Postcards from Colorado, Part 2 (Featuring Tallulah, the Flying Turtle)

My sister and I had an exciting Friday in Colorado, beginning with a horseback ride and a trip to a yarn store, and ending with a beautiful sunset (after what was possibly the best pizza I've ever tasted). I snapped a photo of the sunset...

...but the pizza escaped my camera as I was too busy eating to even think of photography. (My nephew and his wife, our hosts, live in Boulder, which is chock-full of great restaurants. Our stay there was punctuated by a series of amazing meals, made even more memorable by the fact that many of them were gluten-free - a necessity for my sister and our hosts. Boulder is, apparently, celiac heaven.)

On Saturday we took a day trip to Cheyenne, Wyoming, to visit a famous outlet store. Enlivening the view was a cycling time trial taking place on a frontage road next to the highway. It was difficult to get photos of the cyclists, as my nephew was driving well over the speed limit (are your ears burning, P?) but I managed to catch one:

We also saw a quint - a bicycle for 5 riders - but alas, the camera was in my purse when we passed it, so no photos could be taken.

When we reached the outlet store, we found that they were preparing for inventory and all the bargain items were an extra 50% off. Armed with some Christmas cash, I had been hoping to find a Smartwool top at a discount. I found not only my top (and with the extra discount, it cost less than $15, while a new one would run $75-$100), but also a beautiful winter jacket (to replace my 22-year-old Purple Peril); new sneakers; new cycling shorts (all I need now is some warm weather to wear them); arm warmers (also for cycling); and a pair of Smartwool socks.

Many thanks to D, my generous brother-in-law, 
for the Christmas cash that came in so handy

Unfortunately for me, a headache set in on our way home from Cheyenne. (I always seem to get one bad headache when I'm travelling, no matter how careful I am to eat regularly and stay hydrated.)

The headache took some of the shine off our lunch in Fort Collins, a lovely college town, and proved distracting when we visited Lambspun, a spectacular yarn shop there. But Tallulah the turtle (Thursday's gift from my bloggy friend Snowcatcher) was very taken with these beautiful Findlay and Findley Dappled sock yarns from Juniper Moon Farm...

...and had I not just blown my Christmas cash on clothing necessities, I would have splurged and bought a skein. (Because I don't have enough yarn already, you know.) A store employee came by as I was posing Tallulah, and was most impressed by her fine workmanship and detail. (There's glory for you, Snowcatcher.) :)

On Saturday night we had the very great pleasure of hearing Bach's St. John Passion as performed by the Boulder Bach Festival Chorus, Soloists and Players. No praise can be too high for this baroque masterwork, and the performers did it noble justice.

Sunday was a leisurely day, with breakfast out in the morning and a stroll down Boulder's Pearl Street in the afternoon.

We particularly enjoyed this street performer and his didgeridoos:

(Query to Marigold: does this qualify as a shadow shot?)

Pearl Street has many fine shops, but this was my only purchase - and a very good one too:

Sunday night we fell asleep to the sound of a mighty wind rushing down from the mountains, and woke on Monday morning to a grey sky heavy with snow. Saying our farewells to Boulder, we headed for the airport.

Tallulah, being rather nervous about airport security, stayed hidden in my purse until we were safely on board the plane. Then her curiosity got the better of her, and she climbed out to look around.

After listening carefully to the flight attendant's speech...

...familiarizing herself with airline safety procedures...

and ascertaining the location of the nearest emergency exit...

...she crawled over to the window for a peep at the gorgeous clouds.

"All I need now is a cape...."

And before we knew it, we were home.

:)

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