Sunday, July 26, 2009

Jameson Night & Food Experiences

Early in the summer we determined that the jug of Jameson Irish Whiskey we'd brought along was NOT going to be tapped by us. In fact, "hard likker" no longer has a place in our lifestyle. Knowing that a few of our friends here at the RV park enjoy this rather special Irish whiskey, we promised that somewhere down the road we'd host a campfire on the creekbank in our new camp firepit stove, furnish the Jameson, and call it "Jameson Night." Lately, a few hints had been laid that it was time, so early yesterday morning we decided tonight's the night and spread the word around camp.
Around 2 pm I was awakened from my nap on the sofa by thunder, as a severe storm swept through the area. For the next 3 hr. it hailed a little and rained a LOT....rain came down in buckets, the campfire stove was sitting in a puddle of water, chairs & wood were damp. We decided to cancel the Jameson Night.
One hour later the sun was shining, the puddle had dissipated, we dug out our dry extra chairs, and a source of dry wood was located! So, we were back ON with the on-again, off-again Jameson Night.
It was fun....the stove worked beautifully, we had a great fire, several friends appeared with their own chairs to join into the spirit (no pun intended) of the festivities, there were stories and laughs galore, and we got even better acquainted with some of our friends and neighbors. And the Jameson disappeared by the evening's end.
This morning neither of us is too bad off, but we both said, NO MORE of that until at least next summer! It's a cool day with intermittently rainy or sunny, perfect for staying in and licking our wounds a little.

Now, for a little catching up on some food adventures. Recently, we made a reservation and went to eat at the new downtown Cafe de Sol, which features an eclectic menu, heavy on Brazilian cuisine. The proprietress, Solange, is Brazilian and is the new wife of widower and Italian restauranteur Angelo, of the local Pasta Factory restaurant. It was a great dining experience, including the impromptu dance done by Solange as she selected CD's for the evening's background music. She's a real hoot, funny and very gregarious. The food was interesting and quite good; all meals are accompanied by sides of black beans and rice; even those entrees which include potatoes come with their sides of black beans and rice. We'll be ready for a repeat later this summer.

After one of our very active days last week we did a repeat appearance at Southern Vittles for their chicken-fried chicken tenders, french fries, and gravy....cheap and deeply satisfying.

On another similar day, when I just didn't want to prepare a meal in the evening, we called in a pizza order to Bruno's Grill/Restaurant. We've always heard the pizzas are good, but we were unprepared for how good! Being used to the rather skimpily attired pizzas you get nowadays at the normal franchise places, I ordered 2 12" pizzas, one each, with the toppings we always get. These turned out to be covered thick and deep with the ingredients we selected, taking me back to the days when Pappi's Pizza in Lee's Summit, Mo. was first in business. Yummy stuff. Very filling. So we had pizza for lunch yesterday (convection oven does a great job of rewarming), and have enough in the frig for at least another meal, maybe more. We were taken aback at the cost, but now that we're looking at 3+ meals, it ain't so bad after all!

We've not done much fishing lately, have been more into atv ventures, but did take a trip up to Sapinero Canyon last week, where Edmund did some fly fishing (no luck) and I did my usual sit-in-the-chair-and-wait-for-a-fish-to-bite thing. I actually had one on the hook, a very nice one, and up on the rocky bank when he flopped, threw the hook out and swam away. Just as well, one fish isn't worth messing with. Maybe if the weather is good in the mornings we'll go one day next week. A lot depends on how much we're tied up with the atv thing, we hope to learn more about delivery of our new one on Monday.

Life is good! As the senior citizens in this RV park, we've been told several times by our younger friends that we're their role models, when they reach our age they want to be as healthy and active and engaged in life as we appear to be. We always respond that we're both very fortunate, because no matter how well you take care of yourself, bad luck or just plain genetics-related problems can always set in. We are indeed fortunate.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Flowers at their Peak

On Thursday we did what is undoubtedly our last atv ride to American Basin on our current machine; we may do it again in September when we have the new machine, but actually the changing aspens aren't prominent in this particular area, it's mostly pine forest up there. But who knows? We change with the wind sometimes! We were a bit late getting started up the trail (left the staging area at 9:30 am, at least an hour later than normal for this venture), and as a consequence we encountered heavy traffic both going up and coming back. And at the Basin, itself, the available parking spaces and pulloffs were jammed...people and DOGS wandering everywhere we looked. It was like the whole world knew that the weather was going to turn rainy starting the next day (which it didn't, despite the forecast) and everyone for miles around decided to make the trip before bad weather set in.

