Colorado Adventure 2011
Welcome to my Colorado Adventure 2011 page... I live in the middle part of the USA, and this summer the heat finally
got to me... I finally decided I could not take it any longer, so I packed up my camera, camping gear, and ran away from
home.. I headed west looking for cooler air.. I actually found the first of it in the mountains west of Laramie, WY. Spent
some time there exploring and hiking, then moved south into Colorado. Twenty five years ago, in 1986 I think it was, I
was taken on my first backpack trip!!! It was in Colorado and it was in the Rawah Wilderness... When I started digging in
my map box before heading west, I discovered I still had the quad sheets from my first backpack trip, so I packed them
up again and brought them back to Colorado. When I got to the Rawah Wilderness, I loaded up my pack and took off up
the trail, expecting to remember a lot, if not all that I saw.. Wrong.. Was a great backpack trip, beautiful country, and
some neat photos, but I did not remember anything that I saw.. The twenty five years had taken away all memories of the
trail.. How soon we forget... But, I now have new memories and some good photos to help me remember.
As I continue my travels, and while I wait out the hot weather back home, I share photos and short story updates with my
friends and family scattered around the world... Since they seemed to like these messages and these photos, I have
elected to share them here.. If you stumble on to them, I hope you too enjoy checking out my trip.. I will update as often
as I can.. The trip is planned to end around the first of October.... The messages I have been sharing and all new ones
will be shared below...
got to me... I finally decided I could not take it any longer, so I packed up my camera, camping gear, and ran away from
home.. I headed west looking for cooler air.. I actually found the first of it in the mountains west of Laramie, WY. Spent
some time there exploring and hiking, then moved south into Colorado. Twenty five years ago, in 1986 I think it was, I
was taken on my first backpack trip!!! It was in Colorado and it was in the Rawah Wilderness... When I started digging in
my map box before heading west, I discovered I still had the quad sheets from my first backpack trip, so I packed them
up again and brought them back to Colorado. When I got to the Rawah Wilderness, I loaded up my pack and took off up
the trail, expecting to remember a lot, if not all that I saw.. Wrong.. Was a great backpack trip, beautiful country, and
some neat photos, but I did not remember anything that I saw.. The twenty five years had taken away all memories of the
trail.. How soon we forget... But, I now have new memories and some good photos to help me remember.
As I continue my travels, and while I wait out the hot weather back home, I share photos and short story updates with my
friends and family scattered around the world... Since they seemed to like these messages and these photos, I have
elected to share them here.. If you stumble on to them, I hope you too enjoy checking out my trip.. I will update as often
as I can.. The trip is planned to end around the first of October.... The messages I have been sharing and all new ones
will be shared below...
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Tom Ballard Photography
| A window in Tom's universe. share photos, adventures, stories, opinions, and information. I hope you enjoy the time you spend here. |
Colorado Update 2011 Number 01
Update for 8-04-2011
Hey Gang,
A few days ago the heat in STL got to me... I had to go looking for cooler air!!! I finally found it in Colorado and Wyoming!!! Fifty degree mornings, 77 degree days!!!
NICE!!!
So far I have just been driving and camping, but soon I plan to start getting away from the car with my pack and do a little packing!!! The first area might be Rawah
Wilderness, where I did my first backpack trip in 1986!!!!!!!! Will use the same maps and walk the same trails, provided things are still okay when I get there.. Some roads
are still closed due to snow!!!!!!!!!
Along the way out here, I stopped at friends home in KC area. Caught a ???? in a trap... Had to take it down the road a ways and let it go.. Then I stopped my the
Butterfield Museum.. From there, I stopped by a cemetery that is using the famous Kansas stone post for the fence around the cemetery!!! Then is was off to the summit
of Mt. Sunflower!!!! The highest point in Kansas.. Was worried about elevation and possible snow conditions, but it all worked out okay!!! From there, I went through
Ward, CO., and north to Wyoming.. Camped two nights in Medicine Bow area... Did a nice 5 mile hike in the snow and around the local lakes!!! Really nice.. But, there is
a lot of dead timber here, from bugs of some kind!! There are signs everywhere, warning people to be careful of falling trees!!!!!! This may also be an issue where I want
to go backpacking... If it is, I may make a big change in my plans!!!!!!!!!! Falling trees are a bigger threat than wild animals!!!!
Ok, hope you enjoy the images shared with this message.... I stayed at KOA last night.. Was goooood to have a shower and shave after about a week!!!! This is the only
place to get a shower within about 70 plus miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click on link below for shared images.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627356131156/show/
Update for 8-04-2011
Hey Gang,
A few days ago the heat in STL got to me... I had to go looking for cooler air!!! I finally found it in Colorado and Wyoming!!! Fifty degree mornings, 77 degree days!!!
NICE!!!
So far I have just been driving and camping, but soon I plan to start getting away from the car with my pack and do a little packing!!! The first area might be Rawah
Wilderness, where I did my first backpack trip in 1986!!!!!!!! Will use the same maps and walk the same trails, provided things are still okay when I get there.. Some roads
are still closed due to snow!!!!!!!!!
Along the way out here, I stopped at friends home in KC area. Caught a ???? in a trap... Had to take it down the road a ways and let it go.. Then I stopped my the
Butterfield Museum.. From there, I stopped by a cemetery that is using the famous Kansas stone post for the fence around the cemetery!!! Then is was off to the summit
of Mt. Sunflower!!!! The highest point in Kansas.. Was worried about elevation and possible snow conditions, but it all worked out okay!!! From there, I went through
Ward, CO., and north to Wyoming.. Camped two nights in Medicine Bow area... Did a nice 5 mile hike in the snow and around the local lakes!!! Really nice.. But, there is
a lot of dead timber here, from bugs of some kind!! There are signs everywhere, warning people to be careful of falling trees!!!!!! This may also be an issue where I want
to go backpacking... If it is, I may make a big change in my plans!!!!!!!!!! Falling trees are a bigger threat than wild animals!!!!
Ok, hope you enjoy the images shared with this message.... I stayed at KOA last night.. Was goooood to have a shower and shave after about a week!!!! This is the only
place to get a shower within about 70 plus miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click on link below for shared images.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627356131156/show/
Colorado Update 2011 Number 2
2011-08-11
OK Gang,
For those of you who have followed my adventures before, another one is in motion... I ran away from home because it was too hot.... Now, I am sitting at the library
Steamboat Springs, where it is a nasty hot day again, 86 degrees outside, when I came into the library to send this message!!! I have to find a cooler place to go!!!
There are some more memory photos attached to this messages. The link will be at the bottom. In the memory shots you will see some of what I have seen and done
since the last update, which I think was in Laramie, WY, earlier this month. At the KOA campground where I stayed on the 3rd I thing it was, I was camped next to a really
neat couple from California. They were traveling on one of those three wheel bikes, and they were pulling a trailer that unfolded into a nice size tent! They have traveled
approximately 35 miles on it since they got it.. They have traveled 7000 miles on it this year alone!!! They took the tent down in less than four minutes!!!!!!!!
After leaving Laramie, I headed south towards the Rawah Wilderness. This is where Bob Pankey brought me 25 years ago, in 1986, I think it was, on my first backpacking
trip. When I was looking for maps of Colorado, while I was still in STL, I found the same USGS maps I had with me 25 years ago when I did my first backpack trip. So, I
brought the maps back and used them again.. The area is beautiful, but my mind is showing its age. I did not remember any of the areas. I was sure I would, but no, not a
thing. It was all new, as if I had never been there.
In the photos, I show a dance floor I found on the way towards the trailhead. Seesms some fellow years ago decided to build a dance floor on railroad springs.. It works.
People there say it is easy to dance on and is used regularly still yet!!!!! I had a brew at the bar, took photos, and headed on south. I ended up getting to the trailhead
kinda late, so I stayed at the Tunnel Campground for the night before taking off. Then, on August 05 at around 1100, I set out to redo the hike from 1986. I did most all of
the trip the same, but only camped at one of the same places, Camp Lake, on my last day! What you see in the images is Grassy Pass, my campsite at Number 3 Lake,
then several other lakes I visited as I moved around. I think Number 3 was my favorite lake... You get to see some of the high country, some flowers, creek crossing, etc...
I wore my Chaco sandals for the whole trip, and this worked out perfect, since there were lots of creek crossings and lots of wet boggy areas!!!!! And, SKEETERS!!!!!!!!
BILLIONS of them!!!!! There is lots of snow still in the high areas, lots of water run off from the melt, and lots of skeeters being hatched in the mucho wet areas!!!!! I had
deet with me and used it a lot!!! in the evenings and mornings, I had to wear my gloves and raincoat to limit the amount of damage the skeeters could do to me... There
were so many, it was hard to breathe, as they would fly up my nose, in my eyes, ears, etc!!!!!!!!!!! The air was just full of these things!!!!!! And, they were hungry!!
Aside from the skeeters, there was lots to see. I walked over to McIntrye?? Lake, and planned to camp there, but there was so much snow and fallen timber that I left and
went on to another lake. The timber up in the mountains is now a real threat to hikers. The timber is falling!!!!! A few years ago, a bug got into the trees and killed them
by the millions, now they are falling!!!!!!!!!! I and everyone else was still up there and still camping in the middle of the mess, but it was not fun camping with big dead
trees all around you.. When the wind came up, I started watching really close for one of these babies to come slamming down!!!
At Lower Sandbar Lake, I think it was, I watched a fisherman and moose play a cat and mouse game.. Just as I was approaching the lake, I saw a man fishing, then as I
looked closer, I noticed a moose moving toward him.. I pointed at it, he saw it, did a little hiding behind some bushes, and the moose passed him by. It then started
grazing nearby!!! Both moose and man kept an eye on each other.. Later the moose went back by the man and moved on, but then there were two moose!!!!!!! When I
got to the man, he and his buddy said the moose had been hanging around for an hour or so, but not causing any real problems!!!! These two guys were from the Army,
doing a little leave time.. The one in the photo is now stationed at FT. Leonard Wood, MO.
I hiked up to Upper Camp Lake, then back down to Camp Lake, where I spent the last night. Then yesterday I hiked the 7.5 miles out to the car. On the way down, I met
some neat people. One group was a family from Arizona. The father was a math professor at the university, the mom was from Oklahoma City, and was home schooling
their three kids!!! A little further down the trail, I met Holly, a Sierra Club leader who lead national trips. She was leading a backpack trip in the Rawah this coming week.
She is the canoe and kayak manager for all club activities in the Alaska area, to include the Yukon. She is a retired math teacher from California. She was great fun to
chat with. I got back to the car at 4 PM local time. Then headed out to find a shower. My book showed a KOA in Gould. I headed for it. Found it, and paid in at about 5:30,
just before the office closed at 6 PM.....
There was internet service there, along with the great showers!!!!!!!!! I did some internet, ate a freeze dried meal, then showered.. When I came out of the woods, I
looked bad, smelled bad, but felt great!! I felt even more great when I got out of the shower!!!!!!!!! I had to drive up the road aways to get cell service to make a couple
calls, then it was off to bed.... Most stories would end there, but not this one.. At around 3:30 in the morning, I heard something near my camp walking around and making
woofing sounds as it walked.. Was not sure what it was, but suspected it to be a bear... Later, the woofing sounds got near to my tent, then I started hearing ruffling
sounds at the zipper of my tent!!!! Something was messing around the entrance to my tent!!!!!!!! Then there was the woofing sounds again, this time they were next to
my zipper!!!!!!! Damn, its here!!!!! Then it came around on my left side, sniffing, woofing, and smelling under the edge of the tent.. I decided I had had enough, and I
slapped the side of the then and hollered at it to get out of here!~ It did..... It walked off through the grass near my tent, and left.. I wanted to get out and see it with a
light, but my light would not have been strong enough!!!!!!! I went back to sleep... This morning, at 0700, I went to the office to get the free coffee. I asked the manager
about bear being around camp and near tents. He said it could be, he had seen a big black bear in the yard last night when he came in kinda late. I told him that the bear
came to my tent, but did not cause problems. He said they usually don't!!!!!! Go figure!!!!! I got my coffee, did some internet stuff and left.. Now, I am in Steamboat
Springs, where there is hot weather, again!!!!!!!!!! I am told there is a campground in the hills above here.. I might go there tonight, or head towards the Flattops, where
there is dispersed camping, or what we would call free camping in the national forest... Will decide later!
Ok, I think that just about does it.. I am working my way south.. So, stay tuned and see what I do next. I am looking to do more backpacking, but may not do it until I get to
higher country down near Aspen, then Creede, etc..... It is now 4:30 PM, local time.
The link to the memory photos is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627411490168/show/
2011-08-11
OK Gang,
For those of you who have followed my adventures before, another one is in motion... I ran away from home because it was too hot.... Now, I am sitting at the library
Steamboat Springs, where it is a nasty hot day again, 86 degrees outside, when I came into the library to send this message!!! I have to find a cooler place to go!!!
There are some more memory photos attached to this messages. The link will be at the bottom. In the memory shots you will see some of what I have seen and done
since the last update, which I think was in Laramie, WY, earlier this month. At the KOA campground where I stayed on the 3rd I thing it was, I was camped next to a really
neat couple from California. They were traveling on one of those three wheel bikes, and they were pulling a trailer that unfolded into a nice size tent! They have traveled
approximately 35 miles on it since they got it.. They have traveled 7000 miles on it this year alone!!! They took the tent down in less than four minutes!!!!!!!!
