Jen Pen's Journeys

LOOK WHERE I GOT TO GO!!!!

COLORADO

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH!

I told my family and friends that I would wear my "traveling pants" 

when I got to travel again after the pandemic receded. 

I love all the cities that are featured and hope to see so many more of them!

When the CDC said it was safe to travel I hopped on a plane!

(My friend had invited me to lead a 

women's writing workshop in Lyons, Colorado.)

Beautiful place.

Fabulous friend.

Look her up: Anita Miller.

Her Eyes of Freedom traveling exhibit is so beautiful.

My husband and I used to go to her gallery showings when we all lived in:

Here's Anita in a shirt she sewed.

This statue is in front of the Lyons Library.

She made this bear!

Here's a social media post about the "sleepover" held on it.

So cute!!!!!

Here is the amazing view from Anita's kitchen window.

Her gorgeous home is filled with art work she's commissioned, 

purchased and made.

Here's the view from her home!!!!!

Her place ROCKS!

Anita designed this screen door woodwork!

She made me this purse!

She made this portrait on their dog Dickens.

Anita is a multi-talented artist.

She uses many mediums to share her gifts.

She helped create a memorial statue for a local park 

which she has a replica of in her yard.

Here I am in a "prayer shawl" scarf from a writer friend who passed away.

She would have loved this place!

I also have on a Gwen Frostic raccoon hat.

I love that writer/artist too.

I could for sure get used to this kinda view!

The pretty hiking pants were a gift from Anita!

The reflections on her kitchen window look like a painting!

Anita pointed out places where fires have ravaged the trees and homes. 

No one is allowed to have wood fires, just gas. 

It was really sad to see the damaged wildlife and learn about the destruction.

Anita told me it does snow there but they don't have to shovel 

because the sun melts the snow quickly!

It sprinkled a few minutes on my first day there.

We saw a double rainbow! 

Anita's current passion is paper making.

Her skills as a painter carry over beautifully to other forms of artwork.

She has a kiln and pottery studio in her garage.

Her works are amazing!!!

I took wheel ceramics a few years ago and love making pottery!

Anita does hand building using a press. 

We decided to create some items on the first day 

so the clay would be dry enough to glaze before I left. 

I made a tea cup and some garden art.

My intentions are to put bird seed on the platter. 

We'll see where it ends up.

I had sent a WARNING text to one of my 

youth group pen pals who lives in Boulder.

He immediately texted back the name of t

he restaurant where he works and his hours.

So we went to dinner and he was our server!

It was so nice to be able to hug him and 

be in the world without a mask.

I am so thankful for my vaccines and 

prayer my friends in India get theirs soon.

Thank you Hapa for the family and friends discount!

Boulder was amazing!

The people watching was perfection!

I saw this add from Alejandro Aranda/Scarypoolparty.

I loved hearing him in concert here in Chicago.

I loved shopping on Pearl Street. 

Ironically I had brought Anita some 

Celestial Seasonings tea called Tension Tamer. 

I had no idea the company 

was based out of the area!

The factory tours are suspended because of the pandemic 

so we put that on the "next time" list.

Anita and I got to go to the Boulder Pottery Guild Show. 

Fantastic!

I bought a mug from this artist.

It was fun to find this barn.

And zoom in for details.

Bailey likes the rug Anita found 

while we were out "hunting and gathering."

Anita knows the store owners in Lyons 

which made it even more fun to shop!

I bought these earrings which were

handmade by the shop owner Sally's daughter.

I also bought this rocks Tic Tac Toe game

made by another one of Sally's daughters.

It will be fun to take to camp.

And this vintage locket necklace.

I noticed this woman's shirt 

and the next thing I knew I was buying a shirt at her store!

(Speaking of shirts - Anita sewed the one she's wearing!)

The weather was delightful the entire trip.

We saw a lot of "Nana clouds" too. 

Anita made a reservation for the Bear Lake area of the Rocky Mountain National Park.

This scruffy band of mountain goats greeted us.

We were waaaay up in altitude!

(I stayed hydrated!)

This woman looked at me weird when I asked to take her pic.

When I said, "You look awesome!" she let me.

What a beautiful slice of Heaven!

I had the Colorado themed water bottle I had purchased in 2012 with me. 

(Sadly the friends I saw then live 9 hours away from where I was this time.)

Colorado is BIG!

Anita told me to pack my hiking boots.

I wore them on the plane since they are bulky.

She told me it could be muddy and she wanted me to be safe.

Happily it was safely dry. Best of all we didn't hike any steep inclines!

We took the handicap accessible trail which was a flat, wooden walkway.

Two wheelchair hikers passed. us!

My bad knee was very thankful.