On Thursday evening we participated in a Mexican potluck, called "Mexican Pile Up", meaning that a great variety of traditional and nontraditional 'fixings' were available, and you just pile up your plate with whatever you'd like to try. The ingredients included such items as pecans, flaked coconut, fluffy white rice, along with the more expected: ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, beans, onion, black olives, salsa, etc etc etc. And, of course, tortilla chips of all varieties. We took a large dish of King Ranch Chicken, always a hit, and contrary to several experiences with our contributions to potlucks here, we brought none of it home....it was slicked up very quickly. I couldn't help but think that the Mexican Pile Up concept would work well at a Vistoso Village monthly social gathering.

As we sat eating and visiting with a friend, we talked about our Am. Basin trip that day, and we all agreed that you never know what you'll see on one of these ventures. And our experiences on this trip bore that out.

For example, we came upon an unexpected scene on the way up: 6 artists were located at various positions on a hill, all working on a scene of the mountain valley we had just ridden through. I found this sight especially enchanting, the lady looked like a watercolor painting, herself, or like something out of a Renoir painting.
To reach American Basin we take a left just before the trail steepens, winds and switchbacks its way up and over Cinnamon Pass. If you continue to follow the Alpine Loop, it leads to Animas Forks (headwaters of the Animas River and at one time a very active mining site), from there the Loop circles up and over Engineer Pass and back to Lake City.
On this trip we turned into the Basin, forded the creek and drove all the way to the terminus of the "road" (for a short stretch this becomes a very narrow 4wd rocky trail), and from this point on only foot traffic is allowed. A number of walking paths lead visitors to key viewing/photography points and provide access to the farthest reaches of the Basin.
We always feel somewhat wobbly at this altitude so are careful to walk slowly, pick our way about, and respect the terrain's inclines. There's plenty for us to see without doing any serious hiking, but many people do venture the distances in quest of even better sights. Trekking poles, backpacks, tripods, cameras and camelback water supplies were in evidence everywhere we turned.
As mentioned previously, intensity of color is a hallmark of these alpine beauties. I find the blues and purples most spectacular.
We're certainly happy that we made the trip when we did; though the next day's weather was fine, Friday typically is a day when even more lookers, or I guess you'd call us 'flower peepers' (like leaf peepers?), arrive and congest the area to the max. Available parking becomes the limiting item.
Though the native Colorado State flower, the columbine, is the star of the show, I find that this year their color is rather anemic compared to previous years, and Edmund just agreed with this assessment. Still....even at this level, they ARE beautiful, and well worth the effort to see.
They grow singly, in patches, in clumps, in throngs, in paths that snake up the mountainsides and draw your eyes to the top where the sun silhouettes the peaks against skies that today vary from clear to cloudy.
Just as I get the camera focused for what seems like a good shot, a gusty breeze sets the bloom heads a-bobbing and flicking on their slender, delicate stems.

An emerging sunflower is a sturdier subject, standing stick-straight through all the gusty conditions.
Even with clouds and intermittent breezes, the sun at this elevation is intense and quite hot at this season. Of course, that's one good reason why this botanical show exists, along with the normal almost daily showers, plus the heavy winter snow blanket and resultant melt....all promoting prime germination conditions.

Friends in the rv park who were at the Basin before 7 am report that they saw both elk and moose during their outing the same day we went. A couple of hours, or the time of day, or a different day....any of these factors can bring a surprise. Like a giant hailstorm! Up in the mountains, it's not at all uncommon to experience hot sun, sleet, rain and hail all on the same day. Deer can appear at almost any time, but elk, moose and bears do have a more predictable pattern of behavior; seeing these is most common either very early or very late.
There's not a lot more to say about the flower show; I did try to include here some examples of the fast-changing light conditions. In addition to crowd avoidance, an early arrival provides better light for photography as the skies are more clear, the rising sun illuminates the face of the mountains that form the backdrop of American Basin, and the flowers are beautifully backlit.
On this occasion, we didn't make it early enough for the best conditions, partly because the trail was so crowded, requiring us to go into a wait mode in a pulloff a number of times when larger, slower vehicles were coming or going on what is frequently a one lane road. Trying to hurry or rush isn't advisable, could be dangerous to your health!


I do love the coloration of this particular columbine; this periwinkle blue is the deepest color of any we saw, many, many were simply white.

One last shot as Edmund patiently waits for me to quit....this time it was a dimming camera battery and a full bladder that sent me back to my chariot and driver!



