The Colorado Traveling Ducks and the humans wish you all a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day today. This is the week that we all are a little bit Irish.
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Dinosaurs in Denver
We have a great museum in Denver. We visit the Denver Museum of Nature and Science often. I, Zeb the Duck, and Soapy Smith Duck wanted to see dinosaurs. Before we even entered the museum, we saw dinosaurs by the parking garage.
By the parking garage
Aren’t these guys great?
Dinosaur by elevator to parking garage
And big!
As we entered the museum, we were greeted by T-Rex. He weighed about 7 tons and could run 25 miles per hour.
T-Rex greets us!
T-Rex had a long tail for balance as he walked on 2 legs. His small arms were for holding prey and to help him get up from a resting position. T-Rex had really powerful jaws and neck muscles.
What a big, powerful head
You would not get away from this guy.
Heading to the second floor to visit Prehistoric Journey,
This is a great display
we saw plesiosaurs. He is called the ancient swimmer of the deep.
Wouldn’t be our favorite swimming mate
We ducks do not want to swim with him.
Entering Prehistoric Journey we saw dinosaurs everywhere. This skeleton is of walking fortress.
Walking Fortress
You can see how he got that name. Walking Fortress has small teeth and a wide body so scientists believe he was a plant eater.
This long necked dinosaur is about 150 million years old.
Long necked dinosaur
The duckbilled dinosaur, or Hadrosaur, is impressive also.
Duck billed dinosaur
Duckbilled dinosaur has a toothless beak, but behind that beak each duckbilled had tightly packed teeth, as many as 1,000 at a time. When one tooth wore out, another replaced it. No dentures for dinosaurs.
We saw lots of dinosaur exhibits.
So many dinosaurs
You will want to see these. The name of this exhibit is Prehistoric Journey, so there are more than dinosaurs here.
Look at what lived in the Nebraska woodland about 20 million years ago.
He lived in Nebraska about 20 million years ago.
This “Big Pig” looms menacingly as it catches sight and scent of prey. This big pig was both a predator and a scavenger. These pigs lived and traveled in herds.
We liked this exhibit and we like dinosaurs. But we are little ducks and we are very happy that these big animals are not walking around here today. We hope you visit our museum or a museum near you. Museums have so many fascinating things to see and you can learn so much there.
You will love all the dinosaurs.
Fun with so much snow
Zeb the Duck here today. My friend, Channel the Bear, sent me an e-mail with these great pictures. As you know, much of the country received a lot of snow this winter. Here in Denver, we set a new record for the snowiest February on record. We had more than 20 inches of snow during the last 2 weeks of February. I do not know where these pictures were taken, but we loved them. Hope you enjoy them also.
Turtle with great details
Not in my back yard
We love Snoopy
The mail will arrive
WOW
Keep the young ones safe
A new friend?
Big teeth
Can we keep him?
We feel devoured by the snow
We thank Channel for sending these pictures. We also thank the creators and the photographers of these snow creations. This is talented fun with the snow!
Egyptian Mummies Arrived in Denver
Mummies??? I, Zeb the Duck, and Soapy Smith Duck, saw mummies–in Denver. Mom took us to Denver’s Museum of Science and Nature. We saw real mummies from ancient Egypt.
Egyptian Mummies in Denver
Let’s go in the room of mummies.
Why did the Egyptians mummify bodies? In the afterlife the deceased would join the god Osiris.
Osiris
The person was said to become an Osiris.
Here is the mummy of a poor lady.
Mummy and coffin of a poor woman.
But, how did the Egyptians mummify bodies? In 4 steps. First the internal organs were removed. The priests removed most organs through a cut on the person’s left side. The heart was not removed, as the heart was the site of wisdom and intelligence. The brain was extracted through the nose with long hooks. Second, the body was dried. During the mummification process, items that the deceased may need were assembled.
Some of things needed for the journey to the afterlife.
These items were to comfort him and help in his journey to the afterlife. The body was laid on a bed of natron, a natural salt, during the drying stage. The body was dried for 40 days. Third, the body was wrapped in linen provided by the family. The quality and quantity of the linen varied by the wealth of the family. Amulets and scarabs were often put in the linen. Fourth, the mummy was placed in the coffin and was ready for a proper funeral and burial.
New coffins–ready for a mummy
This mummification process took 70 days.