Anita lives close to the park.

She and her husband can wake up on a pretty day and spontaneously decide to go

to drink coffee at their favorite spot.

So Anita's been there a lot over the five years she's lived in the area 

but it was during our visit that she saw a moose for the first time!

While we were walking about we met a man 

who wanted us to know the spot has gorgeous sunsets. 

So now my friend is planning on returning to check those out.

I noticed his tattoo of mountains. He allowed me to snap this pic.

The graphic is of an Indonesian mountain site he climbed.

The photo below was taken to show the altitude.

8730 feet!

But it also cracked me up that we were parked in an employee spot.

(Just for a minute while we refilled our water bottles!)

I don't always connect the dots. 

I have been called ditzy.

As we were walking around the park I remembered 

that some of my friends from 

Phantom Lake YMCA Camp in Wisconsin

now work in Colorado. 

Somewhere in the mountains...

Ummmm, it's located at the entrance of the 

Rocky Mountain National Park!!!

Anita laughed when I figured it out and drove over to the camp!

We were greeted by a group of antler clad elk 

sauntering in the driveway.

I've been known for shenanigans.

However, this time the joke was on me.

I decided to leave this bucket hat at the Camp Office for my friend...

...who now works in Minnesota. 

(It's a hat I purchased during an online fundraising auction.

It was owned by Sir G, the Camp Director when I was a child.)

*

Happily one of my friends does still work 

there and she can enjoy it for now.

Anita bought some mangos and taught me how to prepare them.

YUM.

We ate yummy foods every day.

Salads, hummus, braunschweiger, shrimp and more.

We needed the sustenance...

for more shopping. 

This vase made me think of a story Anne Lamott 

tells in her recent book

Dusk Night Dawn: On Revival and Courage.

Orange!

Anita is a talented seamstress. 

She went to a fabric store and bought these patterns to sew onto jean jackets.

(Like I did with madras fabric.)

There's a park in Lyons that was created 

because the area was washed out a few years ago.

*

A precious life was lost in the flood.

*

The fact that this floodplain area can no longer house people

but now is home to a beautiful park is noteworthy.

We went there twice.

Once at the entrance where the owl statue Anita 

co-created sits and once in the waterfalls area.

Here's me ringing away the pandemic 

and ringing in freedom from Covid.

The water was rushing because of snow melting in the mountains 

but in a little while the stream will be calm enough for tubing.

I loved driving around where Anita lives!

One day she stopped to buy some fresh eggs at a small shack.

Anita had asked me to do one of the Women's Writing Workshops I lead.

She invited her friends and they brought nibbles and a will to write.

Here's my "brief case" of supplies

and the door prize I brought.

Anita's "backyard" neighbors have both goats and donkeys.

These two "asses" came to the workshop,

snorting off and on during the session.
Funny!

I had each of the ladies bring a favorite mug 

and use it to introduce themselves

with a small "mugshot" description. 

We also shared quotes to "marinate" ourselves with loved literacy.  

Then we wrote and shared (if wanted).
What a lovely experience!

Afterwards Anita and I went to one of the participant's awesome art gallery.

There were so many wonderful items to see!!!

One of Anita's sculptures is there.

I purchased this necklace which was handmade by a nine year-old boy.

I was gifted this hummingbird swing!

We have yet to see a bird swinging on it...

but thank you!

I bought these vegan food wraps.

We had fun at Rosie's Rescues.

I bought this silver pin.

(Here's a photo of me with my husband taken in front of 

the American Gothic painting in 2018.)

We went to another workshop participant's place.

This is Tree's studio for her business where 

she sells yard art etc and facilitates arts classes.

The fish that got away.

I wanted to buy this sculpture but Tree uses it for her class.

Hope to catch one someday!

Check out her website!

at 

Laughing Heart Art

We saw an eagle's nest in this tree and an eagle flying above it.

Impromptu concert tribute to help relocate the local farm stand.

Anita took this picture of me at the farm stand.

I have on my "traveling pants" leggings I had worn on the flight to Colorado

plus the jean jacket vest and pin I got at Rosie's.

Our pottery creations were dry so we glazed them.

Here's what mine looked like before going in the kiln.

Here's Anita's whimsical critter. 

It was super hard to say goodbye to Bailey.

I hope to come back!

I had a window seat with amazing views.

Back home I can drink coffee in the souvenir mug

I bought and remember all these magical moments. 

And anyone driving behind me can see evidence of my adventures 

by my five new bumper stickers!

Oh! And here's photos Anita sent of my pottery after it had been in her kiln.

She still needs to add a glossy glaze to the tea cup.

I love the bright colors!

THANK YOU ANITA

FOR ALL THE FUN!!!!