Hello, September!

Random Picture and Note: This picture to the right is just for my brothers, who are obsessed with taking pictures of Jeeps wherever we go - especially the ones that are built up. When I saw this Jeep in Alamosa, I thought I would take a picture in their honor. So, if they ever get on the internet.. this one's for you, Ben and Luke! Enjoy ... and let me know if the Jeep was worth taking a picture of!

So, this weekend we were thinking about going to Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp and helping with bathroom demolition for the new bathhouse, but we are going to do that next weekend. We decided to just enjoy this area for Labor Day weekend. Here is the start of our weekend - be prepared for lots of pictures! :)

SATURDAY - We started off going to Rainbow's End for a few household needs. Then, we visited the local farmer's market. It is small, but we got 10 ears of corn for $2.50 which I thought was a pretty good deal. Then, we went to the First Annual Hispanic Culture Day. We stood in line forever waiting for food. (Picture to left: Emmy, David - in blue, Jeremy, and Jason) Jeff was helping with the day's events, so we went to support him. We saw a few different dances as well.

Then, there was a classic car show in town. There were around 350 cars in the local park. That is a lot of cars to look at! I thought I would add the picture of the Nova with the HUGE engine - I don't even know how you drive a car with that huge thing in your way! Also, the station wagon is in honor of my family's old wood-paneled "grocery getter" - This one's a little flashier, don't you think? That evening, we enjoyed pesto pizza (made by Emmy). After dinner we played Clue, Greedy, and 10,000. The last two use dice and are a lot of fun.... I (Erin) won both of these dice games - I should have tried some dice games at Vegas with that luck!!

**********

SUNDAY - After church in Alamosa, we headed to Zapata Falls (about 30 minutes from Alamosa). Jason had wanted to do this hike before he left, and we thought it would be a lot of fun. The hike was only 1/2 mile to the falls. The falls were cool coming down through a slice in the rock. I was able to utilize my waterproof boots - the picture to the right is one just for my brothers who think it is so cool to walk in water and not get your socks wet! I would agree after my experience today. We decided to head farther up the mountain to South Zapata Lake (4 mile hike). As we went up, we had a great view of the Great Sand Dunes. Check out the picture to the left; the brown, desert-y area is the dunes. The hike was going great, until it begin to cloud up, then thunder, then sprinkle, and then hail tiny ice pellets. We took shelter under some trees. (I do realize this is not the safest place, but we needed to get out of the cold rain.) Finally, we decided to make a break for it and head back down the mountain determined to come back and make it to the lake another day.