Boulder County Courthouse, Colorado

Boulder County Courthouse

Location:  Boulder, Colorado, USA

This is the Boulder County Courthouse, in Boulder, Colorado.   It is known around town as the "old" courthouse, but it is not the original court building in Boulder.  The original courthouse was built in the 1880s, but it was destroyed by a fire in 1932.  This courthouse building replaced the original one.

 According to the Boulder County Web site:

...The replacement building, designed to project the image of a progressive area with emphasis on the then-current art deco style, was built on the same site and dedicated on May 7, 1934.  Two wings were added to the Courthouse in 1962, bringing the Courthouse to its present-day form.

I photographed this building yesterday.  Look at that sunny, crystal-clear blue sky.  Were it not for the bare branches on the trees, you might think it was a summer day!

Colorado Rockies in early winter

Rocky Mountains

Location: Colorado, USA

Flying between San Francisco and Denver on a cold, crisp morning in late November, this is what we saw through the window of the plane.  The peaks of the  Rocky Mountains had a good dusting of snow, but were not yet completely covered in white, as they will be later in the season.

Timeless Puako, Hawaii

Puako shoreline

Location: Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

Puako is a small seaside village on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii's Big Island.  The rugged coastline at Puako was created by an old lava flow from Mauna Loa volcano.  The dark sections jutting into the ocean in this photo are fingers of that old lava flow.  The coastline here is very irregular, featuring stretches of black lava punctuated by small pocket beaches composed of coral sand.  There are a few small black sand beaches there as well.  Because the surface of the lava along the shore is so uneven, there are plenty of tidepools.

We lived in Puako for awhile in the 1990s, until we moved to a new house several miles up the coast.  Although we no longer live there, Puako is still our favorite spot for diving, snorkeling and tidepooling.

Hula Girl tropical hibiscus

Hula Girl hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinesis)

Location: Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

This tropical hibiscus blossom is called Hula Girl.  Unlike most hibiscus varieties, the blossoms of this cultivar do not immediately wilt when picked from the bush.  Because the blossoms usually stay fresh for awhile after picking, they can be worn in the hair or pinned to clothing.  They are thus favored by hula dancers who sometimes wear these blossoms as a part of their costume.   It is said that this is how the Hula Girl hibiscus acquired its common name.

A cultivar of Hibiscus rosa-sinesis, the Hula Girl is one of the hardier hibiscus varieties in our garden. The blossoms are large -- nearly six inches (15 cm) across.