Sunday Style!

Tomorrow is Theme Day, and the theme has to do with coffee houses (you'll have to come back tomorrow for specifics!). I have known for weeks what the assignment was, but was stumped creatively and unable to come up with a single idea. Finally, on Thursday I found what I was looking for at a Starbucks downtown. I also found this awesome lady, who was a standout in her head-to-toe black outfit and dramatically long cardigan. Her name is Benita and she's wonderfully tall and confident. She wears that flowy cardigan so well (it would dwarf a shorty like me)... and those boots! They really steal the show. She told me that she bought them a few years ago at Neiman Marcus, at half price. But even at 50% off, a pair of patent leather Stuart Weitzman boots at Neiman Marcus is quite an investment, and you should find every excuse to wear them often! Benita said that in fact she's worn them so much, she's had to get them resoled. I would too, if those were my boots! Thanks for being on the blog today, Benita!

Edit: Those of you who are fans of track and field may recognize Benita, because she is an Olympic gold medalist! You can read about her career HERE, and watch her win the final of the 100 meter hurdles HERE. She's undeniably extraordinary. Respect!

What a great smile!

Another side of the mountain

Whenever you see pictures of Pikes Peak, it's always the famous view we have from the city. Have you ever wondered what it looks like from a different angle? Yesterday I was in Woodland Park, about 18 miles west of Colorado Springs, "up the pass", as we say (Ute Pass, that is). It's a pretty little mountain town with lots of cabins, fresh air and natural beauty. I was there to chat with the owners of the Edgewood Inn, a gorgeous bed and breakfast where I will be doing a shoot next month. This is the view from their back deck: the north slope of Pikes Peak. Breathtaking! I want to book a room at the Edgewood Inn just so I can have this view with my morning coffee!

Skywatch Friday

A handful of pigeons enjoying the sunshine last weekend at Monument Valley Park. It's almost the weekend -- hope yours is a good one! For more Skywatch Friday pictures from bloggers all over, click HERE.

Stir crazy

You know where to find Colorado Springsians when the weather is nice in January: outdoors. Pat and I went for a brisk walk in Monument Valley Park last Saturday, and we were definitely not alone! Here are a few of the many people we came across at the park, all of them shaking off the winter blues by getting their heart rates up.

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We had such nice weather for about 10 days. Beautiful, sunny and warm -- especially for January. I took this photo in front of my studio on Saturday just before sunset. On Sunday night we had snow. But hey, this is Colorado! The sun has already melted away the white stuff.

Which one is you?

I love science fiction. This goes way back to my childhood, watching Star Trek reruns on my grandparents' TV, and seeing movies like The Planet of the Apes, Logan's Run, Soylent Green and Star Wars with my big brother (I mean the original versions of these -- I'm old enough to remember the '70s!). I love Alien, First Encounters of the Third Kind, and Blade Runner, which I consider to be one of the most perfect movies ever made. The other day, Pat and I spied these two like-minded but opposing vehicles only minutes apart: one car proudly proclaiming Trekkie status, and the other car paying homage to Star Wars. Which one is you? As for me, my answer is this: live long and prosper.

Buffalo Bill's gravesite

On Saturday I blogged about the Buffalo Bill Museum in Golden, and promised to show you pictures of his grave today. Well here it is! It's far different from the image I had in my mind's eye. You can see that it's carefully maintained and surrounded by an iron fence. The epitaph reads, "At rest here by his request." Though he lived in Wyoming (I believe), Buffalo Bill died of kidney failure in Denver while staying with his sister in 1917. His wife Louisa, who died in 1921, is buried with him.

If you'd like to see my pictures of the museum, check out Saturday's post HERE.

The back of the grave also has a couple of plaques on it.

Sunday Style!

It's winter, and I know you want one of these awesome hand knit hats so you can show your colorRADo pride out on the slopes. I found them at Poor Richard's Bookstore and Gifts. Fun!

The Buffalo Bill Museum in Golden

Thursday found me in Denver on a personal errand: getting some maintenance done on my Mini. The dealership kindly gave me a loaner car and, since I had several hours to kill, I decided to visit Buffalo Bill's grave in Golden, west of Denver. Every time I take I-70 to get to the mountains (usually to shoot a wedding in Vail, Keystone or some other ski resort), I pass the sign that marks the turnoff for Buffalo Bill's grave. I have lived in Colorado for decades and have never taken that off ramp. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but for some reason I thought Buffalo Bill's grave would be a shabby, weedy and depressing old mound with trash strewn about and graffiti on the gravestone. Boy did I ever have the wrong idea! I was pleasantly surprised to find that, in addition to his meticulously maintained grave, there is a wonderful, comprehensive museum dedicated to the life and times of Buffalo Bill. Of course I checked it out!

