Emelyn Morris-Sayre, CRS, REALTOR Lakewood/Denver 303-517-5116

On July 26 ( I know, I am late in getting this posted), my husband and I attended the 9th Annual Colorado Dragon Boat Festival held at Sloan's Lake in Wheat Ridge. This was the first time we had made the effort to go and I have to admit, I wish I had attended earlier events. According to the Denver Post, attendance topped 100,000 by Sunday evening.

We parked on the south end of the lake so we had a little bit of a hike to reach the dozens upon dozens of tents and exhibits. On the main stage, there were dancers and the grounds were filled with families and loads of happy children.

Choices of food were extensive....I chose a curried chicken on a stick with a side of shrimp rice rolls. Sitting on the ground as we ate and watched the boat races proved to be an absolutely wonderful way to spend a Sunday.

On Friday, my business partner, Robin Lucy (www.royalkingdomassociates.com) and I went up past Black Hawk to the Missouri Lakes subdivision in Mid Gilpin County. Our mission was to try to find and dig up a septic tank lid prior to this coming Tuesday's inspection....just trying to save our buyer some money....well, we actually found it!!! The septic hadn't been pumped in five years and understory had grown over all of the disturbed soil. But having lived and worked in the mountains for 12 years, I used my experience to render an educated guess.

Robin, thank goodness, was in charge of the shovel and he proved very capable. So with some good guess work and a strong arm, we were able to located the lid and dig it up without much effort. We had allowed ourselves plenty of time so when we accomplished our task in record time, we decided to detour to Central City where a hot rod rally was being hosted.

We arrived as the participants were still setting up, so we ducked into the Century Casino for a quick craps lesson. If you didn't know, as of July 2, 2009, the betting limits have been raised from $5 to $100....but it was only 10 a.m. on a Friday so the casino was relatively quiet, which was a great opportunity for us to observe and learn. The employees manning the table were great and explained to us the basics of the game. But no, we didn't play at all.

Back outside, the rally was really gearing up. Some of these beautiful old cars were incredible. The live band was playing oldies and the growing crowd loved it. Hope you enjoy some of these photos and for some of you, it will bring back memories!

For more photos, visit http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=96655&id=809972887&l=281b0f79e7

One of my favorite activities during the summer months is to visit farmers' markets and savor the incredible smells and take home wonderfully fresh produce to enjoy during the week. Here in Lakewood, we have an incredible market at Belmar featuring not only fresh produce, but delightlul booths featuring homemade soaps, wines, savory sauces, fresh baked breads, blooming plants and wide-eyed puppies looking for a home. Belmar's market even has cooking demonstrations and live music. Here are a few photos I took at my last visit....I so look forward to Sunday mornings:

Freshly baked bread

I spoke yesterday about the number of storms that have hit the Denver/Lakewood area over the past week and today brought the worse.....a tornado struck in Aurora causing extensive damage to the Southlands Mall as well as surrounding neighborhoods. Just across Smoky Hill Drive in Tallyn's Reach, the twister struck the cul-de-sac that my son just moved out of about 30 days ago. His former home was spared, but his wonderful neighbors suffered damage to their homes and yards. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

I had been hosting an open house in Northglenn when the dark clouds started rolling in. Hail and rain helped me decide to close up early. Driving home, I could see the wide expanse of heavy gray and black clouds surrounding Denver. Passing O'Kane Park, I pulled over to take the following shot: