This picture was taken two days after Denver's big blizzard in March 2003. Four feet of snow was dumped on the city on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 18 and 19. The sun came out on Thursday and the temperature rose to 70 degrees. On Friday, after the roads were cleared, we went to Red Rocks Park.
Another fun place to visit in Colorado is Gunnison National Forest near Crested Butte.
Driving on the Old Fall River Road is a great way to enjoy Rocky Mountain National Park. Started in 1913, the historic road was the first one to cross the Rocky Mountains. Although it was replaced by Trail Ridge Road in 1932, you can still drive the eastern half of the road, now a one way scenic route, during the summer.
We found these wildflowers in the Burren, near Poulnabrone, in County Clare, Ireland
During our trip to Ireland, one of our days was spent driving around County Clare. Black Head was one of our favorite stops that day.
I took this picture of hay bales from the roof of Bunratty Castle in County Clare, Ireland.
I liked the angles and colors in this picture and thought it would make a good puzzle.
While we were in Quebec City, we took a side trip to Montmorency Falls and nearby Ile d'Orleans. The falls are not as wide as Niagara, but they are 98 feet higher, a fact that you can really appreciate when you stand on the suspension bridge over the top.
Rue Saint-Louis
Petit-Champlain Wall Mural
Rue de Petit Champlain was a small dirt path when Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec City in 1608. Houses were soon built along the path and it was eventually turned into a street. Today, it is a popular tourist destination and the home of boutiques and cafes.
Le Chateau Frontenac
Old Fashioned Candy Sticks
While I was growing up, my mother had a flower bed full of this heirloom bearded iris. The purple and white iris "Wabash" was my favorite of all the colors in her garden. Lucky for me, in the way of gardeners everywhere, she split some of her plants to share them with me. In early summer, near my mother's birthday, I can look out my office window and see these flowers in my garden.
The Minnesota State Flower is the pink and white lady slipper and it is illegal to interfere with these wild plants in our state. They can take up to 16 years to produce their first flowers, and some plants live up to 50 years. We spotted this flower during a bike ride in Hackensack, Minnesota. It was a nice surprise, seeing it in a ditch near several other lady slipper plants.
Another Minnesota Historical Society site is the Split Rock Lighthouse on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The lighthouse is located in a state park of the same name. You can read more about the state parks along the North Shore of Lake Superior on Rambling Traveler.
We saw this canoe at the North West Company Fur Post in Pine City, Minnesota. The Minnesota Historical Society site had a Fall Gathering with costumed volunteers re-enacting the lives of the Ojibwe, fur traders and voyageurs. Read more about our visit to the fur trader's post on Rambling Traveler.
This picture was taken during a drive on the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway in Colorado.
Echo Lake