So, off we went downhill, stopping at a spot where I could find seclusion in the woods to do what I had to do and this sight popped into my vision. And I did have some camera battery left, after all. I found the growths within the knotholes in this log so intriguing that as I squatted there I attempted to get photos to share in this blog. I didn't linger long, but did get decent results from the short time I remained in that squatting position!
A zoom into the largest of the knotholes reveals a virtual fairyland! Can't you just see Alice in Wonderland? This was just an amazing sight.
Another view of the fairyland worlds that exist in this old dead log.
As we proceeded on downhill and back to the staging area where we left the SUV and atv trailer, a marmot hammed it up for us. This guy was up on a rock when we first sighted him, posed for a while, then ran away a distance. Then he actually turned, came back and sat up on the rock again, posing and turning this way and that. What a ham!
Marmots are members of the same rodent family as the groundhog (woodchuck), with which I'm very familiar....they are considered pests back in my part of Missouri. These Yellow-Bellied Marmots, however, are somewhat more appealing than their cousins with their distinctive "masked" facial markings, bushier tail, and colorful pelt.
It was a delightful day, all in all, topped off by the community Mexican Pile Up potluck. We've decided not to chance any more rides on our atv before giving possession to the new owner, probably will culminate the deal this week and we don't want to risk running into a problem. So we're now in a waiting mode, hoping our new machine will arrive sooner, rather than later!





























Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Other Activities

Yesterday we awoke to a complete cloud cover and a day that looked unlikely for outdoor fun, so we decided to do a total, badly needed housecleaning. What came over us? By 10 am it was nice outside!
However, we needed to do it, we also needed to be home in the morning to accept the deposit on the sale of our ATV!
Yes, we've sold it, not to get out of this form of recreation, but to buy a newer model that incorporates power steering, a much desired innovation that makes the longer rides easier on the driver and as a result, more safe. Bottom line is, being tired in the arms and shoulders isn't a good idea on the trails we ride.
We got a better deal by selling our machine than on a tradein deal, so now we wait and watch for the new one to arrive in town, MAYBE by end of next week???
The buyer of our new machine is the local County Assessor, an interesting lady who put us onto a book we've ordered: Coffut's Grip-Sack Guide to Colorado, written in the late 1800's and describing the State as it then was. Carole's looked through the lady's copy, and it's fascinating.
We did complete our housekeeping chores, pigged out on leftover beef stew, and crashed early.
Today we took in the local Arts & Crafts Show, an annual event that's always well attended and fun to walk through. A friend's methodology sounds practical: "We don't buy anything we can't consume!" Guess we're at the same place, our big purchase was a plate of 'ribbon fries', which, if you don't know (and we didn't) means potatoes cut with a spiral cutter into long spiral strands of potato that are deep fried, broken apart and eaten either with seasoning salt of choice, or with melted cheese, ala nachos. A cardiac arrest treat! We at least forgoed the cheese.
We have leftovers to enjoy with our grilled brats for supper, along with an ear apiece of Olathe corn. Delish!
We've been to only one production at the local Mary Stigall Theater, a staging of "Always, Patsy Cline." It was well done and featured a gal who sings in the local chorus, as well as appears in a number of the other productions, including the Cloggers, that are available at the Theater.
We're enjoying our membership in Netflix; the movies come very fast, since they are shipped from Colorado Springs, and we're able to enjoy sometimes 3 a week, depending on how quickly we get them to the Post Office.
So far, we have not attended the weekly Wednesday night Bingo; Carole's attached to the TV on that night to watch "So You Think You Can Dance."
Looks right now like we're in for a windy, rainy evening, at least in the immediate future, but actually we need it. A few sunny days in a row like we've just enjoyed, and it starts drying up and the dust starts to fly. So come on, rain! We're settled in, can cook under the awning, and have a new movie to watch.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

American Basin

Last week we took an ATV ride to American Basin, with a stop at the Forest Service parking area near the old Sherman town site, and it was our great pleasure to have a brief visit with these young ladies, both college students, both engaged in a summer research project pertaining to their college major of Botany.
They had been hiking for 3 days in the adjacent public lands, aka U.S. Forest Service lands, gathering data for the project, and the cooling stream, they declared, felt wonderful on bare feet.
We were very attracted to the visual presented on the front of their rather old and battered vehicle, a Forest Service truck--it sported a robust winch, a government license, and a cowbell!!! We commented on the truck, and the ladies said, "She's a good old girl."
When they agreed to have their pic taken to appear in our blog, Carole, of course, invited them to click onto it and do as much vicarious living as they choose on either this one or the one from our Danube River cruise (http://ourdanubediscoveryrivercruise.blogspot.com/ ).
What began as a diversion to scout out the parking area for future ATV staging became a very pleasant interlude; it was uplifting to meet these young women who are obviously motivated to prepare for the future and are concurrently so obviously enjoying life along the way.
Before we reached American Basin and its typical flower display, along the way we were enchanted by this study in YELLOW.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the flowers in American Basin is the intensity, we well as variety, of color.
The snow is almost gone, now, replaced by lush green and the emerging mountain flowers. Carole judged that probably 75% of the columbine are not yet blooming, and we intend to go back probably July 23 (this week). We hope the showers that appear to be moving through the high elevations this week will keep 'em coming and prevent them from burning up in the hot sun we experienced up there on this trip.
More examples of what we saw last week, now about 5 days ago.






