tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89409142254088513342024-03-18T20:55:18.529-06:00Claire the ArmadilloCosmopolitan armadillo embarks on a cross-country road trip with her family...for better or for worse.Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-80307912538597347652014-02-24T16:11:00.000-07:002014-02-24T16:11:08.874-07:00OMG DANCING ARMADILLOIt's a well-known fact that armadillos have great rhythm and love dancing, but we don't usually get our smooth moves caught on camera. Allow me to present a video that changes all that and will rock your socks AND YOUR WORLD.
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Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-58197421129458548442014-01-05T16:37:00.001-07:002014-01-05T16:37:59.638-07:00EPIC ROAD TRIP: The End of the RoadMidday Sunday we reached Amarillo (Armadillo...heh), Texas. It was DEAD. SILENT. So much so that Nikki had some kind of random freak out while she was driving around trying to find a place to have lunch. She kept saying, "It's not a real city. It's not a real city" over and over. Finally, Lauren made her pull over into an abandoned parking lot so she could take over driving. Nikki is way too weird for her own good sometimes.<br />
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We found a restaurant open on a lonely street of closed businesses, mostly banks and corporate stuff like that. It was called Acapulco, and hardly anyone there spoke English. We didn't care though, because Mexican food is basically the best thing ever, and here we had found a genuine one!<br />
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Very pretty building too!</div>
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Know what else is the best thing ever? Frozen sangria.</div>
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After the girls got buzzed on sangria, they realized that driving wouldn't be a solid plan, at least for a little while. So they took advantage of the empty streets by posing with some of the city's statues.</div>
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Nikki loves reading, so she wanted to join this mother and her children for story time.</div>
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What captured our attention?</div>
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The Bible! Kinda odd that there's a religious statue in the city, but if Amarillo is a religious place, then that would explain why no one was around on a Sunday afternoon.</div>
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Lots of cities have "themed" statues that best represent what their city is all about. Baltimore, for example, has <a href="http://travelphotobase.com/s/MDBC.HTM" target="_blank">crab statues</a>. Denver has <a href="http://denver.cowparade.com/cow/gallery" target="_blank">cow statues</a>. Amarillo, Texas has <a href="http://www.pbase.com/doxielover1/painted_horses" target="_blank">quarter horse statues</a>. Our first photo op was with "Horse Feathers."</div>
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So patriotic!</div>
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Sponsored by the <a href="http://www.aqha.com/About.aspx" target="_blank">American Quarter Horse Association</a></div>
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I should be a horse jockey! I'm the perfect size.</div>
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Nikki tested whether or not the statue would hold a human's weight. Turns out, yes. (Look at how empty the street is!)</div>
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Lauren and her pretty pointy toes</div>
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Lisa showing off how fab she looks on a horse</div>
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Not sure what this horse's name is. I'll call it "Deep in the Heart of Texas."</div>
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This seems about right. :p</div>
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I'm the size of Texas!</div>
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We walked back to the car and set out for our final "official" destination: <a href="http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2220" target="_blank">Cadillac Ranch</a>, a SUPER COOL art installation in the middle of this field off the highway. A guy bought the land and "planted" a bunch of Caddies into the ground and let people paint all over them. Obviously, we had to take advantage of this opportunity!</div>
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Heading towards the ranch's entrance...</div>
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Valid rule.</div>
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Even the entrance is artsy!</div>
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COOL!!!</div>
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Lisa is ready to graffiti some cars!</div>
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Layers upon layers of spray paint. I wonder what these cars originally looked like?</div>
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Nikki repped the Ravens on this car! (The purple wheel & the yellow writing on the side.)</div>
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Lauren had a tetanus shot recently, so she figured climbing inside the car wouldn't hurt!</div>
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Queens of the cars!</div>
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I wanted to make sure that people knew I came from Denver to visit!</div>
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Here are some examples of the cool graffiti that people put on the cars: </div>
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A dad spent 15 minutes painting this for his daughters. They were so delighted!</div>
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15 minutes later, these boys started painting over it. Art is so impermanent!</div>
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Peekaboo!</div>
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Even straight-laced tourists stopped by! Hopefully they wore smocks though, because it was really windy that day!</div>
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ONWARD TO VICTORY!</div>
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Covered from head to toe in spray paint (told you it was windy!), we left our spray paint cans with some kids who hadn't brought any and hit the road again. We were heading west towards New Mexico, which we'd only get to pass through on our way back home. Texas, like the Midwest and all the states we'd driven through so far, was nothing but sky, flat land, and road stretching out past the horizon.</div>
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On our way through Texas, we saw a sign for the tiny town of Dalhart. Nikki asked that we stop there, as the town was a central focus in a book she'd recently read called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Worst-Hard-Time-Survived/dp/B001TODNZ0" target="_blank"><i>The Worst Hard Time</i></a>, about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl" target="_blank">Dust Bowl</a>, which ravaged the Midwest during the 1930s. We wouldn't get to walk around it, mainly because there wasn't much "it" to walk around, and also because we didn't have the time, but we were able to get a picture of Nikki in front of the town's sign.<br />
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We kept driving (and driving and driving) and were passing through the town of Clayton when we noticed a sculpture that made us pull over for a chance to snap some photos.<br />
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Awesome metal dragon attacking a building!</div>
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That wasn't the only sculpture the artist (unknown to me, unfortunately) had prominently installed on Clayton's main street...</div>
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This guy looks like a less colorful, slightly less demonic looking version of "Blucifer" a.k.a. "Demon Horse" a.k.a. "<a href="http://www.westernartandarchitecture.com/articles/western-art-and-architecture/fall-winter-09/98/denver-s-wild-blue-mustang.html" target="_blank">Blue Mustang</a>," which stands tall in front of the Denver International Airport. It was our favorite piece of art on the main street.</div>
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Famous citizen <a href="http://rodeo.about.com/od/competitors/a/Who-Is-Charmayne-James.htm" target="_blank">Charmayne James</a></div>
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This beautiful mural on Main Street said goodbye to us as we traveled farther west towards home.</div>
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Nikki's camera died somewhere in New Mexico. Because it was getting dark anyway, she decided that charging it would be silly. We looked at the beautiful mesas that turned into the Rocky Mountains as we sped past them, often the only car on the road. By the time we got home to Lauren's house in Aurora, it was after 11:00pm. We were tired and FREEZING; the three girls were in tee shirts and shorts because it had been 90* in Amarillo and Clayton, but it was still early spring in Colorado, meaning freezing temperatures, especially at night. I put Nikki's scarf on and waited in the car while the girls said good-bye. We drove home, dragged our stuff into the apartment, and promptly fell asleep.</div>
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I'd LOVE to take another Epic Road Trip, maybe heading west this time, over the mountains and into Utah, or get a chance to check out New Mexico. There's a big country to explore. I can't wait to do just that.</div>
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The end.</div>
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...especially for all the bugs that hit our windshield.</div>
Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-14605572134204693252013-12-31T12:00:00.002-07:002013-12-31T12:00:16.754-07:00EPIC ROAD TRIP: Oklahoma and TexasThe whole point of the EPIC ROAD TRIP, other than to be awesome and have a great Girls Weekend, was so that Lisa could go to Oklahoma, a state she'd never been to before. It's her goal in life to visit one new state in the US every year, so of all the places we aimed for, we chose Oklahoma City. Because we'd spent more time in <a href="http://clairethearmadillo.blogspot.com/2013/05/epic-road-trip-day-one-part-one-in.html" target="_blank">Wamego</a> <a href="http://clairethearmadillo.blogspot.com/2013/06/epic-road-trip-history.html" target="_blank">than we'd anticipated</a>, we had to hurry up to OKC, and unfortunately didn't get to spend much time there. We all swore we'd go back again some day...which isn't something you'd think someone would say about Oklahoma. :p<br />
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On the way, we encountered MORE GIANT CROSSES!! What the heck, midwest! Why do you have so many crosses the size of skyscrapers?!<br />
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When we finally got to Oklahoma City, we found a cool city that was much more interesting than we'd thought it'd be. We were pleasantly surprised to be proven to be snobs about what an urban center should look like.<br />
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We spent the night scarfing food down and wandering around <a href="http://www.visitokc.com/visitor-info/okc-districts/bricktown/" target="_blank">Bricktown</a>, a really cool part of OKC that used to be a warehouse district. Now it's all nightclubs, restaurants, and a brand new stadium for the Oklahoma City Thunder, their NBA team. I really wanted to take a ride on a water taxi, but we didn't have the money or the time. I remember that the night was really warm and a little humid. However would we cool down?!<br />
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A monstrous drink, of course!</div>
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Not pictured: their quickly-rising blood alcohol levels.</div>
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Like true champs, we finished the whole thing. It was amazing.</div>
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Lisa climbing up a sign for <a href="http://www.flaminglips.com/peacesword/index.html" target="_blank">Flaming Lips</a> Alley like a little monkey!</div>
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After a night of walking around downtown Oklahoma City, we returned to our hotel room, tired but laughing with all the silly things we'd done. We had to save our strength for our trip through the Lone Star State, Texas!</div>
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Our main destination in the west Texas panhandle was Amarillo. I didn't really know much about it, other than it sounds a lot like "<a href="http://www.ci.amarillo.tx.us/" target="_blank">Armadillo</a>," which would have been a MUCH better name, in my humble opinion. </div>
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We didn't want to miss the sign, like we had with Oklahoma, so Nikki pulled over early.</div>
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Her first time in Texas!</div>
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Look at all that sky!</div>
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Climbing up the state line sign. It was not as sturdy as it looked though!!<br />
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We decided to take the historic (but sadly pretty abandoned) <a href="http://www.historic66.com/" target="_blank">Route 66</a>, which used to be a MAJOR highway that took you through the Midwest to California. You might remember that in the movie <a href="http://cars.disney.com/cars" target="_blank"><i>Cars</i></a>, the hero Lightning McQueen breaks down in a little town that used to be on the main route but was later bypassed for a new highway, leaving Radiator Springs to fade away except for its steadfast residents. We found a similar place on our way to Amarillo.</div>
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So begins the weird procession of signs leading into town...</div>
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Going east...</div>
