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Flowers to a Lovely Girl

On my way to a visit in Ouray CO, I drove through Gunnison. It is nice to see a "cycling chick chic" culture developing there, as it has in Salida, Crested Butte, and a few other towns. There are very few examples when I actually like visiting a city. It's nice to finally have a chance.

Although the word 'charming' is easy to overuse, it does seem to be the right word to explain a middle aged (!) woman in a summery dress, pedaling a funky girlie-style bicycle, while wearing flip-flops. A wicker basket in mounted on the handlebar, and she might have a boule of bread sticking out of the basket. How youthful, unburdened, and unhurried she becomes the minute she jumps on that bike!  

It would be nice to know where else this culture has developed besides a couple towns in Colorado -- and Copenhagen, of course.

I dispersed-camped overnight while visiting Ed and Patches. I think they liked the sagebrush hills and dirt road that we chose for our "Rage in the Sage."  Later that night the sun set in the Elk Wilderness to our west; it colored the virgas over the sagebrush hills.





We just got back from our first hike with fellow bloggers, Mark and Bobbie, and John Q, a refugee from Indiana. Bobbie and John Q picked some alpine wildflowers, and adorned our alpine darlin':



OK Mark, the alpine wildflowers were breathtakingly beautiful -- and no facetiousness is meant. I thought that the frustration over the lack of sunlight was a good thing. It is more exquisite to yearn for some pleasure, and to get tantalizingly close to getting it, than to just wallow in it and lap it up.



I was pleased how one photograph turned out. Yes, pretty flowers are fun to look at. But it is more intriguing to imagine what the world looks from their point of view, and from the viewpoint of the ground, rather than the human spectator.


A lone columbine amongst its neighbors.

Comments

Is this new Boonie appearance just because we are taking you to dinner in a few minutes? Sure...we'll see if it lasts after your belly is full (grin). Hope you are hungry, Pal. It's great catching up with you.
Box Canyon Mark
Teri said…
I think you would come across that bicycle scene in most small coastal towns.
Teri, I'll take your word for it. I doubt that I'll ever go to coast again.
Unknown said…
Appears Mark figures he converted you to a world of scenery in spite of your hedging words. Stay firm with your convictions. Like your comment about the world from another point of view. The "Ikebana like scene" of the single columbine is perfect.
edlfrey said…
Boonie, that wasn't all virgas. Some of that rain made it to the ground here at my Park, not a lot but enough to call it rain. The Rage in the Sage was enjoyable - Patches is still 'talking' about it.
Thanks for introducing me to the term, Ikebana. Had to look that one up on Wikipedia.
It will be interesting to see if big, strong Patches goes into puppyish whimpering mode the next time she gets in my van!
Jim and Gayle said…
Now I can't get the song "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" and the scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid out of my head.

I hope I am not being too intellectual.

Jim