We'll have more to show later on, meanwhile other things are happening....















We made a quick decision early this week to make an ATV ride up Wager Gulch Trail to the ghost town of Carson. It's a trail that mainly follows alongside a stream that plummets downhill over the rocky terrain in cascades of small white waterfalls. These pinecones appear almost translucent against the lush green of the well-watered pine.
Carson was one of the most inaccessible mining camps in Colorado. It sits on top of the Continental Divide at an elevation of almost 12,000'. At its peak during the late 1890's and early 1900's 400-500 miners worked the mountaintop. Good gold and silver was found that sustained the town for several years, but undoubtedly the severe winters took their toll and miners found more friendly climate in which to work.
We had our lunch sitting on a huge (4' diameter) downed log adjacent to this stream, accompanied by the ever-present Colorado jay (Camp Robber Jay). He liked potato chips.

Bluebells, not to be confused with Texas Bluebonnets, by the stream reminded me of my 6th grade spring picnic in a huge patch of bluebells on Brush Creek bottom near my hometown in Missouri. They have always since been one of my favorite wildflowers.

Several abandoned buildings remain on site; the wooden structures are all highly polished now by the weathering process, and instead of turning dull gray as we expect to see in old abandoned buildings, these glow with a golden patina that's most attractive and appealing to photograph.
Here, at the Carson site sitting in a high meadow, the trail looks benign. Below, it's a steep, rocky descent that continuously jolts the body and taxes the driver's arms.
Makes us think that perhaps power steering on an ATV isn't such a bad idea. More on that later!




Saturday, July 18, 2009

After the Moose Show

After we exhausted the possibilities of watching the young bull moose, we drove on into the Deer Lakes campground area, hoping to catch sight of more wildlife, specifically moose. From the parking lot area and the lower lakes, nothing was around, so we quietly hiked to the upper lake, a more isolated location and all uphill. Though no wildlife appeared, the early morning stillness of the lake provided this lovely reflection scene.
Down below again, this panorama caught our attention. Though we've never had any luck fishing here, we always appreciate the relative peacefulness of the spot. Kinda like being in church, people always seem to be quiet when they are here, and the lack of through traffic and boats on the water add to the serenity.

On our walk to the upper lake and back, we spotted this large (@5" in dia.) fungus growth. We don't know a mushroom from a hayrake, so leave them alone for someone much more knowledgeable than we are!


The shortcut to the upper lake took us through a dense aspen stand; the light was ethereal as we approached the top of the grove of trees.

These delicate, but hardy, flowers blanketed the high meadow as we walked back downhill to the parking area.

In Missouri we called this Queen Anne's Lace; it grew as a weed on country roadsides. My book tells me it looks more like Yarrow. But unless you're into identification bigtime, it doesn't matter--it's pretty by any name.
A large family of these critters alternately frolicked and froze as we walked by their home territory.
The smallest ones, babies, were tiny, no bigger than my thumb, we sighted them only by their movement, and man, are they fast little buggers!

The wildlife hunting over with, we stopped on the way back into town at a high overlook called Windy Point. We hadn't actually stopped there for a couple of years, so the vista was awesome all over again, especially in the early morning light. By this time it was around 9 am, our shadows were still long as the sun was warming our backs.

This is Uncompahgre Peak, at full optical and digital zoom with our equipment. It has a broad summit plateau, rising abou 1500' above the surrounding alpine basins. The north face has a 700' cliff; the rock, volcanic in origin, is of poor quality for climbing.

And this is Red Mountain, again at full zoom.

Here you can see the distinctive silhouette of Uncompahgre, at 14,900', the sixth highest mountain peak in Colorado, and the highest peak of the San Juan Mountains. It's located in a wilderness area in northern Hinsdale Co., about 7 mi. west of Lake City. Though the cliff face side is virtually inaccessible, the mt. can be accessed by hikers from the east-southeast; the trail is a strenuous hike rising 2919' elevation in @3.5 mi. Needless to say, we're satisfied to view it from a distance!

Here's a view with Red Mountain on the left, and Uncompahgre on the mid-right. The sign says it all!