Christmas in Colorado - Part 1

If you are wondering why it's been a bit quiet here lately... it's because your humble author (me: Jenny) has been galavanting around Colorado with her family for the holidays! This post is slightly off-subject for this blog... but it does include a few photos of equines! I am not due back to Sweet Water Farm until after the New Year, so bear with me and before you know it I'll be back to talkin' 'bout Tekes. 

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I have a rather dynamic family made up of full and half siblings, in-laws, and multiple nieces and nephews. Like many families, we've had a tumultuous past. And partially because of this, we've all grown up to follow very different paths. But the most important thing is that there has never been a shortage of love... we've always had each other and we all get along. And seriously, my family is a really fun. 

My father, sister, niece, nephew, and I left Seattle on the 18th of December, spent one night in Denver with my younger sister, followed by one night in Boulder at my oldest brother's. On the 20th we all drove from Boulder to a vacation rental in Carbondale, CO... we being: my mother and father (divorced but amicable), two sisters, three brothers, two sister-in-laws, two nephews, four nieces, and three dogs. That makes 16 humans plus 3 canines in one house... making one hell-of-a (hectic-but-fun) on-going Christmas party. 

Below are photos from our first two days in Carbondale, which is situated 20 minutes from Glenwood Springs and about 40 minutes from Aspen. The house we are renting is on a small valley ranch located between sage-speckled mountains with bright red dirt and twisted old juniper trees. It's high desert and the air is crisp and cold enough to freeze-dry the back of my throat. At night the temps are in the teens... during the day they creeps to mid-twenties. Not much snow where we are... but there's heaps of it up in the hills. 

And guess what? This ranch has horses... and Falabella mini ponies! 

AND the neighbors have MULES! 

These photos are the horses that live on the ranch. I don't know a whole lot about them but I'm hoping to meet their owner while I'm here. Supposedly they are used for trail riding. They're pastures border the yard and driveway, and they whinny whenever they see someone come outside. I'm guessing that they are small quarter horses or crosses of some sort... though the grey one has a bit of a mustang look to him, too. In any case, they very quite friendly and well-fed. But they could use some serious grooming... they've accumulated masses of burls in their manes and tails!  

(My nephew Liam saying hello).

(Here is  my sister Leah... giving chin scratches. This horse's mane is FULL of burls. At this point I think the easiest thing would be to cut it all off. It can't be comfortable to have that many thorny things tangled up in your hair). 

(My dad!) 

Here are their adorable Falabella ponies... 

they have two of them and apparently they are trained to drive as a team. I would be ecstatic at the chance of a cart-ride with this two cutie-pies... but so far I haven't' seen any sign of driving apparatus, so it may have been a while since they've been employed!

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(The Pony Trailer!)

(This hairy ape is carved from wood and guards the garage).

Below are photos of the play house, built on top of an ancient tree stump... the detailed craftsmanship is nothing short of amazing: 

The owner has a small collection of old cars... 

(My sister's dog, Copper)

(A relic from the past... a miner's rail car).

(The neighbor's long-ears!) 

My brother, sister, dad, and I went exploring in the red-dirt hills surrounding the ranch. It was our first morning in the area and we hadn't yet located trails... but the trees are sparse and "off-road" hiking is relatively easy. (As long as you wear a good pair of shoes...)

Another neighbor has this uniquely-carved gate:

A horse with many monkeys upon its back...

With lots of family to help care for their two young tots... my brother David and his wife Gina were hoping for the chance to have a nice lunch to themselves, and an afternoon in Aspen seemed the perfect opportunity. Little Elise stayed home with her cousins while baby Mya Jo took a nap on her Auntie Sophie's back as we strolled through the streets... peeking in the doorways of posh shops and amusing ourselves with people-watching (we saw some hilarious outfits). The tree-lined streets glittered with christmas lights and sparkles of sunlight through ice...

(My brother Dale and sister Sophie... with baby niece Mya Jo on board)

We checked out a tiny natural foods market... where my 12-year-old nephew Simon was fascinated by their rather eclectic, and extremely expensive, organic produce:

(Can't remember what exotic thing he's holding in this photo but I can assure you it wasn't cheap). 

(These tiny baby zucchini's were oh-so-cute and about the length of my pinky finger!) 

(Simon LOVES to eat raw garlic... here he is asking his mom if she'll buy him a head of it. He proceeded to devour each and every clove throughout the afternoon. He especially likes it sprinkled with salt. When he eats it he stinks up all the air in his vicinity! But how can we complain? Everybody knows garlic is good for you). 

In the spirit of Christmas... and because, after all, it's Aspen... there were two little reindeer on display in a tiny pen not far from the base of the ski resort. They totally ignored their human onlookers, but they were obviously very tame because the height of the their pen panels was no more than 4 feet. Is there such a thing as dwarf reindeer? Because these two seemed very small:  

We were surprised to discover The Thrift Shop of Aspen down a side street not far from all the glitz. We figured it was bound to be nothing more than an over-priced vintage clothing store, but it turned out to be a real thrift store with real thrift store prices. The boys were bored.... but Sophie and I had a great time sifting through their selection of clothes:

Not long after we left the thrift shop... Baby Mya Jo woke up from her long nap on Sophie's back. As soon as she realized not a single one of us was one of her parents... she started protesting. Loudly. Luckily David & Gina were only a cell phone call and two blocks away. We had cruised the streets of Aspen by foot for over two hours while they enjoyed a quiet meal together at a small local pub. It was around 3:30 when the sun slipped behind the mountains and the wind felt blisteringly cold...  a sharp reminder to head for home. 

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And that's all for now!

More reports on my adventures in Colorado are coming soon...

Merry Christmas!