This weekend I was at the Scotts Bluff Valley Fiber Arts Fair. Yes, that is a mouthful.

Friday morning I was a busy bee getting the car loaded up and double checking that I had everything I for the 2 classes I was teaching on Saturday.  I left a little bit later than I had wanted to, and I got to experience lovely stop-and-go commuter traffic on the I-25 highway.  I just kept singing along with my radio and driving carefully. Once I passed Ft. Collins it was much better. Note to self, when driving up to Nebraska, be sure to be past Ft. Collins before 4 p.m.

Good news was I made it to Scotts Bluff before sunset, though barely. The best part was I did most of the drive in good daylight and the got to enjoy the scenery. My photos can’t really do it justice and some of the most stunning views there wasn’t a good spot to pull over and take a photo. The twilight sun really made the bluffs extra dramatic looking.

The next day was all about teaching, though I did get a little shopping time in with my friends at the Brown Sheep Wool Company booth. I brought home another 4 pounds of loose fiber and some beautiful hanks of their Hand Paints in various weights. The yarn was “seconds” and they were selling it by the weight, so I got a little carried away.

Most of this yarn I’ll be using for gifts I’m making for other folks. Though once again I’m realizing that I left planning gifts for Christmas a bit late. I know you are thinking Christmas is months away, but I know it will get here way too quickly when it comes to making and finishing gifts in time.  That is 104 days for those of you that like exact numbers. I’m not counting today or Christmas day. For some of my gifts I need to ship them, so really I have more like 94 days. Eep!

After all the teaching and shopping I was ready for a quiet evening in my hotel room. I made myself some dinner and watched a movie while I crocheted. The next day was going to be a much more relaxed pace and I was looking forward to it. As much as I love my family, sometimes it is nice to have some all alone time.

I sleep in until 8 a.m. then ate some breakfast, took a leisurely shower and packed up my last bits and bobs. I did have something interesting happen that could have been a bit frightening. While I was in the shower I thought I heard a knock on my door, then a thump. But I decided I must have been mistaken and even if I wasn’t I didn’t see any need to hop out of the shower wet and soapy to answer my door.

When I finally emerged from the bathroom I realized that someone had tried to come thru the door. Fortunately I had used the safety latch and they were not able to enter. I’m sure it was a mistake by house-keeping, since they were the only folks with a key that could unlock my room. I did call the front desk to let them know what happened. It was a little unnerving, so sort of interrupted my relaxation momentum of the morning. Lesson to anyone traveling alone, always use the safety latch when you are in your room.

I shook it off and gathered up all my luggage, I took 2 trips to my car because I wanted to get extra steps in. I knew most of my day was going to involve sitting in a car driving and there would not be a lot of opportunities to walk. When I went to check out the front desk manager added 1000 points to my rewards account and apologized again for the snafu with house keeping.

One of the reasons I had stayed an extra night was I really wanted to explore the Scotts Bluff National Monument a little. That was where I was headed after I stopped for some petro for the car. My little Google GPS gal (also known as Gina) said that it was only a 15 minute drive from my hotel, and I could see it from the hotel parking lot.

GPS Gina was a bit insistent on this trip. Coming up on Friday she really wanted me to drive up thru Wyoming instead of sticking to the interstate highways. On Friday I over-rode her wishes. Though she did try to get sneaky when I stopped for my traditional Wendy’s French Fries in Cheyenne, my next exit on I-25 is the one to take, she told me to continue north on I-25 for 16 miles. Gina was determined that I was going to take that other route.

Sunday when I used my Google Maps for directions to go home Gina once again told me to take the other route. It was the middle of the day and clear sunny weather so I told her okay, this time we would go the way she wanted. First we went to visit the Scotts Bluff National Monument.

 

 

I picked the best photos I took, but as before they really don’t capture how beautiful it is there. I’m actually just grateful that the pictures came out relatively clear. It was extremely windy and I was challenged to keep my body steady when taking photos. I attempted to get a good photo of the angle of the bluff as seen from my hotel parking lot, but couldn’t get close enough without it being obscured by trees and houses. Next time.

I hope you all had a really good weekend. I’m still a bit tired, but I really enjoyed my visit to Nebraska. I hope some of you get a chance to see the Scotts Bluff Valley for yourselves in the near future. It’s a beautiful area with lots of history, and of course, the Brown Sheep Wool Company.