Cripple Creek, Colorado Turquoise

Cripple Creek, Colorado has been a gold mining town since the 1800's.  The town remains but there is new 'gold ' there now.  It is one of 3 towns in Colorado that is allowed to have gambling. 

It is located on the west side of Pikes Peak in the Rocky Mountains.

One of the existing mines also has a high quality, very old turquoise. The colors range from typical bright turquoise, teal, light blue, green and pea green, with lots of matrix.

This mine is owned by a couple who dig it by hand. 

After the material is removed it is tumbled in a large tumbler to remove loose dirt.

This nugget still has excess material on it and will be hand ground then polished before it can be worked into a piece of jewelry.

The grinder and polisher

 

Bundling the sterling silver wire wrapping.

The shaping of the wrap and loop for the top.

The finished wrapped nugget.

We have been lucky enough to meet one of the jewelers who obtain their stones from the Bad Boys Turquoise Mine.  They process it by alittle more tumbling, grinding and polishing each gem by hand. 

Now we are proud to present their finished work and have some of their finest pieces listed on eBay. Just click the link to see these very attractive pendants and necklaces.   Shop for Turquoise Cripple Creek Jewelry

Day 10 In Japan : A Romantic Ride On The Bessho Line

Day 10 was a day for us to enjoy a relaxing day in a Japanese Inn and soak in onsens! Lovely.

Due to last minute traveling date change, we were unable to reserve the room we wanted at Tsurunoyu Onsen in Nyuto Onsenkyo so we decided to try and make a trip to Bessho Onsen instead.

Bessho Onsen is located in the east region of Nagano prefecture, almost in the centre of Japan. It is considered to be the onsen with the oldest history in Nagano with several important cultural monuments in the area. More info about the area in my later post. Wait for it!

Taking the Nagano shinkansen, we made a stop at Ueda station. Ueda is the home of the Sanada Clan, a powerful warrior family of feudal Japan. If you like samurais, you can even see several samurai armours at the Ueda station!

Ueda is also the location where a mang a series and also an a nime titled Summer Wars was based on. If you like to know more about the movie (and of Ueda's history), visit Ueda Convention Bureau site.

After a couple of hours walking around the Ueda Station and me doing some shopping at  a nearby Ito Yokado, we took the electric train on the Bessho line to Bessho Onsen.

Such cute motifs for the Ueda Electric Railway Bessho Line, don't you agree?

Raimie inside the train. The train moves at a leisurely pace so it was rather nice to look out and enjoy the view of the countryside. This line goes through residential areas and we passed houses that literally inches away from the railway track and train!

Me and Raimie with the stationmaster of Bessho Onsen. She had such a nice uniform, I couldn't resist complimenting her and asked her to pose for a photo with us.

Going to Bessho Onsen, we got on the train with lovely and colourful motifs. The train for our return journey was similarly visually pleasing but this time, the train has a retro vibe to it. Love the artwork on the train's ceiling depicting each of the stations from Ueda Station all the way to Bessho Onsen. See that old looking fan on the train's ceiling? It is fully functioning and not a speck of dust on it too!

Happy Halloween! Howl-O-Scream, Busch Gardens Tampa . . . where the vampires come out at night!

The Captain and I have been spending quite a bit of time visiting Busch Gardens lately.  Of course we have taken tons of photos and I have been working on sorting out photos, creating new videos and blog posts that will focus on the different aspects of Busch Gardens in Tampa.


Since it is the season . . . the feature of this post is Howl-O-Scream 2010 . . .


This year's Howl-O-Scream Halloween event has found the theme park decked out in festive ghoulish fashion.  This year has an awesome rock and roll theme featuring Sylvie and her band My X.


As night approaches, subtle changes start to happen in the park . . . red lights light up the night . . . the makeup and costumes are awesome . . . the atmosphere in general is hauntingly energetic and electrifying.


The HOS website in itself is an entertaining creation . . . here is a screen shot of one of the pages . . . on this page, you will find the story of Sylvie and Alex, her ex . . .

My tribute video to 2010 Howl-O-Scream

the sights and sounds of vampires, freaks and awesome music!

EVENT PREVIEW from TBO.com

Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream

WHEN: Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday and through October 31, as well as Halloween Night

WHERE: Busch Gardens, 3000 E. Busch Blvd., Tampa, Florida

TAMPA - The protesters outside the Livingsdoom Theater tried to warn me. They waved hand-painted signs with slogans like "This Music is Killing Our Youth" and "Morality Dies When My X Performs."

But that didn't stop me. I was there to get a sneak peek at My X and lead singer, Sylvie. So I pressed on with my tour of "My X: Revenge Rocks," the featured haunted house at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's 11th annual Howl-O-Scream, the park's popular annual fright fest.

Finally making my way through the blockade, I was greeted by a young man in a tilted baseball cap and No. 13 sports jersey. He had dark, sunken eyes — like the drug dealer from those after-school TV specials.

Promising to get me backstage, he quickly ushered me through a side entrance.

The door slammed behind me. I took a brief second to let my eyes adjust to the darkness, my ears to the blaring music. Immediately, I was startled as a doorman pounded the walls of the ticket booth and demanded to see my credentials.

I carefully made my way down the dark, winding corridors. The walls were covered in torn, weathered concert posters.

From a dank, moldy bathroom with flickering lights, a man cried out for help as his friend hung upside-down from the ceiling tiles, head firmly submerged in a flushing toilet. He was good as dead — and his breath probably reeked of urinal cake.

Before I had time to take in the entire dilemma, a grate high upon the wall was flung open. A bloodied man with a bandaged head emerged and screamed, "Save yourself!"

Twisting farther into the winding labyrinth, I came upon a dressing room, complete with soft-lit, oversize mirrors, makeup counters and clothing racks. A sassy wardrobe artist emerged from the darkness.

"You're late for your fitting, Ryan," she scolded. "The next time you're late, I'm going to turn you into a pair of Sylvie's pants."

I hurried my pace as I tried to avoid strands of curtain weights, then the hallway opened up once more as I was greeted by my less-ghoulish media contacts.

And finally, Sylvie.

Scantily clad in skin-tight, torn, black Lycra, she subtly refused my handshake, opting instead to lean her back against me, contort her neck and gaze longingly into my eyes.

In a manic effort to keep things professional, I asked her about her upcoming shows.

"I'm playing every single night for Howl-O-Scream, so come check it out," she said. "It will be a very killer show."

Two of the haunted houses are new this year: "My X: Revenge Rocks" and "Alone ..." which features a twist: You go through it all by yourself.

Though they tout this year as having more haunted houses than ever, most of them are refreshed repeats from previous years.

Among this year's returning houses are "Nightshade Toy Factory: Son of Nightshade," where you'll be terrorized by possessed playthings; "Delta Epsilon Delta: Extreme Rush (DEDer)," where you'll endure the torture and pain of sorority life and "Deconstruction: The Doctor Is Out of Control," which puts you in the laboratory of a mad reconstructive surgeon whose hobbies include combining flesh, bone and steel in hideous ways.

By RYAN BAUER | TBO.com

Published: September 29, 2010

Updated: 10/03/2010 09:06 pm

Day 9 In Japan : Around Sendai Station

We didn't spend much time in Sendai and our stop for the night here was as a base for our trip to Matsushima Bay earlier in the day. We did however had fun sampling fishcakes at the food area in the station. You can get full just by sampling free food there! 

Of course, if you come to this area and you don' t have any food restrictions like us, you should sample their gyutan - that's grilled cow's tongue. It's the region specialty so if you can, don't miss the opportunity to try it.

We only had a few hours sightseeing in the evening  so we didn't venture far from Sendai Station. Our hotel for the night was located just a few minutes away from the station too, thus the reason of not needing to stray too far.

Sendai Station at 6.25pm.

Scores of taxis waiting for passengers at the station. It's interesting for me to note that after I took this photo, and googling about more info of Sendai, I found photos of this same spot for photos mentioning Sendai.

The city at night. We went to the downtown area but by 9.00pm, the area's shops are closing/closed, and only watering holes and restaurants were open.

I sure look forward to another visit to Sendai in the future because our short visit there was simply not enough!

Sandia Peak Tramway, Albuquerque, New Mexico

At the east end of Tramway Blvd, in Albuquerque, NM in the foothills of the Sandia mountains is the worlds longest 2.7 mile, aerial Tramway. 

On the 'flight' to the top one tram car passes the other. 

The trip goes over ponderosa pine, juniper and pinon forests, deep canyons and breathtaking terrain. Occasionally wild life can be spotted in and among the rocks.

After a 10 minute ride the tram arrives at the observation deck and building at the top. A short walk down a board walk, is the High Finance restaurant.

Looking to the east is the top of the Sandia Peak Ski area. That view has to be at least 30 - 40 miles, if not further.

The best time to go on top is at sunset.  The mountain the sun is setting behind, is Mt. Taylor by Grants, NM and about 50 miles away. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

Once the sun sets, the lights in the valley start coming on and look like diamonds on velvet.  The silver strand is the Rio Grande River. 

