I have a very good excuse for not blogging for more than a week. I've been on vacation in Colorado.  Fiance Thom and I were able to spend 8 great days visiting his family.  I've written before about their beautiful cabin at Red Feather Lakes, in the Rocky Mountains.  That's where we arrived on our first night of the trip.  Thom's parents had told us that there was snow at 9,000 feet.  Their cabin is at about 8,300 feet, so we packed plenty of warm clothes.  We had no idea how much we would need them.  One morning when I got up, it was 38 degrees.  Our last day there, it snowed!  I slept in, but Thom's dad said at one point early that morning, the ground was white!  Apparently it takes a little longer for spring (or summer) to take hold.  Regardless, we had a wonderful time.  We got some trout fishing in, and I even managed to get a pretty bad sunburn on my arms.  Mom always said it doesn't matter how sunny or warm it is outside, you can still get burned. Boy, did I learn my lesson.

In a previous blog, I also mentioned Elf Lane at Red Feather Lakes.  It's a little stretch of gravel road surrounded by uniquely-placed rocks, put there by Mother Nature.  To spice things up a bit, residents of Red Feathers decided to place some garden gnomes around the area.  As you drive through, you can spot them peeking out from their hiding places.  The last time I visited, I vowed to bring a gnome with me, and leave it at Elf Lane.  True to my word, on our last day at Red Feathers, I got my gnome, and found him a new home safely tucked under a jutting rock.  I had Thom's mom snap a quick picture, and that's what you see at the top of this page.  Now, even when I'm not at Red Feather Lakes, I know my gnome is keeping an eye on things and looking out for my future in-laws as they make their way down Elf Lane.