After leaving Laramie, I headed south towards the Rawah Wilderness. This is where Bob Pankey brought me 25 years ago, in 1986, I think it was, on my first backpacking
trip. When I was looking for maps of Colorado, while I was still in STL, I found the same USGS maps I had with me 25 years ago when I did my first backpack trip. So, I
brought the maps back and used them again.. The area is beautiful, but my mind is showing its age. I did not remember any of the areas. I was sure I would, but no, not a
thing. It was all new, as if I had never been there.
In the photos, I show a dance floor I found on the way towards the trailhead. Seesms some fellow years ago decided to build a dance floor on railroad springs.. It works.
People there say it is easy to dance on and is used regularly still yet!!!!! I had a brew at the bar, took photos, and headed on south. I ended up getting to the trailhead
kinda late, so I stayed at the Tunnel Campground for the night before taking off. Then, on August 05 at around 1100, I set out to redo the hike from 1986. I did most all of
the trip the same, but only camped at one of the same places, Camp Lake, on my last day! What you see in the images is Grassy Pass, my campsite at Number 3 Lake,
then several other lakes I visited as I moved around. I think Number 3 was my favorite lake... You get to see some of the high country, some flowers, creek crossing, etc...
I wore my Chaco sandals for the whole trip, and this worked out perfect, since there were lots of creek crossings and lots of wet boggy areas!!!!! And, SKEETERS!!!!!!!!
BILLIONS of them!!!!! There is lots of snow still in the high areas, lots of water run off from the melt, and lots of skeeters being hatched in the mucho wet areas!!!!! I had
deet with me and used it a lot!!! in the evenings and mornings, I had to wear my gloves and raincoat to limit the amount of damage the skeeters could do to me... There
were so many, it was hard to breathe, as they would fly up my nose, in my eyes, ears, etc!!!!!!!!!!! The air was just full of these things!!!!!! And, they were hungry!!
Aside from the skeeters, there was lots to see. I walked over to McIntrye?? Lake, and planned to camp there, but there was so much snow and fallen timber that I left and
went on to another lake. The timber up in the mountains is now a real threat to hikers. The timber is falling!!!!! A few years ago, a bug got into the trees and killed them
by the millions, now they are falling!!!!!!!!!! I and everyone else was still up there and still camping in the middle of the mess, but it was not fun camping with big dead
trees all around you.. When the wind came up, I started watching really close for one of these babies to come slamming down!!!
At Lower Sandbar Lake, I think it was, I watched a fisherman and moose play a cat and mouse game.. Just as I was approaching the lake, I saw a man fishing, then as I
looked closer, I noticed a moose moving toward him.. I pointed at it, he saw it, did a little hiding behind some bushes, and the moose passed him by. It then started
grazing nearby!!! Both moose and man kept an eye on each other.. Later the moose went back by the man and moved on, but then there were two moose!!!!!!! When I
got to the man, he and his buddy said the moose had been hanging around for an hour or so, but not causing any real problems!!!! These two guys were from the Army,
doing a little leave time.. The one in the photo is now stationed at FT. Leonard Wood, MO.
I hiked up to Upper Camp Lake, then back down to Camp Lake, where I spent the last night. Then yesterday I hiked the 7.5 miles out to the car. On the way down, I met
some neat people. One group was a family from Arizona. The father was a math professor at the university, the mom was from Oklahoma City, and was home schooling
their three kids!!! A little further down the trail, I met Holly, a Sierra Club leader who lead national trips. She was leading a backpack trip in the Rawah this coming week.
She is the canoe and kayak manager for all club activities in the Alaska area, to include the Yukon. She is a retired math teacher from California. She was great fun to
chat with. I got back to the car at 4 PM local time. Then headed out to find a shower. My book showed a KOA in Gould. I headed for it. Found it, and paid in at about 5:30,
just before the office closed at 6 PM.....
There was internet service there, along with the great showers!!!!!!!!! I did some internet, ate a freeze dried meal, then showered.. When I came out of the woods, I
looked bad, smelled bad, but felt great!! I felt even more great when I got out of the shower!!!!!!!!! I had to drive up the road aways to get cell service to make a couple
calls, then it was off to bed.... Most stories would end there, but not this one.. At around 3:30 in the morning, I heard something near my camp walking around and making
woofing sounds as it walked.. Was not sure what it was, but suspected it to be a bear... Later, the woofing sounds got near to my tent, then I started hearing ruffling
sounds at the zipper of my tent!!!! Something was messing around the entrance to my tent!!!!!!!! Then there was the woofing sounds again, this time they were next to
my zipper!!!!!!! Damn, its here!!!!! Then it came around on my left side, sniffing, woofing, and smelling under the edge of the tent.. I decided I had had enough, and I
slapped the side of the then and hollered at it to get out of here!~ It did..... It walked off through the grass near my tent, and left.. I wanted to get out and see it with a
light, but my light would not have been strong enough!!!!!!! I went back to sleep... This morning, at 0700, I went to the office to get the free coffee. I asked the manager
about bear being around camp and near tents. He said it could be, he had seen a big black bear in the yard last night when he came in kinda late. I told him that the bear
came to my tent, but did not cause problems. He said they usually don't!!!!!! Go figure!!!!! I got my coffee, did some internet stuff and left.. Now, I am in Steamboat
Springs, where there is hot weather, again!!!!!!!!!! I am told there is a campground in the hills above here.. I might go there tonight, or head towards the Flattops, where
there is dispersed camping, or what we would call free camping in the national forest... Will decide later!
Ok, I think that just about does it.. I am working my way south.. So, stay tuned and see what I do next. I am looking to do more backpacking, but may not do it until I get to
higher country down near Aspen, then Creede, etc..... It is now 4:30 PM, local time.
The link to the memory photos is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627411490168/show/
Colorado Update 2011 Number 3
2011-08-19.....
Hey Gang,
Thanks for following along on my adventures and vacations.. I understand from your emails that many of you have been here and seen the area I am in, some have even
lived in Colorado at some time in their life!!! It is a neat state, to be sure.. Of course, you do have to like what Colorado has to offer to like being here!!!!! Cool air, fresh air,
big mountains, clear mountain streams, mountain flowers, lots of hiking trails to some beautiful lakes, big meadows, big blue skies, and the list goes on!!!! But, like I said, you
have to like these sorts of things and be willing to get out and enjoy them... One of the big reasons I came here this year was to find cooler weather, and to get off my butt!!!!
I was sitting around way too much and putting on way too many pounds of useless flab!!!!! So, here I am, enjoying retirement, cool air, and hopefully getting my belly in
better shape!!!!!!! Too much good food is not a good thing!!!!
Ok, as I write this, the flickr loadr is uploading some images I chose to share with ya since the last update, which I think was from Steamboat Springs...
After I sent out the last update, I had to go back the way I came for about 15 miles to find a campsite.. There is not much available close to Steamboat!! The forest service
sent me to the campground I used, but they forgot to tell me there was no water there!!!!!!! But, I had plenty with me, however, the office people knew there was no water
and should have shared the info!!!!! You will notice in the photos that I chose to have a very healthy dinner this night, beans and beer!!!!!!!! Can it get any better!!!!!!! From
this area I drifted on down south and chose to do dispersed camping in a area north of Winter Park. Dispersed camping is free camping we can do on forest service land..
Most times this is more fun than being in a campground!!!!!!!! Was a nice place to camp, next to a country road, but the real surprise came the next morning, when I woke to
ice all over my tent. Then when I got out of the tent, I saw the heavy frost on the roof of the car!!!!!! When I got around to checking the temp, it was 34 degrees or a bit
below!!!!!!
From this campsite I headed south again, but noticed that there was an arts fair going on in Winter Park. Not being in a hurry, I stopped at Subway for an extra breakfast!! I
had already eaten at the campsite!!! Now I am eating again!! Mostly to get the coffee!!! After the breakfast, I headed over to the park to tour the art fair.. Met two people who
were doing really great photo work and paintings on feathers!!!!!!!!!!!!! Was very impressive!!!!!!!!! After the fair, it was back on the road, but I did not get far when I
discovered there was a big slide at the ski slope! I stopped to check it out and ended up doing a one ride slide on the thing!!!!!!!! Was 15 dollars and lasted about 3 minutes,
maybe! The whole thing took about 25 minutes from start to finish.. There was the chairlift up, the waiting in line, the ride, etc..... Was fun!!! But, I goofed off here in this area
so long that I decided to spend another night camping in the area!!!! While I was there, I first saw a DVD of some super bicycle stunt riders, or whatever they are called, while
I was enjoying my ice cream.... Later, at my camp this night, I met some of the guys who ride these things and saw their bikes. They told me the ones I saw in the DVD cost
upwards of 20-30 thousand dollars!!!!!!!!!! The ones they had with them, five bikes, were 6-8 thousand each!!!!!!!!!!!! Nothing like the bikes we had as kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When I left the Winter Park area, I discovered the Georgetown Loop Railroad ride!!! The visitor center was handing out discounts, so I elected to give it a try.. I think that the
train ride and the mine tour was supposed to be 32 dollars.. With my discount, I got these for about 29 dollars... There was a 14 percent chance of rain this day.. It rained!
Not as bad as Alaska, but!!!!!!!!!!!! Was a cute little thing to do!! Ride was nice, but mostly a ride for kids... The little steam train is too small to pull all the cars, so there is a
big train that pushes it up the hill. The little steam train can then get you back down by itself, but, it has to do it backwards!!!!!!!! Then there is the mine tour. It is little, short,
and sweet... If you have never been in a mine, this will be okay, but it is not a real mine tour... The story teller/leader did a nice job of telling us what a crappy job it was to be
a miner!!!!! Average life of a miner was about 30 years of age!!!!
From Georgetown, I was off to Leadville. There I went to the library, caught up on some email, etc, and toured the mining district. I have been here many times, but it is still
fun to drive the old mining area and try to image what life was like here when everyone was going nuts trying to get rich, at any price!!!!!!!!! Found some signs that had given
their life for their country!! See the images.. It is hard to believe that people claim to be God Fearing Americans, then they will destroy anything they can touch or shoot!!!!!!!
I guess that if you blow up and destroy enough stuff while you are here on earth, you too will get 77 virgins when you get to heaven!!!!
While in the Leadville area, you can see the tallest point in Colorado, Mt. Elbert, at 14, 433 feet, I think it is.. I have hiked up there.. Nice hike.. Takes a full day to do the
round trip! Also, while in the Leadville area, I ended up driving south towards Buena Vista, camping, then hiking up to a local lake named Ptarmigan Lake.. Nice lake.. Took
three hours to get up to it, and two hours to hike back down.. See the images. It is neat!!!!!! I got back late and headed back north, stopping at another forest service area
and camping for the night... The next morning, yesterday, I headed for Independence Pass.. On the way I collected a few roadside images.. I have seen all these areas when
the Aspens are changing, but never while the Aspens are still green.. Looks so much different!!! On the west side of the pass, I saw a lot of cars parked. Decided to stop and
see what the point of interest was.. Turns out there is some neat hikes in the area.. I chose to the one up to Linkins Lake!!! Neat hike, neat lake.. Took about 45 minutes to
get up to it.... Had a snack and came back to the car. Drove on through Aspen, which is really a town to stay out of.. No parking, no nothing.... The property there must be
sold by the square inch!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you live there and can walk everywhere, you might be okay, but driving is not recommended... I just breezed through and was gone!
Leaving Aspen, I headed for Gunnison, where I am now. I did not quite make it, but found a campsite at the lake outside of town. I had camped there several times before,
and this time I was able to get my old campsite back. It is close to the bathroom and the water faucet!!!!!!!!! Cost 12 dollars!
Today, I called my friend in Lake City to see if he and his wife would be interested in doing lunch with me tomorrow. He said yes, so I am headed there in the morning... After I
left the campground, I came into town, went to the local KOA campground, where I have stayed before, and asked for a campsite... Nothing open!!! A big bike ride is taking
place here this weekend.. Campgrounds are full... However, it was suggested I try the Tall Texan Campground on the north side of town. I drove out here. Found that there
was a tent site open, and I took it, for about 20 dollars... This is an RV park, but they let a few tent people in... Truth is, this place is much better for me that the KOA would
have been... Linda and Mike own the place, they are neat people and they keep this place in top shape.. I parked my car, set up my tent, took a much needed shower, did a
load of laundry, and then came to the game room where I have access to high speed internet, to send you the images I am sharing with this note!!!!!!! I had planned to clean
up, go into town, use the internet at the library, but as it turns out, I did not have to !!! Here I have my own special table, a great view by the window, and a cool breeze to
keep me comfy!!!!!!!
Ok, I think that just about does it.. Guess I will send this out, then go socialize with the other campers, eat dinner, and get ready for breakfast!!! They have breakfast here in
the morning for three dollars... Not sure what all you get, but it does include coffee and waffles, so I am set!!!!! :-)))))
I think I am headed towards the Telluride area next... There are some areas there that I have never explored.. Guess it is about time to explore the area!!!! :-)))
Its a little after 6 PM here in cool Gunnison!!!! :-)))
To see the images shared this time, click on the link below...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627348263813/show/
2011-08-19.....
