September 12, 2020 – Catching Up

We heart Loveland!!!!!

We are now in Loveland, Colorado at the Riverview RV Park.  It was a quick little hour drive from Cheyenne and we are in a spot for the next two weeks, hoping to move to a longer term spot for the next several months. This is one of our favorite parks even though we’ve faced a few inconveniences – small spot with boisterous neighbors (Ed. Note – I think you misspelled redneck and, ok, yes, that’s only on one side, the others are “boisterous”!!!!!!), favorite spots under construction and hazy skies because of fires to the west. However, we have been able to take the pups on some nice walks which is really helping Alice regain her strength after surgery and the temperatures are nice with LOW humidity!

Kinda appropriate that we’re in Loveland!!!

I’ve been knitting like crazy to finish my Great Love sweater in time for the cool weather – plus knowing that I haven’t started on the hubs yet is making me a little anxious. I told him he’d have it by Christmas, of course, I didn’t mention which Christmas😊! (Ed. Note – My expectation is June!!  I didn’t say which June!!!!) (Haha, you’re so funny-NOT) All I have left are the pocket linings. I started on them last night but the pattern instructions are a little hard to understand. I put it away and will finish it tonight (fingers crossed). I think its lovely and can’t wait to wear it! (It is finished and ready to block!)

 

Kinda appropriate that we’re in Colorado!!!

The other thing I’ve been working on is the Little Bagstopper. An expandable market bag I’m knitting out of Hempathy Prints, colorway Rambling Rose. It’s a nice, relaxing knit even though my stitch markers seem to keep moving… I have another ball of Hempathy Prints for a second bag. These might just be Christmas presents – we’ll see!

 

What, you missed a yarn shoppe?!?!?!?  What am I paying you for???!!!??!?!?!?!

Even though I never made it to the yarn shop in Cheyenne (I will be making the drive back one day soon😊), we did wander around downtown Cheyenne and see some of the Cheyenne Big Boots.  These boots were painted by local artists to show Cheyenne and Wyoming history and are placed around the city. Two of them are outside the old train depot, which is now a museum and visitor’s center and another two are outside the entrance to the Depot Plaza. We noticed several others as we drove around town, one at a trucking business and another by the Wyoming State Museum.

      

We went to the Wyoming State Museum one afternoon. It’s free and not so big that you feel rushed to see everything. I learned a lot about how the territory became a state and some interesting facts about the Native Americans originally in the area and my favorite, the Basque sheepherders. (Ed. Note – That’s twice now that we’ve bumped in to those folks. I guess they’re kinda like gypsy’s too!!!)

The Basque originally came here from along the France and Spain borders for the gold but after little success, turned to sheep herding. They maintained their own customs and language and were known for their hard work ethic.

 

I enjoyed reading about the Shoshone, Arapahoe and Cheyenne and was impressed that the takeover of Native America lands was honestly approached and not diminished as it has been in the past. My favorite part was the amazing beaded garments that were displayed.  Its hard to see in the pictures, but if you zoom in, you are able to see the teeny tiny beads and how many were used to embellish the garments – everything from shoes to baby carriers.

     

We had a great time there even though I didn’t get to explore everything I wanted to – partly because of our two snow days – in September! Even though it didn’t stick, it was COLD. That’s hard for this southern girl to imagine but we had snow in Genoa, Colorado on the hubs birthday last year, so…. (Ed. Note – Yes we did!!!!)

 

 

I like knowing it’s only a short drive away – here’s a picture of the welcome to Wyoming sign that was actually at the ranch! We’ll be going back for a visit.