Mexico, vacation... Ek Balam, part 4

To read previous part click here - Mexico, vacation... Passing the town of Temozón, part 3

Ek Balam is not as famous as Chichen Itza but this doesn't make it less interesting. This place wasn't even discovered until the late 80s and excavation started only in the late 90s, so this is relatively new and unexplored.

But this location is not as crowded as other places and one still can climb up to the pyramid and have the breathtaking view from the top (this is not possible anymore in Chichen Itza, by the way). And you don't feel like someone else is breathing into yours neck :) By the way, the pyramid here is even taller than in Chichen Itza, just a bit, but :)

 

Mexico, vacation... Passing the town of Temozón, part 3

To read previous part click here - Mexico, vacation... Chichen Itza, part 2

We left Chichen Itza and headed to another ruin - Ek Balam. Highway brought us to the small sleepy town of Temozón which we passed without stopping. Later I did some research and found very little information about this small town in the middle of nowhere.

 

Mexico, vacation... Chichen Itza, part 2

To read previous part click here - Mexico, vacation, sun, sand and palm trees, part 1

First thing next morning... did you say "they went to the beach"? If you say so... you just don't know us at all! How can we go to the beach when we are on vacation? But before I tell you where we went first thing next morning, let's take a look at the place we just landed and planned to spend 10 days.

 

Mexico, vacation, sun, sand and palm trees, part 1

Winter of 2018 wasn't really cold and exhausting, but it was long (as usual) and it was still a winter. And it is always nice to escape the cold weather and enjoy some bright sun, blue sky and turquoise sea, isn't it? Just relax and forget about everything, leaving all troubles somewhere else for a while... 

The Idea of escape was very appealing, but we didn't want to fly across half of the World and be exhausted after this flight... so Mexico looked like the best choice ever. Caribbean coast of Yucatan peninsula, nice climate, warm ocean and always Summer, what else can you dream of, huh? :). So one early Thursday morning we met a sunrise at the DIA and boarded the plane on our way away from March in Denver.

 

Lost Lake hike

Week days are hard. We all need to work and mostly we are really tired by the end of the day... Every day... And most of the weekends no one really wants to leave the warm bed and go somewhere, right? But... if you do it, I mean waking up early and driving somewhere, you can find some amazing adventure... And the morning colors in the mountain are gorgeous, aren't they?

 

August Flowers

The days are still hot, but not as toasty as they were in August... The nights are much cooler now.  But there are only a few flowers still blooming and grass areas don't look as bright as they were before. Let's look back and enjoy the colors and shapes we admired during Summer days, should we?

Sunflower... Big, bright yellow and very attractive to bees and wasps. It is almost impossible to pass by without looking at it.

 

Foggy and sunny mountains...

It was a nice Sunday in February. Actually... it wasn't in the beginning but.. Hm... okey, let's try it again... The forecast promised a nice and sunny day (chilly though). But in the morning I figured out the forecast wasn't that accurate and the snow still was falling down and the roads were a bit too slippery. But around noon the weather changed, the sun was shining through the clouds and it was nice. At this point I was ready to go somewhere. Somewhere nearby, because it was really late for a long drive. Red Rocks Amphitheater seemed to be a good destination for a nice quick trip. The lazy snow still was flying down and covering the road but the ride was really pleasant and after a while I was turning from Morrison to the windy mountain road. The hilltops still were by fog or clouds and looked just amazing. The slopes looked like a cake powdered with sugar... sweet ;)

 

Sunrise...

I guess we all like to watch the sunrise... If we can wake up early enough ;) The picture of the sun slowly rising up is magic and mesmerizing The most important thing is choosing the right morning to enjoy this moment, right? So I looked at the forecast and when I saw they predicted a foggy morning I decided this would be a perfect opportunity for me... So I drove to the foothills and at 6:30AM was walking up to the Dinosaur ridge to meet the sun...

 

Across the Atlantic

When you look at the Earth from the bird's view, everything looks unfamiliar and strange. You peer at the objects you cannot recognize and try to understand what you see. It's like resolving a huge jigsaw puzzle, where the pieces are not only scattered around but also changing every minute...

It was a gloomy cold September morning, when we boarded the plane, took off and started to look from the porthole trying to recognize outlines and shapes... It was the beginning of the long journey from there to here ;)

 

Red... red-ish... mostly...

No reasons for doing that, but why not? Let's look at the objects that are mostly red. Or red-ish... or some other color close to this side of the spectrum ;)

 

The Fall time is coming...

It's just unbelievable... The weather is crazy (hard to believe it is September). The day temperature stays high and it feels like it's still Summer. The bees are still working hard on gathering some honey, isn't it nice?

 

Easy, quick, boring... really?