Hey Gang,
Thanks for following along on my adventures and vacations.. I understand from your emails that many of you have been here and seen the area I am in, some have even
lived in Colorado at some time in their life!!! It is a neat state, to be sure.. Of course, you do have to like what Colorado has to offer to like being here!!!!! Cool air, fresh air,
big mountains, clear mountain streams, mountain flowers, lots of hiking trails to some beautiful lakes, big meadows, big blue skies, and the list goes on!!!! But, like I said, you
have to like these sorts of things and be willing to get out and enjoy them... One of the big reasons I came here this year was to find cooler weather, and to get off my butt!!!!
I was sitting around way too much and putting on way too many pounds of useless flab!!!!! So, here I am, enjoying retirement, cool air, and hopefully getting my belly in
better shape!!!!!!! Too much good food is not a good thing!!!!
Ok, as I write this, the flickr loadr is uploading some images I chose to share with ya since the last update, which I think was from Steamboat Springs...
After I sent out the last update, I had to go back the way I came for about 15 miles to find a campsite.. There is not much available close to Steamboat!! The forest service
sent me to the campground I used, but they forgot to tell me there was no water there!!!!!!! But, I had plenty with me, however, the office people knew there was no water
and should have shared the info!!!!! You will notice in the photos that I chose to have a very healthy dinner this night, beans and beer!!!!!!!! Can it get any better!!!!!!! From
this area I drifted on down south and chose to do dispersed camping in a area north of Winter Park. Dispersed camping is free camping we can do on forest service land..
Most times this is more fun than being in a campground!!!!!!!! Was a nice place to camp, next to a country road, but the real surprise came the next morning, when I woke to
ice all over my tent. Then when I got out of the tent, I saw the heavy frost on the roof of the car!!!!!! When I got around to checking the temp, it was 34 degrees or a bit
below!!!!!!
From this campsite I headed south again, but noticed that there was an arts fair going on in Winter Park. Not being in a hurry, I stopped at Subway for an extra breakfast!! I
had already eaten at the campsite!!! Now I am eating again!! Mostly to get the coffee!!! After the breakfast, I headed over to the park to tour the art fair.. Met two people who
were doing really great photo work and paintings on feathers!!!!!!!!!!!!! Was very impressive!!!!!!!!! After the fair, it was back on the road, but I did not get far when I
discovered there was a big slide at the ski slope! I stopped to check it out and ended up doing a one ride slide on the thing!!!!!!!! Was 15 dollars and lasted about 3 minutes,
maybe! The whole thing took about 25 minutes from start to finish.. There was the chairlift up, the waiting in line, the ride, etc..... Was fun!!! But, I goofed off here in this area
so long that I decided to spend another night camping in the area!!!! While I was there, I first saw a DVD of some super bicycle stunt riders, or whatever they are called, while
I was enjoying my ice cream.... Later, at my camp this night, I met some of the guys who ride these things and saw their bikes. They told me the ones I saw in the DVD cost
upwards of 20-30 thousand dollars!!!!!!!!!! The ones they had with them, five bikes, were 6-8 thousand each!!!!!!!!!!!! Nothing like the bikes we had as kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When I left the Winter Park area, I discovered the Georgetown Loop Railroad ride!!! The visitor center was handing out discounts, so I elected to give it a try.. I think that the
train ride and the mine tour was supposed to be 32 dollars.. With my discount, I got these for about 29 dollars... There was a 14 percent chance of rain this day.. It rained!
Not as bad as Alaska, but!!!!!!!!!!!! Was a cute little thing to do!! Ride was nice, but mostly a ride for kids... The little steam train is too small to pull all the cars, so there is a
big train that pushes it up the hill. The little steam train can then get you back down by itself, but, it has to do it backwards!!!!!!!! Then there is the mine tour. It is little, short,
and sweet... If you have never been in a mine, this will be okay, but it is not a real mine tour... The story teller/leader did a nice job of telling us what a crappy job it was to be
a miner!!!!! Average life of a miner was about 30 years of age!!!!
From Georgetown, I was off to Leadville. There I went to the library, caught up on some email, etc, and toured the mining district. I have been here many times, but it is still
fun to drive the old mining area and try to image what life was like here when everyone was going nuts trying to get rich, at any price!!!!!!!!! Found some signs that had given
their life for their country!! See the images.. It is hard to believe that people claim to be God Fearing Americans, then they will destroy anything they can touch or shoot!!!!!!!
I guess that if you blow up and destroy enough stuff while you are here on earth, you too will get 77 virgins when you get to heaven!!!!
While in the Leadville area, you can see the tallest point in Colorado, Mt. Elbert, at 14, 433 feet, I think it is.. I have hiked up there.. Nice hike.. Takes a full day to do the
round trip! Also, while in the Leadville area, I ended up driving south towards Buena Vista, camping, then hiking up to a local lake named Ptarmigan Lake.. Nice lake.. Took
three hours to get up to it, and two hours to hike back down.. See the images. It is neat!!!!!! I got back late and headed back north, stopping at another forest service area
and camping for the night... The next morning, yesterday, I headed for Independence Pass.. On the way I collected a few roadside images.. I have seen all these areas when
the Aspens are changing, but never while the Aspens are still green.. Looks so much different!!! On the west side of the pass, I saw a lot of cars parked. Decided to stop and
see what the point of interest was.. Turns out there is some neat hikes in the area.. I chose to the one up to Linkins Lake!!! Neat hike, neat lake.. Took about 45 minutes to
get up to it.... Had a snack and came back to the car. Drove on through Aspen, which is really a town to stay out of.. No parking, no nothing.... The property there must be
sold by the square inch!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you live there and can walk everywhere, you might be okay, but driving is not recommended... I just breezed through and was gone!
Leaving Aspen, I headed for Gunnison, where I am now. I did not quite make it, but found a campsite at the lake outside of town. I had camped there several times before,
and this time I was able to get my old campsite back. It is close to the bathroom and the water faucet!!!!!!!!! Cost 12 dollars!
Today, I called my friend in Lake City to see if he and his wife would be interested in doing lunch with me tomorrow. He said yes, so I am headed there in the morning... After I
left the campground, I came into town, went to the local KOA campground, where I have stayed before, and asked for a campsite... Nothing open!!! A big bike ride is taking
place here this weekend.. Campgrounds are full... However, it was suggested I try the Tall Texan Campground on the north side of town. I drove out here. Found that there
was a tent site open, and I took it, for about 20 dollars... This is an RV park, but they let a few tent people in... Truth is, this place is much better for me that the KOA would
have been... Linda and Mike own the place, they are neat people and they keep this place in top shape.. I parked my car, set up my tent, took a much needed shower, did a
load of laundry, and then came to the game room where I have access to high speed internet, to send you the images I am sharing with this note!!!!!!! I had planned to clean
up, go into town, use the internet at the library, but as it turns out, I did not have to !!! Here I have my own special table, a great view by the window, and a cool breeze to
keep me comfy!!!!!!!
Ok, I think that just about does it.. Guess I will send this out, then go socialize with the other campers, eat dinner, and get ready for breakfast!!! They have breakfast here in
the morning for three dollars... Not sure what all you get, but it does include coffee and waffles, so I am set!!!!! :-)))))
I think I am headed towards the Telluride area next... There are some areas there that I have never explored.. Guess it is about time to explore the area!!!! :-)))
Its a little after 6 PM here in cool Gunnison!!!! :-)))
To see the images shared this time, click on the link below...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627348263813/show/
Colorado Update 2011 Number 4
2011-08-22
Hey Gang,
For those that are having a bit of fun following along with me on my latest adventure, here is a bit of an update... Right now it is after midnight here in Pagosa Springs
where I am visiting with an ole backpacking buddy who lives in Loveland, Colorado, but is using a time share here in one of the Pagosa Resorts.. He learned that I was in
the area, contacted me, and invited me to come visit.. I did.. This afternoon, after I arrived, we sat on the patio, visited, and watched golf carts go by.. What a life!!! :-)))
Later, both being photographers of sorts, we grabbed our cameras, climbed in his BMW convertible and went out in search of a good fishing spot and something to take
photos of.. We found a barn etc to take photos of, but did not find a place to go fishing... We are going to go try again tomorrow, if the weather is in our favor...
I think the last time I wrote, I was in Gunnison.. I stayed at the Tall Texan Campground.. Really nice place, by my standards... Sunday morning, I was up early, showered,
went to the office area, got coffee, ate some breakfast, talked to Bob Gestel on the phone about his trip out to join me later, etc, then I headed for Lake City, where I have
friends who retired there back in the 80's... Mary and Bob Stigall, in case any of you remember them from our days with the federal. Bob is a well known photographer in the
area now, and his wife Mary started a theater/arts council in the town. Now the theater is named after her.. Due to health issues, she has had to retire from doing the stage
shows, but new people are taking over and doing a nice job, so she says. I arrived before lunch, so I invited them to do lunch with me downtown, which they did. Was great
fun.. Then they invited me to stay the night at their new condo. I accepted.. I had stayed with them when they had the big house on the mountain, but they sold it and
moved to new digs in town.. Really nice place.
I spent the night with my buds in Lake City, ate breakfast with them, then headed for Pagosa Springs Sunday morning....
On the way out of town, I stopped for a few photos... Well, maybe more than a few, but you know what I mean!!!! And, just above the lake view point, on the right side of the
road, I found Bob's moose!!! He had heard there was one in the area, and he had been looking for it, but had not seen it.. We actually went for a drive after I arrived, to see
if we could find it!!!!!! As for the moose I saw, actually someone else found it, I saw this person taking photos, I stopped to see what was getting the attention, and there it
was, the moose!! Too far away for my lens, but I took a few images anyway!!!!
About 10 miles out of Pagosa Springs, I came upon a motorcycle accident!!! I and all the others had to wait for the helicopter to come get one person and take them away
before we could get on down the road.. The chopper landed in the highway!!
In town, I went to my buddies time-share.. Really nice... We visited, then went for a drive.. Found an old barn to shoot at.. He is a photo guy as well!!!!! After the photo trip,
we went to the Hogs Breath to eat!! Was good.. Keep it in mind if you are ever in Pagosa....
Now, I am uploading some of the memories I collected over the last couple of days. You will find the link to these images at the bottom of this message...... Hope you enjoy
browsing through them...
Ok, I better finish the image upload thing, send out the link, then get some sleep!!! My buddy and I are planning to go for a drive tomorrow, looking for more things to take
photos of.. Plus, he has a fishing pole with him, so I think he wants to try out a few of the new flys he tied yesterday....
More later.. OH, and the temps are staying in the 50-73 range!!! No heat issues here! :-))
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627365659859/show/
2011-08-22
Hey Gang,
For those that are having a bit of fun following along with me on my latest adventure, here is a bit of an update... Right now it is after midnight here in Pagosa Springs
where I am visiting with an ole backpacking buddy who lives in Loveland, Colorado, but is using a time share here in one of the Pagosa Resorts.. He learned that I was in
the area, contacted me, and invited me to come visit.. I did.. This afternoon, after I arrived, we sat on the patio, visited, and watched golf carts go by.. What a life!!! :-)))
Later, both being photographers of sorts, we grabbed our cameras, climbed in his BMW convertible and went out in search of a good fishing spot and something to take
photos of.. We found a barn etc to take photos of, but did not find a place to go fishing... We are going to go try again tomorrow, if the weather is in our favor...
I think the last time I wrote, I was in Gunnison.. I stayed at the Tall Texan Campground.. Really nice place, by my standards... Sunday morning, I was up early, showered,
went to the office area, got coffee, ate some breakfast, talked to Bob Gestel on the phone about his trip out to join me later, etc, then I headed for Lake City, where I have
friends who retired there back in the 80's... Mary and Bob Stigall, in case any of you remember them from our days with the federal. Bob is a well known photographer in the
area now, and his wife Mary started a theater/arts council in the town. Now the theater is named after her.. Due to health issues, she has had to retire from doing the stage
shows, but new people are taking over and doing a nice job, so she says. I arrived before lunch, so I invited them to do lunch with me downtown, which they did. Was great
fun.. Then they invited me to stay the night at their new condo. I accepted.. I had stayed with them when they had the big house on the mountain, but they sold it and
moved to new digs in town.. Really nice place.
I spent the night with my buds in Lake City, ate breakfast with them, then headed for Pagosa Springs Sunday morning....
On the way out of town, I stopped for a few photos... Well, maybe more than a few, but you know what I mean!!!! And, just above the lake view point, on the right side of the
road, I found Bob's moose!!! He had heard there was one in the area, and he had been looking for it, but had not seen it.. We actually went for a drive after I arrived, to see
if we could find it!!!!!! As for the moose I saw, actually someone else found it, I saw this person taking photos, I stopped to see what was getting the attention, and there it
was, the moose!! Too far away for my lens, but I took a few images anyway!!!!
About 10 miles out of Pagosa Springs, I came upon a motorcycle accident!!! I and all the others had to wait for the helicopter to come get one person and take them away
before we could get on down the road.. The chopper landed in the highway!!
