Breckenridge

We left camp @ 9:30 am after our usual coffee on arising, then breakfast at Poker Alice. We gassed up in Gunnison, calculated that the price/gal. is 50 cents less than at The Sportsman in L.C. We haven't bought much gas there this summer.
We passed up our usual lunch stop at Buena Vista (Jan's Restaurant), knowing we'd hit right on schedule with the after church crowd, and motored on to Fairplay, where we ate at the Brown Burro on Highway 9. Very good. E had a buffalo burger; I had taco salad. Recommend it, despite the huge crowd it was a pleasant lunch stop. The help all appeared to be happy, and that says something.
We arrived in Breck @3 pm, were able to immediately check in to our well equipped, well furnished, studio accommodation (Marriott's Mountain Lodge). We had a good dinner at Eric's in the Basement, a place where we often ate during our skiing years. Prices these years later are higher, but still reasonable by today's standard.
We both felt tired and could hardly wait till what we like to consider our earliest allowed bedtime: 9 pm. Strangely, both of us had rather sleepless nights, "drifting", as we call it, not a sound sleep but going in and out of that twilight zone that isn't so restful. We know that altitude can cause sleep problems, but can 1000' more make a difference? Perhaps, since today we both have had loggy legs walking around town, and low energy. We're being kind to ourselves, really lazy today.
We've walked Main Street, did some nostalgia stuff talking about our good times, and the not so good (torn rotator cuff, E) times here. We had breakfast at a French cafe, outstanding! And a very late lunch of to-die-for New Eng. clam chowder at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Factory. We figure we'll gain 5 lb. this week, based on the first day's eating! Maybe we'll stay in for sliced turkey and cheese deli (walked to the market this morning, too) meat sandwiches this evening. We are still feeling lazy, and quite stuffed as well. And the weather's turned very cool and blustery outside, staying in is looking good.

Am adding this edit much later, on Sept. 21, as I realize we had more to say about our week in Breck. Let's see, I fell in love with wheat beer, something I tasted in Europe but sampled again throughout this week where there were sooooo many breweries and bar/restaurants. We spent many hours simply wandering the town, revisiting the many spots that became so familiar during our skiing days.

We made 2 trips to the magnetic Walmart Supercenter in Avon, west of Vail @ 10 mi. We stocked up on and froze @20 lb. of meat to take back to LC, plus all kinds of what seem like important incidentals when they're not available! We viewed the scene of E's "crash and burn" ski accident that tore his rotator cuff; the area sure looks different in the summer, even appears rather sweet and gentle now with no snow coverage.

We enjoyed the municipal golf club practice range, in a week's time, between the 2 of us, we hit umpty-ump buckets of bright yellow balls onto their lush, green practice area. The golf club is really a lovely place, 27 holes, and can be played rather reasonably (that's all relative, folks!) in the late afternoon. The clubhouse has a spacious patio overlooking a verdant view, with flowerbeds and flowerpots abloom everywhere you look. We enjoyed lunch and, in my case, some of that wheat beer (E opts for more traditional stuff) several times.

One of the week's highlights was our get-together with Signe Pedersen and her group of lifelong girlfriends, at the condo where they headquartered for a few days. We had a wonderful evening with the gals (we think of them now as the YaYa Sisterhood); following a riotous Happy Hour, they provided us a great dinner and more merriment as we all reminisced, told our "life stories", explored how everyone is connected, and discussed our future plans. Uppermost in the Plans category was Signe's impending wedding to Ray Anderson just after Labor Day. And, of course we talked with love about our dear departed Howard, it was so good to honor his memory with much laughter and joy instead of tears. Our memories of Howard now are centered around the many fun times, jokes and experiences we shared, rather than the months when we watched and waited for his inevitable death and shared Signe's grief.

Later in the week, on Thursday, we drove to Beaver Creek and met Flory and Joe Bourne for lunch, followed by a tour of the facilities where they own their timeshare, Post Montane. We enjoyed a leisurely visit with Joe and Flory; typically, when we see one another it's with a crowd of other people around, so on this occasion we were able to have more one-on-one conversation than usual....nice! The company, the food, the ambiance and the weather were all magnificent.

We had an uneventful trip back to LC, a trip that's becoming routine in a way, but is always beautifully different, nonetheless.

American Basin in Late August

This week we rather impetuously decided, late in the morning, to see what American Basin looks like in mid/late August. This is what we saw....a few hardy columbines survive, thistles are working their way up to a second blooming, and other varieties normally overshadowed by the earlier sumptuous columbine bloom take on more importance in the scenes. Sunflowers are in their last throes, their faces uniformly turned to the sun like parading soldiers facing the honor stand; here a patch of the new and the old present a vivid picture of their cycle of life...

the tiny tundra blooms maintain their tenacious hold on the rocky terrain, and on life....

all of which are well worth the trip up the mountains to see.