Until 1946 tourists to Egypt could buy mummies as souvenirs of their trip. In 1904 a businessman from Pueblo, Colorado purchased these mummies. They are in Denver on loan from Pueblo’s Rosemount Museum.
The hieroglyphs with this coffin lid say this man was a scribe at the temple of the god Amun in the city of Thebes.
Well preserved coffin lid
The high quality of the carpentry and paintings indicate he was a respected and wealthy man. The paintings have been well preserved for the past 3,000 years, but some parts of the lid have fallen off.
What did these people look like when they were alive?
How they may have looked when alive.
From the skulls, this is how the scientists believe they looked.
These mummies are fascinating, but we ducks don’t think we want to be mummies. You would like to see this exhibit. If you don’t live near Denver, visit an exhibit near you. It is fun to be a tourist in your own town. We hope you try it soon and often.
Moose Hunting in Alaska with Eider Duck
My Alaska cousin, Eider Duck, went moose hunting. He sent us these photos. Eider and his humans drove north on the Dalton Highway.
Eider Duck on the Dalton Highway
These are his human hunters.
Ready to start the hunting trip
They camped in tents in northern Alaska for two weeks in September.
Eider, take care of the humans.
Hunting in northern Alaska requires a variety of vehicles.
These hunting vehicles came here on trailers behind their trucks
This is a sample of the area they visited.
Careful Eider. Don’t get lost out there.
Some of their traveling was near the famous Alaska pipeline. The pipeline here doesn’t look very far from the ground, but it is.
Passing the Alaska pipeline
Eider told me the pipe must me far enough off the ground for herds of caribou and moose to easily pass under the pipeline. Eider and his humans are heading down this road.
Northern Alaska in September with Eider Duck
Eider said he had fun on the hunting trip, but the humans did not see even one moose. The moose also know when it is hunting season. Eider is back home now and ready to go to the grocery store with his humans. The rule of his human hunters: If you shoot it you must eat it. They did not shoot any moose, so there is nothing to eat. A trip to the grocery store will fill the refrigerator this season.
Eider will going to the grocery store soon.
Thanks for the photos Eider. And thanks for telling me about your camping and hunting in northern Alaska last September.
Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum with Zeb the Duck
I, Zeb the Duck, went with mom and her friend to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, Colorado.
Quilt Museum
The third biennial quilt challenge took place here and many of the competing quilts were on display. This quilt, titled Change Begins with a Dream: The Flight of the Magical Lawn Chair won first place.
First place by Bobbi Baugh
Bobbi Baugh of Deland, Florida, made the quilt. Second place was awarded to Living Fossils I by Charlotte Bird, of San Diego, California.
Second place by Charlotte Bird
Charlotte says time, process and change are persistent themes in her work. The third place winner was Amani by Barbara Yates Beasley of Boulder, Colorado.
Third place by Barbara Yates Beasley
Barbara loves animals and asks, Is this cheetah thinking of dinner? We liked these other quilts, also. This is named Tail Feathers.
Tail Feathers by Marcia DeCamp
It represents the bright and layered hues of Pan-American birds against a dark blue sky. Velvet Shadows was another entry in the contest.
Velvet Shadows by Marianne Williamson
Marianne Williamson of Miami, Florida created this quilt. She says: “I dyed, discharged, and painted silk, velvet, and cotton for texture so that the shadows on the rocky hill would come alive.”
The quilt museum has a private collection. These older quilts, from the museum’s collection, were on display. All of these older quilts were hand made. Many of the newer quilts are sewn on machines. This is called Kansas Sunflower from 1935.
Kansas Sunflower
The Kansas Sunflower and other dahlia-style patterns have retained their popularity from the early 1930’s through today, especially in the Midwest. This is New York Beauty from 1896.
New York Beauty
This quilt shows the work of more than one hand. The quilters signed their work in the lower portion of this quilt. We also like Nineteenth Century Tulip from 1897.
Nineteenth Century Tulip by Mildred Johnson
This quilt was completed my Mildred Johnson of Bethel, Ohio. This quilt called Crown of Thorns is from 1880
Crown of Thorns 1880
Information at the time of purchase gave the quilt’s origins as from “Clarksville, TN, Officer’s family, 1880. This quilt, Turkey Tracks, is from 1927.