In town, I went to my buddies time-share.. Really nice... We visited, then went for a drive.. Found an old barn to shoot at.. He is a photo guy as well!!!!! After the photo trip,
we went to the Hogs Breath to eat!! Was good.. Keep it in mind if you are ever in Pagosa....
Now, I am uploading some of the memories I collected over the last couple of days. You will find the link to these images at the bottom of this message...... Hope you enjoy
browsing through them...
Ok, I better finish the image upload thing, send out the link, then get some sleep!!! My buddy and I are planning to go for a drive tomorrow, looking for more things to take
photos of.. Plus, he has a fishing pole with him, so I think he wants to try out a few of the new flys he tied yesterday....
More later.. OH, and the temps are staying in the 50-73 range!!! No heat issues here! :-))
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627365659859/show/
Colorado Update 2011 Number 05
2011-08-27
Colorado Adventure Update
WOW, the time has been flying by.. If I remember correctly it has been a month now since I ran away from home to escape the heat. I think it was 107 degrees the day I
left... As I write this, I am sitting in the car on a bluff above Telluride. My tent is still set up behind the car where I camped last night. I am watching the sun rise from one of
the best places I have camped in my life. It is 51 degrees!!!!!!!! Maybe I will get to include a couple of photos of the sunrise in this update.
Speaking of updates, quite a lot has happened since I last sent out a note and some shared images. And speaking of images and updates, I came into Telluride yesterday,
went to the library to write an update note, then share it and some images, but the internet service was having real problems, and they were not able to fix it before I left.. I
may go back there today to see if it is fixed so I can send this.. If not, I will hope to find another place to work. Sharing the writing part is not so hard, but uploading the
images is the challenge!!
Ok, my notes tell me it was around the end of the day on the 21 when I sent out my last note... So, I will start there for this one.... On the morning of the 22, my buddy Rich
and I packed some lunch items and headed out with our cameras to do some exploring. Our map showed that there was a nice lake up above Pagosa Springs, which might
offer some neat photos and a bit of fly fishing for him... With map in hand, and a couple of GPS units, off we went.. Sure enough, found several neat places to stop and take
photos.. And as we neared the lake, Williams Reservoir I think it is called, we ran on to another of our friends, walking along the road with their friend. We stopped, chatted,
then gave then a lift to their camp, ate lunch with them, did a little hiking around the lake, Rich tried some fishing, then the rain ended our outdoor adventure! Rich and I
said goodbye to our camping friend, and we headed back to town. This night we went to Subway for dinner!! McDonalds is really taking a beating this year... Last year I ate
at a McDonalds a lot, and I consumed a lot of Doritos!!! I also grew a couple of inches around the middle... This year, I have stayed away from McDonalds and Doritos!!! My
pants are fitting much better now!!!!!!!!!
I stayed at Rich's place on the 22nd, then on the 23rd I got back on the road, headed for Durango. Of course I was not out of the parking lot before I found something to
take a photo of, a hot air balloon. Was a really neat color. Actually I had to drive several miles down the road before I was close enough to it to get a fair photo, and when I
got close to it, I discovered it was going to land. So, I pulled over, watched it land, and watched the people deflate it, or whatever it is called.. Then, I moved on.. From what I
could tell, the balloon was part of a balloon-ride business.. Maybe I should try that while I am out this way, as it looked to be good fun!!!!!!!!!!
I did stop in Durango for supplies at Walmart, and info at the visitor center, then it was back on the road again, in the rain!!!!!!! The first part of my trip was dry, but now I am
getting a lot more rain each day... As I continued my trip, I stopped off in Delores to see if I could find a couple of people I knew there, but when I drove by their home, it
looked vacant, and had a for-sale sign in the yard. I will assume they moved to a larger home. This one was small. Also, as I was coming into Pagosa Springs, I arrived at a
place about 10 miles from town where a motorcycle had wreaked. Traffic was stopped while the helicopter took one of the people to the hospital. While I was waiting, I talked
to another bike rider who told me he lived in Delores and knew my friends, and said they were teachers who taught his daughter.. So, I know they have not left town..
As my travels continued, I found some free roadside camping just south of Rico, I think it was. Nice place with some neat aspens near my camp.. Spent the night there, and
headed north on the next day, which I think would be the 24th. In Rico I slowed down long enough to take a few photos of some of the old buildings. Even had the local cop
following me around in his truck.. Guess he was having a slow day!!!!!!! About a mile up the road, I stopped at the forest service info center to ask about free camping
further up this way. Turns out the people working there were volunteers from Florida. The man was a retired Air Force pilot, and his wife was a retired federal employee. Of
course when he mentioned flying, I wanted to chat, and so did he.. He flew C130s???? for the AF for about 30 years, then built two planes after he retired. I think he called
them VPs!!! Whatever that is. He build the first one with a fixed pitch prop. Decided he did not like that, so he sold it and built a new one with a variable pitch prop, which he
really likes!!! Does not fly as much as he used to, but continues to fly some.... Most of the time he and the wife are exploring in their 5th wheel or whatever they are using...
While I was there, they told me about some to the neat things in the area I should see, and places I should go. One of the places they told me about is this camping spot!!!!!
The main thing they told me that day, was that I should go back down the road to Rico and go in the old bar there. It is called the Enterprise and remains nearly the same
since it was built. I stayed at the visitor center for over two hours, then went back to Rico and to the Enterprise.. Sure enough, the inside was nearly the same as the days
when it was built!!! I was greeted by a beautiful young land named Lena, who was here from Ukraine to work for the summer. She gave me a tour of the place, including the
basement where a lot of old stuff was stored!!! Back at the bar I ordered dinner. While was eating, I started talking to two other neat ladies who were just passing though.
They were actually college students from California and were out for a few days of travel before going back to school. They were very friendly and fun to chat with until they
had to get back on the road.... They were named Jordan and Sary. You will see them in the photos.
After a short walk around the town, I headed back up the road, and I stopped back into the visitor center to tell John and Lynn, the couple from Florida, that I really enjoyed
Rico and appreciated the info they gave me. While I was there I also met a lady, Nancy, who was getting info. She was just leaving, was in a motor home and said she was
camping in a campground just up the road. I went to look for a roadside campsite, but stopped to check out the campground she had mentioned. As I was leaving, she
drove in in her motor home. After a short chat, she invited me to pitch my tent on her site near her motor home. I did. Turns out we had so much fun talking and visiting that
I stayed that night and the next. I guess that would have been the nights of the 24th and 25th. Then on the morning of the 26th, yesterday, I packed up and got back on the
road. But, late the day before, on the 25th, I went for a short drive to see Lizard Head Pass, Trout Lake, and Ophir. Was a nice drive, and got a few nice memory images..
On my way out yesterday, I revisited Trout Lake, the old trestle at the end of the lake,etc....
From Trout Lake, I came to Telluride, and tried to ride the gondola system they have there, which offers some photo ops, but again, it was raining, so I went to the visitor
center, then the food store, got some lunch, ate outside, went to the library, paid some bills via computer, when the internet would work. Then I headed out of town, but
again, the cops must have been bored, as two of then followed me for two miles as I left town. The speed limit was 35, I drove 30. There must have been 20 cars behind me
by the time I got to the turn off for this road, which is the Last Dollar Road.. Lots of high dollar houses on the way up here!!!!!!!! But, that all ends here.. From here on it is
4x4 road, I think!!!
OK, that is what has happened so far. Today I will try to get this sent out, and then I will be on my way. I plan to do another of these mountain roads to get over towards
Ridgeway where there is more mountain roads and possibly a trailhead where I can leave the car and do some backpacking.. Will see when I get here.. Owl Creek Pass is
my next big point of reference. From there it will be on towards Silvertown, some hiking there, then back towards Denver. In Denver I will pick up my buddy Bob who will join
me for the rest of this adventure. If all goes well, we should be back in STL on Oct 2.
OK, off I go. There should be several set of images at the bottom of this message... Check them out. They are divided into groups because of the way they were taken and
the way they are stored on my computer!
More later!!!!! Time for me to fix breakfast, get back down the mountain, to the library, then back on the road!
2:30 PM Special note!!!
After I wrote the first part of this update, while I was at my campsite, I then headed down the mountain to Telluride where I planned to upload the share images, plus this
note and send it from the public library.. On the way down the mountain, I found some more images to share!!! Actually some from last evening and this morning.... The
internet at the library was SLOW last night and I could not send anything, then today, it was even worse... So, I left..... But I finally had lunch, went back to the visitor center,
told them of my issue, and they sent me here, to the Steaming Bean!!! A coffee shop with internet that works!!! So, I am now uploading images from the last few days and
will put the links to them at the end of this message.... The order of them may not make sense to you, but you will get to share some of what I have seen on this trip!!!!! I am
having coffee, uploading photos, listening to jazz music at a temp of about 70 degrees!!! When I get this message sent out, I will be headed for places further up the road...
I expect to drive by the Ralph Lauren Ranch later today or in the morning.. I hear it is really nice!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have fun with the photos and stay tuned.. There is lots more ahead!!!!!!!!!
You are invited to share these updates with family and friends if you think they might be interested.... Fun for all!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627532099968/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627532136316/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627407887881/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627408044465/show/
2011-08-27
Colorado Adventure Update
WOW, the time has been flying by.. If I remember correctly it has been a month now since I ran away from home to escape the heat. I think it was 107 degrees the day I
left... As I write this, I am sitting in the car on a bluff above Telluride. My tent is still set up behind the car where I camped last night. I am watching the sun rise from one of
the best places I have camped in my life. It is 51 degrees!!!!!!!! Maybe I will get to include a couple of photos of the sunrise in this update.
Speaking of updates, quite a lot has happened since I last sent out a note and some shared images. And speaking of images and updates, I came into Telluride yesterday,
went to the library to write an update note, then share it and some images, but the internet service was having real problems, and they were not able to fix it before I left.. I
may go back there today to see if it is fixed so I can send this.. If not, I will hope to find another place to work. Sharing the writing part is not so hard, but uploading the
images is the challenge!!
Ok, my notes tell me it was around the end of the day on the 21 when I sent out my last note... So, I will start there for this one.... On the morning of the 22, my buddy Rich
and I packed some lunch items and headed out with our cameras to do some exploring. Our map showed that there was a nice lake up above Pagosa Springs, which might
offer some neat photos and a bit of fly fishing for him... With map in hand, and a couple of GPS units, off we went.. Sure enough, found several neat places to stop and take
photos.. And as we neared the lake, Williams Reservoir I think it is called, we ran on to another of our friends, walking along the road with their friend. We stopped, chatted,
then gave then a lift to their camp, ate lunch with them, did a little hiking around the lake, Rich tried some fishing, then the rain ended our outdoor adventure! Rich and I
said goodbye to our camping friend, and we headed back to town. This night we went to Subway for dinner!! McDonalds is really taking a beating this year... Last year I ate
at a McDonalds a lot, and I consumed a lot of Doritos!!! I also grew a couple of inches around the middle... This year, I have stayed away from McDonalds and Doritos!!! My
pants are fitting much better now!!!!!!!!!
I stayed at Rich's place on the 22nd, then on the 23rd I got back on the road, headed for Durango. Of course I was not out of the parking lot before I found something to
take a photo of, a hot air balloon. Was a really neat color. Actually I had to drive several miles down the road before I was close enough to it to get a fair photo, and when I
got close to it, I discovered it was going to land. So, I pulled over, watched it land, and watched the people deflate it, or whatever it is called.. Then, I moved on.. From what I
could tell, the balloon was part of a balloon-ride business.. Maybe I should try that while I am out this way, as it looked to be good fun!!!!!!!!!!
I did stop in Durango for supplies at Walmart, and info at the visitor center, then it was back on the road again, in the rain!!!!!!! The first part of my trip was dry, but now I am
getting a lot more rain each day... As I continued my trip, I stopped off in Delores to see if I could find a couple of people I knew there, but when I drove by their home, it
looked vacant, and had a for-sale sign in the yard. I will assume they moved to a larger home. This one was small. Also, as I was coming into Pagosa Springs, I arrived at a
place about 10 miles from town where a motorcycle had wreaked. Traffic was stopped while the helicopter took one of the people to the hospital. While I was waiting, I talked
to another bike rider who told me he lived in Delores and knew my friends, and said they were teachers who taught his daughter.. So, I know they have not left town..
As my travels continued, I found some free roadside camping just south of Rico, I think it was. Nice place with some neat aspens near my camp.. Spent the night there, and
headed north on the next day, which I think would be the 24th. In Rico I slowed down long enough to take a few photos of some of the old buildings. Even had the local cop
following me around in his truck.. Guess he was having a slow day!!!!!!! About a mile up the road, I stopped at the forest service info center to ask about free camping
further up this way. Turns out the people working there were volunteers from Florida. The man was a retired Air Force pilot, and his wife was a retired federal employee. Of
course when he mentioned flying, I wanted to chat, and so did he.. He flew C130s???? for the AF for about 30 years, then built two planes after he retired. I think he called
them VPs!!! Whatever that is. He build the first one with a fixed pitch prop. Decided he did not like that, so he sold it and built a new one with a variable pitch prop, which he
really likes!!! Does not fly as much as he used to, but continues to fly some.... Most of the time he and the wife are exploring in their 5th wheel or whatever they are using...