We did this trip on the ATV and plan to do it again when the aspens have turned golden to see yet another version of this lovely high country spot.

Fly Fishing

Edmund has more seriously done some fly fishing, in catch and release stream areas, this year. This beauty hit his line on the Lake Fork River north of L.C., where the river runs along the edge of Highway 149. It's a public lands area, has good access and parking, and several of the folks who enjoy flyfishing have had good luck in that area this year.
This fish got its reprieve, after the photo op (I was handy with the camera) it swam away to freedom and further growth. We didn't measure, but it was @ 16", for anyone who cares about statistics. Color on these stream rainbows is much more vivid than those we catch at the lake. Plus they fight like tigers, so the experience is more exciting. This is the first time E has actually netted from the flyrod, previously he's just pulled them to the bank and released them.
He's going out again today to see if he can repeat.

Tepee Party & Fish Fry

Last Tues. evening we were treated to a grand evening when one of our RV park trailerites (Sue) hosted a "come one, come all" party at her family's tepee. Another rv'er took this picture of us (tepee in background) sitting on the deck.
Sue's family owns a mountain property out on Cinnamon Pass Road where they've built a huge wooden deck and on it have erected a big, big tepee. We are amazed at the comfort and amenities they've achieved, without benefit of electricity, of course. The tepee's diameter is probably 30' at the base, and is proportionately tall, is structured of heavy canvas, rope and poles. The deck, beyond what holds the tepee, extends another 20 or so feet on one side, making a sorta rectangle 20x50 for outdoor living, plenty of room for @40 of us to be comfortably seated in lawn chairs with walk-around room left over. Inside, Sue had 2 huge pots of chili going, various libations, desserts (everyone brought food galore to augment the hostess' chili); outside were more libations, appetizers, and grilled hotdogs/condiments.
We always say we look best in hats and sunglasses; this pic is proof positive! The atmosphere was very relaxed and a good time was had by all.
Sue and her family left the tepee up all last winter; heavy snow caused some pole breakage and they may take it down this fall. They use the retreat for various gatherings and family reunions, and though Sue maintains a trailer in our park, she enjoys time at the tepee with her little doggies.
The next evening the RV park residents all joined in a fish fry potluck, always a good food event. Several people who're professionally involved in the Texas schools system were on the move by the next day, heading for home and another school year, so the potluck was scheduled to bid them farewell for the season. Two additional rigs left the next morning for Oklahoma, retirees who were ready to move on for the rest of the season. All in all, we lost 4 "regulars" this week, a sure sign that the season is winding down.
We've made a decision to leave in time to be home Sept 24 and have so advised our caretaker and neighbors. The local wine festival is the 20th, and fall colors will be in their full glory, so after the 20th we're pretty ready to head home and take up life back in Oro Valley.
We miss our friends and our life there, but are contentedly looking forward to the rest of the summer here, as well.

Bucks, Ducks and Fawns

Yesterday was the local Ducky Derby, and since we had 3 little duckies in the race with $1200 first prize at stake, we turned out, after doing the laundry in the a.m., for the 1 pm race start. While we waited for the big event, these 3 bucks (we call them the "townies") chose to join the Derby audience alongside Henson Creek. We quickly turned our attention from the duckies drifting down the creek to the Lake Fork River to the close-up view of these bucks calmly grazing along the adjacent ballfield.

A morning walk through the RV park gave us the opportunity to catch these twin fawns grazing with their mom just above the trailers parked opposite ours. Mom stayed deep in the shadows, but I was able to capture the spots on these twin babies when they sallied into a sunnier spot.
The load of duckies was dumped into the rushing creek just outside the RV park, but since we haven't received that desired phone call....guess we didn't win, again this year.

Meanwhile, we enjoyed getting up close and personal with the largest of the 3 bucks. They are a bit nervous, but fairly tame till a sharp noise spooks them.
They banqueted on the creekside foliage while the camera snapped away for a good 10 minutes. Very cooperative wildlife models!

Engineer Pass at Another Season

Early in the summer we did an ATV ride to Engineer Pass, when there was still 10 ft. of snow at the roadside in one spot. We did a repeat of this ride in early August to see the scenery in a different summer decor. Where once dandelions bloomed in a riot of yellow, we see only their windblown seedheads spread in drifts and awaiting their chance at life next June. The predominant flower now are these wild daisies, their color more and more intensely purple as we gain altitude. In June we saw surreal snowscapes all along the road-to-mountains expanses; these slopes are blanketed now with alpine tundra wildflowers.

The temperature at 12000+ ft. was cool enough to demand hat and jacket; clouds of flies and other insects followed us to our every stop, making lunch a challenge. Bugs tried to beat us to our sandwiches. We battled them, unsuccessfully, and finally bolted down what we could and beat an early retreat.
The new growth on the blue spruce is indeed blue; the cones are healthy and thick this year.
Giant waterfalls still course down the mountainsides, testament to the continuing snowmelt at the top elevations.
Young aspens remain bowed from the large winter snowfall (200" down in town at L.C.) and this particular area obviously suffered an avalanche; on the opposite side of the road a grove of young aspens lie broken off at about 3-4 ft. from the ground.

