Aspen Summit and Gondola Ride, Highway 133, Scary Moments, and drive to Tulleride

Hello Everyone! I didn't make any cards this evening. Our day was filled up and after we got back from eating dinner, I was too lazy to make any cards.

Well today was an adventurous day. We checked out of our hotel in Snowmass Village in Aspen. We decided to head down to downtown Aspen in the morning to go shopping. We also decided to ride the gondola to the top of the Aspen mountain.

Here is my daugther posing for the camera. We were on the gondola on the way up to the top of the mountain.

Here is the view from the gondola as we were working our way up to the top of Aspen.

Here is my stepson standing at the top of Aspen. Again, as always, it was absolutely beautiful even in the summer. I can imagine how it would look during the winter. This view is at the back of side of the mountain in Aspen.

This is the view overlooking the west side of Aspen.

This picture was taken at the edge of the road on highway 133 from Aspen to Tulleride at the highest point of the paved road. It was a stunning view but a little unnerving considering how high we were and there were no railing to prevent us from driving over the road.

Three fourths of highway 133 is absolutely beautiful, the last fourth is agricultural and not very impressive. The 3/4 that is beautiful is one of the most beautiful route I've been on so far.

Okay this view of the mountain may be beautiful but a very scary thing happened to us on our way from Aspen to Tulleride. This picture was taken in the wilderness in nowhere land. We were about 80 miles away from Tulleride and we were trying to get off highway 50 and get on hwy 62.

Because we had set the GPS to the "shortest route". . .well, it decided to cut through the mountain leading us into what could have been a disastrous situation.

Well, to make a long story short. . .our GPS lead us into the Uncompahgre Plateau. . .deep into the back woods with no paved roads, just gravel and dirt. We kept thinking that highway 62 was going to show up somehow. For the first 20 miles, we were beginning to wonder if the GPS was leading us somewhere we didn't want to be. There was no highway in site, no houses, no nothing. We were in the middle of NOTHING. We didn't want to turn around because we kept thinking highway 62 was going to show up in any minute.

After an hour of driving, we realized we were in a bad, bad place. I didn't want to panic but I was beginning to get a bit scared when our GPS lead us to a dead end road in the middle of no-where deep, deep inside the plateau. We finally decided to change the GPS to just lead us back to a main road besides highway 62. We decided to take the chance and not listen to the GPS and follow a more paved road and within 15 minutes of driving without paying attention to the GPS, it finally lead us on a road that we felt made more sense. . . meaning the road was somewhat paved and looked like it was driven on.

It was already close to 4:30 and we were still an hour away from Tulleride and we were worried that it would begin to rain and the road will turn muddy or we'll get stuck in an area that no one could find us. Luckily, we finally made it out of the plateau. For a moment, I thought we were doomed and eventually someone would have to rescue us. Be careful with the GPS when traveling. I believe the GPS knew what it was doing but it can't tell the difference between paved roads, gravel, or dirt or whether you're in the middle of no-where. Eventually, I believe the GPS would have lead us out of the woods but who knows how long that would have been and what if we ran out of gas. Sheeeeesh, I don't want to even think about it.

This is the view as we were heading towards Tulleride. Tulleride is a beautiful town located deep in the valley and mountain. It's an absolutely lovely town and ski resort. It's a great alternative to Aspen. Tulleride is located in the picture right within the valley below the "whitish" colored mountain in the background.

We rode the gondola at Tulleride up to the village located at the summit. We ate a restaurant called Allred. Yummy but pretty pricey. The average meal runs $30+ to $75 not including the appetizers and soup/salad.

This picture is the view from the gondola. This ride is a lot steeper than that at Aspen and in my opinion, a prettier view. If you don't like heights, I don't recommend the gondola ride at Tulleride. . .it can be pretty scary but there's a complete village at the top so if you don't ride the gondola, you'll miss out on the restaurants and shops at the top of the mountain.

Anyway, tomorrow we'll hang out in Tulleride for part of the day, then head to Mesa Verde to look at the ruins. I'll update my blog tomorrow.

Train Ride in Leadville and Heading down to Aspen on I-70. . .Wow, Beautiful!!