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...or going...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQwY0UutUMfMtD_-BDRXRqSo5kHjyB57UM_EQl3RGmenUs7pE4ZLceFzxdF0qj5h4Ij2GNGaRZcTVrvLZ8LKIeyZ-owl_tF_WBykfzsvT0tY5gttDFKMloLQJjtkSc_HOwFLVc1kpHQI/s1600/DSCN0218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQwY0UutUMfMtD_-BDRXRqSo5kHjyB57UM_EQl3RGmenUs7pE4ZLceFzxdF0qj5h4Ij2GNGaRZcTVrvLZ8LKIeyZ-owl_tF_WBykfzsvT0tY5gttDFKMloLQJjtkSc_HOwFLVc1kpHQI/s1600/DSCN0218.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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...west...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMw7ng0BVR8dMku6Nz1-PiRQ8q74Usm8DLJdw4lp06AdLXk7V-Lfs-aAz-SQS-BB82_hyphenhyphenaRwK5F-yJZxD2AUK_1GBshxaLBbkYJufX2mKlimNRx6CBq_dkdbQyeOGZojEvvEoCtSjPG0/s1600/DSCN0219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMw7ng0BVR8dMku6Nz1-PiRQ8q74Usm8DLJdw4lp06AdLXk7V-Lfs-aAz-SQS-BB82_hyphenhyphenaRwK5F-yJZxD2AUK_1GBshxaLBbkYJufX2mKlimNRx6CBq_dkdbQyeOGZojEvvEoCtSjPG0/s1600/DSCN0219.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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...Route 66...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9SWdqienoBB0Yr817lgVK3J3XyqN4Qv3kImGGuNGKJjXXtNBYzUdUkcjx36R1w63MStKvMz59-_NQQmQaOKrkYxbveiGGZ8XFZORQ_0rDOJL8oifKt_Zeon8zPYbj9PbHR8uvg9evZ0/s1600/DSCN0220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9SWdqienoBB0Yr817lgVK3J3XyqN4Qv3kImGGuNGKJjXXtNBYzUdUkcjx36R1w63MStKvMz59-_NQQmQaOKrkYxbveiGGZ8XFZORQ_0rDOJL8oifKt_Zeon8zPYbj9PbHR8uvg9evZ0/s1600/DSCN0220.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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...does it best! (Everyone loves a good rhyme!)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMOREp6JnkgjfgwSgzOQs3iaFMAT-oWJkSX8zfVwVkxntEblstXBH1cDuNOGinKiKlCVo57dhoxDJDnpDb3DOSyTp0Sz9lSwyjpBQ1ylLf4a7iwkCqTXlYSB23byyGuuWB8GBjug73dsc/s1600/DSCN0221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMOREp6JnkgjfgwSgzOQs3iaFMAT-oWJkSX8zfVwVkxntEblstXBH1cDuNOGinKiKlCVo57dhoxDJDnpDb3DOSyTp0Sz9lSwyjpBQ1ylLf4a7iwkCqTXlYSB23byyGuuWB8GBjug73dsc/s1600/DSCN0221.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Corporate sponsorship keeps the signs looking fine!</div>
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The town we were in was <a href="http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/route66/mclean_commercial_historic_district.html" target="_blank">McLean</a>, Texas. It was eerily quiet for a Sunday morning. Then again, mostly-abandoned towns tend to be eerily quiet. We started exploring once we hit the town line.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibrYouJGRcR_Egg412MN787MNfRo0EenrmI-z-xCyrePsmGVD-zFtmniWqU64DicXiDjGpz9cW0gL_otlF4h2_2MpKWRGV1Z4t9Bo31NoSkGI9bu8ITnzvnW5MZTuhs0zUfeQA8zzJbDM/s1600/DSCN0223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibrYouJGRcR_Egg412MN787MNfRo0EenrmI-z-xCyrePsmGVD-zFtmniWqU64DicXiDjGpz9cW0gL_otlF4h2_2MpKWRGV1Z4t9Bo31NoSkGI9bu8ITnzvnW5MZTuhs0zUfeQA8zzJbDM/s1600/DSCN0223.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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OBVIOUSLY my favorite part of town! An armadillo driving a convertible! If only I had one.</div>
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Here are some photos that Nikki took of the various abandoned/historic buildings in McLean:</div>
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We went to a gas station that wasn't this one so we could fill up, buy snacks, and go to the bathroom.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTcUWUj1oHOacZ3gRq2ohXQdlTuEIx6df-A6r24prKTLfGxODQjunlje5r8XwXdFcp_XiJopgyf6G8309Jm329ntRXFaKdID_Au4VihMotktnoL5weoW2xwb3sDyzqC6HQA70b0zbak1Y/s1600/DSCN0238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTcUWUj1oHOacZ3gRq2ohXQdlTuEIx6df-A6r24prKTLfGxODQjunlje5r8XwXdFcp_XiJopgyf6G8309Jm329ntRXFaKdID_Au4VihMotktnoL5weoW2xwb3sDyzqC6HQA70b0zbak1Y/s1600/DSCN0238.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Nothing says "fun vacation" like a picture next to a broken-down car!</div>
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The main historic strip. We didn't have time to walk around it, as we had to get to Amarillo in time for lunch, but it was super creepy and would have made for some interesting investigating.</div>
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So that's the end of our trip TOWARDS Amarillo/Armadillo. I'll leave you with two random pictures we took at another gas station somewhere in Texas. They're...special.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4YtMrI-p22ZFPzuFuiVR2m4wmBhTdwm9DoSR5Y9TECzi1p0_vbNMQ5HKfTnO7XpsNwDkTyoI2x1UMk1etP6OJStjLDSn618738KT5UZXAoFkSjE8MG1p6g6QnAwYnmmGDUIUjXpRkUlQ/s1600/2013-04-14_18-26-24_483.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4YtMrI-p22ZFPzuFuiVR2m4wmBhTdwm9DoSR5Y9TECzi1p0_vbNMQ5HKfTnO7XpsNwDkTyoI2x1UMk1etP6OJStjLDSn618738KT5UZXAoFkSjE8MG1p6g6QnAwYnmmGDUIUjXpRkUlQ/s1600/2013-04-14_18-26-24_483.jpg" height="320" width="206" /></a></div>
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DISCLAIMER: Please do not give your toddlers soda! </div>
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Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-11937475282467194972013-06-21T16:52:00.001-06:002013-06-21T16:52:14.300-06:00EPIC ROAD TRIP: HistoryWhile we were in Wamego, KS for the <a href="http://clairethearmadillo.blogspot.com/2013/05/epic-road-trip-day-one-part-one-in.html" target="_blank">ironically-named Tulip Festival</a>, Lisa, Lauren, Nikki, and I stopped by the <a href="http://www.wamegohistoricalmuseum.org/village.html" target="_blank">Wamego Historical Society & Museum</a> to learn more about this awesome little town. If you're there (and you REALLY SHOULD go!), definitely stop by. They have a lot of cool and random stuff to see. It was a little mean, but how Lisa described the museum is PERFECT: "It's filled with stuff that kids donated after their parents died."<br />
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We first visited the <a href="http://www.wamegohistoricalmuseum.org/dutchmill.html" target="_blank">Dutch Mill</a>, a wicked-old (100 years!) windmill that was made by Amish settlers to grind wheat into flour. My favorite fun fact about the mill is that it was originally located 12 miles outside of Wamego, but when they moved it into town, they wrote numbers on all of the stones so they could put it back in the exact order in which it was built! GENIUS! They don't use it anymore, obviously, mainly because they have those Christmas lights on it, and getting the lights tangled is bad news bears. You can go inside the mill, and we talked with a really nice guy who told us the history and answered our (many) questions.<br />
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Inside the main museum building, there were really awesome, well-constructed displays of just about everything related to every day life in Wamego from settler days to recent times. The biggest display immediately in the front was all about a former resident named Sergeant Harold Edwin Fetcher. He was in World War II in Italy and was killed in action in October 1944. They couldn't find his remains until <b>October 2006</b>. Can you even imagine what that must have been like for his family?! Crazy.<br />
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Kind of funny and sarcastic</div>
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WHOA! Check out the shrapnel marks in this helmet!</div>
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Artifacts (is that the right word for something that's not SUPER old?) that they found with Sgt. Fetcher's body</div>
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Nikki's favorite exhibit in the museum was a nice tribute to Hod Dendurent, a major figure in Wamego who played a clown every year in the parade. He was a beloved figure for generations, and it was really nice to see him honored like this. Nikki may or may not have teared up. (She's really emotional like that.)</div>
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Trigger warning if you're scared of clowns!</center>
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Gotta admit, the costumes are pretty weird</center>
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Two really nice articles in the local paper about Hod:</center>
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Sorry they're hard to read because of the glare; it's tough to take pics like this when you're short, Nikki says</center>
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MY favorite part of the museum was this stuffed bison they had just hanging out! She's got a name and everything. (There's a little more about her in the museum's main webpage that I linked at the top of the blog.</div>
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Look at that name!!!!!</div>
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I think I need to make a tag for the blog for bison. Pretty sure this is the second one I've hung out with.</div>
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Some info about bison (note: NOT the same as buffalo!)</div>
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One of the creepier exhibits at the Wamego Historical Society & Museum was about and old-school dentist.</div>
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It showed off all of his tools including dentures and other fake teeth. Since I don't have teeth, and since Nikki's got GREAT teeth (according to her dentist), neither of us were freaked out about the exhibit just because it was of a dentist. There's just something creepy about old dentures, knowing that these were in the mouths of people who are now DEAD. (ew ew ew ew ew!)</div>
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Like, who looks at their grandparents' dentures when they're cleaning out their houses after the funeral and thinks, "This would be AWESOME for the historical museum to have on display!"?!</div>
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Pick your fake teeth color, like picking nail polish for a manicure!</div>
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In keeping with my tradition of posing with statues, we took a picture of me next to this GIANT tree carving.</div>
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Info about the statue</div>
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Portrait of the artist and his creation</div>
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Nikki got to nerd out in one exhibit that featured a real weird but effective solution to a very serious <a href="http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/PublicHealth" target="_blank">public health</a> problem: tuberculosis. A doctor saw that people who were just walking around the streets were hocking loogies on the sidewalk, and that was transmitting TB into the air where other people could catch it. So he employed TB patients to make bricks with a reminder on them that spitting wasn't cool.</div>
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Again, sorry that it's hard to read.</div>
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The genius doctor (WICKED nice 'stache!)</div>
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His beliefs about health, from a newspaper article about his initiative</div>
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NERDY PHOTO BREAK TIME!!</div>
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The rest of these photos are of random, funny stuff scattered around the museum. Pretty sure the giant shoe is my favorite.</div>
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Really intricate doll house</div>
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"Paul Bunyan's Other Shoe"</div>
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The inside of Paul's shoe. What a weird marketing stunt!</div>
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Nikki's favorite: GIANT BALL OF STRING that some random lady decided to make and the museum decided to keep.</div>
Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-72737194781413358772013-05-04T18:08:00.001-06:002013-08-15T18:22:22.411-06:00EPIC ROAD TRIP: Day One, Part One: In Search of Tulips and TacozAfter a delicious breakfast of cereal and fruit and English muffins and assorted other complementary breakfast foods, we hit the road once again for Wamego, Kansas and their <a href="http://www.visitwamego.com/things-to-do/festivals-and-events/Tulip-Festival" target="_blank">annual Tulip Festival</a>, which we were eagerly looking forward to!<span id="goog_1572737851"></span><span id="goog_1572737852"></span><br />
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Upon arrival, we noticed something a little...odd...<br />
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No, not whatever it is Nikki's doing in this picture.</div>
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THERE WEREN'T ANY TULIPS IN BLOOM!!</div>
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We just laughed and kept driving to downtown. So there weren't tulips at the sign. Maybe they had some good ones blooming in town. Maybe they had had some imported for the festival.</div>
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Nope. Just disappointment.</div>
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And melodrama from Nikki, of course.</div>
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Some of the flowers were SO CLOSE to blooming! We kept coaxing them to grow suddenly, but it didn't work.</div>
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The tulips seemed like just an excuse to have a festival though. The whole town of Wamego (and a lot of tourists like us) were out in the sunshine selling and buying crafts, playing games, eating delicious food, and experiencing everything that the park had to offer.</div>
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The large pond in the middle of the park offered visitors serene, gorgeous views. I bet you could get some model boats or something and zoom them all around in the water. If only we'd had one with us; I'd love to go yachting!</div>
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There were historic statues like this one around the park too. We looked at the outdoor ones and visited the Historical Society's museum (in next entry). It was so neat seeing how a town like Wamego used to be!</div>
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We started our tour of the grounds by supporting small businesses and SHOPPING!! First stop: a tent that was filled to overflowing with different kinds of jellies, jams, and quick bread mixes, all homemade.</div>
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That Peerless Pear was AWESOME. They sold spicy versions of some fruit jellies too! All were a little too spicy for my taste, but I have a sensitive palate, so don't discount them because of my review.</div>
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The business is called <a href="http://stickyspoons.com/index.php/store/jellies/" target="_blank">Sticky Spoons</a>, and good news!! THEY DELIVER!!