 

A visit to the top of Sandia mountain either by driving to the top from Hwy 14 on the east side or taking the tram on the west side, is an absolute must for every visitor to Albuquerque. Absolutely breathtaking!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sandia Peak tramway info

Driving down the West Coast: Yosemite & Sequoia

After Napa Valley and San Francisco, we took a side trip to the famed national parks that sit side by side in east central California: Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. Though a bit chilly we still felt we struck gold because both were blazing with beautiful fall colors! We freely roamed the hills and valleys with either Star or Vino.  The switchbacks through Sequoia had a 22-ft limit for RVs but since traffic was not that high, 24-ft. Star was allowed through. 

The approach to the heart of Sequoia where General Sherman, the largest living thing in the world, thrives is surprisingly pretty.  We found a tunnel rock which Bill easily climbed.  The view of The Great Western Divide  from the observation ramp on top of the Moro Rock after climbing 400 steps (a World Heritage Site) is truly spectacular! We did not have the time to visit the Crescent Meadows and the Tunnel Log (a giant sequoia that had fallen on a road and cars can pass through a hole carved out of its trunk).

In Giant Forest, where 5 of the 10 largest trees in the world stand, our visit quickly became a comedy because the giant tree we were admiring we later found out was not General Sherman after all! He stood a few meters away, aptly fenced and marked. Standing 275 feet, it proudly stands as a tree that was alive when Jesus walked the earth.  The largest living tree by volume at over 50,000 cu. ft., the diameter at its base is 36.5 feet. In January 2006 a branch fell off from the tree and measured 6 feet in diameter and 100 feet in length, what an ordinary big tree measures! 

Then we moved on to Yosemite.  This park which many consider to be the most beautiful of all national parks was a true delight!  There are three main sections. The fields and clear streams in Yosemite Valley were ablaze with the red, orange, yellow, gold, bronze, brown, and green hues of fall.  Up at Tuolumne Meadows,we still found lots of snow as we stood overlooking the tops of the mountains such as the Cathedral Range (see second photo). At Glacier Point, higher than the mountains, is quite a different but spectacular vista of gargantuan grey granite rocks. Bill bravely stood, upon my beckoning, on one of the cliffs, striking an unforgettably eerie pose! 

The most popular attractions in the Valley are El Capitan, a massive granite rock popular for rock climbing, Half Dome which stands 4,800 feet from the valley floor, and Yosemite Falls, the highest waterfall in North America at 2,425 feet, and Mirror Lake, a serene body of water that reflects the granite cliffs around it. All of these wonders of nature came about when 10 million years ago the Sierra Nevadas were uplifted, tilted and created the deep canyons. Then during the Ice Age, ice as thick as 4,000 feet sculpted the U-shaped valley.

The national park has several campgrounds and many of the amenities and facilities of a small city … department/grocery store, boutiques and specialty retail outlets, movie theaters and auditoriums, lodges, and fine dining restaurants and fast food outlets.  It was fun traveling from one point to another in the valley riding Vino! The wonders of nature are many and even as we exited, a beautiful panorama...a peek of the granite rocks was presented before us at the Tunnel View (actually the first view when you approach the park at its other entrance) .  

We promised ourselves that we will return…next time in spring to see all the colorful wildflowers adorning the hills.

But then Monterrey Bay, the beautiful town of Carmel, and the unique coastal highway, Big Sur beckon!

Now that it is Cool our Herbs and Spices are Relisted

 

The cool weather is upon us and our herbs and spices are relisted and will be safe to ship without alot of heat to harm them.

Now is the time to start collecting items to put in those holiday gift baskets.  How about a themed basket?  Here is a list of suggestions - Gift Basket suggestions
 
Don't forget:-
* Because of our concern for the environment  and excess waste, all our herbs and spices are packaged in small bags rather than glass or plastic bottles, so all those glass bottles can be recycled.
* All bags are heat-sealed in a smoke free & pet free kitchen.
* Typically the shelf life of herbs or spices is 1 year. It is recommended they be replaced annually to have the most flavor.
* Most cooks do not use large quantities so at these prices it is more economical to buy in smaller quantities & not have to throw away a lot of old, stale herbs that have lost their flavor and in some cases, color.
* Don't let our low prices fool you, it is not unusual for herbs and spices to be marked up several 1000's of percent in the grocery stores.  Our herbs and spices are all high quality. and since we buy in bulk and repackage into smaller packages and we can pass the savings on.
* Besides using these herbs and spices in your own kitchen they make perfect gifts for a friends, relatives, teachers or in  gift baskets. 
* We sell Culinary, Mexican/Alternative Herbs, Yerbas and Remedios. 

List of Herbs and Spices