Zapata Falls

Today we went to Alamosa again and while we were in the area of Mt Blanca we decided to go check out Zapata Falls.  It was a bit of a drive to the parking area, then we hiked back to the water which was about 1/2 mile, then we hopped rocks all the way back to the 40 foot waterfall.  It was so incredible back there!!!  Half the waterfall was frozen and was blue like the glaciers, and the other half was coming down loud and fast.  Such a cool hike!  First a little info on the San Luis Valley:

 We sure are liking our vehicle!  Perfect for us here.

The hike up was sorta steep but not bad, and it was very rocky.

 We rested a moment before beginning the rock hopping portion of the hike.

You will need to click on this picture to read it. 

 We were kinda shocked they let people rock hop back there, since it would be really easy to fall and get hurt.  We waited around awhile after seeing an older Canadian couple hopping back to see the falls.  We wanted to make sure they made it back out okay.  They did.  :)

 See how blue they are?  Glacier ice.

It was ROARING!

 After we came back out I started showing off a little. I've still got great rock hopping skills and that made me feel young.  :)

I was so proud that I didn't get my feet wet at all, not even a little bit. :)

It was getting late when we left, but we paused here for a bit of quiet time.  The mountains settle my emotions and lighten my spirit.  Just looking at them does something to me that I just can't seem to describe.  See the Sand Dunes out there in the distance?  We will be going to visit those on our next trip down into the Valley.  S

Having fun, as usual!!  I love it here in Colorado!  SO MUCH!  

Bbye for now!  <3 <3 

Property

 See the mountain behind our Walmart?  That is Mt Blanca, a fourteener, the 5th highest peak in Colorado and an important part of Navajo history.

 There is Mt Blanca again..  see the GPS?  It's confused about where we are!  LOL

 This and the pics that follow were taken on or from the land.

 This is a seasonal lake, empty right now but it fills up and wildlife come.  Half of it is on the land, the other half is on BLM property.

 Two sides of the property are fenced.

 Unlike most places around this area, the land has rolling hills.

 This is a small, two story shed that has been wired for electricity.

 There is a BLM easeway that borders one side of the property.

BLM Marker

 The only neighbor.  He is rarely there.

A farm we saw on the way in.  There were a few of these in the area. Electricity goes a few miles down the well-maintained dirt road but does not go all the way back to the property.

<3  It took our breaths away.  <3  

Looking for Campgrounds

Finally today felt like Spring in the Rockies!  The wind wasn't too bad, the skies were blue, and the temp was in the high 60's so we headed out for a hike.  This time we decided to scout out the local campgrounds since it won't be long before we break out the camping gear and get back to nature!  We found a place near the Reservoir that looked promising. It was called Cross Creek Campground and we hiked all around it.  As usual in this area we discovered spectacular views and we were the only people out there.

When you come across perfect "chairs" in nature, you take a break.

There were a couple of these birds hanging around.  Not sure what they are.  Anybody know?  They make a loud feather noise when they fly off, and they don't fly very far, or very well.

We stopped for a little apple cider, bananas, and raw almonds and then headed down the road to another campground.  We liked it a lot too and since it's off a paved road we could easily take the trikes instead of driving.  I am VERY excited about doing that again!  This time last year we were camping out nearly every night and I MISS IT!

When we got to these HUGE boulders I tried to get some pics of Simon howling...

but instead, I got pictures of Ken trying to get Simon to howl.  :o

Nope.  Not gonna happen.  LOL

Anytime we go out hiking around here I feel happy, joyous and free. You can't get that kind of pure peace just anywhere and I am so very grateful for where I live.  

See ya next time!

Sunflowers for Easter

I adore sunflowers, and they are my favorite because my daughter adored them too.  I remember her being so fascinated with how they would turn and face the sun.  "How do they know where the sun is, Mom?" I shared a love for the seeds with Alex, and long after she was gone I would find the empty shells she had left behind.  To this day they remind me of her and anytime I see anything sunflower, it's like getting a "hello" from my little girl.  For that reason, sunflowers and their seeds are very special to me, so it makes sense that I enjoy growing them so much.  I often sprout the hulled seeds, which causes them to become very high in protein, and this time I planted the seeds that were still in the shell so that we could enjoy their sweet greens as a salad or in our wraps.

Today I harvested our first batch and we will have them as a part of our Easter meal.  As I pulled each one from the moist earth this morning, I said a long prayer of thanks for them, as well as for all of the other wonderful foods we have been so blessed to have learned about with our new lifestyle.  I recognize each food now as a little miracle all of it's own.  Each seed, each sprout, each green, and each flower is truly incredible and I am in awe of it all.

Notice how in this picture (below) the small section in the drawer is doing a lot better than the bigger section?  This was an experiment to see which kind of seeds grew better.  One side has a rather pricey and SMALL bag of organic seeds planted in it, and the other has the sunflower seeds that I pulled out of our very inexpensive birdseed.  Not organic, I know, but guess which side is which?

As you can see, it doesn't take much to grow these as far as equipment goes.  I grow mine in an old drawer someone gave me.  See the watering can behind the drawer?  I found it. It was broken.  I fixed it with some gorilla tape and it works just fine.  There is no need to buy anything to grow sunflower greens because you can just use what you have lying around.  You can even grow these on a cafeteria tray, in a pie plate, or in a baking dish.  Just sprout them for a couple of days, then put them in some high quality soil.  Water them lightly every day and in a week or two you will have a sweet salad that you grew yourself.  If this feels good to grow a little sunflower salad, I can only imagine what it will be like when I am growing all of my own food!

