When I do find coupons that we can use, I get as many coupons as I can and really stock up on the items if, of course, they are non-perishable.

Sales and Warehouse Clubs

Being aware of how much things cost is key to stretching your budget. If one store has a sale on items, 10 for $10, but another store's regular price is $.89, it does not make much sense to hit the so called 'sale'. Always have an idea of where you can get your main pantry items for the cheapest you can find.

Price compare by per ounce or per count prices. The bigger the box or container does not always mean the better value. I have found several items that I buy the smaller package because the price per ounce is less than it is for the bigger package. I think that manufacturers know that consumers have come to expect that the bigger sizes are better values, and have thus adjusted their pricing accordingly, to make the bigger items, the ones that are more likely bought, the more expensive ones when you figure out the price per ounce. I have found this to be true on cereals, pastas, rice, sugar, flour… you get the picture.

At warehouse shopping clubs, bigger is what you get. But, not everything is a deal. Don't pay extra on your membership for the privilege of getting coupons, or rebates, or anything of that nature. It just doesn't pay in the long run. These gimmicks are not offered as a way to save YOU money, it's a way for the club to make more money for THEM. For instance, at Costco, for an extra $50.00/year, you can get a 2% rebate on your purchases. That's $2 for every $100 you spend. Just to earn back in savings the extra money you spent on the membership, you'd have to spend $2500 in a year just to earn $50.00. Unless you routinely buy big ticket items there, you most likely will not come out ahead in this deal.

Also, pay attention to price per ounce/count. Again, here like the grocery stores, bigger is not always the better deal.

There are deals to be had at the warehouse clubs, but just make sure that what you are saving is more than the cost of the annual membership and the gas it takes to make the special trip. For instance, I buy about 12 gallons of milk a month. I usually save over $1 per gallon buying at Sam's Club. That means in a little over 3 months, my $40 membership to Sam's Club has paid for itself on milk alone, and the rest is gravy.

I hope that you find some of these tips useful, and help you Eat For Less!

Well, it's been a while since I've had time to post anything, so I thought that I'd kind of catch up...

At the beginning of April, we went to Santa Fe. Hope is really interested in everything Native American. We went to Bandelier National Monument and explored all the ruins there. There were cliff and talus houses, along with a ruin that was in the bottom of the canyon. We even climbed up into an alcove in a cliff to see a ruin up there. We explored the old part of Sante Fe and bought some jewelry from the Native American artisans that go there to sell their wares. We saw the church with "The Staircase"... We also went to Pecos National Monument and Fort Union National Monument. Busy weekend! I would have loved to have more time, but we can always go back! I am going to add a blog just about our trip, as soon as I get it finished! Stay tuned...

May 1 was Hayleigh's First Communion! It was kind of bittersweet, because it was a last 'first' for us... She was the center of attention all day, which was quite overwhelming for her. I'll add a separate blog on that, just because I have lots of pictures to share!

Summer has begun, and true to Colorado style weather, we went from cool weather to hot weather in a matter of days. We were all anxious for the warmer weather to come ~ seems like we had such a cool spring! The last week or so we've had lots of smoke in the air from all the wild fires in southern Colorado and Arizona. We've barely been able to see the mountains! But, today the winds changed and our sky is now the awesome blue we know and love!

We signed up this year for the Kids Bowl Free program. We can bowl 2 games each day for free! The girls absolutely love this and ask to go almost every day. We did have to invest in bowling shoes or we would have spent a small fortune on shoe rentals. They have improved already, although Hope tends to get frustrated easily because the ball doesn't do what she wants it to do... We're only on our 3rd week of bowling, so we have the whole summer ahead of us. Hannah is probably going to give me a run for my money before summer's end!

We're also going to go to the movies every Wednesday morning! Our Cinemark has a summer fun pass, where each Wednesday they show a different family/kids movie. My mom was kind enough to buy us passes. It'll be fun!

We still have schoolwork to finish, and I still have to test Hope this year. I'm sure that we'll get it done, maybe do schoolwork a day or two each week. A plus, though, is that I can count bowling as P.E., and add that to our school hours!! Yipee! Even after summer's over, we may still go bowling occasionally...

James is back into his traveling mode... He has been spending lots of time out in Limon/Burlington/Goodland getting surveying done out there. He had hoped to get lots done while it was still cool, but when it was cool it was also wet, so they didn't get much done and now they have to work in the HEAT!

That's about it for now... Looking forward to a fun and *BUSY* summer!!