While I was there, they told me about some to the neat things in the area I should see, and places I should go. One of the places they told me about is this camping spot!!!!!
The main thing they told me that day, was that I should go back down the road to Rico and go in the old bar there. It is called the Enterprise and remains nearly the same
since it was built. I stayed at the visitor center for over two hours, then went back to Rico and to the Enterprise.. Sure enough, the inside was nearly the same as the days
when it was built!!! I was greeted by a beautiful young land named Lena, who was here from Ukraine to work for the summer. She gave me a tour of the place, including the
basement where a lot of old stuff was stored!!! Back at the bar I ordered dinner. While was eating, I started talking to two other neat ladies who were just passing though.
They were actually college students from California and were out for a few days of travel before going back to school. They were very friendly and fun to chat with until they
had to get back on the road.... They were named Jordan and Sary. You will see them in the photos.
After a short walk around the town, I headed back up the road, and I stopped back into the visitor center to tell John and Lynn, the couple from Florida, that I really enjoyed
Rico and appreciated the info they gave me. While I was there I also met a lady, Nancy, who was getting info. She was just leaving, was in a motor home and said she was
camping in a campground just up the road. I went to look for a roadside campsite, but stopped to check out the campground she had mentioned. As I was leaving, she
drove in in her motor home. After a short chat, she invited me to pitch my tent on her site near her motor home. I did. Turns out we had so much fun talking and visiting that
I stayed that night and the next. I guess that would have been the nights of the 24th and 25th. Then on the morning of the 26th, yesterday, I packed up and got back on the
road. But, late the day before, on the 25th, I went for a short drive to see Lizard Head Pass, Trout Lake, and Ophir. Was a nice drive, and got a few nice memory images..
On my way out yesterday, I revisited Trout Lake, the old trestle at the end of the lake,etc....
From Trout Lake, I came to Telluride, and tried to ride the gondola system they have there, which offers some photo ops, but again, it was raining, so I went to the visitor
center, then the food store, got some lunch, ate outside, went to the library, paid some bills via computer, when the internet would work. Then I headed out of town, but
again, the cops must have been bored, as two of then followed me for two miles as I left town. The speed limit was 35, I drove 30. There must have been 20 cars behind me
by the time I got to the turn off for this road, which is the Last Dollar Road.. Lots of high dollar houses on the way up here!!!!!!!! But, that all ends here.. From here on it is
4x4 road, I think!!!
OK, that is what has happened so far. Today I will try to get this sent out, and then I will be on my way. I plan to do another of these mountain roads to get over towards
Ridgeway where there is more mountain roads and possibly a trailhead where I can leave the car and do some backpacking.. Will see when I get here.. Owl Creek Pass is
my next big point of reference. From there it will be on towards Silvertown, some hiking there, then back towards Denver. In Denver I will pick up my buddy Bob who will join
me for the rest of this adventure. If all goes well, we should be back in STL on Oct 2.
OK, off I go. There should be several set of images at the bottom of this message... Check them out. They are divided into groups because of the way they were taken and
the way they are stored on my computer!
More later!!!!! Time for me to fix breakfast, get back down the mountain, to the library, then back on the road!
2:30 PM Special note!!!
After I wrote the first part of this update, while I was at my campsite, I then headed down the mountain to Telluride where I planned to upload the share images, plus this
note and send it from the public library.. On the way down the mountain, I found some more images to share!!! Actually some from last evening and this morning.... The
internet at the library was SLOW last night and I could not send anything, then today, it was even worse... So, I left..... But I finally had lunch, went back to the visitor center,
told them of my issue, and they sent me here, to the Steaming Bean!!! A coffee shop with internet that works!!! So, I am now uploading images from the last few days and
will put the links to them at the end of this message.... The order of them may not make sense to you, but you will get to share some of what I have seen on this trip!!!!! I am
having coffee, uploading photos, listening to jazz music at a temp of about 70 degrees!!! When I get this message sent out, I will be headed for places further up the road...
I expect to drive by the Ralph Lauren Ranch later today or in the morning.. I hear it is really nice!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have fun with the photos and stay tuned.. There is lots more ahead!!!!!!!!!
You are invited to share these updates with family and friends if you think they might be interested.... Fun for all!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627532099968/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627532136316/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627407887881/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627408044465/show/
Colorado Update 2011 Number 06
Greetings again from Colorado.. This time I am in Montrose.. Did not expect to be here today, but I am, and I am clean!!! On my way into town this morning, I stopped at
a gas station and asked where there was a shower for sale, the man said this was the place, so for 4 dollars, I had a super shower.. First I had since the 23 in Pagosa!!!
:-)))
After I left Telluride, I headed for Owl Creek Pass, and to get there I took a scenic back road that came out near the famous Double RL ranch, Ralph Lauren's
get-away... It has the famous log fence that goes for miles!!!!!!
On the road to Owl Creek Pass, I started seeing some of the neatest parts of Colorado I have ever seen.. How this area has gotten past me is a mystery!!! The drive is
awesome... On the way to the pass, I met and chatted with Jeff, a forest service employee... Told him I planned to start packing at a certain trail head in the area. I
showed him where it was on the map.. He said I should be able to get there in the car without a problem!! Remember this statement!
Just past the pass, I took the West Branch Road.. Finally got too ruff for me and I turned back, and on the return I found a great spot to camp, and did.... After dinner,
the rains set in!!!!!! Then the lightening and the thunder.. WOW, what a show that was, and it was right on top of me, almost!!!!! This morning, I has some water in the
tent, but was seep through the fabric, I think... And, I found a broken piece of plastic that I could figure out from where it came.. Later I would find that it was part of the
crank handle for my crank flashlight that I have carried all over North America with me.. Somehow it got under me in my tent and got broken! Was a sad moment!!! My
favorite light.. I was able to patch it with duct tape for now, and may be able to do a real repair later! Here in town I found an bought a new one just like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I left camp this morning and headed to the trailhead.. Did not go far until I came to a big washout in the road!!!!!! I looked at it, turned the car around and started to
leave, but then walked back and looked it over closer.. It is was not good, but others had gone through it and there was good road on the other side.. So, I tried it!!! I
scrapped.... Further up the road, another washout.. I got across it.. Further up the road, another washout, but this one was really nasty and had water in it... I turned
back... I was doing good until I got to the first washout.. When I tried to get back across it, I heard a big scrap!!! On the other side I looked under the car as best I could..
It would see a rock got one of my mufflers.. Now there is a dent in it.. I think it is mostly a cosmetic thing, but will have it checked later!!!!!!!!! Guess the time has come to
me to finally move up to a 4x4 if I am going to keep playing out here.. I am thinking a Toyota Tacoma is just about my size, with a camper shell on it.... There are lots of
them out here!!!!!!
Ok, looks like the share images have uploaded, and it is after 6 PM.. Time for me to go find a home for the evening.. Think I will go back up on the pass for this night,
then on to ??????
Stay tuned!!! Lots of days left.... But, I have to find a new way to do some backpacking!!!!!!!! May have to leave the car and backpack past the washouts in the road to
get to the trail head!!!!!!!
Here is the link to the share images:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627425733707/show/
Colorado Update 2011 Number 07
2011-08-30, Colorado Update, for area around Owl Creek Pass
Hey Gang,
While I still have working internet service, I am in Ridgeway, I figured it best to send a few more images so you would have something to look at while you have your
favorite beverage...
Yesterday, after I left Montrose, I was not sure where I was headed, but ended up driving back up on the mountain and camping in the same spot as the night before,
only this time I did not get there until it was near dark.... Grabbed a few images on the way in. Then, this morning I used the last of my waterproof spray on my tent, let it
dry a bit, packed it and headed out.. Ended up going up another of the backroads.. This one was a challenge for the car, but made it to the trailhead on the East Fork, I
think it is called... Thought about taking a pack and heading for Uncompahgre Peak, but the sign said it was 14.4 miles or so, away! I elected to walk up the trail about a
mile, take some photos of the mountians, then head out.. At a later time, I will come back and do it with a better plan.. When I got to the car, I met a lady named Shelly
who had just been dropped off there with two packs, by her husband to be.. I say this cause they hiked up to top of Uncompahgre yesterday, where he asked her to
marry him.. She said yes!!!! Romantic little mountain story!!! He took their 4x4 over to where I had the washout issues, left the auto and was riding his bike back to her
location.. They would hike over the mountain, get the auto, return to get the bike, then head out!!! I should remember this trick!!!!
After leaving Shelly, I headed this way.. Stopped for lunch, chatted with other tourist at the pass, then came to Ridgeway where I called the Forest Service and got
suggestions for places to sleep tonight.. Tomorrow, I hope to play around Silverton... From there, I am not sure where I will go..
Ok, here are the images from today.. Hope you enjoy seeing some of what I saw this day!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627557703132/show/
Stay tuned. It is now 5 PM... Have to hurry!!!!!!
2011-08-30, Colorado Update, for area around Owl Creek Pass
Hey Gang,
While I still have working internet service, I am in Ridgeway, I figured it best to send a few more images so you would have something to look at while you have your
favorite beverage...
Yesterday, after I left Montrose, I was not sure where I was headed, but ended up driving back up on the mountain and camping in the same spot as the night before,
only this time I did not get there until it was near dark.... Grabbed a few images on the way in. Then, this morning I used the last of my waterproof spray on my tent, let it
dry a bit, packed it and headed out.. Ended up going up another of the backroads.. This one was a challenge for the car, but made it to the trailhead on the East Fork, I
think it is called... Thought about taking a pack and heading for Uncompahgre Peak, but the sign said it was 14.4 miles or so, away! I elected to walk up the trail about a
mile, take some photos of the mountians, then head out.. At a later time, I will come back and do it with a better plan.. When I got to the car, I met a lady named Shelly
who had just been dropped off there with two packs, by her husband to be.. I say this cause they hiked up to top of Uncompahgre yesterday, where he asked her to
marry him.. She said yes!!!! Romantic little mountain story!!! He took their 4x4 over to where I had the washout issues, left the auto and was riding his bike back to her
location.. They would hike over the mountain, get the auto, return to get the bike, then head out!!! I should remember this trick!!!!
After leaving Shelly, I headed this way.. Stopped for lunch, chatted with other tourist at the pass, then came to Ridgeway where I called the Forest Service and got
suggestions for places to sleep tonight.. Tomorrow, I hope to play around Silverton... From there, I am not sure where I will go..
Ok, here are the images from today.. Hope you enjoy seeing some of what I saw this day!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627557703132/show/
Stay tuned. It is now 5 PM... Have to hurry!!!!!!
2011-09-03, Colorado Update 2011 Number 08
Hello Again from Colorado!!!
The heat index was 42 degrees here this morning when I woke up near Little Molas Lake!
It is near 1:30 PM here in the Avalance Cafe where I have found some lunch, coffee, and internet service that works!!! The people said I was OK to sit here as long
as I wanted.. Closing time is 10 PM!!! I will be long gone by then... When I get this update out, I am headed north towards the dinosaur park area.. I hear there are
some photo ops up that way!!!! Will go see...
I think the last time I sent out an update I was in Ridgeway.... After sending that note, etc, I headed here to Silverton where I have been several days.. Found a free
campground just outside town, went there, found a neat spot, grabbed it and called it home for three nights... I left there yesterday, came into town to take care of
business on the internet, on the cell, etc... Then I headed to a new campground at Little Molas Lake.. Got a GREAT site there, and it was free... The forest service
has some really neat free campgrounds.. I think I have only paid for 5 campgrounds since I left in July!!!!
At the campground outside of Silverton I met a really neat couple from north of St. Paul, MN. Had coffee and great conversation with them two days in a row.. Terry
and Tammy are both retired now, but have been coming here during the summer for many years, to avoid the flies back home at this time of year!!!!!! Tammy is a
retired OBGYN? Terry is a retired PHD in the electronics business... Lots of fun to chat with them!!!
Aside from the visiting I finally did a hike up to the Highland Lakes, just outside of Silverton.. Nice area, but a bit of a climb to get up to them.... I got to one of the
lakes where I sat down to do lunch, but about the time I sat down, a storm moved in and I moved out, headed back to the car at a fast pace!!!! But, when I parked the
car at the trail head, I met a neat young couple with a dog.. The lady was driving and she owned the Toyota Tacoma that they were in.. Of course I had to ask her
about she liked it.. Said she loved it and added more desire for me to have one... I am gathering more info on these things.. I think one with a camper is going to be a
birthday present to me!!!!!! At the end of the hike, as I was about a half mile from my car, I met a couple about my age who were also returning from the area I had
come from.. Turns out they are super interesting world travelers.. They almost insisted that I get the books, study the material, and head to Nepal to do hikes there,
plus some other places they had been and loved the experience!!!!!!! Now I have new places to go, if I live long enough!!!!!!!