There were so many flavors, as you can see. As I mentioned above, they
also sell bread mixes in cute little fabric sacks. OH! And they use old
sugar bags as their shopping bags instead of just a plastic bag! How
cool is that?! </div>
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Here I am with the owner, rocking my "best friends" ring that Lauren, Lisa, and I got at Carlos O'Kelly's the night before. (None of the rings fit Nikki's fingers, so she didn't get to be best friends with us. NYAH!)</div>
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We also visited a tent where a gentleman cut wood pieces into really cool picture frames for people's names and for pet names! Lauren was surprised and pleased to find a frame for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pawsitively-Pooches-%20%20LLC/148919961809191" target="_blank">her dog Sneakers</a>, who's the unofficial mascot of her dog-walking and dog-sitting business <a href="http://pawsitivelypooches.com/" target="_blank">Pawsitively Pooches</a>. (Nikki and Steve use her and her employees to walk Eva twice a week, which is great, because that's 20 minutes every Tuesday and Thursday that Tasha and I get to nap without Eva wanting to play/hog all the covers.)</div>
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The company, called <a href="http://www.nameframeplace.com/" target="_blank">Name Frame Place</a>, is run by Kevin & Deb Ledford.<br />
They make custom frames too!<br />
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AND!! Their business card is made of wood! <br />
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Another great vendor we bought things from was a woman named Amanda who sells chain mail jewelry! We all bought rings, but she also sells bracelets and earrings and fairie wings, and "clothes"! You can buy her awesome stuff here: <a href="http://www.etsy.com/amandalynnchainmail" target="_blank">http://www.etsy.com/amandalynnchainmail</a>. Everyone should buy something from her and her husband! They make chain mail stuff together while watching TV and snuggling in the evenings. It's TOTALLY ADORABLE.</div>
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Nikki: "OMG! I'D BE THE PRETTIEST OF FAIRIES AT <a href="http://spoutwood.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=28&Itemid=6" target="_blank">FAIRIE FEST</a>!"</div>
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Hanging out with Amanda's husband, who's wearing an AWESOME outfit with the Punisher's logo on it!</div>
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After we finished spending all of our money, it was time to GET. SILLY.</div>
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Gymnasts!</div>
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Keep it movin'. Nothin' to see here. Just an armadillo on a riding mower.</div>
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Let's go knock down a building so I can scoop up the debris!!</div>
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No, Lisa!! I'm not debris!!</div>
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They had some historic re-enactors at the festival who showed visitors how settlers at the time would make clothes and go hunting for food and procure other necessities. They also had some fun games that people could play. The most popular one was throwing an axe into a block of wood:</div>
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You got about three tries to hit the wood, I think.</div>
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Lauren, Lisa, and I vehemently denied Nikki the opportunity to play the game.</div>
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Nikki: "But if an 8-year-old can do it, I can too!"</div>
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Lisa: "That's the worst idea I've ever heard."</div>
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Lauren: "If there's something you should NEVER do, it's throw an axe."</div>
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Me: "I can't believe you think we'd let you get away with this."</div>
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Disappointed, she huffed away towards the petting zoo, which the girls had wanted to visit anyway.</div>
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The petting zoo was hosted by the local 4-H club, the kids showing off their rabbits, goats, llamas, and sheep. I was distracted from the get-go by a GIANT pooch in a cute tee shirt. Turns out...HER NAME IS CLAIRE!! She's the <a href="http://clairethearmadillo.blogspot.com/2011/12/denver-zoo-part-two-elephants-and-other.html" target="_blank">second Claire</a> I've run into on my adventures.</div>
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We were all very happy to make our acquaintances. :)</div>
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Lisa had been freaking out (in a mature, adult way) all day about going to the petting zoo and petting the goats. She's NUTS for goats. She took a bunch of pictures and was all smiles.</div>
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I bet she'd TOTALLY be that crazy hippie lady that raises goats in her house in the city. They work really well as lawn mowers. They'll eat anything.</div>
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/182/1004642/restaurant/Kansas/Totos-Tacoz-Wamego"><img alt="Toto's Tacoz on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1004642/minilogo.gif" style="border:none;padding:0px;width:104px;height:15px" /></a>
After such a busy day, we were starting to get HUNGRY. The food trucks were offering delicious-smelling things - barbecue, hamburgers, sausage, hot dogs, chicken...basically nothing Lauren could eat. They also had funnel cake, and I REALLY campaigned to get funnel cake, but the second point of going to Wamego was to go to <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%20http://totostacoz.com/" target="_blank">Toto's Tacoz</a> and eat some <i>Wizard of Oz</i>-themed Mexican food.<br />
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Nikki's tee-shirt says, "the taco is the most versatile fruit". Lisa has a matching one, but she forgot to bring it.</div>
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The line to get food was understandably long, so we spent time looking for all the little Totos they had hidden around the restaurant. Can you spot them? (Note: Some are easy to find, and some are hard!)</div>
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There were murals all over the restaurant. It was a really bright, fun place!</div>
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This one's pretty easy to find! ;)<br />
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Three amigos!<br />
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Flying monkey!!<br />
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Lisa and Nikki each got a Toto's taco; Lisa got hers with ground beef, and Nikki got hers with pulled chicken. SOOOOOOOOOOOO good! Lauren got a cheese quesadilla with salsa that she really loved.</div>
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It looks sooooooooooooooooooooooooo good! And it was!</div>
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/182/1004642/restaurant/Kansas/Totos-Tacoz-Wamego" target="_blank">Nikki rated it highly on Urbanspoon.com</a> so other people would know how great it is. Right before we left, we HAD to do a <i>Wizard of Oz</i>-themed photo shoot!</div>
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I'm Toto!! Lisa's an excellent lion. And Lauren looks like she'd be MUCH less annoying than the real Dorothy.</div>
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We got back on the road shortly after lunch and headed southeast towards Oklahoma City. Before I share THAT adventure with you though, I'm going to write an entry about the Wamego Historical Museum, which had a TON of really cool antiques in it...so many that I felt it deserved its own entry!</div>
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Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-88914691624800082013-05-02T16:57:00.000-06:002013-05-02T16:57:37.656-06:00EPIC ROAD TRIP: Day 0.5 - The Ups and Downs of KansasThe plan was for Nikki to leave work at noon and meet Lisa and Lauren at Lauren's house to pack the car and be on our way. We were going to set out no later than 1:00pm and make great time zooming through Kansas, where the weather would be lovely, and the sunflowers would be out, turning their faces towards the light.<br />
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But that was not to be.<br />
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First, Nikki had to clean out and vacuum her car. While she's been going through and removing the trash (mostly gum wrappers because she has an ADDICTION) periodically, she hasn't vacuumed (or washed/dusted) her car SINCE SHE MOVED ACROSS THE COUNTRY!! She says that there's "no point" because most of the dirt and all is from the prairie, and as soon as she'd clean it up, it'd just get dusty or muddy again. I blame it on laziness, frankly. ;p So Nikki pulled her car into Lauren's garage and used Lauren's shop vac to vacuum all the grossness off the floors and the back seats. (Mostly Eva fur back there, but also pine needles from last year's Christmas tree.) Nikki laughed later and told the girls "It's obvious you're my besties because I've NEVER cleaned this car up for anyone else, not even my family when they visited!" So that took a bunch of time.<br />
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Then Lisa got stuck at work for a while and didn't get to Lauren's until sometime around 1:00 or 1:30. Totally valid as work > vacations, but it was still whompsy.<br />
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We finally got on the road around 2:00 but immediately had to stop off at the gas station to fill up Becky's (Nikki's car) gas tank and grab ice for the cooler and sparkling water for the girls. (When they realized that they couldn't fit the whole bag of ice in the smallish cooler, Nikki took the giant chunk of ice that remained and overhand threw it across the parking lot and laughed maniacally as it shattered into a million ice pieces. She maniacally laughed a LOT on this trip. <i><b>Nikki Note: Whatevs.</b></i>)<br />
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THEN we got on the road! Woooooo!!!!!<br />
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When Nikki, Steve, Tasha, and I drove from Baltimore to Denver, we saw signs for <a href="http://www.townoflimon.com/" target="_blank">Limon, Colorado</a> the second we crossed the Kansas border. "Where is Limon? It sounds important if it's being 'advertised' the moment we drive into the state before its state! WE MUST GO TO LIMON." Unfortunately, we were reaching our travel deadline and had to forgo making a stop at this mysterious city, but Nikki added visiting Limon to her bucket list because she's stubborn and weird like that. As this was an EPIC ROAD TRIP where dreams would come true, the girls made a little detour and stopped off at what turned out to be not much more than a place for truckers to fill up on gas and get food.<br />
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She was WAAAAYY too excited about this.</div>
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As we were on our way to take this picture with the sign, we were flagged down by a hitch-hiker. He said that he needed money for bus fare, and could we spare anything? We said no and started walking away, THEN he asked us for FIVE DOLLARS (pretty gutsy, if you ask me) for <u>gas money</u>. "I thought you didn't have a car," we pointed out. He just laughed. People are so weird. BUT!!!! The best thing ever happened -Lisa found a dollar near the sign! We took it as a message from Fate and bought a scratch-off lotto ticket with it...AND WE WON A DOLLAR!<br />
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Lisa with our winning ticket. The lucky numbers are 666!!!</div>
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Lauren traded in that ticket for another one to see if we could keep our lucky streak going. Unfortunately, it wasn't a winner. (She had chosen a "fire"-themed ticket, I think, playing off our "devil" theme from the last ticket.) We figured that we hadn't really lost any money, so we went on our way still in good spirits.</div>
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As we entered the far east side of Colorado, the weather started to turn. Wind was blowing in from the north, making it really hard for Nikki to keep Becky from swerving to the right. Tumbleweeds attacked us from all sides; Nikki ran over a bunch and hoped they weren't stuck under her car, clinging to the important parts that make cars run. Then the rain started POURING down on us. Wind, rain, tumbleweeds, no flowers...it made for a depressing start to our drive.<br />
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You know it's bad weather when the sky's the same color I am!</div>
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Eventually we crossed into Kansas. The weather was still bad for a few miles, so we ran into a McDonald's for a bathroom break and to give in to our basest urges and split a small fry and get milkshakes. Om nom nom...no regrets. We continued on I-70, listening to pop music and talking about a variety of topics until we saw signs on the side of the road advertising a 6-legged cow, an 8,000 pound prairie dog, and a petting zoo with all sorts of wonders and excitement. Nikki remembered the signs from her trip out West, and her coworker had been talking about it for WEEKS, so we decided to take another detour and check it out.</div>
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With every mile leading us closer and closer to this epic sideshow, our excitement grew and grew. Finally...WE WERE THERE!</div>
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...Only to discover it was closed. Forever.</div>
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Even though the signs were still up for miles and miles on arguably the largest/longest/most important highway in America where ANYONE can see them, the owners of <a href="http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11444" target="_blank">Prairie Dog Town </a>had closed up shop without notice.</div>
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We all entertained the idea of buying the zoo, just like that family does in that <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1389137" target="_blank">Matt Damon movie</a>, but I pointed out that a) none of us had that kind of money, and b) we'd have to live in Kansas. We scrapped the idea and kept going.</div>
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Our ultimate destination for the night was a hotel in <a href="http://www.ci.manhattan.ks.us/" target="_blank">Manhattan, Kansas</a> ("the Little Apple") that we were staying in for free because Lauren's aunt used her hotel points for us. (THANKS!!!) The hotel was SOOOOO much nicer than any place I've ever stayed with Nikki; I'll have to start hanging out with Lauren's aunt more.</div>
