Fabulous Fall Finds

Fall is here and it is time to bring out your favorite sweaters and autumn clothing.  You love your clothes but couldn't they use a little sprucing up?  Or maybe you are in the mood to make something as a gift for someone special?  I have gathered items from some fabulous handmade artisans here that I am acquainted with where you might find just the thing you are looking for this season!  I hope you will take a few minutes to visit the shop of all of these wonderful artists.

Tree of Life Yggdrasil Necklace, Handmade Citrine Carnelian Jewelry by Shadow Dog Designs

Fall Leaf Pendant Necklace by Blonde Peach Jewelry

 Orange Pillow Beads by Blue Morning Expressions

Pastel Yellow Butter Handmade Lampwork Glass Beads Shiny Kumquat by Covergirlbeads

Womens Convertibles Hand Knitted Hobo Gloves Mittens with Longer Cover by Crafting Memories 1

Gold Silver Heart Charms Swarovski Crystal Silver Chain Bracelet by Dianes Dangles

Red and Yellow Calsilica with Scarlet Crystal 20 inch Necklace by Kats All That

 Owls In Tree Desk Clock Handmade From Cherry Wood By KevsKrafts Woodworking 

Autumn Gemstone Earrings by Linor Store Jewelry

Crocheted Fingerless Gloves Merino Wool Black Victorian Women Small by Magdalene Knits

Single Hand Designed Postcard Thanksgiving Greeting Child on Pumpkin w/ Turkey by Postcards in the Attic

Wood Bracelet for Men or Unisex, Om Charm, Unakite Gemstone Tai Chi Yoga by Pretty Gonzo 

Handmade Fall Color Basket - Orange, Tan, Green, Cream Crochet Art Design by RSS Designs in Fiber

Ammonite Fossil Pendant Necklace by Solana Kai Designs

Topaz Swarovski Earrings, Dangling Crystal Leather Earrings by The Singing Beader

 Amber Topaz Crystal Teardrop Earrings by Treasures of Jewels

Watercolor, Print, 8 x 10, Five different choices Decorative art, home decor by watercolorsNmore 

2018 Fall and Winter Color Trends

Colors are very important to so many areas of our lives.  Whether it is clothes, food, jewelry, art or so many others things, color is a determining factor in our choices.

Every season, the Pantone Color Institute comes up with a Pantone Fashion Color Trend Report.  This report highlights the top colors fashion designers will be featuring in their collections for the upcoming seasons.

The color palette for the 2018 Fall/Winter season features some non-traditional color choices.  The color of the year for 2018 is Ultra Violet.  The colors for fall and winter are Red Pear, Valiant Poppy, Nebulus Blue, Ceylon Yellow, Martini Olive, Russet Orange, Crocus Petal, Limelight, Ultra Violet and Quetzal Green.

The five core colors are Sargasso Sea, Tofu, Almond Buff, Quiet Gray and Meerkat.  These are colors that can be worn all year.

Since these are the colors that most of the fall and winter clothes will be for 2018, it makes sense that jewelry and other items should follow this trend.

Below you will find several handmade items that are made with colors in this collection.  I hope you enjoy them and if you are so inclined, maybe purchase one or two!

Kats All That on Artfire

Czech Ruby Travertine and Swarovski Crystal Sterling Silver Earrings

Shadow Dog Designs on Indiemade

Klimt Inspired Necklace, Carnelian Orange Turquoise Handmade Jewelry

RSS Designs in Fiber on Etsy

Blue and White Stars Doily - Ring of Stars - Crocheted Stars Round Doily - Stars Decor or Decoration - Blue and White Decor Accent

Kats All That

Butterfly Charm Multi Wrap Purple Green Yellow Orange BOHO Bracelet

Linor Store on Etsy

Wire Kippah Kippot Yarmulke Purple - Silver Beads - Siam Swarovski Crystals - Headcovering

