July 16

After breakfast in town, we fulfilled my mission of visiting Mountain Lady Quilt Shop, where I picked out a pattern, and Rick picked out fabric he liked (I told him HE could make something with it!), and I found more lollipop fabric. Then we headed to RMNP again.

We drove through the main, 48 mile road to Grand Lake yesterday. Today we decided to visit Bear Lake, a short, easy 10 mile drive. There were some twists and turns, and a small rise in elevation (about 1,000'), but in general, very relaxing. This area has shuttle buses to take visitors to the various parking lots, as parking is limited. We decided to take our chances and see what parking was available when we arrived at Bear Lake. We were lucky, and although the ranger said the lot was full, he told us he noticed a car leaving - and we were able to get that space.

On the way to Bear Lake...


Bear Lake is a shallow, 13 acre lake which was once a resort. The owner made the lake bigger by damming one end. There is an easy, 1/2 mile walk around the lake, which we decided we were up to trying. At 8,200', breathlessness was still something to contend with, but the other high altitude effects were all but gone. I could live here - the lake is beautiful, as are the surroundings. I took over 100 photos on the walk around the lake - but picked out the best dozen for here.

Greenback cutthroat trout are being restored to their native habitats, and fishing is not permitted in Bear Lake.

Blue dragonflies were everywhere. The only place they sat still for a photo was at the water :)

Columbine - Colorado's state flower.

As we exited the park, we passed Elk Meadow campground, the sister campground to ours. Coming out of the campground, followed by a crowd of people, were 4 elk!

We headed back into town to explore, only to be reminded why we don't like 'tourist traps'. Estes Park is beautiful in the early morning, but the crowds of people in the afternoon were just like at the shore. There were lots of t-shirt and trinket shops, and ice cream and fudge shops. We lasted an hour before heading out of town to relax at the camper.

We ended the day at The Other Side restaurant, just across the Little Thompson River from our campsite. Our waitress was from Bulgaria, here on a summer work program. She came last summer to New Jersey (we apologized!!), and she decided to return this summer to see a different part of our country (smart).

On Friday morning (July 17), we were hooked up and ready to go by about 8:00 a.m. We drove out Rt. 34 to Loveland, where we picked up Rt. 25 - the road that runs north/south, down to Denver and further down to Colorado Springs. We headed north to Cheyenne, where we picked up I-80. We will be on I-80 for several days, until we get home! Rick is in travel mode now, and it is hard to get him to stop. If he had his way, now that we are headed east, he would drive until we got home - never mind that it could be 2 or 3 days early!

In our travels today, we saw antelope, camels, bison, and lots of horses and cows. Haley'e eyes were glued to the windshield, searching for stuff to see - I think she laid down a total of 10 minutes the entire day - one point was about 5 minutes total - the rest were just down and back up again. She is now comatose, she is so exhausted! We saw a storm in the distance - love those prairie storms, where you can see them miles and miles away! It was a pretty intense storm, as we were hearing on the radio, and we witnessed the aftermath when we saw piles of hail alongside the road.

We are camped in a campground in Grand Island, Nebraska, where we stayed in 2000. We remembered that is poured - nice summer storm with no lightening - so Rick decided to take advantage of the free water and wash the trailer. As he got it soaped up, the rain stopped! Oops!

We have just over 1200 miles left to travel - and expect to be home Monday or Tuesday (I'm betting on Monday - Rick will push it for his softball double-header on Tuesday!)

July 15

View from our campground - Rocky Mountain National Park is only 2 miles away.

We headed to town (Estes Park) in search of breakfast before entering Rocky Mountian National Park (RMNP). The town reminds us of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN. Lots of shops, restaurants, quiet in the morning, but wall to wall people later in the day. We found a great restaurant where we could eat on the patio, looking at the mountains and watching the magpies fly around. A pest to the locals, visitors love them - they are black with white wings, and rounded wings and tail when flying.

We headed into RMNP about 11:30, stopping of course at the Fall River Visitor Center (we have to stop at all Visitor's Centers to at least get our National Parks passport stamped), then continuing on Trail Ridge Road. We could have taken the optional one-way, dirt, narrow, twisty-turny road on which vehicles over 25' are not permitted, but I really wanted to enjoy the ride, so I would not let the park rangers tell Rick about that route!