Hi Everyone! I did manage to make a few cards during our down time tonight. After 9:00 we settled into our hotel room and I made 3 quickie cards. I'll post the other one on Stampin Inspirations tomorrow.

The images were already colored and cut out so all I needed to do was lay them out on the card. I used stickers and designer paper to help make things easier.

Here is the second card I made. Again, everything was pre-cut and all I did was add stickers and designer paper to my layout. It really helps when you have the down time to color and cut your images and store them for future use. They sure came in handy for me on this trip.

Today, we did a 3 hour train ride starting in Leadville. The train went through the mountain and my goodness, the view from the train was absolutely spectacular. The pictures cannot even begin to show the beauty of the mountain, trees, and landscapes. Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the US. The city is located over 10,000 feet above sea level. Here are my kids taking picture next to the train that we rode on.

Here I am taking a picture next to the train. I'm usually the photographer so I'm rarely in the photos. Besides, I don't like taking pictures.

View of my daughter in the train on our way through the mountain. I cannot express how beautiful it was.

We were allowed to get off the train to take land photos. Here is my daughter taking picture with the valley and mountain behind her. We were over 1,ooo ft high from the lowest point of land.

Here is my daughter taking a picture in the train overlooking the valley and mountains. I need to figure out which mountain we were looking at. I'll update this post tomorrow with accurate information in the case you ever decide to visit Colorado.

Here is a picture of the same valley and mountains without my daughter in the picture.

This photo was taken on I-70 heading west towards Aspen! It was by far the most beautiful scenery I have seen so far. I thought the drive to Leadville was the most beautiful but the I-70 west route is absolutely breathtaking.

These pictures were taken while we were driving. I-70 West is very curvy and at some points at the edge of a cliff. This is one of the scenes we were able to view during our drive.

As you can see the railing and part of the car in this picture. I was so in awe of the beauty of everything. Coming from Hawaii, I thought the mountains of Hawaii were beautiful. . .that's before I visited Colorado. The mountains in Colorado are just as beautiful, maybe even more.

Here is another picture of the same area at a different angle.

We are still on I-70 when this picture was taken but the scenery dramatically changed into a canyon view as we headed further west towards Glenwood Springs Canyon. Okay. . .the canyon was again, beautiful but in a different way. The mountains in this part of the road were carved and the drive is in the canyon. This picture shows the Colorado River flowing in between the beautifully carved canyons.

More pictures of the mountains and canyons on I-70. This route to Aspen is the best route, I believe. The change in scenery is awesome.

Here are a few more pictures. We took so many pictures. . .I can't post all of them. I sort of randomly chose ones that I thought were beautiful. Because the pictures were taken while we were driving, some of the pictures weren't as clear.










We're staying in Aspen tonight at the Snowpass Village. Aspen is BEAUTIFUL even in the summer. I'll take pictures of Snowpass and the heart of Aspen. We're going to do a bit of shopping and sight seeing tomorrow here in Aspen before we head towards Tulleride. I wish we could do a few outdoor activities such as white water rafting but we just don't have the time to fit it in. Maybe on our next trip to Colorado, we'll do more outdoor activities besides sight seeing. Until tomorrow!

Wow Colorado is Absolutely Beautiful

Hi Everyone! Well we made it to Colorado. The flight to Colorado was uneventful. I spent the 2.5 hr flight making cards! Yes, if you stop by my Stampin Inspirations blog site you'll see my crop bag filled with stamping and scrapping items to keep myself preoccupied on the airplane and during our down-time.

Here's a card I made on the airplane. Space was a bit tight but I managed to make to fairly simple card. I made another card which I posted on Stampin Inspiratons.


Here is a picture of the clouds above Colorado. My daughter took the picture while we were on the airplane. I've never seen clouds this fluffy. Isn't it beautiful.

On the way to Leadville, we stopped at Georgetown for lunch. We ate at this quaint restaurant called "the Happy Cooker" which served excellent meals. Georgetown is a pretty historic town tucked away in the mountain and surrounded by beautiful trees. Georgetown is a historic town and pictured are my kids standing in front of the historic old town.

The following pictures are just a scenic view of the drive between Silverthorne, Dillon, Breckenridge and Leadville. It's one of the most beautiful scenic routes I've been on.

I took so many photos that I couldn't pick which one I wanted to post so I just randomly chose the pictures.

