Quick update

Just have a minute waiting for lunch at the handy internet-equipped Bongo Billy's before taking off for a paddle on the Arkansas River. I know I have lots to catch up on, blogging-wise, starting with our hike Monday along the Continental Divide to Waterdog Lakes. Here's a sample of the views we had that day:

We've also done some paddling already on the Arkansas upstream a bit from here, and spent an enjoyable evening in Leadville (ele. 10,150+). All will be detailed, with photos, as internet access is available.

Wish we could send home some of the cool breezes we feel in the evenings here!

Wordless Wednesday: trail sculpture

Together again--briefly

Our little family, plus most of my son's delightful in-laws, are making Colorado our home for another day or so.

Our first meeting place was the humongous but generally pleasant enough Denver International Airport, whose space-age-looking main terminal roof I photographed from below. Sally arrived early Saturday morning, I came in around mid-morning, the New England in-laws shortly thereafter, and the South American travelers in the early afternoon. What a marvel of modern technology is air travel!

We proceeded to drive three hours to the little town of Garfield, familiar to readers of this blog. Our first day there, high in the Rockies, was Sunday, and we did a lot of soaking up of scenery.

First we took a hike up to the top of Monarch Pass' gondola ride—much better exercise than riding up, right? On the right you'll see the end of the hike, a veritable forest of towers that we assume are for cell phones and other types of telecommunications magic. The little building on the far right in the photo is the top of the gondola ride, which was up there long before the cell phone towers, having been built in 1966.

From the top of the hill you can see for miles around. Even though it was a bit hazy, which interfered with views of distant mountain peaks, it was easy to see the Monarch ski area, where we were in March. Here's the way it looks from the pass, without snow, with Sally in the foreground (there will be more about the ski area later today and in my next post):

We did opt to ride the gondola down, so we would have time to hit some more scenic spots. Here's a shot out the cab's window. Pretty nice view, in seated comfort:


Next stop was a geo-caching expedition up old Monarch Pass, which is a few hundred feet down the highway (U.S. 50) from its newer cousin. The really cool thing, as far as I was concerned, about this little side trip, is that the old Monarch Pass road skirts right next to the ski area. We even ended up at the top of sidewinder, one of my favorite runs! On the left is a picture Sally took of me by the id sign for it, and below is a shot of the pleasant meadow that becomes the ski run with the addition of a few tons of the white stuff.


After this invigorating series of outings, we headed back to Garfield, and then Salida for dinner at our favorite Salida eatery.

And, a meeting-up with the only still-missing member of the fam, Henry the wilderness paddler. He met us at Amica's with boats in tow and stories of his adventures on the Rio Chama. As soon as he has several hours of uninterrupted internet time I'm sure he'll post some fabulous photos and entertaining stories on his blog. On the right you can see our place's mudroom full of his river gear, for an idea of what a big deal this expedition was.

Well, my computer's about to run out of juice at Bongo Billy's comfortable coffeehouse and free wifi headquarters. So I'll stop here and continue my stories next time I get a chance to snag some internet. Unfortunately, when that happens, my little family will be scattered to the four winds again. But it surely has been wonderful having them close, however briefly it was.

Several small miracles

By all that's reasonable, this charming photo*, plus the one at the bottom of this post should never have had their moments of blog-fame. But I hope you find the story of how they became viewable something to celebrate.

First miracle: the photo below shows Henry about to drive off for his Rio Chama paddle, only a couple of hours later than he planned. This is actually not a small, but a major, miracle, given our family's travel history. Of course this nearly on-time departure needed to be documented; hence the photo you see here.

However, he insisted that an identical photo be taken with his camera. As a wife familiar with unreasonable requests [as it turned out, it was fortunate, too, since it was discovered he had left his camera's battery upstairs!], I was happy to oblige. When I took up his much fancier and heavier camera, I put mine down on the little wall around a flower bed while I took the second photo. [you probably can see where this is going]

Husband departs, after being exhorted—again—to be sensible and cautious on the river. Being already late for work, I dash off in my own direction, not even thinking about the abandoned camera.

[To see photos and read about Henry's thrilling Rio Chama excursion, see these posts of his: Rio Chama Day 1 • Rio Chama Day 2 • Rio Chama Day 3.]

Second miracle: it rained that afternoon/evening! And not just a few sprinkles either, but a real downpour that soaked everything [including abandoned, forgotten cameras] beautifully. Entire city rejoices! [I even thought that I should take a picture as I was leaving in the middle of the storm for a dinner with friends. What a great shot for the blog! Water streaming down the gutters of our street! But camera wasn't in the purse and I assumed it was left in the house. Too lazy to go retrieve it.]

The next morning as I walked into work from the parking lot, for some reason I realized I hadn't seen the camera since taking the departure photo and, horrified, realized where it was. Would have to wait until the afternoon to retrieve it. Provided a neighborhood raccoon, small child, or passing thief hadn't lifted it. [last option very unlikely—our neighborhood is very safe]

Third miracle(s): Camera was still sitting on the wall! But it didn't work. However, I knew its batteries were low anyway, so I put some new ones in and—voilà! Departure picture could be downloaded and new pictures* taken!
Another modern miracle will take place tomorrow morning: I will wake up in tropical-still-triple-digit-in-spite-of-rain-shower San Antonio (elevation 300' [note this factual error is corrected here]), but will go to sleep in mountainous, cool—perhaps even cold—Garfield, Colorado (elevation 9600'). Best part of this miracle, though, is that I'll be under the same roof as my wandering, adventurous kids for the first time since Christmas—¡Que milagroso!

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Modern miracles don't extend to internet access where I'll be sleeping, though, so blog posts might be somewhat spotty for the next couple of weeks. But I'll be collecting photos and stories and will post as I can.

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*Photo at the top of the post is proof that the little camera we were forced to buy in Perú is one tough little piece of electronics. The lovely young lady is a visiting niece showing off a pile of veggie kebabs we'd just finished skewering in preparation for a fun family dinner Thursday evening, after the camera had been rescued and resusitated.

Wordless Wednesday*: Colorado Dreaming

*just a little late

Wordless Wednesday: one side for now

We love our NPR!

Specifically, our local "chapter," Texas Public Radio, that puts on neat events all through the year. Last week we attended one at the San Antonio Museum of Art that was focused on water conservation and water use. The TPR link above takes you to the page that talks about the water "taste test" they conducted there. (I randomly voted correctly, it seems, for the tap water over the bottled—they all tasted the same to me.)

We also got to eat free food and look around the museum for free, so it was altogether a fun evening. A bunch of our paddling pals went with us and here we are (below) on the patio chowing down (sorry to have caught you in mid-bite, Henry, but everyone else was posing nicely).

The other tables are empty because they were actually WET. Yes, we even got some rain that afternoon to go with the water-themed event.

Another treat was getting to see the new Riverwalk extension from the Museum grounds. (You can see a photo of the Museum from the other side of the river, as well as other sights along the way, in this post.)

We could even just barely see the great fishes public art under the freeway bridge downstream. In this photo on the right you can sort of pick them out, plus see the tower at the Pearl Brewery complex. Joan and I visited both of these attractions on our Riverwalk walk, and you can see more photos of them, in the post linked above.

The flowers were lovely in the new landscaping between the Museum and the river, providing another highlight for me. On the left is a lovely clematis and below are some cheerily bright Pride of Barbados. (Thanks to Joline for these flower id's.)

Joline also obliged by taking this picture of me and Henry by the Lone Star plaque in the Museum patio. Significant for two reasons: 1) the Museum now occupies the old brewery buildings, and 2) Lone Star was always Henry's favorite brew.