News from the Front...Range

2007 Review: Estes Park B&B

2008-01-20T18:39:00.001-08:00

After Christmas Day, Amy got away to a very nice bed and breakfast in Estes Park, and fortunately for me, took me with her. It snowed most of the time we were there, so it was a very laid back sleep-a-lot relaxing time, with regular visits from the friendly neighborhood mule deer.

2007 Review: Wheelchair Billiards

2008-01-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

On the day that Amy got her new wheelchair, we went out to hear our favorite local Irish band, Da Tinmen, play at Sheabeen's Pub. Amy dared me to try shooting pool from a wheelchair--since she had her old one in the trunk--and it's not easy! It was the longest pool game I've ever been involved in. We certainly got our 75 cents worth--not to mention entertaining the other patrons.

2007 Review: Dynamic Duo

2008-01-20T18:22:00.000-08:00

This fall saw the usual influx of mice, looking for a warm place to winter. However, this year, my roommates took good care to keep out the undesirables. Gnocchi (aka "Dances with Mice") and Buddy (aka "Hunt Brother") did a great job of fulfilling their obligations as roommates in charge of pest control.

Here they are doing their Yin-Yang impression.

2007 Review: Mom and Dad Visit

2008-01-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

Mom and Dad came and parked their 5th wheel in my driveway for about a week this year. I was in between contracts, so we had a good visit. Susie came out when she could, and on Sunday I invited the McCormicks to join us for a little cookout.

2007 Review: Vail Trip

2008-01-20T18:03:00.000-08:00

In August, right after my contract at Centura ended, Amy took me with her to spend a few days at her parents' timeshare in Vail. We listened to a great band at the Farmers' Market, saw lots of hummingbirds at the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, made a nice backcountry drive in the old Cherokee, and finished with breakfast at Blu's Restaurant before returning to Denver.

2007 Review: Hiking with Ryan and Britta

2008-01-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

As usual, Ryan and Britta and I did a bit of hiking this summer. Around Evergreen, an overnight trip at the Roberts Cabin near Boreas Pass, and we finally made it all the way to Shelf Lake--Woo Hoo! If only Britta hadn't twisted her ankle on the way down...

2007 Review: The B17 Party

2008-01-20T17:39:00.000-08:00

June 15th found me in a hangar with a bunch of folks dressed in 40's fashion, all to celebrate Wings Over the Rockies Museum and the visit of one of the remaining flying B17 bombers: the Aluminum Overcast. Amy and her parents were there, and Amy got a personalized tour of the absolutely not handicapped accessible bomber.

Back to Snow

2007-12-12T11:13:00.001-08:00

Well, I've been busy and/or lazy the last several months, and now it's snowing again here in Colorado. Nothing like last year yet, though! Just about 7 inches swept off the Tracker this morning.

The biggest news lately: new job, new vehicle, new computer.

My contract with Centura ended in August, and I am now driving to Broomfield every day on a contract at Level 3 Communications.

My poor old '93 Cherokee had 226,000 miles on it, the driver's side door was about to fall off its hinges, and the windshield area was so rusty it was about to fall in. So I traded it in for a 2001 Chevy Tracker 2-door convertible (in October, when "top down" days are increasingly scarce). Better gas mileage though--and reliable 4WD, too.

Just last week my old laptop (almost 3 years old, positively ancient) blew its fan. So after running for a few minutes, it gets too hot and blips off. Repairing it was not reasonably priced, considering the age and value of the computer anyway, so I now own a basic Toshiba laptop--the least expensive one I could find, and it still outperforms the old one.

My Tracker receives its baptism of snow.

38 Days and Counting

2007-01-28T19:37:00.000-08:00

Well, after 38 days of snow on the ground--Denver's going for a new record on this one--I finally got the rest of the driveway cleared. I borrowed the neighbor's snow blower. Apparently, I'm going to have to get one of those things. I also washed my Jeep today. All this in preparation for the next snow event later this week!

