Adventures at Rocky Mountain National Park
Well, I gotta tell you, its been a mixed bag of adventures recently. First my husband and I, our chow dog, parrot and over forty-five year old box turtle went camping at Rocky Mountain National Park. On the way up one of the passes, the trucks engine just kinda went on the fritz, it was only for a couple minutes, but that’s enough on the steep incline of highway 36 to worry you for the rest of the drive. My husband, thought perhaps it was an overheating issue and the fan didn’t kick in on time. But still my heart was racing and it was hard to concentrate on the audio book playing.
Mule Deer Buck behind fifth wheel campsite
Finally we made it to Moraine Campground at approximately 7:30 p.m., maneuvered the truck and fifth wheel into our favorite site on Loop C. Set up our thirty foot fifth wheel, let the dog out for a sniff and fed everyone dinner. A large mule deer buck bedded down across the street in the brush. This was the same one at dusk on Saturday night that scared the bejeebers out of our dog, when it bounded across the street, to the side and behind our trailer headed for the meadow below.
Elk not far from our campsite
Then we attended the ranger talk at the amphitheater just a few yards from our campsite. The ranger related the history of RMNP, how it came to be and the different phases the park has gone through to reach it’s nearly all natural state. There were actually hotels in the early 1960’s inside the park. Eventually, the buildings were torn down in favor of a more natural setting. The reason we love the park. In addition we discovered, among other things, that the same F.O. Stanley who built the Stanley Hotel and was involved with the park was the same person who invented the Stanley Steamer. Didn’t know that. What I did know, was that the Stanley Hotel was famous for Steven King’s novel, The Shining. After the presentation we returned to our site, and relaxed around the campfire before calling it a day and heading to bed.
Emerald Lake
The next morning the milk wasn’t as cold as usual, but figured we’d, no, I’d packed the fridge too full and created an airflow problem. Yeah right. Anyway, went for a hike, took the dog for a walk around the camp ground and checked out all the other RV’s in residence. There was quite a diversity of camping styles from the tiny one person tent, to several large tents in a grouping and let’s not forget the huge 38-40 foot fifth wheels and class A motor homes. Everyone was enjoying the park in their own way. Upon our return to our RV, we discovered the ice cream bars were melted because the fridge was on the fritz. Hubby had to take it apart and clean out the carbon from the flue, who knew the fridge had a flue. Anyway got that working, but caused us to cancel our trip to Bear Lake. But attended the ranger talk again Saturday night, learned a lot about the lakes and rivers that flow through RMNP and how they changed the landscape of the park over the years. Did you know the Colorado River that flows at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, began as a trickle in Rocky Mountain National Park. But I digress.
When we left Sunday morning, the fridge was working and the truck had no problems returning home, to my great relief. Hubby said maintenance on both would be on going the following weekend, before we head out for Twin Lakes in a few weeks.
Once we hit civilization, I checked my e-mail and was over the moon to discover my novel, A Demon’s Witch, had a release date of September 25, 2015. It’s a paranormal romance involving Washington DC, a hunky demon hairdresser who is really a demon overlord of the western hemisphere, a saucy witch and her demon slayer brother, not to mention a faery and satyr just to name a few. Check it out preorder available end of August.
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Posted in My Say What Blog, Uncategorized by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
Vacation Destination – Monterey Bay, California
Point Pinos Light House
The first RV trip of the season took us to Northern California, wine country for a family reunion. I was shocked to see how brown California is from the several year drought they’ve suffered. What struggle that state is facing. Then it was out to the coast of Monterey Bay and the aquarium. The ocean breeze and moderate temperatures were refreshing. To finish the trip, it was north to Wyoming visiting friends and their parrots. After two weeks we were homeward bound, exhausted but content. When did vacations become so much work?
Monterey Bay, just typing the name makes me feel all relaxed, cool and misty. Surprisingly, this year I saw more sun and 70’s than mist and 60’s. Even sat outside around the campfire a few times enjoying s’mors, good friends and hot chocolate. The Marina Dunes RV Park in Marina was a great place with wonderful people and only a 10 minute walk to the beach.
The weather was a welcome change from the so wet, I can’t get my garden planted, to the cold so forget the garden altogether of Colorado. But I have to admit on our road trip to California through Wyoming, Utah and Colorado were the greenest I have ever seen. The down side was a foot tall lawn, but it was green and three foot high weeds upon our return to Colorado.
Octopus Click out the Octopus clip to the left.
But I digress; the Monterey Bay Aquarium was fantastic as always. I could spend weeks there, rather than a day. Guess it’s a good thing I don’t 
live in Monterey, I’d get nothing done but visit the aquarium and walk the beaches with the family Chow Chow on lead and parrot in her back pack pet carrier. And maybe, just maybe, if I lived there, I would finally get to tour the Point Pinos Light House. Over the years we have been too late, too early, wrong day, wrong season…well you get the picture and this year was no different. One of these days, I’m going to get it right. LOL
Next time, kayaking the bay behind the aquarium will be on the agenda. It looks like so much fun and lets you get 
up close to the inhabitants of the area. No, not to close as in to disturb them, just a good look with great photo opportunities.