Trail Ridge Road is the highest continually paved road in the US, and traverses the 3 different eco-systems in the park. The Montane ecosystem encompasses the lower portions of the park, below 9,000', and is characterized by pine forests and beautiful mountain meadows. We saw a moose in a meadow, and many elk in the higher areas of the Montane area.

As we ascended, the valley fell away to my side - I'd much rather be on the upside of the mountain, not the downside! I didn't do much looking at this point! We entered into the Subalpine ecosystem, which lies between 9,000' and 11,400' above sea level. This area is charcterized by long, cold winters and short, cool summers, and lots of precipitation - 30" or more. It is the highest, windiest and snowiest forest. We noticed poles - skinny tree trunks, actually, of varying heights along the road. They turned out to be markers for the edge of the road to guide snowplows. The higher poles indicated areas where snowdrifts where high. Many were 20' or higher! Trees become shorter -shrubs, more than trees, and there are more rocks and scrub grasses.

The highest area of the park is the Alpine ecosystem - which is 11,400' and higher. This area occurs above the treeline and is very harsh. Fierce, drying winds, bitter cold, intense ultra-violet light, thin soil and brief growing seasons allow only very specialized plants and animals to survive here. Snow and glaciers are abundant here, even in July. Nearly 1/3 of the park is above the tree line at 11,400'. RMNP holds 72 named peaks above 12,000', and Long's Peak, at 14, 259', is the northernmost so-called 'Fourteener' (peaks rising above 14,000') in the Rocky Mountain chain. Trail Ridge Road tops out at 12, 183', not far from the Alpine Visitor's Center. We tried to stop there on our way through, but could not find a parking spot.

As we continued through the west side of the park, we noticed that people-life had thinned out considerably. When we stopped at the Kawuneeche Visitor's Center (8,720'), we talked to a park ranger who confirmed that the east side received about 2 million visitors per year, while the west side (the wetter and better side, the locals say), receives about 1 million visitors. Most people drive from Estes Park and turn around at the Alpine Visitor's Center.

Estes Park receives about 40" per year snowfall, Grand Lake receives over 150" per year, and snowfall is in 8-12" at a time, several times per week. The west side of the park is able to keep the first 10 miles of road open all winter, even with all the snowfall.

We continued on about 2 miles to Grand Lake, a little mountain town at the western gateway - similar but much smaller than Estes Park. I spotted a fabric shop, and Rick helped me pick out fabric for a class I am taking at the end of the month - choosing fabrics which remind us of Colorado. We found a 'Dairy King' restaurant for a quick lunch - again outside. The temperature was perfect, but the whole area is very windy.

We made our way back through the park, spotting a moose and many more elk. We were able to get into the Alpine Visitor's Center this time, and I was able to see more on the way back, since I was on the upside of the mountain for the most part. We exited the park at Beaver Meadows Visitor Center (7,840'), which was only about 2 miles from our campground.

My grandmother's favorite Bible verse has been running continuously through my mind :Lift up your eyes to the hills. From where does your help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1

July 12-14

On Sunday, after a quick breakfast at the campground cafe, we headed south on I-25, heading for Alamosa. After following the Rocky Mountains on the eastern slope, we finally crossed into the mountains at North La Veta Pass, 9, 413' above sea level. We circled Blanca Peak, 14, 345', 4th highest peak in Colorado, ending up in the San Luis Valley, 30 miles north of the New Mexico border. The San Luis Valley is 50 miles wide and 125 miles long, and is one of the most productive farming areas in the state. It is a high, flat, semi-arid plain, irrigated by artesian wells and the Rio Grande River. We camped at Alamosa KOA, and were in the back row, with a great view of Blanca Peak and the Great Sand Dunes, our tour destination for the day.

Blanca Peak, part of the Sangra de Cristos mountain range.

After setting up, doing laundry, fueling and getting a truck wash, we headed for the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. We were about 20 miles away as the crow flies, or 30 miles away driving, but we could see the dunes clearly from our campsite.