At the top we see remnants of last winter's snowfall, and new snow is not far behind.

Town temperatures are in the 30's at night now; people who know tell me some of the flowers at American Basin show signs of freeze.

The clouds, tundra flowers and changing colors make a feast for the eyes,
and the mountains seem even more rugged and intimidating at this season. We expected snow last night (Aug. 16) on the visible mts., but we didn't get the moisture that blanketed the areas more northeast of us. Today's been blustery and cold, and we saw wild canaries along the creekside early this morning, a first sighting. Appears that the birds are migrating through on the way south!

East Meets West

This title is annually applied to a program presented at te local Black Crooke Theater in downtown L.C., and the moniker aptly describes a unique dance fusion presentation featuring the Magdalene Dance Troupe (aka belly dancers) and the Lake City Lakettes (aka cloggers). We've attended this show now twice, and it only gets better each time, as do the dancers.
This year a most notable belly dancer was little Zoe Worthen; she is unbelievable! Of course, her mother, Danielle, is very good as well, but seeing this young lady, we're guessing 11 years old, exhibit the finesse, grace and polish of a mature, trained dancer just left my jaw hanging open. What a future she has! It doesn't hurt that she's pretty and charming, as well.
Notable also was the presence of Mary Nettleton in the clogger lineup. Introduced as probably the only blind clogger in the nation, Mary and her husband Ed reside in L.C., and she's active in many, many pursuits....I've personally witnessed her in action in the alto section of the local chorus. Mary's simply unstoppable; we see her everywhere. With Ed, or with her dog assistant, she walks wherever she wishes, participates in every walk of life, and is everyone's friend. In fact, I was seated next to her in the audience at a chorus concert several years ago, she heard my voice during an audience participation number, and instantly invited me to join the chorus, which I did for our 2 previous summers here. Not this year, as I am away too much to stay up with practices, but maybe again next summer.
The dancing groups are so enjoyable, just on the face of it, but little Zoe and Mary make the whole experience so very special.

Pix from Carol & Ed Hovasse

A few days ago Ed & Carol e-mailed these pix taken during their time in L.C. This shot of the American Basin columbine is a beauty, but... even prettier are the self-satisfied looks on the 2 Eds' faces after their nice catch in the lake above Vickers Ranch where Hovasses stayed for two weeks. These were the largest trout they caught anywhere.
Another happy fisherman pic!
Our first fishing expedition was at the boat dock at San Cristobal Lake where we comfortably sat in our chairs and had a great time of it. We all caught what Carol and Edmund are showing off here, and feasted on it that evening.
Though the fellows did a lot of Catch and Release trout fishing, such as their day on the East Fork of the Powderhorn, we also did some what we call Catch and Eat trout fishing, at the lake where trout are periodically "planted" and trout population conservation isn't an issue.

Friends and Flowers

Toward the end of Ed & Carol's stay in L.C. they rented a jeep in order for all 4 of us to get to see American Basin at the peak of the wildflower season. Ed did the driving, Edmund and I got a taste of what it's like to ride in the back seat of a 4WD jeep on a very rough road. We went to the terminus of the "road" where only foot traffic can progress from that point on. We started out quite early, so were among the first to reach the parking area. By the time we left, vehicles were streaming into the area.
We got to see the scenes in their early morning glory, as the sun hit the basin from the east.

This photo of friend Martha Neely, taken by her husband Greg, was from about a week earlier, when the weather was much cooler.
Edmund admires the native columbine, now in full bloom.

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a few portrait shots in such a lovely background.

Antique Auto Show

On August 24 the 2008 Gunnison Antique Auto Show reached Lake City; the autos all made the 50-mi. drive from Gunnison in time for lunch and exhibition time in front of the Hinsdale Co. Museum in downtown L.C.
The details were amazing; spit and polish doesn't describe it. The work that's gone into these old autos is obviously a labor of love.

This old Holsum Bread truck was a real attraction.
The back end of this one was as interesting as the front, with the wicker hamper and a license plate that tells more of the story.... What a twist!

We saw cars we'd never heard of...
The much-needed oilcan was handy...

How's this for a vintage pickup truck?
A friend took this pic of the exhibition from far atop a mountain above town, with her super zoom lens. There were somewhere near 25 vintage cars present.

A highlight was when 102-year old L.C. native Margaret Brown sat in the 1903 Peerless auto first owned by her grandfather in L.C. and has been absent for over 50 years. It's now owned by M. Barber and regularly driven on the London to Brighton vintage car race in England and was part of Horseless Carriage Club of America's southwest Colorado tour.

We were attracted to this Cadillac
and enjoyed this owner's sense of humor.