Turkey Tracks quilt
The information posted at the museum “In the nineteenth century, the turkey tracks pattern was a traditional one for “freedom quilts,” given to young men on their twenty-first birthdays. Great care was taken not to call the block by its other name, Wandering Foot—the recipient might spend his life wandering and never settle down.”
For more information visit http://www.rmqm.org
The Year of the Goat/Sheep
Happy Chinese New Year!!
This is the year of the Goat or Sheep. According to Chinese astrology, each year (starting from Chinese New Year) is associated with an animal sign, occurring in a 12-year cycle. This year, 2015, is the Year of the Goat.
For those born in the year of the Goat (1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015), your lucky colors are brown, red and purple. Your lucky numbers are 2 and 7. Your lucky flowers are carnation and primrose.
The personality of those born in the year of the Goat is described as calm and gentle. You are generally believed to be gentle, mild-mannered, shy, stable, sympathetic, amicable and brimming with a strong sense of kindheartedness and justice. We ducks like humans with these personality traits.
Tubing and Snowmobiles near Winter Park, Colorado
Today Zeb and Soapy went to Colorado Adventure Park to enjoy the snow and Colorado sunshine. First we stopped at the Tubing and Snowmobile Tours building.
Ducks waiting for moms to go inside
These snowmobiles look like we could have fun here.
This is a big snowmobile. Too big?
They are big, but we are ready to go. But wait… these are more our size.
This one is better for us. Let’s go moms
Now we are ready to ride. We can go tubing also. This hill is a better size for two rubber ducks.
Our first tubing experience
It was fun! The humans can practice on this hill and then come down this bigger hill on the tubes.
Bigger hill for human tubing
Now they are down, how do they get back up to ride again?
So easy. Save energy for tubing downhill again.
Look at this moving sidewalk. This is great for humans and ducks. We like this place, but even with the bright Colorado sunshine, we are getting a little cold. This fire pit area is just perfect for warming our feathers.
Warmth of fire feels so good!
We really had fun here today. We hope you will try tubing and snowmobiling this winter.
Happy Mardi Gras 2015
Today is Mardi Gras. We, the Colorado Traveling Ducks and our humans, wish you a very pleasant day. According to Wikipedia, Mardi Gras meaning Fat Tuesday in English, refers to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after the Epiphany or King’s Day and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday”, reflecting the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.
Popular practices on Mardi Gras include wearing masks and costumes, overturning social conventions, dancing, sports competitions, parades, debauchery, etc. Similar expressions to Mardi Gras appear in other European languages sharing the Christian tradition, as it is associated with the religious requirement for confession before Lent begins. In many areas, the term “Mardi Gras” has come to mean the whole period of activity related to the celebratory events, beyond just the single day.
Twin Rivers Condo in Fraser, Colorado
I, Zeb the Duck, and Soapy Smith Duck, went to our condo near Winter Park, Colorado.
We love coming to Twin Rivers
This is very exciting for us because this is where we joined our human family and became the Colorado Traveling Ducks. This is the first time Zeb and Soapy have visited in the winter. This is a big pile of snow in our parking lot.
Brrr
We are happy that the parking lot had been plowed. After unpacking, we headed to the indoor recreation area.
More fun inside
This hot tub is great.
We are ducks and we love water
Sure feels good after sitting on that snow pile. After the hot tub we played a few video games and then tried the sauna.
Rather hot in here
This was the first sauna for these traveling ducks, and we liked it; but not too long mom. We could melt. We wanted to follow the path along the Fraser River. This is our regular walk when we come here in the summer. However, looking at this pile of snow, it is not summer now.
Lot of snow here. Cold snow!
As we walked along the river, it was cold and there was snow, but the river was not frozen solid.
Frozen in places
No ice-skating here today. We really like to see the river frozen in places and the water flowing freely in other places.
Only partly frozen
We think the river looks like a post card. Steve, Soapy’s dog, is telling us it is time to go home and she is leading the way back to the condo.
We are coming Stevie
Back inside, we warmed in front of the fireplace and enjoyed the view from the windows. Soon Zeb and Soapy wanted to sit on the railing of the deck.
One of our favorite places
This is a favorite place for ducks to sit whenever we are staying at the condo. Tomorrow our moms are taking us out to another recreational area of Winter Park. We hope you will come back and see where we go next. We like Fraser and Winter Park, Colorado and we think you would like it also.
Colorado Traveling Ducks 