Yesterday afternoon, after my last visit with Tammy and Terry, I left the campground, came to town, then went to Little Molas Lake for the night.. At the campsite I had
last night, I met a fellow who told me there was a great hike on the Colorado Trail, just above up that would be a great hike for me to do this morning.. When I got up,
it was 42 degrees!!!!! Was a little cold and a little early for breakfast, so I had a food bar, moved the car to the trail head and headed out.. Was really neat.. I did a
short hike.. Left at 0830, got back at 1000.... Back at the parking lot, I met three people who were heading out on another leg of the Colorado Trail... They were
leaving this lot and headed to Durango, where their car would be waiting for them.. It would be shuttled there by some other people they had met earlier on the
Colorado Trail....
Ok, there is a lot more I could probably say, but time to get back on the road!!!! The images I am sharing will be in the links below... There are not a lot of labels on
them, but hope you can get the gist of what I am seeing from looking at them...
And, as always, stay tuned.. On the tenth of this month I will be joined by one of my other outdoor buddies.. And as I understand it, we will take this adventure to Utah
for the rest of the month, maybe... So, watch for that as well....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627460624319/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627585065070/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627460976429/show/
Hello Again from Colorado!!!
The heat index was 42 degrees here this morning when I woke up near Little Molas Lake!
It is near 1:30 PM here in the Avalance Cafe where I have found some lunch, coffee, and internet service that works!!! The people said I was OK to sit here as long
as I wanted.. Closing time is 10 PM!!! I will be long gone by then... When I get this update out, I am headed north towards the dinosaur park area.. I hear there are
some photo ops up that way!!!! Will go see...
I think the last time I sent out an update I was in Ridgeway.... After sending that note, etc, I headed here to Silverton where I have been several days.. Found a free
campground just outside town, went there, found a neat spot, grabbed it and called it home for three nights... I left there yesterday, came into town to take care of
business on the internet, on the cell, etc... Then I headed to a new campground at Little Molas Lake.. Got a GREAT site there, and it was free... The forest service
has some really neat free campgrounds.. I think I have only paid for 5 campgrounds since I left in July!!!!
At the campground outside of Silverton I met a really neat couple from north of St. Paul, MN. Had coffee and great conversation with them two days in a row.. Terry
and Tammy are both retired now, but have been coming here during the summer for many years, to avoid the flies back home at this time of year!!!!!! Tammy is a
retired OBGYN? Terry is a retired PHD in the electronics business... Lots of fun to chat with them!!!
Aside from the visiting I finally did a hike up to the Highland Lakes, just outside of Silverton.. Nice area, but a bit of a climb to get up to them.... I got to one of the
lakes where I sat down to do lunch, but about the time I sat down, a storm moved in and I moved out, headed back to the car at a fast pace!!!! But, when I parked the
car at the trail head, I met a neat young couple with a dog.. The lady was driving and she owned the Toyota Tacoma that they were in.. Of course I had to ask her
about she liked it.. Said she loved it and added more desire for me to have one... I am gathering more info on these things.. I think one with a camper is going to be a
birthday present to me!!!!!! At the end of the hike, as I was about a half mile from my car, I met a couple about my age who were also returning from the area I had
come from.. Turns out they are super interesting world travelers.. They almost insisted that I get the books, study the material, and head to Nepal to do hikes there,
plus some other places they had been and loved the experience!!!!!!! Now I have new places to go, if I live long enough!!!!!!!
Yesterday afternoon, after my last visit with Tammy and Terry, I left the campground, came to town, then went to Little Molas Lake for the night.. At the campsite I had
last night, I met a fellow who told me there was a great hike on the Colorado Trail, just above up that would be a great hike for me to do this morning.. When I got up,
it was 42 degrees!!!!! Was a little cold and a little early for breakfast, so I had a food bar, moved the car to the trail head and headed out.. Was really neat.. I did a
short hike.. Left at 0830, got back at 1000.... Back at the parking lot, I met three people who were heading out on another leg of the Colorado Trail... They were
leaving this lot and headed to Durango, where their car would be waiting for them.. It would be shuttled there by some other people they had met earlier on the
Colorado Trail....
Ok, there is a lot more I could probably say, but time to get back on the road!!!! The images I am sharing will be in the links below... There are not a lot of labels on
them, but hope you can get the gist of what I am seeing from looking at them...
And, as always, stay tuned.. On the tenth of this month I will be joined by one of my other outdoor buddies.. And as I understand it, we will take this adventure to Utah
for the rest of the month, maybe... So, watch for that as well....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627460624319/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627585065070/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627460976429/show/
2011-09-05, Colorado Update 2011 Number 09
Colorado Update from Grand Junction...
Greetings from Grand Junction, Colorado!! This is where I spent the night, last night... Right now, I am feeling good, looking fairly good and smelling a lot better than
I have in days, or so I am sure people around me would say... Showers are not real hard to come by when you are a camper, but being on the run like I am and not
wanting to take the time to stop and do the wash thing, both for body and for clothes, one tends to forget or just overlook the small details, and move on... I suppose
one can justify the decision by telling ones self that they are not going to be around people very much anyway, and they would just get dirty again in a short period
of time, so why bother, until it has to be done or something brings them to an easy place to get it done.. And that is the case now..
Right now I am sitting in the laundry room of the Grand Junction KOA.. Nice place... I think I had to pay 25 dollars to spend the night here.. Got in here about 6:30
PM last night, after I stopped at City Market for fuel, and at Subway for a big meal... Was really thinking of trying to get back to an open area to camp for the night,
but realized it was getting late, I needed a shower and I needed to do laundry, and I had driven past this place on the way into town.. It all added up to a fairly easy
decision!! I got a great tent site that had electric hookup, under a rain shed that had an overhead light to work by after it got dark.. There was also a picnic table
under the shelter, so I was all set to do computer work, charge batteries, etc... So, by bedtime at around 10 PM, I was showered, had photos downloaded and some
editing completed....
This morning I was up at 0700, back in the shower to reshave, reshower, etc, to make sure I was clean and had cleaned any spots I had missed last night!!!!!!! I am
almost ready for the last segment of my solo trip.. This coming Saturday my buddy Bob will fly into Denver and join me for the rest of this seasons
exploring/photography adventure..
As I type this, the images I plan to share are uploading to FLICKR, or so I hope.. I have said this before, the internet service here in Colorado is the worst I have run
into anywhere in my travels.. I do not have a clue what is going on.. Maybe there are just so many people getting on the system these days that the system is
starting to bog down!!!! Some place do have really good service, others have service that is sooooo slow it hurts to watch it move!!!!!! What I will say about the set
of images I am working on for this update is that the set is very large, and if you are short on time, you might want to save looking at the images until you have
plenty of time..
The story behind the large image set goes something like this.. I left Silverton after my last update, but right away I started finding things of interest to me..
Transportation has certainly changed over the years. As I was leaving Silverton, I found some examples of the old way of getting around, then I found a funny
example of the latest way of getting around.. Be sure to notice this when you see the images... After I left Silverton, I headed for a scenic drive that Tammy had told
me about several days earlier.. The drive I speak of starts around the Telluride area and loops around to the west and ends up in the Grand Junction area.. I was
not sure what I would find, but I heard it was good.. It was more than that, it was SUPER GREAT. One of the best drives I have been on in ages!!!!! You have to plan
to see it, if you have not already!!!!!!!! I have been through the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and this drive is nearly the same sensation, but is in a car instead of a
boat!!!!!! I hope the images give you a fair impression of what is there.. I had a lot of problems trying to get good photos of the area due to the difficult lighting.. The
type of light or something in this area drives my light meter crazy.. And I have to take a lot of images at different settings, then get to a dark area to semi-edit the
images, make changes, etc, then re-shoot.... And, there are not enough pullover places in the canyon to take as many images as I wanted, so I had to shoot a lot of
them through the front windshield as I driving!!! Takes some practice to do that trick!!!!!!! Some people ask how many images I shoot vs how many I keep.. On
average, I only get about 10 percent good images from all that I shoot!!!!! In the set, you will see my campsite the night before I started the drive.. There are a few
free camping areas between Telluride and Norwood.. I got one of them.. Am not sure yet how a person finds all these areas. Might be in a data base on the internet.
Some I luck on to, some I found on a map I have. But, it would seem there area a fair number of these places in the state and a fair number of people know where
they are... I need to find the sort that lists all of them.. If anyone reading this knows how to find these spots, please let me know.. I have gotten some of them from
the local public land office, but this is limited because these people only know about their area... I need a larger information source!
Earlier, I said this set is rather long, and it is.. I could have shortened it a lot, but some of my readers are also photographers and they like to see things from
different angles and different settings, etc.. For those that are just looking, sorry for the repeats, and similar images!!! For those people who have not take this
drive, I hope you will.. And for those that have already been there, I hope the images bring back good memories of your visit to the canyons....
The clothes are in the dryer now, but the image upload is soooo slow that I am not sure I will be able to send this update today.. If so, I have to find a faster internet
connection!!!!!!!!!!!!
OH, There is a couple of comments to add.. The little town of Norwood used to be my mailing address when I was preschool age, or so my family tells me.. It would
seem that while my dad was in the timber business, there was a summer that his work brought him to Colorado, and we lived in a logging shack somewhere in the
hills above Norwood for the summer.. Then there is the little town of Naturita. This is the little town where the really good canyon viewing starts, but, this town has to
be the jumk capital of the United States!!!! I think everything in this town is junk.. They have junk everything, and it is everywhere.. I hope you get the idea from the
sample images in the set.. Check out the town welcome sign, it says “Naturita, Stop and enjoy a little nature”.....
2:30 PM, Extra note!!!! I tried all over town, so it would seem, to find wifi that would work fast enough to get this update out.. No luck, until I was leaving town.. I
stopped at the visitor center here in Fruita, I think it is.. Asked if these people knew of a wifi that would do the job for me.. The people said I could get it done here,
and I did.. !!!!! The images are loaded and ready to share... So, it looks like that you will see images today after all... Two people who were watching my Spot track
yesterday knew I was in a neat area and was super ready to see the memory shots from the area.. I hope they like the ones I am sharing!!!!!
Once this is sent out, I am headed north to explore!!! I came here to enjoy cool air, but yesterday it was near 96 degrees in this area, and I expect it will be that
again today.. Will be ready to get back to the mountains!!!!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627601640546/show/
Colorado Update from Grand Junction...
Greetings from Grand Junction, Colorado!! This is where I spent the night, last night... Right now, I am feeling good, looking fairly good and smelling a lot better than
I have in days, or so I am sure people around me would say... Showers are not real hard to come by when you are a camper, but being on the run like I am and not
wanting to take the time to stop and do the wash thing, both for body and for clothes, one tends to forget or just overlook the small details, and move on... I suppose
one can justify the decision by telling ones self that they are not going to be around people very much anyway, and they would just get dirty again in a short period
of time, so why bother, until it has to be done or something brings them to an easy place to get it done.. And that is the case now..
Right now I am sitting in the laundry room of the Grand Junction KOA.. Nice place... I think I had to pay 25 dollars to spend the night here.. Got in here about 6:30
PM last night, after I stopped at City Market for fuel, and at Subway for a big meal... Was really thinking of trying to get back to an open area to camp for the night,
but realized it was getting late, I needed a shower and I needed to do laundry, and I had driven past this place on the way into town.. It all added up to a fairly easy
decision!! I got a great tent site that had electric hookup, under a rain shed that had an overhead light to work by after it got dark.. There was also a picnic table
under the shelter, so I was all set to do computer work, charge batteries, etc... So, by bedtime at around 10 PM, I was showered, had photos downloaded and some
editing completed....
This morning I was up at 0700, back in the shower to reshave, reshower, etc, to make sure I was clean and had cleaned any spots I had missed last night!!!!!!! I am
almost ready for the last segment of my solo trip.. This coming Saturday my buddy Bob will fly into Denver and join me for the rest of this seasons
exploring/photography adventure..
As I type this, the images I plan to share are uploading to FLICKR, or so I hope.. I have said this before, the internet service here in Colorado is the worst I have run
into anywhere in my travels.. I do not have a clue what is going on.. Maybe there are just so many people getting on the system these days that the system is
starting to bog down!!!! Some place do have really good service, others have service that is sooooo slow it hurts to watch it move!!!!!! What I will say about the set
of images I am working on for this update is that the set is very large, and if you are short on time, you might want to save looking at the images until you have
plenty of time..
The story behind the large image set goes something like this.. I left Silverton after my last update, but right away I started finding things of interest to me..
Transportation has certainly changed over the years. As I was leaving Silverton, I found some examples of the old way of getting around, then I found a funny
example of the latest way of getting around.. Be sure to notice this when you see the images... After I left Silverton, I headed for a scenic drive that Tammy had told
me about several days earlier.. The drive I speak of starts around the Telluride area and loops around to the west and ends up in the Grand Junction area.. I was
not sure what I would find, but I heard it was good.. It was more than that, it was SUPER GREAT. One of the best drives I have been on in ages!!!!! You have to plan
to see it, if you have not already!!!!!!!! I have been through the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and this drive is nearly the same sensation, but is in a car instead of a
boat!!!!!! I hope the images give you a fair impression of what is there.. I had a lot of problems trying to get good photos of the area due to the difficult lighting.. The
type of light or something in this area drives my light meter crazy.. And I have to take a lot of images at different settings, then get to a dark area to semi-edit the
images, make changes, etc, then re-shoot.... And, there are not enough pullover places in the canyon to take as many images as I wanted, so I had to shoot a lot of
them through the front windshield as I driving!!! Takes some practice to do that trick!!!!!!! Some people ask how many images I shoot vs how many I keep.. On
average, I only get about 10 percent good images from all that I shoot!!!!! In the set, you will see my campsite the night before I started the drive.. There are a few
free camping areas between Telluride and Norwood.. I got one of them.. Am not sure yet how a person finds all these areas. Might be in a data base on the internet.