Yet more snow

2007-01-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

Well, it's snowing again today. About 10 inches have accumulated here, and it's not done yet, apparently. I love snow--it's been beautiful at night with the full (or almost full) moon shining on it--but I suffer no desire to shovel any more for a while, especially as I still have a cold that I caught last time. Sigh. Cough.

Christmas 2006

2007-01-02T20:02:00.000-08:00

Well, the whole country has been reading about the back-to-back blizzards that have hit us here in Colorado. I can't remember such big storms within such a short time since I moved here 16 years ago.

Living in the foothills, I had quite a job digging out. After the first round, I spent a total of 6 hours (over two days) digging my jeep out. The second round, I parked the jeep down at the bottom of the driveway... But oh, my aching back!

There was about two and a half feet of snow from the first round up here; we got another two feet from round two. It's beautiful, glimmering in the sun, or shining pearl-like in the moonlight at night. If only we didn't have to shovel so much of it!

2006 Review: New Roommates

2007-01-02T19:49:00.000-08:00

In November, my friend Barbara Ohno moved to Washington state, leaving me permanent guardianship of her two cats, Buddy and Gnocchi.

Buddy is a handsome longhair tuxedo cat who loves to play with his rabbit-fur mouse, and take over my recliner (which is currently my computer chair, as well) the moment I get up. With the cooler weather he is looking like a big black woolly bear.

Gnocchi is a skittish little tortoiseshell. She loves to crawl under the blankets on my bed for a nap, and has recently become bold enough to curl up on my neck while I'm reading in bed. stick her wet little nose in my ear and purr loudly.

2006 Review: Backpacking School

2007-01-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

I went on my last trip with the Colorado Mountain Club Backpacking School in October. I'd missed the trip last year...

We trekked up Kirby Gulch to a nice meadow where a creek comes down into Kirby Creek, and set up out tent city (there were about 40 of us on the trip...). Saturday was cool and clear, a bit breezy, and we spent the afternoon learning about and practicing emergency survival skills.

Milestones on this trip for me were: using my home made, alcohol burning stove made from pop cans and using my tent fly without the screen innards--just the fly and a ground cloth made from a tarp. I saved over a pound of carry weight by not taking the whole tent, and was plenty warm. The lowest temperature I saw on my little thermometer was 28 degrees.

Sunday morning we had our usual map and compass exercise, but with a twist--it began to snow on us. Above the trees it was particular snowy, but we found all of our waypoints just fine.

2006 Review: Mt. Bierstadt

2007-01-02T19:18:00.000-08:00

After many years, I finally conquered another 14er! Well, conquer is probably too strong--I made it to the top and back down, anyway.

Shari Johansson and I took on Mt. Bierstadt (14,060 feet) on September 6, starting off just before dawn from Guanella Pass. First through the marshy willows, then up the rocky western face. Four hours later we were sitting on top, with Mt. Evans off to the east (bold souls can cross a ridge to get there from Bierstadt--we didn't).

On the way back down we encountered thundersnow--not an uncommon occurrence up here. But one lightning strike hit less than a mile away, with a loud clap of thunder on its heels. That's when we decided we could go just a bit faster...

To quote Shari: "Not bad for a pair of middle aged ladies."

2006 Review: ScotFest Estes Park

2007-01-02T19:04:00.000-08:00

Once again we went to the Highland Games in Estes Park in September. The weather was cool and wet--umbrellas were standard equipment. But the sun did come out on Saturday afternoon enough to enjoy and dry out the grass a bit. Some Highlights:

Watching an usher at the Tattoo, in full regalia--including the tall furry hat, lifting Amy over a barrier in the stands.

Hearing bagpipes playing en masse during the opening ceremony of the day.

Hanging out at the Y with all the girls--and Julie's brave brother.

Seeing Chad, on leave from Iraq just in time for the games. We had met him for the first time the previous year--he was wearing a Buchanan tartan kilt, which is also Amy's tartan. It would be easier to tell in a color photo, but you can see that her scarf matches his kilt.