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Such fancy free toiletries!!</div>
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TWO different kinds of bibles for when we're having an existential crisis of faith. Which to choose?!</div>
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Sleeping on that bed was like sleeping on a heavenly cloud, surrounded by angels and fluffy animals. Nikki said the feather pillows didn't offer a lot of neck support, but I thought it was fine.</div>
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Before we got to the hotel, we had decided to go to dinner at a restaurant that Lisa recommended, as the name of the place was really funny: <a href="http://www.carlosokellys.com/menu" target="_blank">Carlos O'Kelly's</a>, a strange Mexican-Irish sounding combination/fusion restaurant.</div>
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Pretending to be a flamenco dancer</div>
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Nikki was disappointed that they really didn't play up the fusion-soundingness more. Why not have corned beef tacos? More things with potatoes in them? Lamb stew with some Mexican seasonings? Nikki & Lisa had the "Inspired Brisket Tacos," which had this GIANT piece of fried cheese on the side of it. The girls were in love. I filled up on salsa. Lauren had the spinach and mushroom quesadilla because she's a vegetarian. I split some of her quesadilla because om nom nom veggies!</div>
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Dinner buddies!!</div>
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Our waitress was AMAZING and took very good care of us. She was also a big fan of me, which I'm always pleased with. We gave her a great tip and left a lovely note of appreciation. :) We retired to the hotel room, where we relaxed and then froze to death because Lisa had cranked the AC, and then none of us thought to turn it off when we couldn't make it warmer (after trying multiple times in the middle of the night). I just did the same thing I did when I go camping - snuggle as close to Nikki as I can and steal all the covers. Despite the chill, we all slept really well, and after grabbing some food from the complimentary breakfast bar, we continued east towards Wamego, Kansas.</div>
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TO BE CONTINUED...</div>
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Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-18649090530846503582013-04-29T16:44:00.005-06:002013-04-29T16:44:56.888-06:00Nikki Post: Epic Road Trip PrologueAs Claire mentioned in a <a href="http://clairethearmadillo.blogspot.com/2013/04/epic-road-trip.html" target="_blank">previous blog post</a>, we teamed up with my friends Lisa and Lauren to visit three and a half states (Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and a drive-through of New Mexico) in two and a half days (part of Friday, and all of Saturday and Sunday). Lisa has a policy of visiting at least one new state before every birthday, and this year, Oklahoma was the lucky recipient of our presence. Our stops in the other states were merely to make the weekend epic and exciting. We had a blast and solidified our statuses as "besties", which was especially exciting for me because it marks the first time that I can say I have best friends in both of my "homes."<br />
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I'm finally editing the photos, and Claire's helping me do research on the various sites we visited and people we met. (Because she likes this to be an educational as well as entertaining blog.) As always, I thank you, loyal readers, for your patience as I sort through and edit the hundreds of photos I took and dig through the internet for information to share. Claire's first entry will detail our trip through a stormy Kansas, our stay in a swanky hotel, fun at the Tulip Festival in Wamego, and our delicious lunch at a taquerÃa named after a very famous terrier. <br />
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Not sure how many entries there will be, as I haven't yet split everything up into sub-folders. There WILL be additional photos from the trip added to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/lustrefoundphotos" target="_blank">my Facebook fan page</a>, which may get updated before this blog occasionally, simply because it's easier. Keep an eye out there as well. :)Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-227537027748426402013-04-17T14:11:00.000-06:002013-04-17T14:11:15.845-06:00Date Night: Paint your own PotteryNikki and her friend Megan go on "date nights" every week or so where they hang out and either have a cheap dinner or do something fun together. A couple of weeks ago, they went to a really cool place called <a href="http://www.lowry.colormemine.com/" target="_blank">Color-Me-Mine</a> where you can paint your own ceramics!<br />
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There's a $10 studio fee to cover all the supplies and the glazing/firing process. Then you pay for whatever piece you'd like to paint, and you're ready to go! They have a lot of different ceramic pieces to choose from...<br />
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There were whimsical pieces...</div>
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There were superheroes, cute animals, and food...</div>
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And LOTS of stuff for pet-lovers!</div>
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Speaking of pets, Nikki chose a mug with a dog on it to give to her friend Lauren (who owns <a href="http://www.pawsitivelypooches.com/" target="_blank">Pawsitively Pooches</a>, LLC and is Eva's dog-walker/dog-sitter) as a belated Easter present.</div>
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We went over to the HUGE shelf where all the paint colors were kept and chose the colors we thought Lauren would like best. Her dog Sneakers is the unofficial mascot for Pawsitively Pooches, so we wanted to paint the little dog to look like him.</div>
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The different tiles on the surrounding walls show customers/artists what the colors will look like pre-glaze and post-glaze. (It's a big difference!) They also show what the colors look like with only a FEW layers and with MANY layers (again, a big difference). There are little tiles in front of every bottle of paint to show the final color, and all of the bottles are numbered so you can remember which color(s) you used if you run out of paint. </div>
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Next up, grab your painting supplies! They have brushes of every size
and shape, sponges, stencils, pens, pencils, and palates for holding
your paint.</div>
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With all of our supplies in front of us, we were ready to paint!</div>
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I had offered to help Nikki paint the back part of the mug while she painted the front...</div>
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...but she said that my lack of hands/opposable thumbs/muscles would make it impossible for me to help. Plus, I'd already made a bit of a mess on the table top (it had paper on it!), so I was put in charge of keeping Nikki's engagement ring safe and clean while she and Megan painted.</div>
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Megan had chosen a mug too, but hers was going to be speckled with paint and have a musical theme since she's a (really great) singer.</div>
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Fro-yo break!!</div>
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Megan discovered that the best way to get the speckled effect she wanted was to use a toothbrush and flick the paint on there using a variety of methods.</div>
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This was NOT one of the methods she chose.</div>
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This was one of the methods...although without the silly face (most of the time). ;)</div>
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Nikki (with my supervision, of course) painted the "Sneakers" mug.</div>
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Front</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAFWAxOehgFKKE14pb7y759jmd2Yhqyqwg5dZ0sTiR5PDMgwRM8veAcIZBS5YJrZO5dKcWM6Qo_rc4DItis4bO-lLFWZZLe7OvDRntvmZyECnjwdpRT0uylM0U-1LQuffFnVX60GfqbNg/s1600/2013-03-29_20-02-24_768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAFWAxOehgFKKE14pb7y759jmd2Yhqyqwg5dZ0sTiR5PDMgwRM8veAcIZBS5YJrZO5dKcWM6Qo_rc4DItis4bO-lLFWZZLe7OvDRntvmZyECnjwdpRT0uylM0U-1LQuffFnVX60GfqbNg/s1600/2013-03-29_20-02-24_768.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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PUPPY BUTT!</div>
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So it's a good thing that Nikki put me in charge of keeping her stuff safe, because Megan went CRAZY with her spackling! She kept trying different techniques with the toothbrush...</div>
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...like throwing paint at it with brushes. She was worried about messing up her clothes (because she hadn't thought to wear grubby ones), so Nikki gallantly offered her hoodie as protection. Funny that neither noticed the SMOCKS RIGHT NEXT TO THEM. Luckily one of the nice employees pointed this fact out, and Nikki's favorite hoodie was spared further messiness.</div>
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Once Megan was properly besmocked, she continued her quest to make the table (and Nikki and herself and Nikki's mug and everything else in a five-foot radius) as messy as possible.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJ0XT6uthxh7UgBymHxqRb3F9L9agYXS_TZ3sqVoLiNMmH8Ae7KxE6kaYIB-rCeoKnyCQrcZUeUZ4xEKKe1UotG3bFgDUrlHzJ6haUss_UVLAsvAyJ7H4EGdeCnT-IkhlNJQ6vbgCk6o/s1600/2013-03-29_20-01-35_980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJ0XT6uthxh7UgBymHxqRb3F9L9agYXS_TZ3sqVoLiNMmH8Ae7KxE6kaYIB-rCeoKnyCQrcZUeUZ4xEKKe1UotG3bFgDUrlHzJ6haUss_UVLAsvAyJ7H4EGdeCnT-IkhlNJQ6vbgCk6o/s1600/2013-03-29_20-01-35_980.jpg" height="175" width="320" /></a></div>
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Megan to Nikki: "Haven't you ever MET me before?! How did you NOT know this would happen?!"</div>
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The aftermath</div>
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Unfortunately for Nikki, Color-Me-Mine had to close for the night before Nikki could finish her mug. They said they'd hold onto it for her, and she could return the next day to finish it. So we headed back over the next morning to finish the job.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1VTZkxmt1k3WkG7WC0Q30pO9qdp4cghyphenhyphenYvQ5ml0WIryGomGfYPx2pxEmexEi7oU2YMM9v-1Q4jP4bze_rHHbXsjX6jmioOH3613EFnDiFwm_LnK4OWlaEsl96GiGM6YOzmV17Jr_ddw/s1600/2013-03-30_10-28-16_92.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1VTZkxmt1k3WkG7WC0Q30pO9qdp4cghyphenhyphenYvQ5ml0WIryGomGfYPx2pxEmexEi7oU2YMM9v-1Q4jP4bze_rHHbXsjX6jmioOH3613EFnDiFwm_LnK4OWlaEsl96GiGM6YOzmV17Jr_ddw/s1600/2013-03-30_10-28-16_92.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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All set to continue our creativity!</div>
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This time, I got to be on clean-up duty!</div>
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Nikki only meant to be there for about a half-hour or 45 minutes, but she forgot that she's a crazy perfectionist, so everything had to be JUST RIGHT and not look sloppy. PLUS she started adding new features that she hadn't thought to do the night before, so we ended up being there for TWO HOURS!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVoZvF5tirO0u42zrTd6G98LqUYlHKLmXUC_mRB1kam9G1Ttc2J-pjnhy62otoJIiW3MCzIcaH9rG47_I600ampYgHadxzPV6iC3vqGtYUApMNpXE2ESPMHeuTRUwQa4jmNHxs0s1KTgA/s1600/2013-03-30_11-42-11_161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVoZvF5tirO0u42zrTd6G98LqUYlHKLmXUC_mRB1kam9G1Ttc2J-pjnhy62otoJIiW3MCzIcaH9rG47_I600ampYgHadxzPV6iC3vqGtYUApMNpXE2ESPMHeuTRUwQa4jmNHxs0s1KTgA/s1600/2013-03-30_11-42-11_161.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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She added paw prints going up the handle of the mug...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9McsuPyvvijttU3ffyJdeuRFaCAXHUUotIju6EfvpnRGykE6Xl3Wz8PCVlJm2xRgagThGQ0IBuaxnjiXtDNlYWdR4878szI8-Bn2Hw5OHOcx1nXWOCIKViOuD0XeFsP-jy-y5oaWmgY/s1600/2013-03-30_11-42-22_94.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9McsuPyvvijttU3ffyJdeuRFaCAXHUUotIju6EfvpnRGykE6Xl3Wz8PCVlJm2xRgagThGQ0IBuaxnjiXtDNlYWdR4878szI8-Bn2Hw5OHOcx1nXWOCIKViOuD0XeFsP-jy-y5oaWmgY/s1600/2013-03-30_11-42-22_94.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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...and a big paw print on the inside bottom.</div>
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We had to wait a week for the mug to be glazed and fired because it was spring break time, and as you can imagine, the place had been FLOODED with kids and their parents looking to spend some quality time together. It was totally worth the wait though, because the mug came out looking GREAT!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_OwGLufbUBihT9Me9RDfvU8-4cD3C3GqHLi948mGLdsQgFN4PYx4Wo4aVJSVEtX4OpfRhSP4uA4KHVRScS0-yyAk2mMKq8rFkR5OWoT4wk9128vXBGNhzF7L2Onqtxny9lTizBMKMNE/s1600/2013-04-07_18-58-43_281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_OwGLufbUBihT9Me9RDfvU8-4cD3C3GqHLi948mGLdsQgFN4PYx4Wo4aVJSVEtX4OpfRhSP4uA4KHVRScS0-yyAk2mMKq8rFkR5OWoT4wk9128vXBGNhzF7L2Onqtxny9lTizBMKMNE/s1600/2013-04-07_18-58-43_281.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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And most important of all, Lauren loved it. :)</div>
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Color-Me-Mine has several locations in the Denver metro area, so if you want to have a fun girls night or a birthday party for your kid or just a quiet night by yourself being artsy, I HIGHLY recommend checking it out!</div>
Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-83691143679223109052013-04-12T11:51:00.000-06:002013-04-12T11:51:44.204-06:00EPIC ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!OMG YOU GUYS I FINALLY GET TO GO ON A LEGIT ADVENTURE AGAIN I'M SO EXCITED!!!<br />
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Nikki, me, and her besties Lisa and Lauren are going to 4.5 states in 2.5 days. No one thinks we can do it, and we probably can't, to be honest, but it's gonna be SO AWESOME to try!<br />
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First stop: Wamego, KS for their tulip festival and <i>Wizard of Oz</i> themed food/wine stores.<br />
Second stop: Oklahoma City, OK because Lisa's never been to Oklahoma; we're also gonna go to a blues bar and eat barbecue<br />
