29 July 2008

Amazing Pavement Art

Here are some more amazing pavement artwork...




























17 July 2008

Colorado is the Skinniest State

Article from MD Web

Slimming Tips From the Skinniest State

Why Is Colorado So Lean? 7 Lessons From the Lone 'Blue' State on CDC's Adult Obesity Map
By Miranda Hitti

July 17, 2008 -- The latest star spouting a lean lifestyle isn't a Hollywood celebrity with a wacky diet, extreme workout routine, or big-bucks trainer. It's a state -- Colorado.

Ever since 1990, Colorado has had the nation's lowest percentage of obese adults. And on the CDC's latest map of adult obesity prevalence, Colorado is the only state shaded in dark blue, because of its low percentage -- 18.7% -- of obese adults.

What's up with that? What does Colorado know that the rest of the country doesn't? And short of packing up the wagon and heading west, what can heftier states learn from Colorado?
Here are seven nuggets of Colorado's
weight wisdom, from James O. Hill, PhD, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Denver and co-founder of America on the Move, a nonprofit group focused on healthy lifestyles.

1. For now, just hold the line.
"That's the first goal," Hill says. "If we could first keep from getting worse, and then gradually start going down, that would be very, very good."
Even in Mississippi, the state with the highest adult obesity rate, "if we can just get 'em started making some small changes in the right direction, so that next year obesity rates don't go up, then over time, you may begin to create more of a culture of health, which exists more in Colorado right now," he says.

2. Cultivate a culture of health.
"I think Colorado has more of a culture of health than other places," Hill says.
"People value lifestyle, they value physical activity, they value
healthy eating. We have an environment that's conducive to that. It's a wonderful place for physical activity. Even in the city, there are lots of parks and so forth."

3. Start small.
Small changes, that is. "The advice to the rest of the country is ... you aren't going to turn this around overnight and so start thinking about a lot of small changes."
Those changes start with behavior -- being more active and eating healthier.
"Little things are important," Hill says. For instance, he recommends getting a pedometer and
walking an extra 1,000 steps -- about half a mile -- per day. On the diet side, an example might be watching your portion size.
"Most people can't just turn their life upside down, but they can walk half a mile more," Hill says, adding that you can log those extra steps any time during the day.
"The thing is that you do it. It doesn't matter that you do it all at once," he says. "You never even have to go to the gym, if you don't want to. You can do it just by walking through daily living."

Over time, those small changes make a difference.

16 July 2008

Cripple Creek, CO


Cripple Creek was once known as the "World's Greatest Gold Camp". The mining district opened in 1891. Bob Womack, a cowhand, was riding the range. He took an outcrop of rocks to the assay office. Womack's claim, although he had sold it, ended up yielding $5 million in gold and so the news spread and the gold rush had started.


With this discovery, the Cripple Creek and Victor Mining District, saw the need to make links to the front range. Roads and then railroads were constructed.
Within 5 years, the population had grown to 25,000. The District ended up with over 500 mines, producing over 21 million ounces of gold. Most mining took place between 1891 to 1910.


Today, Cripple Creek is one of Colorado's popular Casino sites. The town is less than an hour's drive west from Colorado Springs, at an altitude of 9,508 feet.
In the past, the town suffered two major fires within 3 days, destroying the majority of it, but it was rebuilt with brick and stone and all the buildings to this day, keep the old character of the town. Many have some wonderful paintings on them too.

Here is a handful of photo's from our recent visit and all the photo's I took, can be viewed at our online photo-album:
(copy & paste the link into your browser)
http://ikstone.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album28














15 July 2008

POW/MIA Memorial, Cripple Creek, CO

Cripple Creek, CO is located in a valley west of Pike's Peak, less than an hour's drive from Colorado Springs.
It is an old Gold mining town. Mining has long gone, replaced by Casino's sprawling down the main street.

Near the top end of the town, there's a POW/MIA memorial.

In 1987, a small chopper shop known as High Counytry Custom Cycles was established. The owner's father was a WWII veteran. The owner and brother sold pins and patches to honour prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action.

At that time, most didn't recognise the POW/MIA logo, so to raise awareness, he and his wife and some friends, put the POW flag on their bike's and rode through Colorado Springs. That day, the POW/MIA Recognition Ride was born.

As a few years past and the ride grew from a few dozen to over a thousand biker's, in 1993, it was decided to move the annual ride from Colorado Springs to Cripple Creek. That first year in Cripple Creek, a stone was placed in the park at the end of the day's ride, to commemorate the soldiers.

As the year's have passed, the ride has grown in popularity and gained recognition across the country. Attendance was around 30,000 in 2000 and now has exploded to around 80,000+, helped by a resurgence in patriotism since 11th September 2001. The now 3 day event has become too large for Cripple Creek and is now being relocated to Winter Park, CO this year, but Cripple Creek will always have its' own memorial park.







03 July 2008