Magdalene Knits on Etsy

Crocheted Infant Bolero Sweater w Lace Collar Cuffs Autumn Red 12 18 mo

Shadow Dog Designs

Turquoise Silver Necklace, Chunky Southwest Handmade Gemstone Jewelry

The Singing Beader on Etsy

Blood Red Crystal Silver Cone Earrings, Red And Silver Earrings, Cherry Red, Strawberry Red, Sterling Silver Ear Wires, Short Dangle

The Singing Beader

Lilac Purple Pearl Earrings, Purple Pearl And Crystal Earrings, Dangling Pearl Earrings, Pearl Earrings With Sterling Silver Ear Wires

Pretty Gonzo on Etsy

Evil Eye Beaded Earrings, Good Luck Talisman Bead Earrings, Long Red Boho Dangles, Amethyst Gemstone, Unique Handmade Earrings for Women

Magdalene Jewels on Etsy

Ruby Gemstone Vintage Earrings 22K Vermeil Gold Accents Ruby Swarovski Crystals

Pretty Gonzo

Blue Pearl Earrings, Blue Bridal Earring, Lapis Pearl Dangles, Versatile Jewelry, Swarovski Aquamarine Crystal, Yellow Czech Glass, Handmade

Blonde Peach Jewelry on Etsy

Clip on Earrings Dangle Earrings Gift for Her Silver Earrings Gift for Women Birthday Gift Beaded Earrings Handmade Jewelry Boho Earrings

Blonde Peach Jewelry

Clip on Earrings Dangle Earrings Gift for Her Silver Earrings Gift for Women Statement Earrings Gift for Wife Flower Earrings Unique Jewelry

Covergirlbeads on ArtFire

Lampwork Glass Bead Handmade Halloween Cool Orange Matte Silver 655efs

Lapis Handmade Lampwork Beads Etched Dark Cobalt Blue Silver 246efs

Thank you for taking the time to peruse this post and viewing all of these lovely artisan made items!

From Here to Colorado Springs - Memphis, TN to Stone Mountain, GA

The last portion of our journey was from Memphis to Stone Mountain, a suburb of Atlanta.  We left Tennessee early and drove through the state of Alabama on our way home.  Alabama is a very pretty state to drive through.

As usual, a road sign caught my attention.  It read - Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS).  My research found that in 1964, the Presidents Appalachian Regional Commission (PARC) reported to Congress that economic growth in Appalachia would not be possible until the regions isolation had been overcome.  Apparently, roads had never been built in the area because of the terrain and the high cost of building in that area.  Congress authorized the construction of the ADHS in 1965.  The ADHS is currently authorized at 3,090 miles.  As of the end of 2017, 90.5 percent of the miles were complete or under construction.

Here is a map of the Appalachia ADHS area.

We drove through Birmingham, AL which is where my husband's Italian grandparents lived after arriving in LA from Sicily around 1900.  Most of his family moved to the Atlanta area after the depression to find work.  Interestingly enough my paternal grandmother lived in the same area of Birmingham with her first husband at the time his family lived there!

My husband and I are both natives of Atlanta.  We met in high school and married after college.  He worked at the family car business where he eventually became President of the company and then purchased it from his siblings.  He sold the business in 2001 and retired to join me in a life of leisure!

Birmingham is known as the Pittsburgh of the South because of its history of iron smelting.  All of the materials necessary for iron production are available in the area.  One of the city's famous landmarks is the 55 foot cast iron statue named Vulcan that symbolized their steel industry at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.

Picture of Vulcan statue provided by Yelp.

Here is a picture of a steel bridge in the Fountain Heights area of Birmingham as we drove under it.

As we were driving along I spotted this pickup truck full of watermelons in front of us.  We used to see this a lot in Atlanta when we were growing up but not so much now.

Here are some interesting facts about Alabama:

* The first electric trolley system was introduced in Montgomery in 1886.

* AL is the largest supplier of cast-iron and steel pipe products in the US.

* The town of Enterprise (which is a town we go through often on our way to Destin, FL!) houses the Boll Weevil Monument to acknowledge the role this destructive insect played in encouraging farmers to grow crops other than cotton.

* Hank Aaron (baseball player) was born in Mobile in 1954.

* Joe Louis (boxer) was born in Lexington in 1914.

