Valerie – Page 50 – Valerie's Voice

Memorial Day

Flags are gifted to military personnel family’s upon death. My mother had two flags, one from her father and one from my father.

A day set aside to remember and honor people who died while serving in the US Armed Forces.

Herb, my father, in Belgium, Army Air Corp. Photo found in mom’s collection. Although he died at a young age (55) he did come home from WW II.

Memorable Hikes – Rocky Mountain National Park 2019

Towards the end of April, we spent six days helping our son and his family move into their apartment near Boulder, Colorado. The weather was wonderful…sunny skies with temperatures in the 70’s.

Since we were so close to Rocky Mountain National Park we planned to go into the park after we helped them settle in. It was another beautiful sunny day when we arrived at the park.

After orienting ourselves, we took a short hike, on snow-packed trails. I’m glad we had our hiking poles because there were several slippery spots.

The next day we decided to hike the Old Fall River Road at a higher elevation (the peak the elevation is 11,796 feet above sea level but we did not hike to the peak.) The Old Fall River Road is closed most of the year…it is only open July through September. The road leads to a side trail down to Chasm Falls which you can access when the Old Fall River Road is closed. When the road is open there is no room for hikers on the narrow hairpin-curved road.

One July, years ago, when we were in the park with our two sons we drove this one-way road up to the peak and across to the other side. It was spectacular scenery.

The beginning of our hike on Old Fall River Road.

We did bring warm clothes on our trip because we know weather can change anytime in the mountains, and we did need them on this cool and cloudy day. In the morning we bundled up, parked the car, took out our hiking poles and started up the 1.3 mile hike to Chasm Falls.

Gary hiking down the trail to the falls.

We were the only ones hiking on the road that morning. It was fun to have the wide road all to ourselves. It is an easy hike because of the wide road and because it is hard packed gravel. As we began our ascent, it started to snow…and it snowed all the way up to the falls and continued to snow all the way back down, to our car. It felt like we were in a snow globe. It was beautiful and dazzling and a memorable hike….walking in Rocky Mountain National Park in a snowstorm.

Steps leading down to the platform to view Chasm Falls.

The next day we woke up to eight inches of snow. We did go back into the park for the third day, just to drive around, and we saw a lot of animals this time…maybe because the animals were easier to spot in the snow. We saw a fox, turkeys, three moose, lots of elk, a beautiful blue bird, and several magpies.

Postcards

I have a renewed interest in postcards.

A few years ago a colleague started sending me postcards from her destinations on business trips, now she will occasional send one from a fun trip destination. I soon started reciprocating and sent her postcards from places I’d visited.

A postcard I recently received in the mail from a friend.

Postcards do seem like something from the past…something people do not send anymore. They tend to send their own snapshots from their cell phone in an email or text message…and what can be better than that? Immediate messages and up-to-date photos. But postcards can be fun too.

I found the ZITS comic strip below amusing.

I began looking at postcards again while traveling, and I buy one or two to get a different perspective than I get on my iPhone camera but in some places it’s hard to find postcards.

For instance, last week my friend and I went into a variety store in a tourist town and asked “Do you have any postcards?” No was the reply, and it happened a second time at the next store. As we continued down the street we saw a carousal of postcards and stepped into the shop to take a look. There were winter scenes and fall scenes but it was springtime and we were seeing such vibrant spring colors, but then we found a collage print and that would do.

However, the postcards seemed a bit different…a little smaller than normal and the back was blank…no “postage here” or a line separating the message from the address…so we asked the clerk and he said he made the postcards himself (and he worked for the Post Office so he knew the size was OK.) How fun is that? I bought the postcard and sent it off. The personal connection with the photographer made it so much more fun and interesting.

The postcard maker and postal worker. I got permission to post his picture but I didn’t get his name.

I will continue to buy postcards, and send some occasionally…keeping a few postcard stamps available in my purse.

A 100 year commemorative postcard for Rocky Mountain National Park…opened 1915.

A postcard I purchased at a museum store; a drawing by Minnesota artist Adam Turman titled: *Cardinal*

I bought this postcard in Austria featuring a painting entitled Portrait d’Adele Bloch-Bauer I (Woman in Gold),
by Gustav Klimp

Thirty Years

My friend and I celebrated our 30^thannual “girls get-away” this week. We were more like girls when we took our first trip together in 1989, to Seattle. We didn’t know then that this tradition would continue thirty years, without missing a year.

A rabbit sculpture on a river walk along the Mississippi.

She lives in Indiana, I live in Minnesota and at least once a year we get together to catch up on life. We always have a great time; we share stories of our sons (and now grandchildren) and bring each other up to date on our lives, while shopping thrift stores and antique shops, strolling along a river (or being near some type of water), and visiting botanical gardens and/or garden centers. Those activities make up our criteria for where we meet.

A wonderful flower pot in a store front.

We met 37 years ago at church during greeting time (she lived in Minnesota at that time.) I had an infant and she was pregnant with her first child. After her son was born I offered to bring her lunch. I brought tuna fish sandwiches in a brown paper bag! But, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. On almost every trip someone asks if we are sisters…and we have begun to say yes.

May 2019. The Mississippi is to the left.

We were near the Mississippi River this year and the spring greens and blooming trees were spectacular.

A train rolling on tracks along the Mississippi River.

Out the window of a restaurant where we ate dinner one evening.

My attempt to capture the beauty and perspective of this sweeping view of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

We enjoyed sitting on a bench along the river at twilight…this robin stayed with us, first on the ground and then in the tree.