Some I luck on to, some I found on a map I have. But, it would seem there area a fair number of these places in the state and a fair number of people know where
they are... I need to find the sort that lists all of them.. If anyone reading this knows how to find these spots, please let me know.. I have gotten some of them from
the local public land office, but this is limited because these people only know about their area... I need a larger information source!
Earlier, I said this set is rather long, and it is.. I could have shortened it a lot, but some of my readers are also photographers and they like to see things from
different angles and different settings, etc.. For those that are just looking, sorry for the repeats, and similar images!!! For those people who have not take this
drive, I hope you will.. And for those that have already been there, I hope the images bring back good memories of your visit to the canyons....
The clothes are in the dryer now, but the image upload is soooo slow that I am not sure I will be able to send this update today.. If so, I have to find a faster internet
connection!!!!!!!!!!!!
OH, There is a couple of comments to add.. The little town of Norwood used to be my mailing address when I was preschool age, or so my family tells me.. It would
seem that while my dad was in the timber business, there was a summer that his work brought him to Colorado, and we lived in a logging shack somewhere in the
hills above Norwood for the summer.. Then there is the little town of Naturita. This is the little town where the really good canyon viewing starts, but, this town has to
be the jumk capital of the United States!!!! I think everything in this town is junk.. They have junk everything, and it is everywhere.. I hope you get the idea from the
sample images in the set.. Check out the town welcome sign, it says “Naturita, Stop and enjoy a little nature”.....
2:30 PM, Extra note!!!! I tried all over town, so it would seem, to find wifi that would work fast enough to get this update out.. No luck, until I was leaving town.. I
stopped at the visitor center here in Fruita, I think it is.. Asked if these people knew of a wifi that would do the job for me.. The people said I could get it done here,
and I did.. !!!!! The images are loaded and ready to share... So, it looks like that you will see images today after all... Two people who were watching my Spot track
yesterday knew I was in a neat area and was super ready to see the memory shots from the area.. I hope they like the ones I am sharing!!!!!
Once this is sent out, I am headed north to explore!!! I came here to enjoy cool air, but yesterday it was near 96 degrees in this area, and I expect it will be that
again today.. Will be ready to get back to the mountains!!!!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627601640546/show/
2011-09-08, Update number 10
Colorado/Utah Update!!
Greetings from Meeker, Colorado. I just found out the town of Meeker is having the Meeker Sheepdog Trials. Started talking to another person here in the library
and found out this lady and her husband are sponsors of two dogs in the contest.. Susan and Mark Michie, the sponsors, are from Redstone, Colorado and are
here the trials! Susan gets free admission passes for being a sponsor.. She shared one of them with me!! So, when I finish here, I am off to watch the sheepdog
contests!!!! Should be great fun...
Ok, back to the adventure... Right now, the last set of images are uploading... Soon as they are complete, I will add them to this note and away I will go to see the
sheepdogs work!!!
I have changed the name of this adventure to the Colorado/Utah Update... I do this because I on the 6th, I think it was, I ended up in Utah.. Did not plan to go there
this soon, but it happened... After my last update, I went driving around and at one of the visitor centers, someone said I should consider going to Rangley and
maybe even Dinosaur National Monument.. So, I headed that way!!! I ended up spending the night in the Rangley Camper Park in town.. For 15 dollars, I got to
sleep under a bright night light!! Did not know it was there until things got dark!!! And, it rained... People back home need rain, well, we got it here.. Where I go
there is rain.. Anyone want to hire me???? One thing lead to another and before long I had crossed the Utah state line and was headed to the west side of DNM..
When I got to the entrance point, I learned that I had just missed the last tour bus of the day, at 1:15 PM!!!!!!!! But, for 50 cents I could buy a guide for a driving tour
of the park, on the west side.. I bought it, and headed out.. Ended up being good fun, but, it started raining and I had to sit through it and then continue on.. Also, I
meed very interesting people.. At one point I met Don. Don writes computer programs for the a meat packing plant so they will know how to cut each animal up to the
best and most our of each animal!!! Who knew they were using computers to butcher cows!!!!!!! At the end of the road was the Josie Morris Cabin.. This lady lived
out here in the boonies fro 50 years, by herself.. Was married about 4 times, had some kids, had a lot of divorces, etc... She lived in this cabin until 1964, when at
the age of 90 she fell and broke a hip.. She died from complications the hip!!!
It was late when I finished this part of the tour, so I ended up taking a campsite in the park. While there I noticed someone had a really neat trailer that they were
pulling behind a car.. Later I met the fellow who had it, learned about it and him.. Nice fellow to chat with.. He too was on vacation from a job in Oklahoma.. He works
for a company that services the big windmills that are going up around the country.. Yesterday morning, he and I ended up taking the same tour bus to see the
dinosaur digs.. Actually the digs are off limits right now as there is some major construction work going on there but they will be open later this year.. What one gets
now is just a sample of the real thing... After the tour was over we each head off in opposite directions. He was headed to Yellowstone....
Having seen the west side of he park, now I was ready for the east side.. So, off I went.. Made a couple of wrong turns getting there, but managed to arrive.. There
are no fossils on the east side, just a huge canyon, which is really neat to see. But, one should be there at noon to see it.. I got there late and the shadows were an
issue for photos!!! The one thing I did do that was super neat was to take the Harper Point Trail at the end of the drive.. This one mile(two for round trip) is really
neat. It is a must do! And, if I had 4x4 transportation, I could have done the Echo Canyon road.. You can see part of it in the images!!! After the hike, which ended at
6:30 PM, I headed east.. Ended up sleeping on a BLM road for the night then came here to Meeker to do the updates etc...
In the images, and there should be three sets, you will see the trip I took.. There is not a lot to say about it, just images to look at... So, if you have the time, browse
through the images and see if you can image being with me..
Now it is time to go watch the sheepdogs work!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627500773817/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627501140493/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627501386971/show/
2011-09-08, Later afternoon update.. Meeker Classic, Sheepdog Trials.
For those who read this mornings update, you will know that I met a really neat lady and her husband here at the Meeker library... They invited me to go see the
sheepdog trials, and they gave me a free pass to get in.. I went, and it was great fun.... Too bad I will not be staying for the finals this coming Sunday!!! I met people
from all over the USA... And, I mean all over... These people travel long distances to compete in these events!!!!!! And the real fun is watching the dogs.. They are so
alert all the time.. When you watch this set, notice the expression on the dogs faces as they watch the other dogs compete!!! It is amazing!!!!
In the set you will notice one lady who has on a jacket that has her dogs image painted on the back.. I understand the ladies son-in-law painted it and shipped it to her
to wear at this event!!!!!!!!
The images set is rather long, so consider that before watching the slideshow!!! It aimed at people who like this sort of thing!!!!!!!
Ok, back on the road!! Have a lot of miles still to go!!!!!!!!!
Many Thanks to Susan and Mark for getting me to the show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627502792607/show/
2011-09-13, Colorado Update Number 11
Colorado/Utah Update
Greetings from Estes Park, Colorado!! Once again I am in one of my favorite offices, McDonalds!!! I went by the library this morning to use the wifi there, but I got
there too early, so I ended up here, where I uploading the images I will be sharing with this update, provided the wifi here continues to carry me.. Sometimes the
amount of bandwidth I use causes me to have issues, but I think this is going to work out okay, if not, I have to pack up and head to a new location!!!!
I think the last time I sent out an update was back in Meeker, after the sheepdog show... So, I will start there.. I left the library there, ate a burger at a local place then
headed out... My goal was to get to a camping area near Leadville that I had been to before... Somewhere along the way, I elected to take a shortcut through the back
country, on some dirt roads!! I made it, but it got a little hairy a few times, but got to see some new country!!!!!!! A few things that I ran on to that got my attention was
the number of deer hunters that were moving into the mountains for the hunting season.. I think each animal they kill will cost them about 50,000 dollars, judging from
the big rigs I saw!!!!! Looking at my map, I saw that I was to be driving along the West Muddy Creek.. When I got there, I understood why is was named as such... The
image will show that the creek really is muddy!!! On one of the dirt road that goes through Kebler Pass, I found my first yellow aspen leaf!!!
I drove though Crested Butte, then headed for Cottonwood Pass. To get there, I had to pass by Taylor Reservoir... It is just a lake, but it is in a neat setting!! I drove
over Cottonwood Pass, and up to Clear Creek Reservoir, where I spent the night!!! The next morning, the 10th, I had to do some serious car cleaning, so I could get
my buddy Bob in the car with me!!! I was to pick him up at the Denver Airport later this day!! When the car was repacked, I headed into Leadville, went to the local
laundry mat where there is showers for sale!!! For 5 dollars I was able to get cleaned up and ready to be seen in the public again!!!! At 12 noon, I left Leadville and
headed for the airport.. Along the way I called the airline to get parking instructions.. I got the info, plus I learned Bob was coming in early, which would be good for
both of us..
At about 3:30 PM, Bob arrived at the baggage claim, where we picked up his bag and off we went!! We had been invited to spend the night at our friends home in
Loveland, and that is here we headed!!! At about 5:30 PM, we arrived there, and were welcomed in by Rich and Nancy Krebs who have a beautiful home!!! We were
wined and dined and given the run of the home.. Was great fun!!!
Sunday morning, the 11th, Bob, Rich, and I, packed up and headed towards Rocky Mountain National Park, where we planned to spend the day doing photo stuff...
Rich had brought his BMW convertible, so using this as our photo car, we let the top down and headed out to find elk.. Bob and Rich had telephoto lens to do such
things.. I did not have a long lens, so I was the background guy!!! But, with that said, we got lucky!! We happened on to a herd of elk that were close to the road, so a
telephoto lens was not all that necessary.. However, a lot of people got toooo close to the elk, as you can see in the images... Nobody got hurt, but the potential was
there!!! I thing everyone got carried away with the photo thing, including me, but it was fun!! I have included a lot of elk photos in this update!!!
Rich went home at the end of the day. Bob had rented a campsite for two days, so when Rich left, Bob and I head to camp... On the 12th, Bob and I drove the Fall
Creek Road, and then returned on the Trail Ridge Road.. We got a few good images along the way, and a few are in the image set... The interesting part of this day
was that at the falls, I saw a photographer using some big equipment to take images of the falls. I went over to visit and found out he was one of my photo buddies
from back home!! He too was out running around doing the same thing we were... His name is Jim Kyle, and the produces some really neat images as he travels... I
learned to use the histogram on my camera from talking to him at the club meetings!! Jim then camped across the road from us last night, then brought us coffee this
morning!! Real coffee, not the instant stuff I often use!!!!!
It is now near 10 AM, the images are uploaded, Bob is sitting outside doing coffee and waiting for me to finish this, mail it, and then get back on the road.. I think we
are headed for Moab, UT. Note, in the image set, you will see Bob doing what he does best, take naps at the end of a long day!!! He looks dead, but a little nap gives
him a new lease on life and he is ready to go again!!
OK, I will end here, get this set out, then get back on the road.. The image set shared is long, so be warned... Several days are included....
Stayed tuned.. We have about two more weeks to go!!!!!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627538096801/show/
2011-09-16..... Colorado/Utah Update Number 12......
THE NIKON DIED TODAY!!!!!!!!!!
This ends the photo adventure for this trip.. From here on out, nothing.
THE NIKON DIED TODAY!!!!!!!!!!
This ends the photo adventure for this trip.. From here on out, nothing.
2011-09-19
Colorado/Utah Update, The Final Update
Greetings from the Tri-County Library in Bicknell, Utah.. It is 2:45 PM, as I start this note... For days now I have been traveling without a place to connect to the
internet and share my latest and last update!! Later in this message I will tell you more, but at the moment, Bob is taking his nap back at the Sunglow Campground
about a mile from here, while I upload the last images, and type up the this last note... I looked everywhere for an internet connection, but could find none that would
support what I needed to do here.. Then, by chance I drove into Bicknell, saw a sign for the library, drove around until I found it, came in, talked to the nice lady at
the front desk, and asked if wifi was available here.. She said it sure was and invited me to come in and do whatever I needed to do.. So, here I am in a really neat
little hometown library with what seems to be really good internet service and a great place to sit and work.. Nice surprises are always a treat.. This is one of
those!!!!!!!!