Third stop: Amarillo, TX to see Cadillac Ranch where this dude PLANTED CADILLAC CARS and then got all artsy with them<br />
The half-state: We're gonna drive through New Mexico to get back to<br />
Fourth state: Colorado, where if we have time, we're gonna stop off at this place named "Cimino Park," just like Nikki's family's name!<br />
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We got a new camera, because Nikki's fancy one stopped believing that its lens was attached to it when IT TOTALLY WAS, so we'll be able to document all the awesomeness of what we're doing.<br />
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See you when we get back!!! <3Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-34810355723113737432013-03-29T10:32:00.001-06:002013-03-29T10:32:58.061-06:00March Madness, Dean's Office Style!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EjWVx9a7Dbd-teWFBpcHD5zLzteaL0b97UqOPaU6iFAWn1IJJx2EC_GCTzoY4FFsssCkMd1mkdgLua7AswknabCAWfi8NeQGn-uzdrjJNIInnmMp9ajojEEONEThEOw9GqSzcfzGAZo/s640/2013-03-29_10-10-26_369.jpg" height="225" width="400" /> </div>
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Everyone is very excited about their <a href="http://www.ncaa.com/march-madness" target="_blank">March Madness</a> brackets and tried to get me to join in. I told them that a) I have NO interest in basketball, professional or college; and b) because of this lack of basic knowledge about the teams, I would be at a severe disadvantage in the pool and would inevitably lose money that I'd rather spend on things like tacos. Now, football play-off pools...that's a different story. ;)</div>
Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-13981638419334598092013-03-28T15:13:00.000-06:002013-03-28T15:13:00.775-06:00Nikki Post: Friendship is MagicFor Christmas last year, I gave my niece a <a href="http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic" target="_blank">My Little Pony</a> "doll" (Rainbow Dash, because my brother can be homophobic, and I like being "gay-friendly, feminist Aunt Nikki"). She basically lost her shit because a) she LOVES MLP, and b) I had managed to buy her favorite pony. (SCORE!) Nostalgic for my own childhood when I had an insane amount of ponies (and according to my mom, mine are still in the attic), I bought one for the white elephant gift exchange at <a href="http://clairethearmadillo.blogspot.com/2013/01/after-christmas-christmas-party.html" target="_blank">Audra's party</a>. As you may remember though, I wanted to keep the pony all to myself, and by threatening the lives of the other guests, I was able to keep Lyra Heartstrings (not one of the main ponies, apparently). She currently lives behind the business cards and Frida the philodendron on the main part of my desk.<br />
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Being badass in the skull (Dia de los muertos) bracelet Agnes gave me</div>
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Many people in the office laughed at my pony, and yet they enjoy playing with her hair and moving her around. As a front desk person, many people consider "my stuff" to be "everyone's stuff," since it's so out in the open. So I'm a bit sensitive about items on my desk being moved around/messed with. After a VERY stressful week, I went to pick up Lyra and comb her hair to calm down (because I'm a child, apparently). That was the first time all week that I had noticed she was missing.</div>
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I. Lost. My. Mind.</div>
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I flipped out on Tracy, demanding to know where the pony was. She said she didn't know. I asked if she knew who took it. She said yes, looking more and more terrified by the second as my eyes began to glow red with bloodlust and a deep river of rage that lives deep inside of me and that most people don't see. Then I started angry-crying, and she told me that Marshall had taken Lyra on his vacation as a joke because he thought I'd get a kick out of him treating her like I did Claire. Under normal circumstances, I would have LOVED this opportunity to update the blog with something silly that someone else did as an homage to my country-traveling armadillo. But the stressful week, the bubbling rage, the crying, and my sensitivity about my possessions made me angrier than amused. Had Marshall asked or, wanting to keep it a surprise, someone had mentioned it BEFORE Friday when I discovered it on my own, things would have been better. There were some apologetic emails that got sent around that weekend between Marshall, Tracy, and me, and eventually everything was settled and forgiven.</div>
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On Monday, Marshall brought in a stack of pictures that he and his wife Kelly had taken while on their vacation with the pony. He said that they had a lot of fun taking the pictures in different locations. Marshall especially liked it because the pony was just the right side to put in his coat pocket while skiing. He had gone old-school and taken pictures with a film camera and went through great lengths to make sure that he had everything printed before he came into work on Monday. So I apologize for the quality of the pictures; I can only do so much editing.<br />
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I'm sure that I'm compressing the actual time line a LOT. After all,
Marshall was out for a whole week of mountain fun times. But since I
didn't go with him, I don't really know what his itinerary was, and he's
a busy guy, so sitting down for an "interview" isn't a possibility. <br />
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Everyone's favorite picture - Lyra makes her escape!</div>
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Marshall made sure that Lyra got to watch my team <a href="http://www.westword.com/slideshow/super-bowl-2013-ravens-fans-vs-49ers-fans-38739647/#37" target="_blank">WIN THE SUPER BOWL</a>!</div>
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En route to <a href="http://www.coppercolorado.com/winter/index.html" target="_blank">Copper Mountain Ski Resort</a>; this shot was taken on Freemont Pass between Copper and Leadville</div>
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The amenities at the condo in Frisco where they all stayed were pretty sweet:</div>
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A romantic fire place...</div>
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...festive Native American decorations...</div>
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...a large backyard area for playing in the snow...</div>
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...a hot tub!!!...</div>
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...and game night!</div>
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But the real reason why Marshall, Kelly, and Lyra drove up to the mountains was to ski. It's Marshall's favorite activity, but unfortunately, due to a recent knee injury, he's out for the rest of the season. It's really sad panda times. He said that Lyra was a real champ about having her picture taken in the cold temperatures and that she was easy to put in his ski jacket's pocket and take from place to place.</div>
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On the way to the ski slopes!</div>
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Behold, the majesty of the Colorado Rockies. (She's on Marshall's ski pole in this picture.)</div>
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At the top of Spaulding Bowl. Be careful, Lyra!</div>
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Riding on the ski lift to the top of the mountain, the only thing about skiing that I like. :p</div>
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Perfect powder for a day of skiing in the sunshine</div>
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Whew!! Ready to go back to the condo to warm up and relax!</div>
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What better way to relax than to head over to an old-time saloon, eat some good food, and drink some good beer? The family headed over to the <a href="http://thebluespruce.com/home/bar.php" target="_blank">Blue Spruce Saloon and Bar</a> for dinner. Marshall and Kelly were joined by Kelly's nieces Charlie and Penny and Penny's friend. (Obviously the young girls did NOT partake of the saloon's fine spirits.)</div>
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Waiting for a table</div>
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Marshall said that Lyra got all of her drinks for free that day because she flirted heavily with all of the guys at the bar. And here I thought she was such a sweet, innocent little pony!</div>
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Finally got a table! Time to settle down and order some food to go along with all that beer.</div>
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Everyone thought it was great that Charlie's outfit matched Lyra's coloring! I've circled the pony for you so you can find her more easily on top of Charlie's hat.</div>
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Penny and her friend were also pretty stoked to have Lyra joining them for dinner. I mean, who doesn't like My Little Ponies?!</div>
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Don't do it, Lyra!! Nothing good can come from that much Jager!</div>
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Another day, the crazy party went to <a href="http://www.woodwardatcopper.com/site/facilities/the-barn" target="_blank">Woodward at Copper</a>, a gym with all kinds of "extreme" sports type of things to do. Frankly, I'm mad jealous, as I've always wanted to do these sorts of things. Unfortunately, I'm terribly clumsy with an equilibrium problem, so doing things like skate boarding and leaping off of things into a giant box of foam might not be a good idea for me.</div>
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The foam bricks</div>
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This half pipe was at Copper, and according to Marshall, Lyra had a great time going down it and being all EXTREME!</div>
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A beautiful night in the mountains calls for a beautiful night...</div>
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...spending time in front of an outdoor fire. Don't get too close, Lyra! Remember, you're made of plastic and can melt! Ponies are pretty flammable.</div>
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Lyra returned to me in one piece, and I gave Marshall official permission to take her on his next vacation, wherever that may be. He said everyone had fun finding photo-ops for her and it was a good way for the group to have fun together. Perhaps Lyra will get to see as many places as Claire someday!</div>
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Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-42346886011260745552013-03-21T21:16:00.001-06:002013-03-29T10:32:43.565-06:00Spring has Sprung!The dean's office is so happy that Spring is finally here! Unfortunately, the weather hasn't figured out what Spring is supposed to feel like. Denver AND Baltimore (and other places) have been COVERED in snow. Many people are mad at Punxsutawney Phil, <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/news/charges-dropped-punxsutawney-phil-20130326" target="_blank">the groundhog scapegoat</a> who predicted an early spring this year. I, however, am of the belief that Groundhog Day is stupid (the holiday, not the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/" target="_blank">awesome movie</a> with Bill Murray). A rodent doesn't care about its shadow, much less predict the weather by staring at it. That's why I celebrated <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.468932343156411.98226.162631483786500&type=3" target="_blank">Prairie Dog Day this year at PCC</a>. It's the "Groundhog Day of the West." So don't blame Phil for the late spring; blame climate change. :p<br />
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Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-83242306880885413822013-02-25T17:00:00.002-07:002013-02-25T17:00:40.277-07:00Nikki Post: DINOSAUR RIDGE FOLLOW-UP!You may remember that last June, Claire and I took a "mecation" and <a href="http://clairethearmadillo.blogspot.com/2012/06/dinosaur-ridge.html" target="_blank">stopped off at Dinosaur Ridge</a> to see cool fossils and fall in love with TJ, our paleontologist tour guide. Recently, Steve and I went to the ridge to take pictures for our wedding save-the-dates. While we waited for our friend to arrive and take the photos, Steve and I visited the museum. While there, we made an exciting discovery:<br />
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THE MISSING DINO FOSSIL!</div>
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Here's its story (click on image for larger version):</div>
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I was VERY excited to be able to follow up on this mystery, but Steve was...less than interested. *eyeroll* BOYS.</div>
Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-16681469935216919062013-02-25T16:54:00.001-07:002013-02-25T16:54:12.337-07:00Nikki Post: Office ValentinesHey y'all. I'm doing a quick photo dump from some pics on my phone I've been meaning to post. Tomorrow should be a quiet day too, so I'll FINALLY get to post a story about the adventures of a My Little Pony doll that went skiing for the weekend with my coworker Marshall and his wife Kelly.<br />
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For now, here's the office white board about Valentine's Day:</div>
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Bruce Willis was originally holding two guns, but that's not very "public healthy," so someone (probably my boss) changed it to a copy of the Second Amendment. Steve and I saw <u>A Good Day to Die Hard</u> on VDay, and honestly? It was the best movie I've seen in theatres since last year, which I think is the last time I saw a movie in theatres. It was everything I wanted from a Die Hard movie: explosions, Bruce Willis defying the laws of time, physics, gravity, and Russia, Chernobyl, attractive men not wearing shirts, silly puns, and the phrase "Yippie Kai Yay Mother F*cker" at the most perfect time in the film. If you enjoy the franchise and don't have a stick up your butt about a film's "plot" or "quality" or "continuity," I highly recommend seeing this latest beast of a film.Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-84636501356380266742013-01-11T17:39:00.003-07:002013-01-11T17:39:46.648-07:00After-Christmas Christmas Party!Sorry this is going to be out of chronological order. At this point, I just want to get SOMETHING from our SUPER-FUN visit home to Baltimore for Christmas up on the blog so you can enjoy it!<br />
