Whooo

You'd look grumpy too if you were a Horned Owl with no where to go.

Hey, what's a Snowy Owl to do without snow???

So what if I use a little mousse on my top feathers?  I think it looks cool.

ST.LOUIS, MO - - Colorado is a long way behind us as is Kansas.  We're in St. Louis, MO  for a visit and then it's on to Florida.  While here we checked out the World Bird Sanctuary.  This is mainly a rescue home/rehab for injured birds.  Most birds were in enclosures, but a few were tethered in the open...and ready to pose.

Cactus and clouds

Looks good, but don't touch.

Windy cloud pattterns.

FLORENCE, CO - -  Somehow at the end of our trip today we found ourselves on the "Iron Bar Trail."  Concertina wire on top of high fences and observation towers / guard towers at the corners are always a give-away.  First we passed a local corrections facility in Canon; then it was a unit of the Colorado State Pen. system.  Finally, we found a nice motel for the night off the beaten path...and less than a mile from the maximum security United States Federal Pen. outside Florence. 
     You've got to be one nasty piece of work to land in  max security...in general terms most prisoners never see another facility; spend 23 hours a day in lock-down; will potentially spend a lot of time in solitary confinement; have little interaction with other prisoners or guards and get very few privileges.
     

Funny thing

A large ranch on the road to Wolf Creek Pass.

Steller's Jay actually sitting still...for a moment or two at least.

ALAMOSA, CO - - A couple of things we saw on our drive from Durango to Alamosa show that people in Colorado have a (strange) sense of humor.  The first was a large plastic or inflatable shark in a small pond in someone's front yard;  then there was the opinion painted on a grain silo: "Bush / Cheney in '14."   Also we came through a slight snow shower which, fortunately was headed in the opposite direction of our travel. 

Scenes from the High Country between Ouray and Durango, CO

Fall colors and snow on the mountains

More color and a 'babbling brook.'

Red Mountain and the silent red mountain mine

DURANGO, CO

Time in Telluride

Main Street looking towards the end of the road and Bridal Veil Falls.

Free gondola rides give the visitor another view of Telluride

The "Cool Bus" was parked on Main.  It probably has a bit mor room than our "Magic Bus."

TELLURIDE, CO - - As Lydia's blog (see link on this page) reveals when the government put locks on the National Parks we zipped out of Moab, UT.   Telluride has everything you could think of if you are looking for a neat mountain town.  Its my number one pick for having the most spectacular views of and from main street.  Here, we are surrounded by 10,000' mountains with a few creeping upward to 13,500'.  If you want to be at the end of the (paved) road, then this is your place also.  There are enough coffee shops, funky saloons and characters to give the place flavor and enough trophy homes to know it has been discovered.  Our time here has been quigte peaceful, but dump some snow on the ski slopes the area is know for and it's jam packed with activity.

Stupid people tricks

A European couple who probably don't know the National Parks will close the next day take photos near a 1,000' drop off in Canyonlands NP  (Moab Utah).