Lake Pueblo State Park, CO

Alas this painting is not of Lake Pueblo, but of Jenny Lake at Grand Teton National Park. I love to do paintings with water in them like this one.

Lake Pueblo has its own kind of rugged beauty. Joy and Whimsy, my hard pulling teamette, are parked with electrical hookups at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado this week. Not only is there a magnificent reservoir of vast blue water, a nice marina, but there are also some great trails to hike. You can wear yourselves and your dogs, bikes or horses out walking or riding up and down the bluffs that surround the entire lake.

I love beautiful rimrocks like these. They show so clearly where the waters of Noah's Great Flood wore at the newly pushed up mountains and land, leaving perfectly horizontal rims on all the rocks and soft sloping sediment piled around their base, as it drained away.Lest you doubt Noah's great flood occurred just as the Bible describes check this out the photos and discovery of the Ark on the mountains of Ararat: http://viewzone2.com/noahx.html Gotta love the scent of the Pinon Pines and Junipers, too. Each night the moon rises in a clear sky above these rocks as we sit by the campfire counting the stars. It is just breathtaking. The nights are balmy and relatively bug free. Sure beats TV.

Doesn't that blue water look refreshing on a hot summer day?

Capulin Volcano National Monument, NM, and Lathrop State Park, CO

What a delightful winter spent in New Mexico. First year I haven't felt frozen during the winter. Tucumcari was just right. Wanted to be on just the edge of winter so there would be no crowds but not so cold we couldn't stay cozy in our mobile cabin. However winds blew with a fury starting in April and we finally got out at the end of May when the temperatures soared to 110. Stopped for the weekend at Lake Conchas, 30 miles NW of Tucumcari. Stayed in the Corp of Engineers campground there. No hookups. Was down and dirty boondocking. Gave my solar panels their first workout. Found out there is a lot I don't know about solar and how to conserve. Still was able to run lights, watch the tube, run fans, run the computer etc.. Was lovely there right on the lake. There was a sailboat anchored in the cove below us. I was the only camper in that campground. It was very peaceful and HOT. So we pushed on to Las Vegas. Stayed in the KOA. Wanted AC as the weather was hot, then on to Ratan. East of Ratan is The Capulin Volcano National Monument which is really worth the short trip to see it and to hike around the crater and lava beds. See Pictures directly above.

Now we are further north at Lathrop State Park in Colorado. Just west of Walsenburg. Gorgeous mountain scenery here. Pictures are above the volcano pictures. Inspired me to paint again so started today. Painted "Mauve Evening" just to get back into practice. Top. It is breezy daytimes but the temperatures are mid 80's and nights probably 60's or 70. Very nice. The park has a dump, water hydrants every few campsites and 50 amp power! Very nice. My dogs enjoy watching Mom paint at the picnic table while they lay in the shade.