* Willie Mays (baseball player) was born in Westfield in 1931.

* Tallulah Bankhead (singer) was born in Huntsville in 1902.

* Nat King Cole (singer) was born in Montgomery in 1919.

* At the Battle of Mobile Bay, Admiral David Farragut issued his famous command - "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead." - in 1864.

* The word Alabama means tribal town in the Creek Indian language.

* Hematite is the state mineral.

* The star blue quartz is the state gemstone.

* The state flower is the Camellia.

* The state bird is the Yellowhammer (yellow-shafted flicker)

I think you can tell by this short post that we were really ready to get home after such a long drive!  I hope you have enjoyed and learned something while reading my posts - I know I learned some things!

From Here to Colorado Springs - Oklahoma City to Memphis, TN

The next portion of our journey took us from Oklahoma City to Memphis, TN.  We had never been to Memphis so we decided to add it to our trip home.

I didn't mention the Indian Casinos that we passed frequently in Oklahoma.  The treatment of the Native Americans is another sad and unfortunate part of our American history.  I once tried to read the book, Trail of Tears, but cried so much while reading it that I couldn't finish it.  America is not the only country that has done things they are not proud of it is just that we are a relatively new country compared to most and our history is more current.  But, I digress!  We did drive past numerous casinos that were just building basically just off the highways.  An informative article on the subject is found here.

We entered Arkansas in the city of Muldrow. 

We drove for a while and had lunch at a bbq restaurant in the quaint town of Russellville, AR.  It was good food and the people were friendly.  

We got back in the car and started driving again.  Not far out of Russellville, I noticed the cooling towers of a nuclear power plant.  It was the Arkansas Nuclear One - a two unit pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant located on Lake Dardanelle.  See www.entergy-nuclear.com for more info. 

A road way sign caught my attention in Conway, AR.  The sign read - Conway, AR City of Colleges.  When I research the city, I discovered that there are 3 post-secondary educational institutes there earning the city its nickname "The City of Colleges".

The city was founded by Asa P. Robinson who traveled to the area shortly after the Civil War.  He was the chief engineer for the Little Rock-Fort Smith Railroad (now Union Pacific).

In 1878, Father Joseph Strub, a Roman Catholic priest of the Holy Ghost Fathers, arrived in Arkansas.  In 1879, he convinced the railroad to deed 200,000 acres along the northern side of the Arkansas River to the Holy Ghost Fathers in order to build the St. Joseph Colony.  Later St. Joseph Catholic Church of Conway was built there.  As part of the land deal, the railroad offered land at 20 cents an acre to every German immigrant.  By 1889, over 100 German families had settled in Conway giving the town many of its distinctly German street and business names.

Another sign in Arkansas that caught my eye was Toad Suck Park.  Seriously???  Apparently the place won top honors in an online poll to find America's most unfortunate "town" name.  

The US Army Corps of Engineers has the honor of overseeing Toad Suck Park.  According to the manager, Scott Fryer, Toad Suck is not really a town so much as a spot on the Arkansas River.  He said the legend has it that Toad Suck got its name from where a ferry used to cross the river from Faulkner County to Perry County.  At that time, there was a tavern on the Perry Side of the river that was a local hangout for folks to do down and drink alcohol and do other questionable things.  Some church ladies from nearby would say, "If you can't find so-and-so, go down to the tavern.  He'll be sucking on a bottle so much he's swollen up like a toad!"

The nearby city of Conway has held a three-day festival in May for the last 30 years called Toad Suck Daze that raises money for scholarships.

The next sign I noticed was on that read Purple Heart Trail.  The Purple Heart is specifically a combat decoration and it is our nations oldest military medal.  It was first created by George Washington in 1782.

The current Purple Heart medal was developed by General Douglas MacArthur in 1932.  The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the armed forces in the US who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy and posthumously to the next of kin in the name of these killed in action who die of wounds received in action.

The purpose of the Purple Heart Trail is to create a symbolic and honorary system of roads, highways, bridges and other monuments that give tribute to the men and women who have been awarded the Purple Heart Medal.