This is what they look like after you pick them.  I spent a long time pulling them one by one instead of just cutting them off like many people do (not that there is anything wrong with that) but I used the early morning time I spent harvesting to sort of meditate and give thanks on this special morning, and I felt so much peace.

Happy Easter, everyone!

How to Make Your Own Liquid Laundry Soap (HE Washer Safe)

This is a REALLY easy and fun way to be more green and to save lots of cash.  When you make your own laundry soap at home, you can do 20 loads of laundry for the same price you pay for one load using Tide.  20 loads!  And it smells however you want it to smell since you add your own essential oils.

Since we started working as Innkeepers at Foothills Lodge and Cabins last October, we purchased our initial investment of supplies and haven't had to buy any additional ingredients since.  We still have LOTS left and that was over 6 months ago!  Running to the store because we've run out of laundry soap is a thing of the past around here. I will give you a list of the supplies you will need to purchase as well as links to websites for the stuff that isn't found at most stores, and I will provide pictures of each item as well as pictures of each step of the process.  We live 47 miles away from the nearest big box store or large grocery store so if we can find all the ingredients, I know you can too!  Okay, let's get started!

What you will need:

A Stove

One Large Stock Pot

A long spoon for stirring

A 5 Gallon Bucket

2 Cups of Washing Soda (Soda Ash)

2 Cups of Borax

1/4 Cup Dr Bronners Liquid Castille Soap

15-20 drops Essential Oil

Hot Water

You will need a big stock pot.

And some soda ash, also known as Washing Soda, which is baking soda's tougher big brother.  We got a 50lb bag of it for $38 and you can see how much we've used so far.  Buy Your Washing Soda HERE

This stuff is AMAZING.  Much of the same stuff we use to make our laundry soap can also be used to make all-purpose cleaner and bathroom cleaner.  A couple drops of  Dr Bronners goes a long, long way.  The heavily worded label and the history behind the soap are REALLY interesting, too.  

 We usually use lavender but one of the coolest things about making your own soap is that YOU get to decide how it smells.  And, added bonus, many of the oils available are antibacterial or antifungal which is great for getting your clothes even cleaner.  You can find these at most all health food stores.

Some recipes Ken found while researching how to make our own laundry soap call for vinegar to be added into the detergent, but he found it works better when he adds it to our fabric softener slot in the washer.  When we do this it rinses through after the soap has, and for whatever reason when we do this we don't need to use dryer sheets.  Even living at 8200 feet where it is VERY dry, we don't get shocked anymore.  I really hated that so this was one NICE discovery (thank you for the idea, Dad).

Okay, now that you have all of your supplies gathered, let's take a look at the actual process:

First fill the stock pot to about this full with hot water.  We don't filter ours but it's not a bad idea.

Then add two cups of Borax.

And two cups of Washing Soda (soda ash).

This looks HUGE for some reason, but it's really only 1/4 cup, I promise.  Dr Bronners liquid Castille Soap comes in lots different "flavors" including rose, hemp, citrus, and almond to name a few, but our favorite (right now) is the lavender.  They all smell absolutely fantastic so if you don't know which one to get, don't stress it too hard.  It's gonna smell and work great no matter what scent you get.  Go ahead and get the big one, too, since there are so many uses for Bronners Soap.  There is not a single health food store or pharmacy in the entire country that doesn't carry Dr Bronners (seriously, it's true) but if you want to get it online:
Buy Your Dr Bronner's Soap Here

Pour the Borax and Washing Soda in the water.

Give it a stir.  It's not boiling but it's getting pretty hot so be careful!

Add the 1/4 cup of Dr Bronners.

Add about 15-20 drops of oil.

Give it another quick stir.  I would suggest using a longer spoon that Ken is using here.  :)

 Right before your lovely smelling concoction comes to a boil, remove it from the burner and pour the contents into an empty 5 gallon bucket.  

Then fill up the stock pot again with HOT water and pour that into the bucket.  It will just about fill the bucket, and that's what you want.

See how it's almost full?  The size of your stock pot might make this a little different, so just remember that the recipe makes 5 gallons, so if you have to add a little more or a little less, that's okay, just as long as you end up with 5 gallons.  

And that's it!  Wasn't that simple??  Cover the bucket and let it stand over night.  In the morning when you take the lid off it will be ready to use.  Don't worry if there are little clumps of stuff in it.  That is perfectly normal and those dissolve easily when you start the load.  It might look kinda funky compared to that thick, pretty stuff you're probably used to, but it's not about how it looks, it's about how your clothes look, and they will look (and smell) FANTASTIC!

We put our finished product in recycled bleach bottles. 

And we tie a ribbon on them so we know which ones have detergent in them and which ones contain that nasty old bleach.  Honestly, we do still use some bleach here at the Lodge because people are really tough on our all-white linens and we have yet to find anything tough enough to remove the really bad stains.  Peroxide works on a lot of things, but not everything!  Do you have any suggestions for what to use instead of bleach?

Leave a comment if you have any questions.  And I'd love to hear about if you try this yourself!
Thanks!