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Nikki's friend (and Maid of Honor) Audra hosts an after-Christmas party every year. She makes a ton of food, offers a ton of beverage options, and coordinates a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant_gift_exchange#Gameplay" target="_blank">White Elephant gift exchange</a>. This year's gift theme was "Cartoons for Christmas." Everyone had to bring something that had to do with cartoon characters, new or classic. Steve's sister (and bridesmaid) Sam came along this year, which was super fun. She and Steve didn't have time to shop for gifts for the exchange, so Nikki bought gifts on their behalf. Oh Lord...<br />
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The loot!!</div>
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I'll take this one please!</div>
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Steve, a.k.a. "Stinja," looks on in amused horror at the weird gifts</div>
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Zack, his lady love Stephanie, and her sister Kim acted as a team and ended up all getting Transformers stuff with the odd Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toy thrown in. Turns out, making Transformers these days is TOUGH!!</div>
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A RARE picture of Audra's boyfriend Tim. As you can see, he's thrilled to get his Transformers toy too.</div>
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Tia (bridesmaid!) ended up with a two-part gift. Part one: Super Mario Brothers fruit snacks!</div>
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Part two: A matching Super Mario Brothers fleece blanket!</div>
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Her husband Jon (best man!) coincidentally (the gifts were originally wrapped) chose a DVD of the Super Mario Brothers TV show! (That's how you know it's true love.)</div>
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Stinja was excited to get the special-edition <u>Finding Nemo</u> DVD!</div>
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Stinja's girlfriend Julie "won" a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tee shirt and <u>Family Guy</u> boxer shorts (not pictured)</div>
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Samantha ended up choosing the gift that Nikki had bought on her behalf. A 47-piece <u>Toy Story</u> puzzle, you say?! Magnificent!</div>
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Steve TOTALLY nerded out when he opened his gift to find he'd gotten an Iron Man mask and a Captain American shield (that shoots darts, although not effectively).</div>
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Evan chose the gift that Nikki had bought on Steve's behalf. When he tried to guess what his wrapped gift was by shaking it, he asked, "Did you buy a box of rocks?" Everyone had a good laugh when they saw that the gift was actually a box of cereal with cartoon mascot Tony the Tiger on it.</div>
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Audra, seen here looking possessed, chose a Hong Kong Phooey doll that Stinja had chosen to purchase. The cartoon drawing she's holding was done by Stinja!</div>
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Nikki, seen here looking deranged, chose the gift she'd bought for the party. Turns out, she REALLY wanted a My Little Pony doll, perhaps to relive her childhood. Stinja tried to "steal" the gift during the exchange part, but she threatened him with bodily harm, so he just let her have it.</div>
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After the gift exchanged, we played <a href="http://www.cardsagainsthumanity.com/" target="_blank">Cards Against Humanity</a>, which is a dirtier version of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apples_to_Apples" target="_blank">Apples to Apples</a>. Nikki ended up winning, perhaps because she has the filthiest mind.</div>
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Lyra Heartstrings awaits the game</div>
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Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-89829707255501567342013-01-08T17:15:00.001-07:002013-01-08T17:15:53.646-07:00Inappropriate Mash-Up<p>Shawn's been under stress at work lately, so I'm going to chalk this weird little gem up to technology-related insanity.</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg116WHBeITvITD_aeo3PXjCjmxH-FE_vCgZULdWp2NC6g7mLT_DsXI0uuSzNuOhDk5xtA9XHltmTfJvSHYL4Y-BTvU1QUhC7L3OkhLPCn8nwHpH2VnTVYHDxYp2h9hhS9gJQNrfKLKO5o/s1600/2013-01-08_17-06-51_558.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg116WHBeITvITD_aeo3PXjCjmxH-FE_vCgZULdWp2NC6g7mLT_DsXI0uuSzNuOhDk5xtA9XHltmTfJvSHYL4Y-BTvU1QUhC7L3OkhLPCn8nwHpH2VnTVYHDxYp2h9hhS9gJQNrfKLKO5o/s640/2013-01-08_17-06-51_558.jpg' /> </a> </div>Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-74788398364817504552012-12-30T13:27:00.001-07:002012-12-31T14:28:48.313-07:00Going HomeNikki and I went back to Baltimore for Christmas with just the black suitcase and her purse. This is all we're leaving with: the suitcase, her purse, a carry-on from her mom, and a book bag she borrowed from Ginger Jon. Why all the extra luggage? While there are some Christmas gifts in the brown bag, most of the luggage is stuffed full of Utz chips. Nikki LOVES Utz chips. She's also tucked four bottles of Maryland wine into the suit case between all her clothes. Luckily Southwest Airlines allows passengers to check two bags and have a carry-on and a "personal item" to take with them on the plane FOR FREE. I highly recommend flying with them during the holidays.<br />
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Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-85788536448894578052012-12-10T15:18:00.000-07:002012-12-10T15:18:01.252-07:00Creatures of the Night<div>
I was in the mood to feature night animals and other silly things on the white board at work. This wasn't a terribly popular subject, so I've suggested that Lyndsay be in charge of choosing the next topic.<br />
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I started us off with the howling coyote on the right side of the board. There are a lot of coyotes in my area; we heard some fighting & squealing late at night last week on the Cherry Creek Trail. There's a Batman-looking jewel thief/cat burglar and a singing, howling cat a la Garfield. Twila, who works in one of our school's centers, drew the jar full of fireflies. I have no idea who drew the black widow spider, but as an arachnophobe, I must admit that it makes me uncomfortable.<br />
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On the second white board, my owl flies over everyone, hunting for food. The Sasquatch (Carol's) roars to scare away hunters. (I don't understand the quote: "I saw a werewolf @ Trader Vicks & his hair was perfect.") I committed copyright infringement with my doodle of Mike from "Monsters, Inc." Anne was supposed to draw the bats, but Kevin beat her to it.<br />
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Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-45216085127200274332012-11-28T17:02:00.000-07:002012-11-28T17:08:16.659-07:00Autumn in the Rockies, PART TWO!Finally!! I can post SOME of the pictures that Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Charlene took when they visited us <u>in September</u>! This entry will be similar to the <a href="http://clairethearmadillo.blogspot.com/2012/10/autumn-in-rockies.html" target="_blank">first one I wrote about their trip</a>, but Nikki didn't take these photos, and I wanted to show off what the ladies considered really interesting/pretty. Hopefully this'll satisfy your hunger for an entry until we can get the rest of them sorted out and edited. :) NOTE!!! I have NO IDEA who took what pictures. I think most of them are Grandma's, but it's hard to say. Just enjoy them and don't worry about it. ;)<br />
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The day started off wonderfully with a beautiful sunrise over the trees by the ladies' hotel room. Obviously, Nikki and I were asleep, but because Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Charlene were two hours ahead of us mentally (time zone stuff), they were up bright and early.<br />
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The rest of the day was cloudy/hazy and chillier the higher up we went into the mountains. Good thing Nikki told everyone to bring some warm clothes for when we visit the Rockies!<br />
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Do you remember this little park in Lyons? What a nice place to have a picnic...maybe with some barbecue...and french fries...mmmmmm....<br />
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Nikki, probably tweeting or Facebooking or some other social media thing the kids are into these days.</div>
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Besties!</div>
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This is TOTALLY my new user picture. Isn't it a great picture of me?!</div>
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Everyone - but especially Grandma - was in total awe of how big and beautiful and dramatic the mountains are. You can see them from almost any place in Denver and the surrounding area, and the closer you get, the bigger they are, and the smaller you feel. This view is from Estes Park. (I'm pretty sure.) You should click on it to see a larger size; it's a pretty cool picture.<br />
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Mom was a lot gutsier than I was when it came to getting close to the Elk at Lake Estes. Call me crazy, but I just don't trust an animal that carries weapons on its head!</div>
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Some more views of Lake Estes. Pretty sure these two were taken by Grandma.</div>
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Can you find Mom in this picture? ;)</div>
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Mom and Aunt Charlene in RMNP. (Go Ravens! Beat the Steelers!)</div>
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Nikki wanted to crop Mom's hand out of this picture, but I told her not
to because it kinda looks cool this way! I think it reflects the casual
nature of our trip and also that it was still warm enough to have the
windows down at this point!</div>
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I was having an AWESOME time "surfing" the dashboard until Nikki got all "mom" on me and made me sit with Mom. "It's not safe up there! What if I have a sharp turn, and you fly out the open window and fall down a cliff or get hit by another car?!" I mean...she had a point, but what a total kill joy!</div>
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These next four pictures are from when we were up at the tundra, where it was TOTALLY cold and really sparse as far as plants and animals were concerned. The air was thin and cold, so I don't blame things for not wanting to live up there!</div>
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Grandma and I in a super cute family photo</div>
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So this is a glacier, or I guess, USED to be a glacier. I mean, it's still there, but MUCH smaller than it used to be. Global warming sucks! It takes away all the cool stuff like glaciers and polar bears. I bet it used to be AWESOME to walk around up there when it was almost all snow. Now people are probably like, "*yawn* More rocks. Yay. Oh, look. Snow. Hrmm." :(</div>
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The ladies wanted to know why there were tall branches sticking out of the ground on either side of the road for miles and miles. Nikki told them that they were used to let snow plow operators know where the road was so they wouldn't plow the wrong area. Everyone was so surprised that the sticks would have to be that tall, but Nikki said that the Rockies get a TON of snow dumped on them in the wintertime. (See below)</div>
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From the source article: "A snowplow faces <b>23 feet</b> of snow on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado on <b>May 13</b> [2011]." (emphasis mine) (<span class="credit vcard contributor" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Person"><span class="org fn" itemprop="affiliation">National Park Service via AP) They probably couldn't even see the sticks at that point!!</span></span></div>
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The Alpine Visitor Center also needs to have sticks tell people where it is when it snows a lot! (Nikki said the logs on the roof are built that way so it doesn't cave the roof in, but I can't find out WHY that keeps the snow from caving in the roof, so who knows if she's right or not.)</div>
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View of Eagle River from the back "porch" of the Alpine Visitor Center</div>
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Now, I KNOW that Grandma took this picture because she showed it to me right after she took it. She thought it was so neat how the sign was captured in the photo as we zipped along the highway down the mountains.</div>
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We drove down I-70 on the way back to the hotel and passed Sports Authority (formerly Invesco) Field at Mile High, which really, everyone just calls Mile High Stadium. As you probably know, this is the new home of my dreamy <a href="http://clairethearmadillo.blogspot.com/2011/08/midwest-beckonsi-yawn.html" target="_blank">Peyton Manning</a>, who is steadily leading the Broncos to victory.</div>
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<span class="credit vcard contributor" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Person"><span class="org fn" itemprop="affiliation">So that was Day One with the family. The next day they abandoned Nikki to a life of office drudgery <i>[Nikki Note: *SIGH*]</i> and drove down to Garden of the Gods to check out some of the coolest natural architecture I've ever seen in my short armadillo life.</span></span><br />
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<span class="credit vcard contributor" itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Person"><span class="org fn" itemprop="affiliation"><i>[Nikki Note: Looking through the many, many, MANY pictures my family members took, I noticed that they weren't sorted chronologically; they were sorted by photographer and THEN chronologically. So all of the above photos were taken by Grandma, and there are STILL MORE pictures from Day One that I have to look for, file, and edit. Before we get to Garden of the Gods, I'll have Claire write another post about our first day, if there are any photos that warrant posting. We might just throw the pictures up here for you to enjoy.]</i> </span></span></div>
Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-58216907907698041642012-11-27T10:06:00.004-07:002012-11-27T10:06:49.182-07:00Nikki Post: I'm SO SORRY (and not dead)Hi all,<br />
