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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Hunting on the Road

We went north to Colorado yesterday. Gene was looking for a place to ride his bicycle on his birthday. We were planning on going to Albuquerque where he would ride on the trails, but it is still so hot. We drove to Alamosa. That seems like a great place. A flat valley where he can get in about 100 miles. That is the plan, anyway. He has been trying to ride his age (this year 68) every year. He says as he ages, he needs miles in the bank to withdraw when he can't make his age. Most years he has made it OK. A little rain a couple of times and things like that get in the way, too. Thi road has a nice wide shoulder for the most part.

I go along and stop every ten miles or so for him to get water or any biking needs. I usually sketch, read and do crosswords at the stops. After we found the place he will ride, he went ahead and rode about 40 miles. Will he be in shape for the long ride in a couple of weeks? We shall see. It is looking good for completion!

You can see the amber waves of grain and the flat landscape.

Gene at the end of his ride.

I sketched for Scavenger Hunt 142. These are in the small sketchbook 4 x 6 inches with a Micron 005 pen. Harder to make straight lines when the book is small and you don't have a good flat surface to work on. Excuses, excuses ... I know.

Number 1, growing outside. The small wild sunflowers seem to be at their peak around here. Just beautiful.

Number 2, place of business. A Love's in Monte Vista. It appeared to be just a station and not a truck stop. I hadn't seen one of those before.

Number 3, residence. One of the typical trailer/mobile homes around here. The tires on top are for wind or lightening???


Here is another with a pink bus. This is near Taos.



Flowers along the road, between Angel Fire and Taos.



An interesting Taos building for reference. I love the blue window and door frames.

5 comments:

Joanna said...

You found something blue to love? How unusual! :-)

Bag Blog said...

I always loved the blue doors - to keep out the evil spirits.

We sometimes went to Alamosa for our grocery shopping. They would pack dry ice in with our groceries. The kids loved to play with it when we got home. There are some very interesting places between Questa and Alamosa. There is a little town called Jarosa that has an old downtown area, but it is pretty much a ghost town. We have good friends that live out there. Manassa, CO is where Jack Dempsy was from - another very small town. I hope Gene enjoys his ride - I think that part of the country is very beautiful in a rugged sort of way.

Jo Castillo said...

Hey, Joanna. :)

Bag Blog, we went on 285 through Tres Piedras. All that country is interesting. The round San Antonio Mountain is weird .. trees on top and sides bare. Hope we get to visit those small towns.

Teresa said...

Wow! Gene is certainly in better shape than I am! That many miles on a bicycle would put me in the hospital!

Pretty sketches and photos.

Jo Castillo said...

Teresa, you and me both! I cannot ride a bike. I fall over in a close place .. would die on the shoulder of a highway! Thanks for stopping by.


About Me

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Bastrop, Texas, United States
I Grew up in a small town , Magdalena, New Mexico. I enjoy art and the pleasure other people get from my work. I always donate some of my sales and art to charities, especially for children. That started in Bolivia with Para los NiƱos. "I cannot pretend to feel impartial about colors. I rejoice with the brilliant ones and am genuinely sorry for the poor browns." -- Winston Churchill

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