A few blocks from the aquarium, an ocean front Mexican Restaurant was our food stop more than once. In a window seat, I watched the seals and otters frolic in the waves then crawl up on a rock to sun themselves. Sitting on the rocks, gulls protected their nest from interlopers and took turns soaring over the ocean to grab a bite to eat.
Ocean View Blvd from Cannery Row around the point to Sunset Drive are where my husband and I found the greatest tide pools, teaming with sea creatures. Okay, I admit it had to check an app on my phone for high and low tide times to avoid being drenched by those sneaky waves rolling in. Or worse yet, have my feet swept out from underneath me and landing in a tide pool; you can bet, there would be a lot of disgruntled sea creatures. When I was a kid, I knew that stuff by heart and didn’t need it in land locked Colorado.
The next adventure closer to home will find us in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, another longtime favorite. Ever been to Twin Lakes in Colorado? We are headed there also, check back for pictures. Until then happy camping!
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Posted in Camping, My Say What Blog by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
Uncontrolled Dogs – A Tragedy Waiting To Happen
This morning as I sat at my desk searching for a blog topic, I learned of a terrible tragedy that broke my heart and angered me beyond belief. After I calmed down, I decided the best thing I could do was bring awareness to this situation.
The heartbreaking tragedy was posted to my Facebook page by a good friend and dog breeder. A puppy
he’d placed with a loving family several years ago was viciously attacked by two other dogs and died. I deliberately didn’t mention the perpetrators breed, as there are good and bad in ALL breeds. However, this family is devastated and grieving due to the loss of their beloved Chow caused by a tragedy that could have been prevented by responsible dog ownership and training.
In my humble opinion, these situations happen because people fail to keep their dogs on a leash or fail to maintain their fence so their dog escapes on a regular basis. Or people allow the escape of their canine out the front door. Now I realize accidents happen. But knowing where your dog is when you open the door. Training your dog to stay away from the door when it’s open. Or simply holding onto your dog when the door is open goes a long way to stop escape.
A couple of months ago, I faced a similar but much less devastating situation. Out for an early morning walk, a neighbor’s dog (he’d escaped confinement) charged at my dog and I, growling, barking, with hackles raised. (It was a breed that you don’t associate with attacks, so I was caught by surprise.) Adrenaline pumping enabled me to sling my 45-50 pound Chow up on my shoulder and kick at the advancing dog, connecting several times until the dog retreated. That was the first and last time I’ve left my house without an air horn, pepper spray and collapsible metal baton.
It is a sad state of affairs when you have to pack protective gear before venturing out with your dog in your own neighborhood. Yet, I meet several people daily that carry a large walking stick, among other things, for protection of themselves and their dog(s). Some go as far as to carry a concealed weapon. A recipe for disaster. But, an air horn can be a great deterrent, hopefully allowing escape without harm to anyone.
In memory of this wonderful family companion, please keep your dog under control and on a leash while going for a walk, make sure your fence is escape proof, and your dog is contained before opening the outside door. Also check your dog’s collars and leashes for wear and replace the items when necessary! Taking these simple steps may help prevent this tragedy from happening to you and your dog.
One last request, please pick up after your dog, illness and disease can be spread through feces. Not to mention the irritation and aroma a person experiences when stepping in a pile. Yuck! That way everyone can enjoy our parks, trails and neighborhoods.
Thank you!
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Posted in Food for Thought, My Say What Blog by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS – Taking a Gun Class
It all started one morning as I innocently read the daily newspaper. Heinous acts of violence and mayhem filled the front page and subsequent ones. Was this a good way to start my day? Probably not.
I flipped through all the sections of the newspaper and an ad near the bottom of a page caught my attention. Women’s gun class specially priced at a local gun club. My family has always owned weapons. While a teenager, shooting my grandfather’s 410 shotgun left a huge shoulder bruise and knocked me on my butt, hard. As a young woman, an automatic pistol took a chunk out of my hand, between the thumb and index finger, because I was holding it wrong. So needless to say, my relationship with guns is a love hate situation.
I believe strongly in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, the right of the people to keep and bear arms. As a paralegal for close to 20 years, I saw what damage a gun, usually stolen, can do in the hands of the criminal element. But on the flip side, strict gun control makes it harder for the responsible, god fearing adults to obtain a gun legally. And has no effect on the criminal, who can get a gun of any type off the street in a matter of minutes, with the intent to do egregious harm. But I digress, stepping down off my soap box and putting it away, for now.
As a co-owner of a couple of guns, I decided that learning how to handle and shoot a weapon correctly was the responsible thing to do. So… I signed up for the class.
Work in Progress!
I spent Tuesday night at the gun club learning the in’s and out’s of responsible gun ownership, from an NRA certified instructor. By the end of the evening, most of my shots were center mass on the target, once I quit mashing the trigger and used a little finesse. My husband enjoys the sport of shooting guns, I on the other hand consider them for self-defense. After successfully completing the class, I feel confident handling and shooting a weapon, which is a good thing for me and a bad thing for the criminals. Subsequent adventures on the shooting range may be in my future.
And just remember gun control is very important, you should always use two hands!
**Check back next week, when I’ll be blogging about my private tour of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), also known as Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station.
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Posted in My Say What Blog, Uncategorized by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
