Eclipse Excitement!

Yes, we got to see the eclipse!

Fortunately the young-uns keen to make the trek out-voted those of us who foresaw many problems in getting to totality. Some of these issues materialized, some didn't, but nothing catastrophic resulted.

I don't have any pictures of the phenomenon itself; the equipment needed to do it justice is pretty far above my little camera's pay grade. But I can tell you about how we got to see it and what fun it was to experience something so unique with our whole little family.

The idea was that we were just too close to the totality band, at our place in Colorado, not to take the chance. A 3-hour car trip Sunday got us even closer, to Ft. Collins, almost to the Wyoming border, where we all had friends we wanted to visit anyway, and who graciously put us up for two nights. Ft. Collins got to see practically 99% of totality, which our friends said was very cool. But we wanted more.

So we got up really early Monday morning and headed north. Our first choice location was Guernsey State Park in Wyoming, lying smack dab in the middle of the totality band. And our son-in-law's brother was already there, camping out, so we even had a personal connection at the place.

The drive from Ft. Collins to Guernsey normally would take about two hours, and it took us 3. Not too bad, considering what we had feared in terms of I-25 traffic. We had studied maps and scoped out secondary roads for contingency plans, but we didn't end up needing them. There was also a chance that the park would be full, but we were lucky there, too. A phalanx of park workers/volunteers were happy to take our $6 per car (what a bargain!) and probably make their entire annual budget that morning.

They had viewing areas set up throughout the pleasant scenery of the park, but we opted to try and find the brother and were successful.That's his camping trailer in the background here:

Our early start meant we had some time to kill before the eclipse even began. So we were able to explore and enjoy some of the park's features, including this nice lake...

Here's a look at some of our fellow eclipse-seers camped out along the lakeshore...

It was a great place to be. In addition to the nice lake, the amenities included restrooms (although Nix brought her own facilities):

We'd come prepared with snacks, chairs, and cameras...

...and even some scientific literature to help our appreciation and understanding of the event...

Spirits were high as the eclipse got underway...

...and it was fun to check on its progress as it got cooler and cooler, the sun getting more and more covered up.

Then, just before totality happened (right on schedule—yay! science!) we could see the moon's shadow rapidly approaching from the west. So impressive! And when it hit our precise area it was really spectacular.

All the descriptions we'd been hearing about for weeks were spot on and while I don't think any of us came out of it personally transformed, as some of the hype had suggested, we all thought it was worth the drive and the preparations.

Our journey back to Ft. Collins did take considerably longer than the trip north did. Instead of people filtering up to the totality band gradually over several hours, if not days, a lot of the eclipse-rs were headed south at the same time. It took 45 minutes just to get out of the park, and traffic was stop and go off and on all the way down I-25. The 3-hour drive up took five hours heading south, which was not a lot of fun. (Although it apparently got worse later in the evening as the visitors from western Wyoming and eastern Nebraska all headed down the interstate.)

But we didn't have to drive any more once we got to Ft. Collins, thanks to our generous friends. Our return drives to Garfield happened on Tuesday.

Some of the kids are looking around for the next eclipse, which will happen in a year or two. But for the most part we're ok to plan on the 2024 full eclipse, for which San Antonio will be in the totality band. And, to be extra special, it will happen on Hal's birthday that year!

Wordless Wednesday: Lincoln Logs for a BIG baby!

Mountain DIY: Part 2

I want to finish (see Part 1 here) telling you the story of my big summer project, one that had me working harder, physically, (and at almost 10,000’!) than I have in some time. I’m sure it’s not as riveting a tale for you, dear readers, as it is for me. But I appreciate the few of you who have stuck with me thus far!

After my first crew of helpers left, the prepping and priming was almost done. So I started in on the final painting by myself. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we took the somewhat bold option of painting the railing a forest green, instead of continuing the trim color from the cabin. I hope you agree with me, as you see the job progress, that it was a good choice. 

I started by doing mostly “cutting in,” that is, doing the brush work needed at the corners and junctions (of which there are loads on this railing!). That way I could finish up with the more fun roller work on the open surfaces.

One of the reasons I decided to do this was because of the unpredictability of the weather. We’ve had a lot more rain up here this summer so far than usual. And it often comes and goes during the day, which makes a painter skittish about doing wide swaths of the project unless she feels sure it will be sunny for a while. Here’s a typical view looking up our valley from the road to town…

The periodic showers did slow the work down, but in a way they were sort of a blessing. The few whole sunny days had me working so many hours I was an exhausted, stiff/sore wreck by bedtime. Taking breaks when the rains came forced me to limit my hours and my 68-year-old joints were grateful! 

