Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, CO

Mike and I headed up to Black Hawk for Friday night to have a nice dinner and do a little gambling. Past elections now allowed casinos to add Craps and Roulette and High Stakes Gambling. So gone are the nickel blackjack tables and the minimum bets are often $25 at peak hours.

We had a great time playing Craps and I was on a roll throwing the 7 to begin with and then the point. Much money was won and we moved on to Blackjack, Mike’s game. I blew my allowance and sat back and watched. We headed over to the new casino in town the AmeriStar, where is sister works in the corporate office. The place is enormous and I think takes away from the small town charm.

To bed we head and dreams of hiking fill our heads. Bright and early we head to Estes. We roamed up Rt. 119 through Nederland, Rt. 72 Caribou, around Mary’s Lake, and into the park. This was a new route for us as we typically would enter from Boulder. The ride was pleasant and solitary.

St. Malo Chapel was so named for Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Malo who donated the land to the church in 1935. The church was dedicated a year later. It is in a beautiful setting with Mtn. Meeker behind it. There is also a retreat built in behind this.

We bought a pass last time through so we went in quick and smooth skipping the long lines. Unfortunately it is “Winter” in the mountain and a great deal of roads are closed.

As we have decided to hike the Bear Lake Trailhead we head off down Bear Lake Road, no getting lost here. We seem some wolves off to the left but to far to capture and image. Wish we did though.

So as we wait 15 minutes to park we see people walking to the entrance dressed in rain gear, jackets, and warm clothes. We see people departing to their cars carrying all that extra stuff. We finally park, grab our walking sticks (best purchase ever!), and head to the entrance. There are 2 trails one to Bear Lake which everyone and their brother is heading down and one to Emerald Lake….we choose the path less traveled.

The trail was icy in spots and we could see some kids had fallen as they were covered in mud as they passed us on their way out. Sticks were very useful. We walked half a mile with an elevation gain of 225 ft. and came to Nymph Lake.

We then continued on another .6 miles with a gain of 425 ft. to Dream Lake. No picture, not sure why.

I am sure these lakes are much prettier in the summer. Looking down on Nymph Lake from above.

.7 miles later with a gain of 605 ft. we are at Emerald Lake

The wind was howling up here so we quickly ventured back. The day was gorgeously clear and warm and I wore a T-shirt as usual and Mike a long sleeve and vest.

On the way down we stopped at a little overhang for a snack. Loads of little critters wanted to share with us…well us with them. As I was taking pictures of the Stellar Blue Jay…

a chipmunk ran up my leg and sat on my thigh. When I screeched and went to look he dashed away. He turned back showing me that he had indeed snagged a nut I accidentally dropped.  We had to be careful as they were not shy.

The Nuthatch did stay a safe distance though. You can barely see him at the end of my foot. We had a great day and love the Park!

Science Bob

Science Bob is a great resource library for the elementary science classroom. It is an excellent place for students to explore science concepts. Students can get some fun science fair ideas, experiments (that can be done offline), research helpers, science questions/answers, and science videos.

Videos can be watched as a class to introduce a new science topic or just to build a little excitement in the science class. Let students explore the experiment section and choose an experiment to perform. Each student can choose a different experiment to test at home. Hold a class science day where students can share the experiment with the class. Let them be the science ‘expert’.

eField Trips

These virtual eTrips are composed of 4 parts. The first part is a pdf called the Trip Journal. Teachers download and print out the trip journal to guide students on their journey and to give them a place to record what they are learning on their trip. Second is the virtual visit, this is a flash video where students go on the actual trip at their own pace. Generally trips take about 15 minutes to complete. Third is a form where students can ask experts questions they have about the trip they took. Actual experts will respond to the question in 1 to 2 days. The fourth is a live chat. These chats allow students to interact with the experts in a live session at a scheduled time.

Available eField Trips include: Pearl Harbor, bats, underwater ecosystems, brown vs. board of education, butterflies, western exploration, caves, climbing Denali, desert dwellers, Dred Scott, Earthquakes, mountains, and glaciers, fires roll in an ecosystem, Glacier Bay, Grand Tetons, invasive species, whales, renewable energy, sea turtles, mammals of Denali, manatee, reptiles and amphibians, wetlands, and more. I would categorize eField Trips more like a webquest than a virtual field trip. These are great webquests!

Mighty Book, Learn to Read

Early Elementary and ESL

Mighty Book
MightyBook is an online publisher that specializes in children's illustrated, animated read-aloud eBooks and Story Songs for ages 2 to 10, plus children's sing-along songs. All eBooks have an original sound track, many with music and sound effects, and are created in Macromedia Flash animation. Words in the stories highlight as they are spoken by the story teller. It is truly entertainment that helps kids read.

Make sure to visit the teachers page for some great integration ideas as well as some free printouts!

House Complete…well almost

Yippee, we are done with all the remodeling we set out to do. Of course now that it is done there are other things to improve, like the kitchen. That of course will wait until after the holidays.

This is the new front door we put in after removing the solid ugly blue double doors. Directly opposite is an Egyptian mirror and Indian statue of Shiva and Pavarti.

Turn directly right and there is a new door entering the study. This once was a solid wall. There was a platform and railing in the entryway prior to demolition.

Egyptian wall hanging from a  dear friend for Egypt, Liz. Also felucca batik created by Kimberly. Furniture local to Colorado.

Indonesian carved vases and artwork from by Aurele. Also we had all the windows custom fitted with treatments.

Turning left you are in the fireplace room also called a living room by Coloradoans. We call the living room the room with the tv. Peg’s furniture adorns this room and fits in perfectly. Alabaster in the window seat with batiks on the wall. LL Bean rocking chairs frame the window and are split by Egyptian table.

Humidor on the wall with a gift from Basma above. Behind the peasants couch would have been the platform and railing.

Fireplace was redone with slate and painted MDF. Previously it was brick and very dark wood. New wall sconces flank the fireplace and add at great deal of ambiance. Buddha takes center stage and is accompanied by lanterns and bean pots from Judie. Metal sun from Playa Del Carmen…what a story. Peg’s King and Queen chair.

Holiday Cacti from Dad and Peg when we moved in.

New lights throughout the house and new wider window sills.

Dining room with furniture from local store. Art from Sudan and Tanzania.

Beam was sheet rocked, textured, and painted.

Wall to the right was removed and rebuilt with help from Tom.

New stair railing, new treads and carpet removed to make way for hardwood. Mask from Australia.

You can see in the picture on the right the wall Tom did. TV covers  plenty of new outlets for tv components and speakers that are in most rooms of the house.

TV room has leather furniture from local store. Sewed wall hangings from Egyptian craftsman and batik by Kimberly. Lamps Mike and I made. Plants from Peg.

Curtains what a nightmare. Wall is too long. Love the sliding doors though. Tom wired the light and fan to be on a switch so no more remote.

All brand new doors that were painted. New hardware too. This door on the left is new, was the old entrance to the office. Right is cellar…still yucky down there. Bench I made! :-))) Tiled floor, this is entrance from garage and laundry room.

Laundry is hidden behind the curtain I made  from fabric Mike bought in the Khan el Khali. Peg’s mirror. Awesome shelf for folding clothes or collecting junk. The other pictures show the entrance to massage room and bathroom.

Massage table with Egyptian Tree of Life wall hanging

New closet that was added to replace the one removed to wide entry area. This was where the guest shower was.

Master bedroom not much changed in here.

This wall was added, before the sink was in the bedroom. New walk in shower, vanity, tile, toilet

Guest bath was 12 feet wide with a large cabinet. Now 6 feet with smaller sink, new toilet.

Shower was a redone too. New tub, fixtures, lights, tile surround.

The house finally feels like it is ours. The colors are all neutral, Copula Yellow and Mesa Tan…except the red on stairs. Everything has been painted and textured. New insulation and electricity where we could. All new doors and trim. New hardwood floors…bye bye carpet. Long project but well with it.

Had a Halloween party and the neighbors raved about the improvements. The neighborhood is made up if a handful of the same houses so everyone knows what they looked like way back when. This house was not updated since 1972 when it was built. It is now (excepting kitchen) a house worthy of the 21st century.

Visitors welcome!

Thanks for following the progress.     

Highlights for Kids

I remember sitting in the doctor's office when I was a wee one and loving reading Highlights. I especially liked the find the Hidden Pictures and What's Different. There are also stories to read, Games and Giggles, Finish the Creature, and many more things to do.

This is a magazine for the younger kids and great to use in the mini lab in your classroom or the computer lab for free choice.

FreeReading

FreeReading helps educators teach early literacy. FreeReading contains a 40-week scope and sequence of phonological awareness and phonics activities that can support and supplement a typical kindergarten or first grade core or basal program.

Includes picture cards, word list generators, decodable passages, and more.