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I'm so sorry for not posting in a super-long time. My life has been consumed by many other things. I'm in a play (my first in Denver AND my first for which I'm getting PAID!), so there were rehearsals and a tumultuous tech week, and I was in every single opening weekend show. (We have alternate actors who switch off for different performances. I'm only going to be a minor character in the pre-show this upcoming weekend.) I've been volunteering and having some work stress and some life stress. All of this means that I haven't traveled anywhere, with Claire or otherwise. I have a few hundred pictures from when my mom, aunt, and grandma came into town at the end of September I need to edit and post. Having that many photos to go through is a daunting task, and having not gone with them on their adventures means I don't know a lot about what they did or what they saw. Luckily, my grandma has been really good about posting her pictures to Facebook, often with captions explaining what everything is, so I should be able to get some information from there. I just haven't had the time to sit down and force myself to do it.<br />
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Posting at least the photos from their trip to Garden of the Gods is one of my goals for this week.<br />
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Please know that I haven't lost interest in this blog at all and that I'll be bringing my laptop with me when I'm home for Christmas so that when insomnia strikes, I can upload pictures and stories of our adventures back in Baltimore. I'm really looking forward to going home this year, as I've been homesick for my nieces and nephews, and because I get to have a party with my bridesmaids AND look for potential wedding locations for next year! Lots to do, and hopefully I'll get to make some time to keep you all up-to-date about our holiday adventures. :)<br />
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Thanks for reading,<br />
NikkiClaire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-26306072854710305632012-10-26T14:08:00.002-06:002012-10-26T14:10:05.182-06:00Armadillo Interlude: Halloween<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(<a href="http://lizclimo.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Source</a>) </div>
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PS: I'm not dressing up as anything this year because I'm not a fan of trick or treating. Too much mischief out there in the world, and I'm too small to deal with little kids all jacked up on sugar. Nikki and Steve are going though, even though they're both almost 30. (They're doing a favor for a friend. Long story.) I'll probably sneak off with their candy (especially their Reese's!) after they've gone to sleep for the night. I may not like Halloween, but I LOVE CANDY!Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-74230255297586248642012-10-17T17:02:00.001-06:002012-10-17T17:02:26.280-06:00Nikki Post: Fall FestAutumn WAS in the air in Denver - chilly nights that smelled of wood fires, bright leaves scattered on the ground, slightly gloomy days with the sun peeking through just when you need it to most - but lately the temperature's been in the high-70s, which is awesomely ridiculous. The leaves are DEFINITELY prettier than they were last year, and today is blustery as all get-out. Inside the dean's office though, we were celebrating all things autumn on our white board.<br />
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Few things say "autumn" like falling aspen leaves and a scarecrow (that isn't very scary). Judith, one of our associate deans, disliked the orange marker we originally had. It was too dried out for the pumpkin she wanted to draw. Luckily, our friend Twila in one of the school's centers bequeathed her orange marker to us so we could have our pumpkin. (I could NOT find a single orange marker on our online office supplier website! Ridiculous.)<br />
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Teri joined the party and drew the basket of apples (with an adorable worm coming out of one). Mmmm....cider....<br />
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Anthony once again added his artistic talents to the white board by drawing a...gonna go with witch? Calling for help? Regardless, we're very happy to have him in our drawing group.<br />
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Kevin drew the corn maze, which is fantastic as always. I've yet to do a corn maze this year, although there IS one on my "bucket list": a corn maze in the shape of <a href="http://www.gazette.com/articles/fritzler-144746-maze-year.html" target="_blank">Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning</a>. If I'm gonna do a corn maze, I'm gonna "go big or go home."<br />
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And then I drew a demonic-looking squirrel stealing an apple.<br />
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The other side of our fall fest is more of a scene than a motley assortment of fall figures. Here we find Tracy (the blond in the pink scarf) warming her hands with me (in the <a href="http://rayvstroy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">purple</a> scarf) by a campfire. I think the tree looks awful, but Tracy said that several people complimented how good it looked. (She's a good friend.) A spooky ghost tried to haunt us, but luckily, one of the Ghostbusters arrived to bust him.<br />
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...and then there's the football. Making fun of Tim Tebow is a favorite pastime for some of us in the office, mainly because he's such an easy target. (Although he probably couldn't even throw to himself if he were his own target. BOOM!) Pretty sure Marshall drew this, although it could also be Shawn. Neither is particularly good at adding to our white board themes in any relevant way. ;p<br />
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Our finished masterpiece</div>
<br />Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-56343880765229723322012-10-12T16:47:00.000-06:002012-10-12T16:47:06.665-06:00Nikki Post: We're All A Bunch of Clowns HereThe number of people in the office who participate in the white board game is growing. We recently got Anthony, our Director of Finance, to draw something, small though it may be. Teri, the dean's executive assistant, suggested the theme of "circus," and as usual, my coworkers and I went wild.<br />
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We start our tour of the circus outside the big top, along the midway where a sword swallower does his thing, and a bird (penguin?) rides a mama elephant while baby tags along. Kevin drew the elephants, and everyone was really, REALLY impressed with his skills. Seriously, look at that baby elephant. How cute is it?!<br />
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Once inside, the crowd (those dots) were treated to a stunning display of activities, all apparently happening at once. High above the crowd, and performing without a net (!), an acrobatic band of brothers twirls and swings through the air, their every move highlighted by spotlights. (I mentioned to Teri that I realized too late that, practically speaking, all of these acrobats except the one standing on the platform would probably die because it didn't look like they'd be able to catch one another, but Teri assured me that it was just a matter of perspective and that everything would work out okay in the end.)<br />
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A man elegantly dressed in a blue top hat and blue velvet pants tames a lion, perhaps in preparation to stick his head inside its mouth. (Yes, that's a lion. I'm not a good artist. We've established this.) Behind them, Lyndsay's cotton candy treats tempt one and all. A giant tub of popcorn, large enough to feed the whole crowd and the circus performers too, waits for someone to drown in its fluffy, buttery goodness.<br />
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Anthony's aforementioned contribution is the floating, radiating clown head hovering over the crowd. I think it's supposed to be the Jack-in-the-Box mascot, but it looks like some kind of terrifying mind-control device, no doubt operated by none other than...<br />
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...DAVID HASSELHOFF, THE MANIACAL CLOWN!! With this "episode" on the white board, David's time as a recurring character came to an end. (Tracy insisted.) David chose to go out in style, in a clown car no doubt overstuffed with Baywatch babes and rabid German fans.Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-35846264518973239292012-10-04T15:44:00.001-06:002012-10-04T15:44:08.004-06:00Autumn in the RockiesWOW! WHAT A CRAZY WEEK I'VE HAD!! Nikki's mom Diane, grandma Shirley, and aunt Charlene all got into town on September 22nd and left October 1st. Nikki spent the weekends with them, as she couldn't get off work (except Monday to drive them to the airport), but she left me with them to go adventuring. We went to more places in Colorado in one week than Nikki and Steve have visited in one year! <i>[Nikki Note: To be fair, my family members didn't have to go to work and plan their adventuring around 8-hour work days and long (for Steve, anyway) commutes. Although I really AM jealous of them.]</i> Combined, the ladies took over <b>700</b> photos (mostly of me) during the week. Nikki says that she'll have enough blog material to last at least two months, if she spaces everything out right. If she starts getting lazy and not posting on time, don't worry; I'll whip her back into shape. ;)<br />
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The first Sunday we were all together, Nikki took the ladies up to Rocky Mountain National Park to drive along Trail Ridge Road and see the aspens changing color. This is one of the things Colorado residents love best about autumn. Frankly, I think the colors Baltimore trees turn are more spectacular, but the way the bright yellow aspen leaves were scattered among the green pine trees WAS really pretty.<br />
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To get up to RMNP, we drove through Lyons, which is just a few miles outside of Estes Park. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Charlene go geocaching, which is a treasure hunt using GPS coordinates and clues. People all over the world hide these caches, which can be as tiny as a tube of chapstick or as big as a 2-gallon bucket, and other people find them. When you find a cache, you have to write your name in it on the "log," and if you want to take/leave a little toy (if there's room), you can. They also have these things called "travel bugs," which are little tokens people take from place to place and "check-in" online so the original owner can see where it's been. Kinda reminds me of me! Mom and Aunt Charlene said that there was a cache hidden near this little park, so we pulled over to investigate.<br />
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There were a bunch of these engraved pictures on the ground in the middle of the park, commemorating Lyons' history.</div>
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This awesome water fountain was also in the middle of the park. The artist who made the weird egg-thing in the middle has a business in town.</div>
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A TIME CAPSULE!! </div>
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How cool is this?! Nikki would be 108 years old by the time the capsule would get opened. She asked what I would put in a time capsule to show the future what life was like in 2012. At the time, I said I'd probably put in a DVD of season one of <i>Jersey Shore</i>, with a note apologizing for that show ever being on the air, but now I'm thinking I wanna put that weird corncob armadillo in the capsule. No explanation. Just this weird little figurine of an armadillo dressed as a corncob.</div>
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Aunt Charlene and Mom (a.k.a. "the girls") were using Mom's new GPS/geocaching smartphone app to try and figure out where the local cache was. Grandma, Nikki, and I were kinda bored of waiting, so we took some more pictures (hers will be coming later) and hung out by the fountain.<br />
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Grandma used to go square dancing all the time when she was younger. She told me that she even had special outfits and dresses she would wear!</div>
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Finally, the girls found the right coordinates and set off to find the hidden treasure. Grandma went back to the car because her ankle was bothering her, but Nikki and I followed Mom and Aunt Charlene, eager to see where their search would take them. Turns out, the cache was hidden on an electrical transformer near some dumpsters. Not that glamorous. :p Mom found it, but Nikki said that she'd suggested it was on the transformer. (She's terrible at geocaching.)<br />
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Mom and I celebrating her find. I'm holding the cache. (Doesn't she look JUST like Nikki in this photo?!)</div>
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The log inside the "micro" cache.</div>
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All "professional" geocachers have "handles" (user names) that they use on the website and in the logs. Aunt Charlene is "Caviar" because her husband raises fish and caviar. Grandma is Creampuff. (Her boyfriend Bill is "Sweet Man.") Mom is "Lil Creampuff." Nikki is "Baby Creampuff." And I just got to be Claire. Little do the geocachers of the internet know that this mysterious "Claire" is actually an armadillo travel correspondent!<br />
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Next we drove up to Estes Park, which is a town right on the edge of RMNP. Nikki's car Becky had some trouble getting up the big hill leading towards the town (it's a hybrid, which means it has a small engine), but it was smooth sailing down. If you haven't been to Estes, you should totally go! The landmark sign outside of town has one of the most gorgeous views of the valley below. Naturally, we pulled over for a photo shoot.<br />
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Mom and I get all meta and take a picture of Nikki taking a picture of us.</div>
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Three generations and an armadillo (Note Nikki's stupid hair/sunglasses. She really should stay on the *other* side of the camera!!)</div>
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We had our first taste of Colorado wildlife while taking tourist shots: wild turkeys!! They were just wandering all over the place, being ugly and eating food. I've never seen a wild turkey before (just the ones on a Thanksgiving dinner table!), so this was pretty cool.</div>
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gobble gobble</div>
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We also saw the prettiest bluebird I've ever seen in my life: a <a href="http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/stellers_jay" target="_blank">Stellar's Jay</a>. (Thanks to <a href="http://flickrhivemind.net/Tags/birds,stellarsjay/Interesting" target="_blank">FlickrHiveMind</a> for helping with the ID!)</div>