If you don't know who William "Buffalo Bill" Cody is, take a minute to read THIS wiki on him. He was a fascinating character, almost singlehandedly responsible for the romantic myth of the American cowboy. Willam Cody's varied career began with the Pony Express as a young teen. During the Civil War, he fought for the Union, then served as a civilian scout for the U.S. Army during the Indian wars. Eventually his experiences as a famed buffalo hunter (the origin of his nickname), scout, soldier, gold prospector and other exploits led him to create his world famous Wild West tour. Much like a circus, Buffalo Bill's Wild West traveled around the country, entertaining the masses with fantastic shows and reenactments. It was a huge undertaking, featuring famous names like Annie Oakley and Chief Sitting Bull, among others. Buffalo Bill included a number of Indian acts in his show. There was even a "village", where patrons could step inside a teepee and see how the Indians lived. Some might think of this as exploitative, but in fact Buffalo Bill had a great deal of respect for his Indian coworkers, and considered them his friends and equals.

Buffalo Bill's Wild West was so popular, it even toured Europe. It made him a worldwide celebrity. To this day, the name Buffalo Bill conjures up images of the wild, wild west. I really enjoyed the museum. It was fascinating! There were so many personal artifacts, historical records, playbills and photos, and a wealth of information about the man. It's definitely worthwhile to take that off ramp!

Chief Sitting Bull's headdress.

According to these records, Buffalo Bill's Wild West came to Colorado Springs six times!

In the 1940s, a popular Broadway musical called "Annie Get Your Gun" was created about Wild West performer Annie Oakley. When I saw this record, I immediately thought of THIS catchy little song by an old favorite, Squeeze.

To learn more about the Buffalo Bill Museum and grave site, visit their site HERE. I'll show you my pictures of the actual grave on Monday.

Skywatch Friday

I spent yesterday in and around Denver. I had to take my car to the dealership for some maintenance, and they gave me a loaner car to use in the interim. Since it was such a nice day, I decided to head west and visit Buffalo Bill's grave site near Golden (more about that tomorrow!). The above composite of five photos seamed together was taken from the edge of the parking lot of the Buffalo Bill Museum. What a view!

The photo below was taken from the Lariat Loop Scenic Byway -- a wrong turn out of the parking lot took me on this beautiful route. I enjoyed the drive until I found a suitable place to turn around, which afforded me this lovely vista. Sometimes a "wrong" turn is actually a right turn :^)

To see more Skywatch Friday images from bloggers all over the world, click HERE. Have a great weekend!

Grey on grey

A photo taken on January 7th at Centennial Hall, on the south side of the parking garage. It was snowy that day but it felt more like rain.

Why it's called Pikes Peak Avenue

You can see why! One of the earliest streets laid out in our city, Pikes Peak Avenue offers a dead-on view of the mountain itself. Pikes Peak Avenue intersects with Tejon Street in the near distance, a spot known as Busy Corner.

Random cowboy

This life-sized cowboy statue stands in front of the Norris-Penrose Event Center, near Bear Creek Park. Norris-Penrose hosts large outdoor events like rodeos and monster truck rallies. I went there for Oktoberfest one year. That was fun (what I can remember of it, ha). It's also known as an equestrian center. While we were there taking these pictures, a rider was working her horse over some jumps in the ring west of the main building.

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A street musician captured yesterday afternoon, walking southward on Tejon Street.

Sunday Style!

Here's a stylish tourist I spotted in the Garden of the Gods last weekend. I believe this fellow was from Spain. You can always spot the European tourists. They have an effortless style that's never sloppy, no matter how jet lagged they are. And they always have the best shoes.

The joys of owning a vintage car

I always wanted an old Toyota Land Cruiser! I took this picture on New Year's Eve at Sears, where I was getting a new battery for one of our cars. The lucky owner of this beast told me it was a 1972. It may be old, but it's got a zillion times more style than 99% of the cars out on the roads today. She had brought it to Sears to get new tires, and they put the tires on with the white stripe facing outward. No, no, no! I too own a vehicle of exactly the same vintage, a '72 BMW, and I'm just as picky about the tires -- they should be solid black! Of course she had them turn the tires around. I've done exactly the same thing. Trust me, I get it!