Tree Art

On our first hike in Rocky Mountain National Park two weeks ago we noticed a fallen tree with very beautiful and artistic designs in it’s exposed roots. I took a couple of photos and from then on I began noticing what I have come to call “tree art.”

Below are a few photos of tree art that I took in the park: different trees, tree stumps, and tree roots.

I was captured by the beauty of the exposed roots of a fallen tree, a piece of art.

A slice of fallen tree with beautiful lines.

I would like to see these roots without snow.

A frosting of snow added beauty to these tree branches.

Black and white, half and half…I don’t understand why.

Who’s Listening?

One afternoon while in Colorado, my husband and I took the grandchildren to the sandy shores of the pond near the apartment complex where they live. It was a sunny, warm day, with temperatures in the 70’s.

A morning view of the cabana’s from the shore.

After awhile we decided to rest in the shade of a cabana near the water. There were four covered areas, divided by sailcloth and each area had two lounge chairs and a small table. It was inviting, and a lovely spot for a respite from the sun.

A view of the cabana’s from the back…overlooking the water.

We each reclined on the lounge chairs, with one grandchild. We were happy and I said out loud, “It would be fun if someone could capture a picture of us.”

A few minutes later a kind woman popped into our area and said, “I heard you wanted your picture taken!”

She had overheard us…she was tucked in a different cubby of the cabana. She graciously took our photos, telling us to “shake it up” for one of them. It was fun and felt so welcoming.

She was a cheerful woman who was visiting her son, who lived in the complex. But, most interesting is that her husband was on a plane to Malawi, Africa on a mission trip…Malawi is a country bordering Mozambique – we’ve been there. She said she had been to Africa several times.

The next day we were at the playground when she walked by. She told me her husband made it safely to Malawi. I introduced her to my daughter-in-love. She gave her a big hug and told her how much she loved Africa and they visited for awhile.

I was happy for this connection but felt sad knowing this woman was leaving that day to go back to her home a couple hours away. Of course she will return to visit her son, and when she does I hope she and my daughter-in-love connect again.

Children of God Storybook Bible

A couple years ago I bought Children of God Storybook Bible at the annual Hospital Auxiliary book sale in Northfield. The two-piece set included a book that was beautifully illustrated, plus the complete book on two Audio CD’s. I also liked the fact that Jesus was not “white”, a feature I look for in picture book Bibles.

This set sat on our bookshelf for a year or two. When preparing for our son’s move to Colorado, I went through our bookshelves to pass along some books and rediscovered this set. I looked it over and decided to listen to the CD’s on our drive out West. I would be driving alone in our car, the last vehicle in our three-vehicle caravan. It was a great way to start each day.

The author of this children’s Bible is the Nobel Peace Prize Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. Desmond Tutu also narrated his book on the CD’s. It was wonderful to hear his voice reading his beloved stories. I felt the love of God through his words, and could only image his simple stories appealing to children all the while bringing the good news about God’s love. And, each story ends with a simple question. I was really impressed.

I left the wonderfully illustrated book in Colorado with our grandchildren, but I brought the CD’s home with me.

A partial quote about the author off the information sheet in the set reads: “Archbishop Desmond Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his lifelong struggle to bring equality, justice, and peace to his native country of South Africa. In 1986, he was elected Archbishop of Cape Town the highest position in the Anglican Church in South Africa…… He is known for his great love for children, as well as his powerful and profound understanding of the message of Jesus Christ…….”

The book was published in 2010.

Home Again

We arrived back to an empty house, after helping our son and his family move out of our home, to Colorado. We miss them.

A few haikus about our trip…

Adventure awaits
To Colorado they move
We will miss them so.

Our own caravan
Three vehicles together
All heading westward.

The view of the beautiful apartment complex where our son and family have settled.

Unload, unpack, rest
Moving is a lot of work
They are settled in.

Hiking in the park
The snow starts gently falling
Spring in the Rockies.

The spring/winter beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Three moose on the move
Catching a glimpse through the trees
Many elk and birds.

A few of the many elk we saw in the park, and in town.

Visiting good friends
Retired and moved away
Fun to reconnect.

The Twin Sisters, a view from Ft. Colins, CO. Photo by Jayne L

The house is quiet
The children have moved away
It feels so empty.

Our last day with the grandchildren before their move to CO.

Happy Easter

Christ is Risen! He is risen, indeed!

Mark 10:14 “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

Lake Superior Waves

The photo of a man’s head popping up, in what looked like Lake Superior, caught my attention. It was on the front page of the Variety section of the StarTribune, Sunday April 14, 2019. I recognized the north shore… I love the north shore, and Lake Superior and am always interested in reading stories about it.

StarTribune Variety Section, Sunday, April 14, 2019

The article told about Christian Dalbec, a photographer, who puts on a wet suit, swims out into Lake Superior and catches the waves…on camera! What a clever idea and a unique niche. He not only takes pictures of the waves but of sunrises and sunsets and shipwrecks and all kinds of scenes while in the waters of Lake Superior.

He’s a recovering alcoholic who became interested in photography, which aided his recovery. He came up with the idea of getting into the lake to take unique photographs. The article said this kind of photography is uncommon since the lake is cold and dangerous.

The four photos printed in the StarTribune.

There were four of his photographs of waves in the newspaper article and a link to his website which I’ve included here.

I was impressed by this unique way of taking photographs of Lake Superior.