Saturday in Ecuador

These images were taken on our way home from Otavalo. They are the last 5 that I intended to load. This is a third-world and obviously the internet is not as successful as it is at home. This is my third attempt to load these images. These are the only ones that would load today. So I give up and present these! All of them were taken out the window of our moving vehicle. Roads in Ecuador have no shoulders--only very deep ditches on either side -- nor do they have pull-outs for stopping to take photographs! They should, as the vistas are incredibly awesome.

The above photo is Vulcan Imbabura. We call it the "brooding volcano." It is one of our favorites in all of Ecuador.
This is a closer-up shot of the lower part of Imbabura above the lake. It absolutely astonishing how the Equatorianos farm the Andes Mountains -- right straight up the side. Beautiful.
Back up in the tops of these mountains are the Lagunas Mojandas (lakes) which are spectacular and which we have visited several times. (Treacherous, terrifying roads)
This is a stretch of highway that is lined by huge old eucalyptus trees -- one of my favorite parts of the road. This is the area where there are many of the rose plantations. Flowers are one of Ecuador's largest exports.
All of those white spots in the background across this deep valley are the greenhouses for the flowers the Ecuadorians grow. They are everywhere. (Remember all these images were taken from our moving SUV and are out-of-camera -- no photoshop work. Also, you can click on the images if you want to see them full-size.) I will try to post more tomorrow. And of course today we went in the totally opposite direction east up over the Andes and down toward the Amazon River Basin into the Oriente. Not at all sure when I will be able to get those uploaded. I may have to wait till I get back to the States!!! Where we have real internet. Sometimes we have no clue how fortunate we are for all the advantages we have living in America.

Kids, Concerts and Quito

Here's part of the Gang at Sophie's last concert. At two weeks old, it was Caleb's first concert, but it won't be his last.
Another beautiful "Zack" baby.
And here is our gorgeous girl, Sophie, playing violin at second chair.
This is her fourth year playing the violin and she is extremely good at it. How well I remember her playing "twinkle, twinkle little star" for me those several years ago. This will be her last year and last concert, as she will be a freshman in high school next year and has several other electives she wants to try -- she's a wonderful artist, athlete and academic as well as being an excellent musician. Truly multi-talented.
Not a great photo, but she's holding the trophy her orchestra won at a concert contest at Branson -- they swept the awards!
This is proud dad, Zack, and Caleb at Caleb's second concert a few days later! Never dull nor boring when you're hanging out with the Gang!
Beautiful baby.
This is Josh's first year playing the baritone. Pretty cool! (Check out the black and white Converse!)
Takes a lot of puffing to make that thing work!
Love the shoes and what a handsome fella he is.
They grow up way too fast.
Still "mama's little boy" but I predict he will tower over her before long.
The morning after Josh's concert I got on a plane and flew here to Quito. This is Walt's apartment. It's brand new and the first time I've been here to see it. Quito has a beautiful new American embassy built quite a distance from the old one downtown, so Walt had to move also. This place is huge and very comfortable -- but best of all in a secure compound and very quiet. It's the 'very quiet' part that I really like.
I'm in heaven. One of my favorite things about Ecuador is all the beautiful, fresh produce. I especially like all the fruits that are so incredibly expensive in Dillon, Montana, and not always available even if I wanted to pay the price. The first thing we did was head out to a market and I got some of my favorites: Hawaiian papaya, mango and grenadillas. Heaven. Absolute heaven. And of course, wherever I travel in the world I am always able to find some kind of these little lemon wafer cookies -- Germany, South Africa, Bangkok. I'm always surprised, but it is true. I can even find them in the States at Trader Joe's. . . . I love them.
This is a shot I got of the American flag flying over the new American Embassy backed by the volcano Pichincha. Quito is nestled at the foot of Pichincha and we had a fabulous view of it out of our apartment windows when we lived here. Typically hazy and cloudy. Like mountains everywhere frequently wears a crown of clouds. Wonderful memories. Beautiful vistas.

One of my forever-favorite images

It is such a privilege to be present at the birth of a baby (especially when it is a grandchild!) and to be allowed to photograph the birth and then to have an image like this is totally awesome. Our little Caleb was literally seconds old. It is breathtaking. I was so teary I could barely work my camera. This image will forever be amazing to me.

(Remember, you can click on the image to see it full-size.)

Post Partum

WAITING

Pictures for now. Words later! Enjoy!!!