Last time I was wandering there I hiked quite a bit. And learned that Alderfer / Three Sisters Park is a great place if you don't want to drive long hours and also want a nice a pleasant hike. There are a few different trails and you can always create the route you want at the moment. Something longer and challenging? You can do it... Something easy and short - no problem. That was exactly what I wanted this Saturday - something easy, relaxing, quick and... I didn't care if it would be a bit boring...

 

Sunset on the lake

It is always so nice to go for a walk around the lake... Especially at dusk time, when the sky is turning dark and everything looks surreal, but also peaceful as never...

     

So many colors, so many shapes... mushroom's portraits ;)

We rarely look down and register the small objects that surround us. But once you look at ones that usually don't really attract our attention you can find some fascinating details. Let's do it today, should we? Let's go to the woods and collect some... mushroom pictures (or, I'd like to call them mushroom's portraits).

 

Irises

Irises... Amazingly beautiful and immensely attractive. Small and big, bright and dull...

 

Lunch pictures...

Oh, I guess the title is a bit confusing, isn't it? Actually this is not about the pictures of my lunch, but about the pictures I had taken during my lunch walk around the block ;) Just a few images captured while I was strolling under the hot sun and looking for something nice to photograph :) Flowers, for example...

 

Grizzly Peak hike

It was a nice but a bit cloudy Saturday day in July. We drove up to the Loveland pass and planned to have a nice hike. This is the best place to do that. We felt like we were in the fairy tail - go left and you find a mountain peak... go right and you find a few more... By the way, some hikers just do that - go to the left first and to the right next (or vice versa) ;) We decided for the right turn, because there were the easiest 14ers - Torreys Peak and Grays Peak... But we weren't sure if we were up to that, but here is Grizzly Peak (13,500 feet) just before those two so we could try it first and decide later if we want to do more...

The weather was really good for such a hike - cloudy with little sun. Chilly but not really cold. The clouds were hitting Torreys Peak all the time, but the chances for the rain were slim. So we decided to start with concurring Grizzly Peak first... So we started from the parking lot (11,900 feet) and did the first stretch - climbing 1000 feet to the ridge... It wasn't that difficult and as a reward we were looking at Highway 6 meandering towards Dilon from the birds eye.

 

Yeah, that's mushrooms again ;)

Honestly, I didn't really plan to go hiking that Saturday. My intention was more practical - to go to the mountains and look for some mushrooms. But the road I intended to use was closed until 9AM and I had about an hour to kill, so I decided to look for the mushrooms around Three Sisters park, because I was close to this place. So I turned my wheels and soon parked my car and was walking in the forest, hiking and looking under my feet in hope to find something edible. And... cuz I didn't plan on hiking, the only device to register surroundings was my cell, so don't be disappointed with the pictures ;)

 

Zoo lights

There are two big events that happen every year just before Christmas time... The competition where the lights are brighter and more colorful... At the Botanic Garden or in the Zoo... How the Botanic Garden lights look like you can see here Christmas Lights in Botanic Garden. But let's look at what the Zoo can offer...

 

Fall colors, Guanella Pass

We all have some reasons to wait impatiently for Fall time. The biggest one is that the hot Summer is finally giving up and the cooler season is rolling towards Winter. It is especially true after the toasty Summer like we had back in 2018... Even if we don't need to wait for a long time, still, let's turn on the time machine and jump a month ahead and enjoy Fall colors...

 

Are there any mushrooms to collect?

I was having my breakfast when the idea struck me - why not go to the mountain and hunt for some mushrooms? Really, why not? ;)

 

Rocky Mountain National Park lakes

It was a nice and warm weekend in November and we decided to take advantage of warm weather and spend some time up in the mountains. We have chosen Rocky Mountain National Park as our destination and specifically wanted to look at the lakes. Probably the last time before the snow would cover the slopes with white blanket and change the landscape until Spring time.

 

Herman Gulch hike - out and back...

To read the first part click here Herman Gulch hike - what happens in the morning... 

I climbed on the rock and stayed there and took pictures of the lake. It looked just beautiful. Surrounded by rough cliffs and sitting at the basin, green-ish water looked well aligned with green slopes. I liked it and didn't rush myself to walk down...

 

Herman Gulch hike - what happens in the morning...

Actually... nothing happened ;) I mean it was a nice Saturday morning and I drove up to the mountains to enjoy a hike. Thanks to my friend, who told me about Herman Gulch trail, cuz I never heard about this one before. Anyway, shortly after I started, I reached the trailhead and was ready to begin. Departing from 10,300 feet above sea level is always exciting...

 

Saturday, visiting Three Sisters ;)

You know I am always looking for some place nearby but nice to hike on Saturdays. Something just in the distance of the stretched hand and where one can walk and enjoy nice views (and... I like to find some Mariposa Lilies there, one of my weaknesses).