The Great Sand Dunes cover an area of 30 square miles, but the sand extends for 300 square miles. The dunes tower up to 750' high, and are surrounded by mountains and creeks. The wind blows the sand toward the mountains, where the creeks return the sand back to the valley floor. The dunes are pretty stable now, with no apparant new sand introduced. The surrounding 300 square miles of sand is stablized by plant life, and does not change. It is mostly free range for ranchers. We had planned to wait until toward evening to go to the dunes, since that is the best time to photograph them. However, storms were moving in, and not being familiar with the area, we decided to do as much as we could in the late afternoon. As we approached the dunes, watching the storm coming in from the west, I kept singing John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" in my head:

There's a storm across the desert, the clouds are rolling in,

the afternoon is heavy on my shoulder.

There's a truck out on the freeway, a mile or more away,

the winding of its wheels just makes me colder.

Storm to the west of the sand dunes.

When we got to the Visitor's Center, we just made the beginning of the film, which we always try to see. After the film, the shades opened to reveal the dunes from the picture windows - awesome!

After touring the dunes, we headed to town for a bite to eat. Alamosa was actually surprisingly large, and the downtown section was just like we would picture a western town. The Mexican influence in the area is very evident - with the many Mexican restaurants. We ended up at one, and Rick enjoyed the buffet, sampling lots of Mexican foods. After dinner, I positioned my chair to enjoy the mountain view as I caught up on blogging Colorado Springs. Rick set up his campfire in a can, and Haley enjoyed entertaining the neighbors with her tail-chasing. She didn't go very long, though, since we were at about 7,960' above sea level. She tired out quickly! There was a dog park in the campground - a fenced in area with some obstacles where dogs can play off their leashes. On their nightly walk, Rick took Haley to the dog park, unhooked her leash, and sat down on the bench to watch her enjoy freedom. How did she do that? By jumping on the bench beside him, leaning on him, and trembling. What a dog!

On Monday morning, we headed north through the San Lius Valley. We were flanked by the Sangre De Cristos (Blood of Christ) mountains to our east, and the San Juan mountains to the west. We drove 50 miles through the valley with NO turns or curves in the road. We were amazed that most of the homes we saw were trailers of varying size - from travel trailers to mobile homes. They appear so vulnerable in the middle of the valley, and were few and far between. We passed a solar farm - acres and acres of solar panels.

Typical ranch home in the San Luis Valley - as we've seen in many areas of Colorado.

Solar farm in the San Luis Valley.

I kept saying "This looks like a painting - it doesn't look real".

We continued north over Poncha Pass at 9,101', and entered into an entirely different valley. Where the San Luis valley was sand and scrub brush and very flat, this valley was rolling green hills. In fact, when we rounded the top to a view of the valley, I just gasped and said "There are no words to describe what we are seeing". Every turn and hill brings another amazing sight. The other song that has been going through my head has been "How Great Thou Art", and I have been so thankful that God has provided all of this awesome evidence of his might and power, for us to enjoy. We passed the Chalk Cliffs - towering white sheer cliffs on the side of a mountain. We arrived in Buena Vista about 11:00 - much less time than we anticipated.

Indescribable - the contrasts of the different layers of the valley, hills and mountains.

Chalk Cliffs.

Buena Vista lives up to its name (Good View), and the Buena Vista KOA was nestled on the side of a mountain, overlooking the valley and the mountains to the west. It is at about 8,000', and we are feeling the altitude. We had a great view of 5 peaks over 14,000' as part of the Saswatch Mountain Range, including the Collegiate Peaks - Yale, Harvard and Princeton.

The view from our camper!

After setting up, we ventured into Buena Vista to search for lunch. The downtown area was quaint, just like we would picture a western town -lots of little shops and restaurants. After lunch, Rick dropped me off at a quilt shop :) where I bought some fabric, while he went in search of fuel and a hardware store. We then headed into the mountains to find a ghost town. There were at least 4 in the area. St. Elmo was about 15 miles off the main road, and the last 6 miles were dirt road. We drove right by the Chalk Cliffs, as well as many people with ATVs and off-road motorcycles. We arrived at St. Elmo to find a Country Store, many abandoned buildings and some buildings which were being bought for summer or vacation homes, but nothing was remodeled. There were hummingbirds everywhere, and a chipmunk feeding station was set up by the owner of the country store. There were boards of varying sizes set up at different angles on top of each other, and people would sit (or lay) on the boards, while the chipmunks scurried over and under the boards and people! There was a brief rainshower while we were there, making it cold enough to chase us inside the store until it was over. After our tour, we relaxed back at the campground, where Haley made friends with the neighbors, especially Sally, the little girl. This was probably the friendliest KOA staff we have ever encountered.