Skywatch Friday

A snowy walk in the Garden of the Gods last Sunday resulted in this picture. Pikes Peak is always the star of the show around here!

To see more Skywatch Friday images from bloggers all over, click HERE. Have a great weekend!

Who goes there?

Or should I say who went there? Pat and I spent a little time in the Garden of the Gods last Sunday, and as we walked over a footbridge I looked down and saw these tracks in the snow on a frozen creek. Look how dainty and perfectly aligned the footprints are! What do you suppose made them? A deer, maybe?

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This photo was taken on Sunday, January 10th in the early afternoon. It's always nice to take a little drive to the Garden of the Gods when it's been snowing. Beautiful.

Enormous pancake!

Where can you get a pancake this big? Western Omelette! Pat and I are having fun rediscovering this west side institution, an old favorite. We used to eat there nearly every Sunday, but several years ago we stopped going for Sunday breakfast/brunch almost altogether, because Pat's work schedule was so hectic. Since he switched jobs about three years ago, we've been sampling breakfast all over town again, and we finally ended up at Western Omelette a couple of weekends ago and again this past Sunday. It's as yummy as ever! I had almost forgotten about their enormous pancakes. At least ten inches across, the edges are slightly crispy and salty, and the center is fluffy and soft. So delicious! I can never finish it but it's always fun to try!

A pup with some pep in his step

This dog was a serious candidate for yesterday's Sunday Style, because of those cute booties he's wearing! He was happy as a clam, prancing around downtown with warm feet. How cute! Apologies for the crappy picture, I was a passenger in my friend's car and I shot this through the windshield as we were in traffic. But how could I not post this happy dog? Hope you have a great Monday!

Sunday Style!

I don't have much to say about his outfit (why do certain guys always wear white running shoes and jeans that are 15 years out of style -- time for an update, mister!), but I like hers! I am not necessarily a big fan of leggings, because they can be so unflattering and it's hard to wear them well. But I think these leggings are cool and look great on her! They add contrast, texture and interest to her outfit. I also like her purse, and I know you can't see them very well from this picture, but her boots were killer! Now if she could only convince her man not to wear those shoes and to buy a pair of jeans from this decade... ;^)

Would it kill ya to wear a coat?

Yesterday afternoon I had a haircut appointment at the little salon I've been going to for years, just up the street from Doherty High School (which is my alma mater, by the way). It was cold:  27° F (-3° C) and snowing. As I was waiting for my stylist, I saw these two students go trudging by. Not only were they coatless, they were headed for Rizuto's Ice Cream Shop. Teenagers!

Would someone please explain...

...the reason for this strange behavior? Yesterday afternoon, Pat and I were driving past Memorial Park when we noticed hundreds, maybe even thousands of geese (and a smattering of ducks) all parked on the enormous lawn, hundreds of yards from their usual haunt, Prospect Lake. As you can see, it was snowing. They were just sitting there, not doing much of anything. This is not the first time I've seen a massive goose gathering at Memorial Park. I find it rather odd! I don't know if there is abundant food for the birds on the lawn during winter, but at any rate they didn't seem to be eating. Maybe one of my readers who's knowledgeable about waterfowl can explain this one in the comments!

The military memorials at Memorial Park (Part 2)

Here are a few more of my images of military memorials at Memorial Park. There are actually quite a few more than I was able to photograph on Tuesday, since I was in a hurry. I'll make it a point to try again in a few months to capture all of them. I think they all deserve a moment in the spotlight.

The military memorials at Memorial Park (Part 1)

I suppose they call it Memorial Park for a reason, right? Although I don't know if the park was christened before the memorials were put here, or if the memorials were put here because the park was handily named Memorial Park! Hm. Anyway, I was there briefly yesterday strictly for the purpose of photographing them, but I had very little time and I wish I'd had a better lens with me. (The one at the top of this post should look familiar to you, since I've featured it here on the blog more than once.) Unfortunately I didn't manage to photograph all of the memorials -- the collection seems to have grown exponentially since the last time I looked! I'll post a few pictures today and and a few more tomorrow, and hopefully later in the year I'll have a chance to go back and document these memorials more artfully and more thoroughly.