Colorado Adventure Recap Part 3

Horseshoe Bluff in Dubuque where I had a hike and found a marble.

At the end of our hike (read about Part 1 and Part 2) we had several food cravings. That night while I caught up with a friend from high school, we had fries and burgers (vegetarian burgers), and Cheetos. It was a very nice end to my Colorado experience. I headed out the next morning with my leftover food to sustain me. Remember I had more food than I needed? I am still trying to finish things off, with the help of my parents again.

Dubuque is somewhere behind me in this picture.

I managed to get all the way through Nebraska and into Iowa on that first day of homeward travel. I still slept at a rest area, but I thought I might be more comfortable if I slept on the back seat. Unfortunately the back seat does not lay flat and I slept curled up the whole night, even when I finally admitted defeat and slid to the floor because of my gear and the seats being up there still wasn't enough room for me to stretch my legs out.

In the valley of the bluff after I climbed down a rock face to get off the bluff.

Before I left home I had joined a group on Facebook for the World's Biggest Marble Hunt. Contemporary glass artists are making marbles and people are "losing" them all over the world. You have to be a member of the group to participate. Once a marble is posted "lost" with clues how to find it, then whomever figures out the clues and finds it, gets to keep it or re-lose it as they wish. There have been few lost marbles in Wisconsin, but many in Colorado, I had hoped to find one while I was in Colorado, but none were posted near to where we were. My dad grew up in Dubuque, Iowa and I was planning on coming back that way to see where he grew up. About a week from when I would be going through, someone "lost" a marble there. My last day in Colorado I figured out the clues and knew where to find the marble. The night at the rest area I asked if the marble was still in play and it was. I made a trip to the place it was hidden, had a great hike, and found a marble!

The marble I found in Dubuque.
(I had to set it on my mag light top to keep it from rolling away.)

Now I'm having this urge to learn how to make marbles. Glass has always fascinated me and I have tried some bead making, but I would love to learn how to blow glass and now how to make fancy marbles, either with flameworking or in a glass blowing studio.

Back in Wisconsin.

So I visited Dubuque. I ended up not actually stopping to see my dad's childhood home, or going into town to visit any galleries there. I wish I had. I wish I hadn't been in such a rush to get home. Something else I need to learn how to do, be spontaneous, take my time, enjoy where I am instead of trying to plan ahead. I also almost stopped in Mt. Horeb on my way by so I could see the trolls. But I didn't, and I wish I had. But it was a beautiful area, what I saw from my car.

The pottery I found in Fort Collins. I fell in love with these.

A potter in Loveland makes a series of pottery for the tourists.
I couldn't resist, that is Mount Meeker and Longs Peak. 

I made it to my brother and sister-in-law's house in the early afternoon, just as my SIL was coming back from a walk with my nephew. We hung out, talked, went grocery shopping and I spent the night. It was very nice getting to see them all. I left after lunch the next day. The whole trip home I felt like it was new, exciting. Everything made me smile until I started seeing signs for where I was heading. Then I felt my mood drop as I made my way north on Hwy 51. I felt it drop even more when I left to make my final trip home. I don't know why. I was so ready to be home, so ready to be back to my usual life, but as it got closer I couldn't figure out why I had been so anxious to get home.

Some cards I am going to frame. I fell in love with her patterns.

Now I'm ready to head out somewhere new. I want to get out of my routine again. I want new experiences, I want to see new things, try new things. I want to find marbles in unexpected places. Literally and figuratively.

Some of my new Kritters.

I have spent the last week crocheting. I want to get a good stock of my crocheted Kritters together for the open studio I am planning to have later this month, and I think I have a pretty good start on those. I have a show on Saturday and I knew I had enough pottery for that, so I decided to crochet instead of going out to work on pottery. I will get back to pottery, and cleaning up the studio before too long, but for the next couple days I am going to focus on more Kritters.

Thanks for enjoying my trip to Colorado with me. If you haven't been, I suggest you go, but take your time. There is a lot to see and enjoy!