Part of the St. Elmo ghost town.

Chipmunk feeding station in St. Elmo.

On Tuesday, after a pancake breakfast at the Cook Shack in the camp, we headed north to Estes Park, the town just east of Rocky Mountain National Park. The drive was about 4 1/2 hours, and Haley sat up, alert and watching for wildlife the entire time. She seemed mesmerized by the 'Swift' truck which we followed for most of the trip. She occasionally would lay down, only to pop right back up again, like she didn't want to miss a second. There were lots of horses and cows for her to see today, and we saw a herd of elk! We went across 2 high passes - Red Hill Pass at 9,993' and Kenosha Pass at 10,001'. We had to skirt around Denver - ugh! The people and traffic are things we definitely don't miss! The drive north of Boulder in the mountains were again relaxing. We are camped just outside the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, at Spruce Lake RV Park. We tried to get advance reservations at KOA, but found that they, and many other campgrounds were full. This park has a great view of the mountain, and is bordered by the Big Thompson River :) But - very squishy park overall. We are at about 7,522'. A brief search for dinner found us at a BBQ restaurant not far from the campground, so Rick was in heaven!

July 9-11

We left Goodland (note the corrected name - Rick has been proofreading!), KS to head to Colorado Springs. We stopped for breakfast at McDonald's. which I only mention because there at the edge of the parking lot was one lonely sunflower plant - the ONLY sunflowers we saw in the Sunflower State!

We continued on I-70 to Limon, CO, where we picked up Rt. 24 to Colorado Springs. At this point, we FINALLY saw the mountains in the distance. It is always a thrill to get the first glimpse of the snowcaps. This time, it was obvious that they were the mountians. In the past, we've driven for miles, wondering if what we saw in the distance were clouds on the horizon, or the snowcaps (usually clouds to start, and then finally the mountains).

24 was a 2 lane highway, going through a few small towns. At one point, we saw something scurry across the road - I thought it was a chipmunk, but Rick realized it was a lizard. We hoped we didn't hit it. Soon, though, there were lizards scurrying all over the road! They were like the Kamakazi birds at home, that play chicken with cars, hoping not to get hit.

We arrived in Colorado Springs at the Colorado Springs KOA in Fountain, just south of C.S. shortly after noon. We have a running family joke that as we travel camp, we always end up next to a highway, airport or train tracks. Unbelievably, we had planes, trains and automobiles all at the same time at this KOA! Altitude in CS is about 6000' above sea level, and we were feeling the altitude - shortness of breath, fatigue. Rick more than me at that point because he had the set up to contend with. We laid out our plan of action for the next few days, and rested.

For dinner, we decided to try out the Flying W Chuckwagon dinner, near Garden of the Gods. There gates opened at 5:00, with dinner at 6:45 and the cowboy song show at 8:00. We decided to get there about 6:00, giving us time to tour the 'ranch', with all the gift shops. There was an Indian Kiva, a 'His' store (which turned out to be a Christian themed shop), as well as many other gift shops. There was also a horse-shoeing demo.

Dinner procedures were explained:

Get your plate. This is a metal plate.
Get your silverware pack. To carry this, put it in your back pocket. If you don't have a back pocket, put it in the back pocket of the person in front of you.
Go to the bean station, where you will be served beans.
Go to the meat station, where you have your choice of chicken or beef. Tell the server which you prefer.
Go to the potato station, where you will be served a baked potato.
Next is the applesauce station. You may not want applesauce, but take it anyway. Your plate is metal, and by now, it is getting hot. After you are served your applesauce, rotate your plate so you are holding the cool part.
Next is the biscuit and spice cake station.
And last is the drink station. Choose either lemonade, iced tea or coffee. If you like coffee, it is served hot. It has been cooking all day. Once you get your coffee, you have exactly 16 seconds to get back to your table before your hand is burned by the metal cup the coffee is in!

This was very similar to the Circle B chuckwagon dinner we went to in the Black Hills of South Dakota, our first chuckwagon dinner. Chris learned to 'mosey' at that one, and became a deputy sheriff.