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Some of the tourists were getting a little too close to the wildlife, feeding them peanuts and trying to get them to eat out of their hands. I wanted to scold them and let them know that feeding wildlife is NOT a good idea, because you could accidentally poison the animal or make it too used to humans or get rabies or something, but Nikki told me to stay out of it. I told her that it's all cute and photo-worthy until someone gets a finger bitten off.<br />
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Of course that didn't stop me from taking a picture.</div>
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We drove down the hill to Lake Estes, which is a gorgeous, HUGE lake near town. We were just going to show the family how pretty the lake was, but as we were driving to the parking lot, we saw a giant elk, just chillin' under a tree! Obviously, we stopped to take pictures, and then MORE people stopped to take pictures. It was super cool. Everyone was stoked to be so close to an elk.</div>
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We skipped visiting town to go straight to the park. Grandma got us a senior discount (which is good for life!), so we only had to pay $10 for a weekly pass instead of the usual $20. The park ranger who helped us was suuuuuuuuuper dreamy, as are most of the park rangers I've met here in Colorado. (Like most female armadillos, I love a man in uniform.) We first stopped off at a meadow area because there was a virtual cache that the girls wanted to check out. (National and State Parks are off-limits for physical caches, so virtual ones make you answer questions about the site and/or take a picture proving you were there.) Grandma and I stayed behind and took pictures. (Prettier ones are on Nikki's Facebook fan page. See link at the end of this entry to check them out!)<br />
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This is only a sliver of the beauty the Rockies had to offer us that day!</div>
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As we continued to drive around, we saw other signs that told about the animals that live in the park. Nikki was especially interested in the Bighorn Sheep, because it's the only "Colorado" animal she hasn't seen yet. She's seen a moose and a black bear and elk and pronghorn, but no sheep. (Spoiler alert: She still hasn't seen one.)<br />
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I'm always interested in seeing how big my paws are compared to the paws/feet of other animals.</div>
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My favorite stop of the day was at the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/romo/naturescience/alpine_tundra_ecosystem.htm" target="_blank">Alpine Tundra</a>, waaaaaay up towards the top of the mountains (starting at about 11,000 feet above sea level!). It's the highest you can go in ANY national park in the US. The tundra is cool because it's so high up that trees can't grow there anymore, just these tiny little flowers and lichen, which is a kind of moss. There are still <a href="http://clairethearmadillo.blogspot.com/2011/08/nikki-post-rockies.html" target="_blank">some animals that live up in the tundra</a>, but not many because it's COLD and WINDY!! We didn't have heavy coats with us or hats (well, Mom did), so the hoodies had to do. It was so pretty up there though that I didn't mind. Plus, Nikki's a really good heat source. ;)<br />
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You can see in this picture that the tundra is a pretty bleak-looking
place. A lot of rocks and small plants and not much else. If you clicked
on the link about the tundra, you would've read that plants STILL
manage to grow up here, but it can take 100 years for them to grow back
if they're stepped on. Nikki gently told a nice lady not to walk on the
tundra and told her why, and the woman was SO EMBARRASSED!! Her husband
even walked away from her like he didn't know her. I felt bad for her,
and Nikki did too, but the woman said she was really grateful that Nikki
said something before she destroyed too many of the plants. The lady
also said that she'd let other people know too so everyone can enjoy
this awesome place for years to come. <br />
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Protect the tundra!</div><br />
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Info about the tundra and how it's formed</div>
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Full disclosure: I am an animal, and I love when people feed me. However, I'm not a WILD animal, so it's ok when people feed me. When you feed a wild animal (like the little girl towards the beginning of this post), you make it too used to humans. Then it always gets really close to humans and lets its guard down, and what if there was a human who wanted to kill or hurt it?! It wouldn't suspect that! Plus, when wild animals get too used to getting food from humans, they stop hunting themselves, and that OBVIOUSLY causes problems. Plus, maybe the food you're giving them isn't good for them. Like, what if that chipmunk has a peanut allergy?! (Probably doesn't, but you get my point.) So, the moral of the story is - don't be a jerk. Let the animals be animals and feed your armadillo friends instead.<br />
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The marmot: one of the animals that braves the tundra's cold and lives there anyway. We didn't see one. :(</div>
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<a href="http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glaciers/quickfacts.html" target="_blank">Glaciers are really awesome</a>. They're these (usually) huge things of ice and snow that never melt and move veeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyy sloooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwllllllllllyyyyyyyy, carving out valleys and canyons. You should totally check out the site I linked to if you don't know much about glaciers.</div>
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I don't see too many glaciers out there, but the ones that ARE there are moving. very. slowly.</div>
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Just below the tundra is the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/romo/naturescience/subalpine_ecosystem.htm" target="_blank">subalpine forest</a>. This is the last place trees can grow before they get to the too-harsh climate of the tundra. A lot more animals live there too, and even though it's still pretty high up above sea level (9,000 - 11,000 feet), it's a lot easier to hike there too!</div><br />
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The weather in Denver can be really unpredictable. The morning could be really cold, but by the time afternoon rolls around, you're sweating because temperatures are in the 90s! And it'll rain, but only in a few places, so you could drive three blocks and have rain-not rain-drizzle. So imagine how crazy it must be up in the mountains, where weather is pretty much MADE!</div><br />
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I can totally see why they call it "Cloud Factory," can't you?</div>
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Ok, enough learning! It's time for tourist pictures!!</div>
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Here I am enjoying the gorgeous views from the tundra. Just off-camera, Mom is at the ready to grab me in case the wind tries to blow me off the mountain!</div>
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Mom must've had Nikki take, like, ten pictures of the two of us with different views of the mountains behind us. I chose the three I liked best.</div>
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She was holding onto me tight! Dang wind.</div>
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Ok, this is totally my paws-down FAVORITE picture of me and mom. Look at that view!</div>
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Our last stop of the day was at the Alpine Visitors Center, where you can buy cool souvenirs to prove you were at the Rocky Mountains (tee-shirts, key chains, stuff like that) and awesome jewelry and Native American art and other stuff. Nikki bought her dad some jams and bought herself a bumper sticker, and Mom bought a picture frame. Grandma bought a magnet. (She collects them from every state she's been to. I think she's been to all of them!) I don't know if Aunt Charlene got anything.</div>
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They had a book section, and when I saw this, I BEGGGGED Nikki to buy it for me, but she doesn't like talking about poop, so she said no. >:P I made her take a picture of it for me though, so I could share it with all of you and make you laugh.</div>
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How great is this?!?! I mean, the idea that you can say, "Oh, yeah, this is a bear" <a href="http://icwdm.org/inspection/Scat.aspx" target="_blank">just by looking at its poop </a>and what's in it is SUCH a cool idea to me!</div>
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Nikki found a book that SHE liked, but I told her that she had enough books that she hasn't read yet, so she'll just have to save this one for another time. Plus, I don't think its subject matter is very appropriate.</div>
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GREAT title though!</div>
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So that's our family trip to the Rocky Mountains. The ladies and I went back later in the week without Nikki, but she hasn't been able to sort through all of those photos yet. In the meantime, check out the pictures of this visit that Nikki posted on her <a href="http://www.facebook.com/lustrefoundphotos" target="_blank">Facebook fan page</a> so you can get a better idea how pretty the mountains are when the aspens are changing colors.</div>
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Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8940914225408851334.post-84747831686705848062012-10-02T12:34:00.001-06:002012-10-02T12:34:18.879-06:00Amazon Sells Some Weird StuffNikki has this gift card for Amazon.com that she got MONTHS ago from her friend Karen that she STILL HASN'T USED. I thought I'd help her decide what to buy by doing a search for good armadillo stuff. (One can never have too many armadillo-related things.) I found your typical things: other (less cute) stuffed armadillos, armadillo jewelry (which Nikki said she wouldn't wear!), tee-shirts that say "Armadillos Rock!" (which Nikki ALSO said she wouldn't wear! What a hater!), and little kid books about how awesome armadillos are. But I also found some really....weird stuff. These were my "favorites."<br />
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<b>Armadillo Bites:</b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeares-Armadillo-Bites/dp/B004SP5E5Y">http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeares-Armadillo-Bites/dp/B004SP5E5Y</a> When I first saw this in the search results, I was horrified. Was Amazon really selling DEAD ARMADILLOS on their website?! I clicked on it, ready to write a scathing "review" of the product when I read the product description: "10 ounces of Fudge Dipped Mini Sandwich Cookies with Toffee Sprinkles." Why in the heck would they be named <u>Armadillo</u> Bites, when armadillos are obviously not made of chocolate and cookies?! Humans are weird.<br />
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<b>YuGiOh Gem-Armadillo Card:</b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/YuGiOh-Hidden-Arsenal-Gem-Armadillo-HA05-EN005/dp/B006IDDRYE">http://www.amazon.com/YuGiOh-Hidden-Arsenal-Gem-Armadillo-HA05-EN005/dp/B006IDDRYE</a> Ok, this is TOTALLY BADASS!!! YuGiOh is some kind of card game like Pokemon or Magic: The Gathering. (Google them if you're not dorky enough to have heard of them.) I totally want metallic claws and rockets! Obviously, Nikki vetoed my idea of "upgrading" my shell. >:P<br />
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<b>ARMADILLO SLIPPERS:</b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Feet-Armadillo-Animal-Slippers/dp/B002ZHMA2M">http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Feet-Armadillo-Animal-Slippers/dp/B002ZHMA2M</a> This is even more unacceptable than the idea of eating pieces of armadillo! Think of how you'd feel if you saw a stranger walking around wearing the dead bodies of YOUR family members on their feet! Seriously. Go ahead. Picture it. Pretty horrifying, huh?<br />
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<b>Home-Grown Maize Armadillo:</b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Grown-Enesco-Maize-Armadillo-Figurine/dp/B003BXK29C">http://www.amazon.com/Grown-Enesco-Maize-Armadillo-Figurine/dp/B003BXK29C</a> This is the hands-down winner of the Weirdest Armadillo Merchandise Being Sold on Amazon.com. It's a stuffed armadillo...dressed like a corn cob. Who do you even give something like that to?! Who looks at a corn cob armadillo and thinks, "Man! What a great gift! I'll buy one for the whole family!" WEIRDOS. That's who.<br />
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<b>Winner of the "Nikki Thinks She's Funny, But She's Really Not" Award:</b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hansa-5798-Armadillo-Limited-Edition/dp/B0043WG39I">http://www.amazon.com/Hansa-5798-Armadillo-Limited-Edition/dp/B0043WG39I</a> Nikki was peering over my shoulder while I was doing my search and pointed out that this stuffed armadillo was really cute. I scoffed and said that it wasn't as cute as I am, and she responded, "It probably complains less." AS IF!!! I don't complain that much! I mean, when Eva flops on top of me or Tasha starts kneading me, I just go with the flow, you know? I mean, yeah, I *may* bring it up every time Nikki or Steve call them "a good dog" or a "good kitty," like, "Oh yeah, GOOD pets DEFINITELY lay on top of other household members until they can't breathe!" But honestly? It's a TOTALLY VALID point! I'm just saying...I'm way cuter.<br />
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<i>Nikki Note: I'm seriously considering buying this armadillo with my gift card, partially out of spite and partially because I think Claire needs to interact with her own kind more often. Unfortunately, due to some facts she read on the internet (which turned out to be true), she's convinced herself that all OTHER armadillos carry leprosy. I don't know that I can deal with her staggering around the house, talking about how her tail is going to fall off. Still, if anyone would like to buy it for me, please feel free to.</i><br />
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CLAIRE NOTE: <b>DON'T BUY THIS FOR HER, YOU GUYS!</b><i> </i>Claire (and Nikki)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03946625511421997222noreply@blogger.com0