On the 16th of this month, my photo/note updates to friends and family, more or less came to an end, thanks to Nikon. At about 3:00 PM, I was in Canyonlands
National Park, taking photos with my friend Bob Gestel, when all of a sudden my camera stopped working. On the image monitor, there was a message that said I
had an error. I had never seen this before, but had the manual with me, so back to the car I went to see what I had to do to get rid of this message, and get on with
my photos... When I checked the manual, it said that for this error, I had to call Nikon!!!!!! Later that evening, back at our campsite in Moab, I called Nikon.. Leo, the
service rep, walked me through several “reset” functions to try and get rid of the error.. Nothing worked.. He then told me he had bad news for me.. The camera had
to go back to Nikon to correct the issue!!!!!!!!!! NO, this cannot be.. I still have places to go and images to record and share!!!!!!!!! I told him I had traveled all this
way, and the second day in Utah, the Nikon had died!!! I mentioned that I was traveling with a friend that had a DSLR.. Leo suggested that I share photos with my
buddy.. I told him I guessed I would, and that my buddy had a CANON, which never gave him problems!!!!!!!! I am not sure Leo wanted to hear this... Bottom line, my
photo thing was over for this trip... The camera had to go back to NIKON. This all happened on the 16th.. On the 17th, I wrote a letter to NIKON, explained the
situation, then went to the local UPS office, and for 20 dollars, I mailed the body back to Nikon... From friends and family, there were suggestions of getting another
camera here and continue shooting, but there are no camera shops within 200 miles, as far as I know!!!!!! I have a couple of small pocket cameras with me, but
neither take very good images.. Certainly not good enough to share...
An image set will included with this message, but before you start to look at it, be warned, it is a long one, so do not start it unless you have plenty of time to watch
it... This set is the combination of Arches National Monument, Dead Horse State Park, and some of Canyonlands National Park. I suppose I could have broken the
set up into smaller sets, and may do so later, but as things are, this seemed the best thing to do for now.
Speaking of warnings, I would like to admit to you that some of the images from Arches are a little bland at first, as when were having some really nasty weather at
the time we visited the park.. Also, you will find when you look at the image set, that there is what will appear to some as a lot of duplication. This is true and it is on
purpose.. Some of my followers and readers are photographers and ask to see several views of the same thing.. This gives up a chance to discuss what image
would be the better of the bunch.. You too can decide which one you think is best.. Also, my photo buddies like to talk about lighting and image cropping, so you will
see where I offered similar images of the same thing, for their entertainment about lighting and cropping, etc.. If you are not a photo person, you might be a bit
bored... But, after a few images, the topic will change, so hang in there!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am monitoring the uploading of the images and looks like they are about to finish, if all goes well... So while they finish, I will tell you a little about our travels... Bob
and I arrived in Moab in a fairly heavy rain, once camped, we drove back up hwy 128 and tried to get a few share images.. We did, and you saw those in the last
update... The day after we arrived, we chose to visit Arches NP.. Super neat park, but the rainy weather was still in the area and presented a lot of challenges for us,
in terms of being able to get the type of images we wanted... The lighting was really flat.. Dull might be a better word.. That said, it did get better in the day!! For our
visit to the park, we stopped at all the popular points.. It goes without saying that there are millions of photos taken in this park every year, and many of them will be
great, but, where would you see them??? Most people do not share their images.. So, of the millions taken here and at the other parks, you are getting to see the
small number that are shared.. Hope you like them...
I have to say that one of the neatest parts of adventure trips like this one, is the people you meet.. At Arches NP, Bob and one met one of those special people.. Her
name was Kristina. She was very, very, attractive and had one of those beautiful personalities you wish everyone had... We met her, because she saw Bob I and I
taking turns taking photos of each other, so she offered to take a photo of Bob and I together. The she offered to let Bob be in the photo I took of her with her
camera.. Well one thing lead to another, and before long she was in all of our photos!!!! Great lady, beautiful, and was just a treat to be around.. She told us she
was from New York, but had moved to Denver for a new job.. She was in in the park just being a tourist like us, while she waited for her job to start in Denver the next
week...
Bob and finished out visit to Arches, went back and camped again in the same campground we had the night before.. The next day we were off to Dead Horse and
Canyonlands.. Once again, not only did we see beautiful country, but we met more neat people.. This time we met May and Jackie, from Nashville, TN, I think they
said... They too were out being tourist.. Oddly enough, I remembered seeing them at Arches, then when Bob and I got to Capitol Reef, we met them again in the
visitor center... Small world , full of neat people...
On the 16th, in Canyonlands, Bob and I were doing what we do, when all of a sudden, for no reason that I could think of, my Nikon died.. Well actually, it stopped
working and an error message appeared on the monitor. From there you know the story... Back to car, read the manual, it said call Nikon, I did, they said it had to be
returned, and on the 17th, I mailed it from Moab... Now, I am just riding around being a tourist without a camera.. Actually, I have two small Canon cameras, but
neither are large enough to produce the quality I like to share...
On the 17th, I think it was, Bob and I arrived in Capitol Reef. We signed up for three nights of camping. There are AWESOME photo possibilities here!!!!!! But!!!!!
And then then yesterday we really got a treat when we drove the Burr Trail, out of Boulder, UT.. There were some awesome places there that would have made for
neat photos!!!
Today, the 19th, Bob has been hiking and doing photos, and I have been trying to get the images ready for this update. And, once again, I met one of those super
neat people that seems to keep showing up while I am traveling.. Today that super person is Faund Jackson. She is the librarian here at the library where I am.. As it
turns out, when I gave her one of my social cards, she saw the photo website I have and then she tells me she too is into photgraphy.. WOW, is she ever.. After we
talked awhile, she showed me the blog where she shares some of her work.. In my opinion, her work is just the best I have seen in ages.. It is awesome.. You have to
check it out when you have time... Her blog address is http://faundimages.blogspot.com/.. And, she is an artist, in several media. She did the art work on the walls in
this library. She does publishing, work, etc, etc, etc.. I was lucky to have been able to visit with her and see her work while she had some free time here at the
library.... When you see her work, I know you will be as impressed as I was!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK, it is near 4:30 PM... I need to wrap this up, get it sent out, update my website, then get back to camp and check on Bob.. He was taking a nap when I left.. Said I
would not be gone long, but I lied!! That happens when I meet neat people and start visiting!!!!!!!!!
The shared images are in the link below.. This will be the last share for this trip, I think... Hope you enjoy them....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627708160760/show/
Colorado/Utah Update, The Final Update
Greetings from the Tri-County Library in Bicknell, Utah.. It is 2:45 PM, as I start this note... For days now I have been traveling without a place to connect to the
internet and share my latest and last update!! Later in this message I will tell you more, but at the moment, Bob is taking his nap back at the Sunglow Campground
about a mile from here, while I upload the last images, and type up the this last note... I looked everywhere for an internet connection, but could find none that would
support what I needed to do here.. Then, by chance I drove into Bicknell, saw a sign for the library, drove around until I found it, came in, talked to the nice lady at
the front desk, and asked if wifi was available here.. She said it sure was and invited me to come in and do whatever I needed to do.. So, here I am in a really neat
little hometown library with what seems to be really good internet service and a great place to sit and work.. Nice surprises are always a treat.. This is one of
those!!!!!!!!
On the 16th of this month, my photo/note updates to friends and family, more or less came to an end, thanks to Nikon. At about 3:00 PM, I was in Canyonlands
National Park, taking photos with my friend Bob Gestel, when all of a sudden my camera stopped working. On the image monitor, there was a message that said I
had an error. I had never seen this before, but had the manual with me, so back to the car I went to see what I had to do to get rid of this message, and get on with
my photos... When I checked the manual, it said that for this error, I had to call Nikon!!!!!! Later that evening, back at our campsite in Moab, I called Nikon.. Leo, the
service rep, walked me through several “reset” functions to try and get rid of the error.. Nothing worked.. He then told me he had bad news for me.. The camera had
to go back to Nikon to correct the issue!!!!!!!!!! NO, this cannot be.. I still have places to go and images to record and share!!!!!!!!! I told him I had traveled all this
way, and the second day in Utah, the Nikon had died!!! I mentioned that I was traveling with a friend that had a DSLR.. Leo suggested that I share photos with my
buddy.. I told him I guessed I would, and that my buddy had a CANON, which never gave him problems!!!!!!!! I am not sure Leo wanted to hear this... Bottom line, my
photo thing was over for this trip... The camera had to go back to NIKON. This all happened on the 16th.. On the 17th, I wrote a letter to NIKON, explained the
situation, then went to the local UPS office, and for 20 dollars, I mailed the body back to Nikon... From friends and family, there were suggestions of getting another
camera here and continue shooting, but there are no camera shops within 200 miles, as far as I know!!!!!! I have a couple of small pocket cameras with me, but
neither take very good images.. Certainly not good enough to share...
An image set will included with this message, but before you start to look at it, be warned, it is a long one, so do not start it unless you have plenty of time to watch
it... This set is the combination of Arches National Monument, Dead Horse State Park, and some of Canyonlands National Park. I suppose I could have broken the
set up into smaller sets, and may do so later, but as things are, this seemed the best thing to do for now.
Speaking of warnings, I would like to admit to you that some of the images from Arches are a little bland at first, as when were having some really nasty weather at
the time we visited the park.. Also, you will find when you look at the image set, that there is what will appear to some as a lot of duplication. This is true and it is on
purpose.. Some of my followers and readers are photographers and ask to see several views of the same thing.. This gives up a chance to discuss what image
would be the better of the bunch.. You too can decide which one you think is best.. Also, my photo buddies like to talk about lighting and image cropping, so you will
see where I offered similar images of the same thing, for their entertainment about lighting and cropping, etc.. If you are not a photo person, you might be a bit
bored... But, after a few images, the topic will change, so hang in there!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am monitoring the uploading of the images and looks like they are about to finish, if all goes well... So while they finish, I will tell you a little about our travels... Bob
and I arrived in Moab in a fairly heavy rain, once camped, we drove back up hwy 128 and tried to get a few share images.. We did, and you saw those in the last
update... The day after we arrived, we chose to visit Arches NP.. Super neat park, but the rainy weather was still in the area and presented a lot of challenges for us,
in terms of being able to get the type of images we wanted... The lighting was really flat.. Dull might be a better word.. That said, it did get better in the day!! For our
visit to the park, we stopped at all the popular points.. It goes without saying that there are millions of photos taken in this park every year, and many of them will be
great, but, where would you see them??? Most people do not share their images.. So, of the millions taken here and at the other parks, you are getting to see the
small number that are shared.. Hope you like them...
I have to say that one of the neatest parts of adventure trips like this one, is the people you meet.. At Arches NP, Bob and one met one of those special people.. Her
name was Kristina. She was very, very, attractive and had one of those beautiful personalities you wish everyone had... We met her, because she saw Bob I and I
taking turns taking photos of each other, so she offered to take a photo of Bob and I together. The she offered to let Bob be in the photo I took of her with her
camera.. Well one thing lead to another, and before long she was in all of our photos!!!! Great lady, beautiful, and was just a treat to be around.. She told us she
was from New York, but had moved to Denver for a new job.. She was in in the park just being a tourist like us, while she waited for her job to start in Denver the next
week...
Bob and finished out visit to Arches, went back and camped again in the same campground we had the night before.. The next day we were off to Dead Horse and
Canyonlands.. Once again, not only did we see beautiful country, but we met more neat people.. This time we met May and Jackie, from Nashville, TN, I think they
said... They too were out being tourist.. Oddly enough, I remembered seeing them at Arches, then when Bob and I got to Capitol Reef, we met them again in the
visitor center... Small world , full of neat people...
On the 16th, in Canyonlands, Bob and I were doing what we do, when all of a sudden, for no reason that I could think of, my Nikon died.. Well actually, it stopped
working and an error message appeared on the monitor. From there you know the story... Back to car, read the manual, it said call Nikon, I did, they said it had to be
returned, and on the 17th, I mailed it from Moab... Now, I am just riding around being a tourist without a camera.. Actually, I have two small Canon cameras, but
neither are large enough to produce the quality I like to share...
On the 17th, I think it was, Bob and I arrived in Capitol Reef. We signed up for three nights of camping. There are AWESOME photo possibilities here!!!!!! But!!!!!
And then then yesterday we really got a treat when we drove the Burr Trail, out of Boulder, UT.. There were some awesome places there that would have made for
neat photos!!!
Today, the 19th, Bob has been hiking and doing photos, and I have been trying to get the images ready for this update. And, once again, I met one of those super
neat people that seems to keep showing up while I am traveling.. Today that super person is Faund Jackson. She is the librarian here at the library where I am.. As it
turns out, when I gave her one of my social cards, she saw the photo website I have and then she tells me she too is into photgraphy.. WOW, is she ever.. After we
talked awhile, she showed me the blog where she shares some of her work.. In my opinion, her work is just the best I have seen in ages.. It is awesome.. You have to
check it out when you have time... Her blog address is http://faundimages.blogspot.com/.. And, she is an artist, in several media. She did the art work on the walls in
this library. She does publishing, work, etc, etc, etc.. I was lucky to have been able to visit with her and see her work while she had some free time here at the
library.... When you see her work, I know you will be as impressed as I was!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK, it is near 4:30 PM... I need to wrap this up, get it sent out, update my website, then get back to camp and check on Bob.. He was taking a nap when I left.. Said I
would not be gone long, but I lied!! That happens when I meet neat people and start visiting!!!!!!!!!
The shared images are in the link below.. This will be the last share for this trip, I think... Hope you enjoy them....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10908506@N03/sets/72157627708160760/show/