Tables were assigned - picnic tables. At our table, we met a couple about our age with a teenage son - very nice family from Idaho. We hit it off immediately, as they are both teachers! We compared school setups, which I always find very interesting.

The weather was on and off showers. When we arrived, there was a brief shower and they decided to move the dinner inside. As we wandered, we started to get the word that dinner would be outside. After dinner, the weather was threatening, and we took a vote whether to stay out or go in. We voted to stay out, even through a brief shower. About half way through, again, we took a vote, as they opened the doors and got ready to move us in. Since there were only 4 songs left, we voted to stay out. The show was a Western cowboy show, the Flying Wranglers, the second oldest cowboy group after the Sons of the Pioneers, and had been in existance for 57 years.

During the show, we noticed a couple of people pointing over to the right side of the area, toward the back. As I looked, there was a beautiful rainbow. As we continued to check it out, a second rainbow appeared. Soon, there were 5 rainbows! The bottom, original rainbow had broken into 3 more rainbows, with the 5th separately above. So beautiful!

The show ended at 9:00 and we made our way back to camp, watching dramatic lightening to our north.

On Friday, we headed out for touring. We had been told to acclimate to the altitude before attempting Pike's Peak, so we planned to save that for Saturday. First stop Friday - Camping World, right down the street, to look for stuff we didn't know we needed :) I splurged and got a new chair. Rick splurged on a Campfire In A Can (which looks like a mini campfire and runs on propane, for those campgrounds which do not allow ground fires, for times when it is too hot to make a wood fire, and for times when we want simple, easy atmosphere without the hassle of a wood fire). He also found a gadget which allows 2 small propane tanks to be used at once. A Mountain Guide book to forewarn us of mountain passes, and a Woodall's Campground directory since I forgot ours from home, and a few necessary trailer needs rounded out our shopping.

We then headed to the Focus on the Family headquarters, arriving just in time for a tour. Eve was our tour guide, a student of the FotF Institute. We heard the history of FotF, saw the TV recording studio where a recording session was taking place, saw the radio station where FotF is recorded, and the Chapeltorium - blend of a chapel and auditorium, as well as a cafeteria. We then went across to the visitors center and shopped in the bookstore, then explored the Adventures in Odyssey, Whit's End area downstairs. Wow - we wished we were kids! We pretended, though, as we walked through, exploring the re-creation of Whit's End. This was our favorite part of the FotF experience. We ate lunch in the cafe before heading to the Olympic Training Center downtown.

Here is a picture of part of Whit's End - a huge play area for kids, complete with a plane, a 3 story high sliding board, secret passages, a starlit room to watch Veggie-Tale or Adventures In Odyssey videos, and party rooms for birthday parties.

We arrived at the training center just in time for a 12 minute video and tour. Our tour guide was Corissa, a weightlifter who competed in the 2008 summer olympics in Beijing in the 128-138 class. We also met Cheryl Hayworth, who competed in the 168+ weight class, receiving a bronze medal. We saw the boxing and gymnastics training centers, the pool, the shooting and the fitness centers. There are also dorms for resident athletes. The rooms consist of 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a shared common space. There is a cafeteria with nutritionists on staff to develop menus for various types of athletes. We had to believe the food was excellent, as the public was not allowed in! Athletes pay $40/day to train - this includes room, food and training facitilies, and they are considered short-term, or campers. The resident athletes usually stay for free, as they are established world-class athletes.

Our tour guide, Corissa, on the left, and Cheryl Hayworth on the right.

The Olympic Countdown clock.

We then headed to Seven Falls. This area reminded us of Zion National Park in Utah - we were in the bottom of a box canyon, and at the end were the 7 falls. We could climb the 224 steps to the top of the falls (NOT), or the 185 steps to the viewing area to see the entire falls (still NOT), or take the elevator in the mountian to the viewing area. It was back through a drippy tunnel, but that was the best way for us to get there. There were numerous rock formations along the 1 mile road back to the falls - Washington's profile, etc., but they were very hard to see without a sunroof, since the road was narrow and the rocks were high. There were many chipmunks at the falls, running around begging for food and running through the gift shops. I wondered if they went through and shuffled all the clothing racks before closing, to make sure all the critters were out of the building!

We headed back to camp, rested, and decided to go to the Airplane Restaurant for dinner. The airplane restaurant was at the edge of the airport, and we had a choice of eating in the main building, under the wing of the plane, or in the plane itself! Of course we chose the plane (the only planes I get in are ones that are firmly on the ground, with no chance of flight. Since the one wing had a building built around it, this one qualified.) We had a storm while eating, and after dinner, as we checked out the cockpit before leaving, we found lots of drips. Good thing this plane wasn't flying!

Destination - Pike's Peak - 14,110' above sea level, and approximately 8000' above us!

On Saturday, we headed to Pike's Peak. We opted to drive up the mountain - 19 miles from the entrance to the top, from about 6000' elevation to 14, 11o' - over 8000 feet up in 19 miles! We bought a CD which explained what we were seeing, as well as the history of Pike's Peak, which helped keep us (me) entertained for the hour drive up. I will admit, MOST of the road was good - wide, with no drop offs. However - and this is a big HOWEVER - there were some parts where I was on the floor. No guide rails, sheer drop offs, tight turns, dirt road - and cars coming toward us. Oh, my. The scenery, when I could look at it, was breathtaking! And when I couldn't, I snapped a few pictures out the window without looking, then looked at the camera to see what the view looked like :)

This is a picture of a time when the road just seemed to go off into the sky!

And this is a picture I took while my head was buried between the seats of the truck - I just could not look at the steep drop-off on my side of the truck!

3 miles in, there was a gift shop at a lake/dam area. I could live there. Water, mountains - my kind of area. The air was still and clean, and the altitude wasn't too bad. At the second stop, 13 miles up, we were breathing heavily, but still OK. We had a passport to have stamped at each stop, with a prize at the end for getting all 3 stamped. I love a challenge, so of course I made sure to get my passport stamped.

First stop - I could live here!

After leaving the second gift shop, we headed for the steepest part. There were times when we were pointing straight up, looking at nothing but sky. We finally arrived at the peak - and totally felt the altitude. We were both dizzy, and could only walk for short distances at a time. Although temps were in the 40s, I quickly got rid of my sweatshirt. It felt much warmer. We could see into New Mexico to the south, and Denver to the north. The cog railcars arrived as were were there - a single and a double train. The movement of all the people made me a little disoriented - a side effect of the altitude. I had to have a donut - world famous because it is so good made at such a high altitude. Who discovered that making donuts 14,000 feet up tasted so good? Who would think to make donuts up there to begin with!?

Katherine Bates, after traveling across country to Colorado by train, and then acending Pike's Peak, was inspired to write "America the Beautiful", donating the poem to our country and not taking royalties from it, as her gift to her country. We have seen the spacious skies, the amber waves of grain, the purple mountains, and the fruited plain, and she has truly captured the essence of our country in her poem.

Although I had heard about the Pike's Peak road race, I never knew what it was about. Oh, my! Cars race against the clock up the mountain! 12.42 miles with 156 turns. On those narrow roads! With no guard rails! They are NUTS!! Cars make the trip in about 10 minutes now - the trip that took us 50 minutes. We saw workers setting up for the race, which will be next weekend. We will definitely watch it if we can, now that we know how crazy it is.

Here are some of the tight, tight curves that we navigated up and down. Imagine a race car driver doing these curves fast!

We made our way back down the mountain - truck did great, but I was still on the floor at some points. Total trip, including stops, was about 4 hours. We were going to try to go to the Fossil Beds, west of Pike's Peak, but decided to skip them this trip. We made our way to Garden of the Gods, a city park with amazing red rock formations throughout. There is a 7 mile drive through the park, and of course many of the rocks are names according to what they look like - Kissing Camels, Pulpit, White Rock (duh - it was a white rock in the middle of all the red rocks!). We headed for the Visitor's Center just as rain started, and wandered the gift shop for a while. The rain had let up by the time we drove through the park. It was very crowded, and we were tired, so we drove, but did not get out to look at anything closely.

Kissing Camels in Garden of the Gods...

What an amazing way to spend the 25th anniversary of our daughter's birth! Happy #25 Abbie!!

After a stop at Wal-mart, we headed to camp to begin packing up to leave Sunday. Again, we had storms and showers. They say if you don't like the weather in Colorado, wait 5 minutes and it will change. We've heard that in other places, but here it is true. Sun, cool, clouds, storm, hot, breezy, storm, warm, sun...!