Some of the trees had a burgundy color to the leaves. I can imagine how the trees will look near autumn time.

Gosh, I wish the mountains and the valley's around Temecula, CA, the town I live in was as pretty as the mountains of Colorado. I'm in awe of the beauty of the trees and landscape.

We'll be doing a train ride tomorrow in Leadville. It's an interesting town. . .very old. We're staying here overnight because we wanted to be close by to the train attraction so we wouldn't have to wake up so early in the morning. I don't recommend staying here. It's not a resort area like in Breckenridge. Tomorrow after the train ride, we're heading to Aspen. We'll be staying there overnight! I'll keep y'all updated! Until tomorrow!!

And the Winner is. . .TIC Day #6 - Crazy For Ribbon!!

Congratulations Beth!!

I made a list of all the participants of this week's TIC and numbered them. I had my daughter pick out the winner by randomly picking a number!! And the winner is Beth! Thank you everyone for being such wonderful participants of my challenge. You make these challenges fun! I really appreciate y'all taking the time to play along!

Beth can you send me your address so I can send your prize!!

TIC Day #6 - Tuesday's Inspirational Challenge - Crazy for Ribbon - More Submissions

Be sure to scroll down to yesterday's post for additional submissions, as well as my Stampin Inspirations blog site. I have more submissions there.

Wow check out Beth's card! I love everything about it. . .the colors, the flower, the image, and the awesome use of the ribbons! Beth is such a sweet person! She does such wonderful work and I really appreciate her participation in my challenges! Beth has a wonderful blog site called "Sunflowers and Dragonflies". . .be sure to stop by her fabulous blog site and say "hello"!!

Good Evening Everyone! Check out Monika's wonderful card! As always, it's beautiful! I love how she created a gated fold to the card. She did an awesome job with her ribbons. Monika's card is always so elegant! I love how she colored the flowers. . .it really pops at you! Be sure to drop by Monika's blog site "M.A.D. Stamper" and check out the rest of her awesome creations. Thank you Monika for once again playing along! I really appreciate it!







Hey Everyone! Check out this lovely submission by Tejal of "Creating New Expressions Everyday". Looks like she used a whole bunch of ribbon scraps. Beautiful layout with the all the ribbons. I love all different patterns to the card. As always, Tejal, thank you for submitting a beautiful card for my challenges! Be sure to drop by Tejal's blog site and say "hello"!!

Good Evening Everyone! Here is a card I created tonight for this week's TIC. This one has no stamping whatsoever. I used a sticker for the sentiment. This card has 3 cuts of ribbon. I sewed around the edge of the card front to match the quilt pattern of the designer paper. If I can fit the time tomorrow, I'll make a few cards with a more creative use of ribbons. Can't promise it though.

Card Details:

Paper: SU Creamy Caramel, Sage Shadow, Rose Red, K& Co Scrapbook paper

Accessories: Target Prima flower, EK Success Phrase Cafe, JoAnn Brad, Dots, Dashes, & Checks Ribbon

Submission for Jen's at "Pieces of Me" Matchbook Card Challenge

Hey Everyone! Here's a card I made for Jen's at "Pieces of Me" Matchbook Challenge. I actually posted this card previously but I liked this matchbook card. It's an upside down version of this project. I saw it made this way in a book that I bought and I thought it was cool.

I think Jen's Challenge ends tomorrow but if you want to try it out. . .be sure to drop by her site.

I'll be posting the rest of the submissions to my TIC Day #6 - "Crazy for Ribbons" sometime this evening. I'm sort of juggling packing for my trip, cleaning my craft room, blogging, answering emails, doing the laundry, preparing packages that I need to send out (swaps and RAKs) tomorrow before we leave, preparing the dogs for the kennel, cooking dinner, and other things all at the same time. We leave on our trip on Sunday and whenever we go on a trip, I want the house spot-less because I want to come home to a clean house. Unfortunately, I haven't been feeling well for the past day or so and trying to do all of these things and not feel well at the same is not a picnic that's for sure!

I'll be bringing my laptop and hopefully the hotel rooms will have internet connections. I'm bringing a few craft items so I can make cards on my down-time or maybe when we're driving across Colorado. . .we're doing a road trip of Colorado. I'll blog the cards that I do make if it's possible.