PS: Chad arrived home for Christmas, unfortunately wounded by an explosive device. Just a broken wrist and a broken ankle--I didn't get a photo of him on his crutches!

2006 Review: Zion

2007-01-02T18:31:00.000-08:00

It's quite a while now since July and the trip to Zion, but several things still stick out in my memory:

The pattern of the primeval sand dunes captured for centuries in the sandstone walls and rocks of the canyon.

The sheer walls of Angel's Landing dropping 1200 feet down to the valley of the Virgin River.

The surprising way water would just be flowing from the stone walls, or collected in pools here and there along the canyon.

The Narrows, where the Virgin River IS the trail to follow if you wish to go up canyon.

My little solo tent set up amidst a large number of motor homes and 5th wheels in the RV campground.

I would definitely go back to Zion...

Hoodoo Voodoo: the Magic of Bryce

2006-07-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

"Haven't you ever seen pictures of Bryce Canyon?" I asked Amy as she pulled the Sunfire away from the National Park entrance booth.

"I don't think so."

I quickly flipped over the park map that the ranger had just given us to hide the photo on its cover. "Well, we'll see what your reaction is, then."

We drove through semi-arid pine forest typical of higher altitudes in the dry west. No hint of anything like a canyon could be seen from the road until we turned into the parking area at Sunset Point. Then you could see the edge, but what was below it was out of sight.

We found a convenient handicapped parking space and I pulled the wheelchair from the trunk. Amy pulled her broad-brimmed straw hat firmly onto her head: the sun was shining fiercely.

"Ready?" We walked up the sloping sidewalk to the viewing area at the edge of the cliff.

"Wow!" she said. "I didn't know...I had no idea anything like this existed!"

Below our feet the montane forest vanished into an alien landscape of eroded sandstone. Sheer walls of striated red and pink rose from the floor of the valley, carved by water, ice, and wind into corrugated castles with freeform windows and towers topped with balancing stone.

I left Amy alone (with hundreds of other tourists) at the viewpoint to traipse a ways down into the canyon along the Navajo Loop trail. As I descended, the Silent City began to rise above me, and on the other side, the hoodoos stood tall in singles and in groups gazing patiently down at me and the myriad others on the trail. Here, Thor's Hammer looking like a stern stone face on a pedestal. There, the narrow pinnacle that reached toward the sky even after being struck by lightning some years ago.

Amy and I moved along to Inspiration Point, then to Bryce Point, where the entire north portion of the canyon can be seen stretching away down the valley. Just to the left of the viewpoint, the white sandstone of the upper element was carved into a city of arches and towers called the Grotto. Condors soared above the bare landscape, and up on the trail, chipmunks bit the hands that tried to feed them.

"I could sit here for hours," Amy said.

Thor's Hammer from the Navajo Loop Trail

Amy looking over the Grotto at Bryce Point

Marching to Zion

2006-07-14T09:14:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a while since I posted anything, what?

I recently made a whirlwind trip to Bryce Canyon NP and Zion NP in Utah with my friend Amy. I'd never been to Utah at all before, so it was a great new adventure! After marvelling at the Utah desert country along I-70, we dropped down to Bryce National Park.

The hoodoos and rock formations really are spectacular. So amazing to see how nature works, and comes up with beautiful sculptures and art.

Then we dropped on down to Zion National Park, where I camped for 3 nights (while Amy went on to Vegas to see Celine Dion) and hiked every trail possible down in the canyon. The grandeur of Zion's geology is stunning--the soaring cliffs of Navajo sandstone with their color variations, and the way they glow in the light of sunrise!

I'll be posting more stories and photos from the trip as I get to them. Stay tuned!

Poetry Group Christmas

2006-03-21T11:05:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist putting up these photos of my poetry group. Julie had been to Disney World early in December, and brought back golden anniversary Mickey Mouse ears for all of us.

New Blog Format!

2006-03-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

Well, I've done it: set up my newsletter page as a blog. I'll be making entries here when exciting things happen, or when I have a nice photo to show off.

My old Newsletter page can be seen by clicking here.