Interesting facts about Arkansas:

* The elevation in the state ranges from 54 feet above sea level to 2,753 feet

* Mountain View is home to one of the largest producers of handmade dulcimers in the world

* The state bird is the Mockingbird

* Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, AR

* The state flower is the apple blossum

* Sam Walton founded Wal-Mart in Bentonville, AR

* The official state mineral is bauxite

* General Douglas MacArthur was born in Little Rock, AR

* The official state gem is the diamond

* The name Arkansas is the French interpretation of a Sioux word acansa, meaning down stream place

* AR has a humid subtropical climate

* The state is known for extreme weather and frequent storms

* Bill Clinton was born in Hope, AR

* Arkansas is the leading producer of rice in the US - agriculture is the top industry

* There are 6 major rivers in AR - Arkansas River, Mississippi River, Red River, White River, Quachita River and the St. Francis River

We arrived at our destination of Memphis, TN in the late afternoon.  We stayed at the Peabody Hotel.  We got there just in time to see the ducks walk through the lobby.

We walked up the street to Beale Street to eat some of Memphis's famous bbq.  The restaurant we were told to go to was the Rendezvous.  They have been there since 1948 and are best known for their ribs.

This was our view from our hotel window.

This is the Autozone Park.  It is a minor league baseball stadium - home to the Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League.  The Redbirds are the Triple-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals.

Interesting facts about Memphis, TN:

* Memphis has a mild southern climate

* The city is the most populous city in TN

* Memphis is one of the largest wholesale and distributing centers in the South

* It is one of the world's largest markets for spot cotton and hardwood lumber

* Memphis is one of the busiest inland ports on the Mississippi River

* Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968 at the Lorraine Motel

* WC Handy the "father of the blues" wrote and played his music on Beale Street

* Elvis Presley began his recording career in Memphis at Sun Records

* Graceland Mansion, Presley's home until his death in 1977, is visited annually by more than a half million fans

From Here to Colorado Springs - Oklahoma City

We left Colorado Springs to head back home but did not want to go back exactly the way we came.  Our destination for the day was Oklahoma City.  We decided to go by way of New Mexico and northern Texas to Oklahoma.  

As we drove south toward New Mexico, I noticed animals out in the vast plains.  They kind of looked like deer but not the kind we are used to in Georgia (white tailed deer).  It turns out they were mule deer which are of course common to the area.  

I don't think I mentioned this in my earlier posts but another thing I noticed while driving through Colorado were these low, wooden fences that were long but not continuous.  I searched the internet and found out that they are snow fences designed to keep the snow from blowing on to the roads.  Being from Georgia, I had never seen anything like that before our trip out west!

Our first rest stop was near Pueblo, CO off of Interstate 25 where we stopped at a beautiful facility that we knew nothing about.  Turns out it is a 2.7 million dollar CDOT rest/information center.  It was gorgeous and has an interesting history that you can read about at www.digitalcommons.unl.edu if you are so inclined.  While my husband visited the facilities, I walked around outside enjoying the weather and listening to the birds.  I was able to get a picture of one of them before we left.  I love watching birds but am not the best at identifying them.  Here is a picture of the lovely creature.

We saw interesting shapes of what I guess you would call bluffs as we drove toward New Mexico.  It was hard to get a good picture of them as we drove but you get the idea from these photos.

We entered New Mexico in the city of Raton.  The land became very picturesque with higher hills and valleys as you might be able to see in my photos.

After driving for a while, we saw black rocks on the ground.  Curious, of course I checked it out on the internet!  The rocks are part of the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field from Capulin Volcano.  You can read more about it here:  www.nmnaturalhistory.org  Unfortunately the photo I took of them did not come out well.  It was too blurry to tell what you were looking at.

Another interesting item to me were the road signs we passed on the highway that said - Safety Corridors.  Apparently the corridors are designed to save lives on the highways.  They encourage safe driving habits especially in those areas.  If you are caught speeding in a safety corridor you should expect to pay a steep fine.  They are put in place in specific sections of highways based on crashes reported in those areas.

We did not get to see very much of New Mexico, just the extreme northeast corner of the state.  I would love to have seen more but time would not allow.

Here are some facts you might find interesting about New Mexico:

* Lakes and rivers make up only .002% of the states total surface area.

* The Rio Grande River runs the entire length of the state.

* The worlds first Atomic Bomb was detonated on 7/16/45 on the White Sands testing range new Alamagordo.

* White Sands National Monument is a desert of gleaming white gypsum crystals

* New Mexico has more sheep and cattle than people - 17 people per square mile

* Only about 13 inches of rain falls a year so most roads are left unpaved

* Taos Pueblo is one of the oldest continuously occupied communities in the US - People still live in some of the 900 year old buildings

* The roadrunner is the state bird

* The yucca is the state flower

* Turquoise is the state gem

* Some famous people from NM are Ronnie Lott, Neil Patrick Harris, Demi Moore and John Denver

* The economy is mostly based on oil drilling, mineral extraction, dryland farming, cattle ranching, lumber milling, film industry, the military and the government

* The climate is semi-arid to arid depending on the region of mountains, plains and desert

* Santa Fe was established as a settlement around 1608

* The Santa Fe Trail was the 19th century US territory's vital commercial and military highway link to the eastern US cities

* There are no major league professional sports teams

Next, we drove across the Texas Panhandle.  It is made up of 26 counties and is the area at the northern part of state bordered by New Mexico and Oklahoma.  There were lots of oil wells and windmills but other wise there was not a lot to see as we drove through to Oklahoma.

We arrived in Oklahoma City in the early evening.  We got checked into our room and drove to Lake Hefner, which was near by, to have dinner.  I guess I hadn't really thought about how much money there is in Oklahoma City because we drove through an opulent neighborhood with very posh houses and a gorgeous gold course on the way to the lake.

We ate at a Tex-Mex restaurant at the East Wharf area of the lake.  A so-so restaurant with a fabulous view of the lake as you can see in my sunset photo below.

We were unable to do anything else in the city since we arrived so late but it looked like a nice place to live.

Here are some interesting points about Oklahoma:

* Will Rogers was born in Oklahoma in 1879, first as an Indian, then a cowboy and on to become a movie star and writer

* Garth Brooks was born in Tulsa, OK

* There are more man-made lakes in OK than any other US state

* The state bird is the Scissor Tail Flycatcher

* OK has the largest Native American population of any state

* The worlds first installed parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City on 7-16-35

* Boise City was the only city in the US during WWII to be bombed - On 7-5-43 six practice bombs were dropped around midnight

* The economy is based on natural gas, oil, agricultural products, aviation, energy, telecommunications and bio technology

* The state flower is the Oklahoma Rose

* The climate is a humid subtropical region

* Most of the state lies in "Tornado Alley"

* Sixty-seven Native American tribes are represented in OK

* Oklahoma City has one major league sports franchise - the OK City Thunder of the NBA

* The name Oklahoma comes from the Choctaw phrase - okla humma - which means red people

From Here to Colorado Springs - Third Day

On day three, we left Tulsa to drive to Colorado Springs.  It was a very long day but we gained another hour as we headed West so we arrived in time to have dinner with our son.  He had just finished a 12 hour work shift and we were tired too so we went for an early dinner and then back to our room for hubby and son to have a much needed drink.  I should have said earlier but we decided to stay in the same hotel that our son was staying in, a Holiday Inn.  It was a nice hotel with a lovely view of the Rocky Mountains Range.

The next morning, we met for breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  Our waitress was very friendly and as we chatted, she asked where we were from.  Turns out she was from Georgia as well!  Her husband is in the Army.  They previously lived in Augusta, GA where he was stationed and had just recently been transferred to Colorado Springs.  Small world!

I suffer from life long migraines.  I was nervous about visiting Colorado because of the altitude there.  When I turned 40, we took a family and friend trip to Breckenridge, CO.  We had never been to a state that had so much snow and had never been snow skiing.  We planned to ski, ice skate, snowmobile and take a night time horse drawn sled ride.  Colorado had a record breaking amount of snow that year, 1995, so everything was amazingly beautiful.  Unfortunately, I was quite ill with what I thought was migraines but was most likely high altitude sickness.  I struggled through the ice skating, skiing and snowmobile ride but when it came time for the one thing that I truly wanted to do, the horse drawn sled ride, I was too ill to go.

I had hoped that since we drove cross country slowly going up in altitude that I would not have the same issues with altitude but unfortunately I did!  I woke up both mornings we were in Colorado with a splitting headache and sinus issues.  This time I did have meds for migraine with me so that did help.  I mention this because it did interfere with my enjoyment of the trip and what I was able to do while there.  After we got back from our trip, a friend told me that there is now medication that you can take for high altitude sickness!

The first thing we decided to do for the day way to go to the Garden of the Gods Park in Manitou Springs.  Our son had been there before so he drove us there.  We drove up a not too high mountain that was very curvy on the Southwest edge of the park to a large gift shop where we purchased a few items.  They had a wonderful deck on the outside of the shop where you could view some of the beautiful valleys.

We drove back down and went into another section of the park where we had a lovely lunch outside of another gift shop.  After lunch, we drove through the park and viewed all of the lovely red rock formations including "Balanced Rock".  I read that the mountains there are red because they are made of sedimentary beds of deep red, pink and white sandstone conglomerates and limestone.

This is my husband with the big rock above his head!  The park apparently got its name in 1859.  You can read about it at the official park website at Garden of the Gods Park.

Next on the list was Pikes Peak.  Unfortunately for me, my head was killing me as we started to ascend the mountain so when we reached Crystal Creek Reservoir we stopped  at the store there to get something to drink.  The elevation at this point was 9,230 feet.  I decided at that point that it would be best if I didn't go up the rest of the way so I stayed at the lake and the guys drove on up.  Even though I would have liked to have seen the peak, I did have an enjoyable walk around the lake area (after taking more meds!).  The scenery was gorgeous and there were walking trails that had informational signs posted describing local plants and animals.  Oh, and that is where I spotted Sasquatch!

There was a cog railroad (the world's largest) that operates from Manitou Springs to the summit but after 126 years of operation, it is currently not running!  It is 19 miles of winding and potentially treacherous driving to reach the summit of 14,115 feet.  My husband and I are both afraid of heights so he was very nervous driving up the mountain.  Our son took a video of the top portion of the drive for me to "enjoy"!  It was in the upper 60's at the lake reservoir and 39 at the summit!

Pikes Peak is named after Zebulon Pike who led the first Americans on the Pike Expedition in 1806.  At that time he failed to climb to the top because of weather conditions.

We had dinner at an excellent seafood restaurant, Bonny and Reed, in historic downtown Colorado Springs.  We were seated by the window where we could people watch.  Just outside the window we could see the entrance to another restaurant called The Rabbit Hole.  As you can see by the picture, you open a door that leads down from the street into what looks like a subway entrance.  We were quite curious so after we ate, we went over to check it out.  It was a fun looking establishment with a bar and restaurant.  Lots of people took pictures at the front entrance!

The next day we decided to drive in a different direction and visit the Broadmoor Seven Falls.  It is a series of waterfalls at the end of a 1,250 foot box canyon.  We had cell phone coverage issues with our phones so using the map app was difficult.  After we got to the mountain and started up, we had a couple of false starts.  When we finally got to the spot, there was a sign posted that said buses only.  Not knowing what else to do, we started back down the mountain where we came upon the Broadmoor Hotel.  We decided to see if we could have lunch there but as we drove up it looked so amazingly posh and beautiful that we thought they would probably turn us away.  To our delight, not only did they not turn us away, they made us feel most wanted!  They complementary parked our bug invested (from the cross country drive) SUV and told us we had several choices of restaurants for lunch.  I hope that is you are ever in Colorado Springs that you can visit the Broadmoor Hotel!  It is a truly delightful place.  For one thing, it is huge!  A Forbes 5-Star and AAA Five-Diamond resort that is incredible.  It opened in 1918.  They were celebrating the 100 year anniversary.  They offer gold, a luxury pool and cabana, fine and casual dining, a spa, shops and galleries.  I made sure to visit their wonderful shop that was full of sweets - chocolates, pastries and gelato!

We chose to eat at the bar restaurant that had outdoor seating by a beautiful lake stocked with very large fish and beautiful white swans.  The day was gorgeous weather wise with low humidity and temperatures in the low 80's.  We had a leisurely lunch and then walked around the lake.  The landscaping was breathtaking!  I saw my first magpie there!  My husband and son know I love bird watching but they did not quite understand my excitement at seeing "another bird"!  My mother does though as she is a fellow bird watcher so I immediately sent her a picture of it!  Here it is for your enjoyment.

We were on our way back to our hotel to rest for a while but decided we wanted to peek into one of the cannabis stores we had seen earlier. In 2013, Colorado voters approved a constitutional amendment legalizing retail sales of marijuana for recreational purposes but the Colorado Springs City Council voted not to permit retail shops in the the city.  Medical marijuana outlets continue to operate and this is what the store was that we entered.

Not knowing any of that before hand, we sheepishly walked into what looked like a doctors office waiting room.  There was no one inside the waiting room but in a minute or two a gentleman popped his head out of a sliding glass window and asked if he could help us.  We answered that we were just curious because it is legal there and we were from Georgia.  He then asked if we were interested in recreational marijuana.  We said we didn't want to buy anything but just wanted to see what a shop looked like.  He said we could come back and look around at the medicinal marijuana and we said that would be great.  After we went inside he told us that we would need to sign in his book.  My husband said you mean sign something that goes to the government?  To which he replied yes but it was just a formality.  We quickly agreed that we did not want to do that and left but not before glancing around and seeing all kinds of interesting looking equipment and "medicine"!

At some point in our two day whirlwind visit, we went to Barnes and Noble Bookstore so that our son could purchase some paperback books to read in his down time at work.  He has a Kindle but no electronics are allowed in the section where he works.  While he looked for books, I went to the magazine section to look at bead magazines.  When I finished and still had time to look around I noticed the Weed World Magazine.  I bought a copy to read on our trip back across country.  Most of it was about the different types of marijuana.  I am no expert but back in my college days when pot was around I didn't even know there was more than one type!  

There was an interesting article in the magazine that was informative to me.  It was entitled,  The Divided States for America.  The article implied that the number of marijuana users both medicinal and recreational was going down in Colorado.  Supposedly, the market is flooded with lower quality weed and bureaucratic red tape is making everything more challenging for independent business people.  The article goes on to say that legal cannabis has to be of good quality and sold at a price that makes its production worthwhile.  So even though the drug has been legalized in some states, it sounds like it is going to be a long uphill road for the future.

We met our son for dinner at the hotel restaurant.  He had to get up around 4:30 a.m. to go to work the next day and we had another long day ahead of us to get to Oklahoma City.

Here are some facts about Colorado that you might find interesting:

* The state bird is the Lark bunting

* The state animal is the Bighorn sheep

* The population of CO in 2018 is 674,000 up from 2016 when it was 465,101

* Colorado Springs first inhabited by Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Kiowa and Ute Indians who gathered each year at present day Garden of the Gods Park

* General William Palmer, a Civil War General, first came to the area in 1871

* Peterson AFB, US Air Force Academy, Fort Carson, US Space Command, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base are all located at or near Colorado Springs

* The economy consists of the military, high tech industry and tourism

* The climate is a semi-arid climate - the proximity to the Rocky Mountains makes the city subject to drastic day-to-day variability in weather conditions

* One of the most active lighting strike areas in the US - this natural phenomenon led Nikola Tesla to select the city as the preferred location to build his lab and study electricity in 1893

* There are 12 four year colleges within 40 miles of Colorado Springs

* Aquamarine is the official gemstone but you can also find amazonite, garnet, topaz, tourmaline, lapis lazuli, quartz crystal, smoky quartz, rose quartz, amethyst, turquoise, jasper, chalcedony, peridot, sapphire, zircon and agate in Colorado

* A few famous people from Colorado Springs are Lon Cheney, James Dobson and Bobby Unser

Watch for another post in our journey soon!