Card Details:

Stamps: All Night Media #460H and the sentiments are by Anna Griffith stamps.
Paper: K&Co designer paper, DCWV textured cardstock, Stampin Up Barely Banana
Ink: Prismacolor Pencils with Gamsol, Prismacolor markers
Accessories: Stickles glitter, Making Memories metal charm, organdy ribbon, flower brads (unknown)

TIC Day #6 - Tuesday's Inspirational Challenge - "Crazy For Ribbon" Submissions

If interested in participating in this week's challenge. . .click here for the details.

Hey Everyone! Check out Hulda's awesome card for this week's TIC! Looks like Hulda used 3 ribbons. I love the scallop edge to her card and how she used the brads to attach the ribbons to the right of the card. Scroll down to see Hulda's card in the open position.

Here is Hulda's card opened up.

Isn't it cute!! Hulda has a fabulous blog site called "Aunt Scrappy"!! Be sure to stop by and check out all her fabulous card creations! Thank you Hulda for your fabulously cute submission and once again participating in my challenge. I appreciate it!!

Here is my submission for this week's TIC. This card was made for a "You're A Punk" swap. Isn't the designer paper so cool. The images are gold metallic and very shiny in person. The circle sentiment is actually a button pin that you normally would pin to your shirt. I bought it at Walmart. I didn't have any "punk rock" type of images so I improvised and bought these pins. I also made another similar type of card below.

Card Details:

Paper: DCWV Rockstar Designer Paper, SU Creamy Caramel, Black

Accessories: No Boundaries Button Pin, Ribbons (unknown)

Again, I made this card for a swap of the same theme "You're a Punk". The cat image is again, like my previous card, a button pin. I used a total of 3 cuts of ribbon.

Card Details:

Stamp: Delta "My Can't Isn't Spoiled"

Paper: SU Pixie Pink, Black, DCWV Rockstar designer paper

Accessories: No Boundaries Button Pin, Ribbons (unknown)

TIC Day #6 - Tuesday's Inspirational Challenge - "Crazy for Ribbons" and Late Submissions for "Scrappy Cards"

If interested in this week's TIC. . .Click Here for the Details. . .

Good Evening Everyone! Here's a sample that I made for this week's TIC. "Crazy for Ribbons" Not a very creative use of ribbons but I met my own requirements for the TIC by using 3 cuts of ribbon. I'm really having fun with this week's TIC because I'm finally using a bunch of ribbons that were badly in need to be used.

I watercolored the bear using SU's Watercolor Crayons. These crayons are far better than the pencils because they're softer and easier to blend. I typically don't like to watercolor because the colors aren't as vibrant as Prismacolor Pencils but because the watercolor crayons are softer, it's possible to layer the colors and blend them to give them a more vibrant appearance.


Card Details:

Stamp: Stamp-it "Oops Bear"
Ink: SU Watercolor Crayons, Lavender Lace, Sakura Gel Pen
Paper: SU Green Galore, Lavender Lace, K Design Scrapbook paper
Accessories: SU Ticket Corner Punch, Making Memories Daisy Eyelets, Making Memories Ribbons, Darice rhinestones









Here is a "Scrappy Card" that Monika created! Isn't it fabulous. I love the scallop window and how the card opens up to reveal the full size picture. I'm adding this card on this post because this is a late submission but it's definitely worth showing off. Monika's blog site "M.A.D. Stamper" showcases many wonderful creations. I love her elegant style of card making. Be sure to stop by and say "hello".




Here is Monika's Scrappy Card opened up to reveal the full size picture. I love how she incorporated the SU Baroque Motif image.

The Baroque Motif image is attached to a journaling note tag that can be pulled out. What a creative idea! I love it! Thank you Monika for sharing your very creative Scrappy Card!!

Here is a wonderful "Scrappy Card" submission by Jen at "Pieces of Me". It's also a late submission but I needed to show it off. I love her Scrappy Card. This is a picture of Jen and her friend Teri during their club-hopping days. Jen's card inspires me to make a Scrappy Card for a friend. I think my friend would love a Scrappy Card like Jen's. Thank you Jen for submitting your wonderful Scrappy Card.