Autumn in Cortez

About once a month Grumpy has to go to Cortez, Co. for work. I sometimes go along, just to see the pretty country. I knew there would be wonderful fall leaves this time of year so I was game to go. Gramma and Papa H. along with Aunt Kay were coming from Mesa to meet us there, so it was a good plan. On our way there we stopped at a little hole-in-the-wall for breakfast in Red Mesa. The breakfast was a disaster, but across the street was an LDS chapel with the most gorgeous golden tree out front. I had to snap a pic it was so pretty.



On to Cortez. We checked into our hotel and Grumpy went off to work. I watched TV, read a little and worked on the fall leaf table decor I am trying to get done for the girls. I had sewn all the leaves, (all 30 of them) and needed to trim all the excess fabric and batting away, notch and turn them, press them and stitch shut the opening. Then when I got home I could do the machine stitched veins. I have done a total of 44 leaves this season. They take longer than you might think. I also had a whole bunch of YoYo's cut and ready to make in case we did a road trip. Good thinking on my part! Rare for me.

Gramma, Papa and Aunt Kay did indeed arrive on Thursday and we hung out, ate some good food and just did some visiting. I had leaves and YoYo's to work on, so I was good to go. Papa was a good sport and drove me to the local quilt shop, I think it was called the Patchwork Pig, but I am not sure. They had some really nice quilts on display, so I took a couple of pics to remind me later of the designs I'd like to do on a bigger scale.




On Friday, Grumpy got off work a little early, so we decided to drive to Telluride, CO. just to see what we could see. I knew those YoYo's would come in handy. It was a nice drive and I enjoyed seeing the fall leaves along the way. I love the forests in fall with their beautiful colors. It was quite a trip by the time we got back to Cortez. I got lots of YoYo's done.





We hung out at our hotel and had a great time talking. Soon it was time to go to dinner. Grumpy had a good restaurant picked out in Mancos, just east of Cortez. Millcreek Junction. It was very yummy. On the list for go to again. We stayed one more night in the hotel and then it was breakfast before leaving for home. Grumpy picked a winner again, and we enjoyed a sumptuous feast that none of us really needed. It was a good beginning for a day of travel, and we said our goodbyes after our meal and took off for our various homes. Nice to get together someplace so pretty and quiet. I finished my YoYo's on the way to the airport. We were early, so Grumpy was nice and found a JoAnn's Fabric store for me in Albuquerque. I wanted to find one more Thanksgiving print for Chance's pillowcase and they had just the piece I needed there. I found several other pieces more along the lines of Christmas too. Grumpy was sorry he was so accommodating I think. I love fabric.

Our flight was an hour and a half late (no surprise to us), so we ate dinner at the airport. I don't know what it is about airport food. It is never as good as the same restaurants not in the airport. After boarding our plane we waited another 45 minutes while they fixed a broken switch on the radio. We finally got home about 8:30 pm, so it was a long day of travel. Good trip even so, and I look forward to doing it again sometime. Maybe to see the snow in a month or two.