At any rate a day or two after the departure of my first crews, my final pair of helpers arrived and the green painting work went much faster. (Again, sorry there are no pix of this group!)

After they left, I didn’t have much more initial coating to do, but the finishing up, touching up, and second coats where needed took several more days. But I think the finished product is worth the sweat (little blood and no tears, fortunately!)

However, the job wasn’t completely done. After the painting, the metal stock panels needed to be re-attached. At first I thought I should wait for our handyman’s help with this. But he’s been so busy since finishing our house with other jobs (that’s the problem when your guy does such good work!) that I decided I could try and do it myself. And as it turned out, except for a little difficulty getting the longer sections in place to be attached, it wasn’t too hard a chore.

Except for one section that needs another set of hands since it’s going to have to go on the outside, it’s all in place. (Which is especially good news since a toddler will be arriving soon to test its safety quotient!) 

Whew! What a job. It could not of have been done without the help of my wonderful “crews” and their expertise and labor. But I still feel quite a sense of pride when I look out my windows and see how much nicer it looks than it did before. 

There are still a couple of things that need to be done, and which will require additional help. For one thing, the stock panels need to be more securely attached with staples in addition to the screws and washers that I applied. 

And there are two gates that we removed and painted. I kind of wish we’d left them in place, although the painting was a lot easier with them and their hardware off. However, I neglected to take “before” photos of how the hinges and hooks were attached. So now I think it’s wisest to wait for males with better spatial senses to help re-attach them. I’d probably put them on backwards!

Wordless Wednesday: neither smoke nor fire

Mountain DIY: part 1

Sorry for the long blogging hiatus. In addition to being pretty much off the internet grid up here in the Rockies, I have also been working really, really hard!

Of course, since the work took place here, with this wonderful view on hand (and you can’t hear the best part: the rushing mountain stream that I have written about before)….well, it was certainly more pleasant than doing chores at home!

Now, the picture above actually shows the finished product, but I want to illustrate the whole project for you, as a way of explaining why I’ve been too tired to blog lately. So bear with me.

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This is the way our lovely Mountain Deck Home has looked for years, ever since Henry’s mom bought it, in 2000, in fact.

As Henry is fond of saying, everything in the place was red, black, or white when we took it over. Not our favorite color scheme, even though I’m sure it was the height of fashion in the 1970’s.

Several years ago we de-black/redded the interior, replacing the infamous red shag carpeting and black paneling with more soothing earth tones. And for some time we’ve wanted to do the same thing with the exterior. So this is the summer that has actually happened.

isn't it pretty!?

The exterior walls and trim are now harmoniously earthy, and we are very pleased with our choices of colors and with the outstanding job done by our talented and diligent handyman. However, this work was not cheap, and the deck railing (over 200 feet!) still needed to be de-whited. So, “hey, I’m retired! Why don’t I paint the railing?” I said. Not realizing how essentially impossible this job would be, given that I could only be up here a month.

But we have several Colorado friends and family members who love being up here (it’s lots cooler than where they are based, for one thing!) so much that they were willing to pitch in to help. So work began the day after I arrived. 

Above you can see two friends hard at work on prepping the old, previously multiply-painted railing. Please notice, in addition to the three horizontal members and the numerous 4x4 supporting posts, the scores (and scores!) of smaller vertical ballisters, all of which would have to be prepped and painted.

The photo above was taken before Pete, our imaginative engineer friend (seen seated in the photo), had an epiphany, an idea that made the impossible job possible. 

For the last several years, we have had metal stock panels affixed to the outside of the railing to bring it at least partially up to code, safety-wise. Pete’s thought was, with the stock panels providing the safety feature of keeping children and chairs from falling off the deck (30 feet down to the bottom of the ravine) what purpose do the pesky ballisters serve? Why not just eliminate them? 

What a wonderful idea! It would save hours and hours of prepping and painting work, plus, putting the stock panels on the inside of the railing instead of the outside would not only be easier when the time came for re-attachment, but would also be a stronger and safer design.

So that’s what we did. How, you might ask, did we manage to take out all those ballisters? Didn’t that take as much time as painting them would have? Not when you have a friend who just happened to bring his circular saw to the mountains with him (yes, he’s crazy, but in a good way ). Pete just went along the railing slicing the ballisters, and the rest of us followed, kicking and wrenching them out of the railing superstructure. Of course, this left rather alarming, practically railing-less, openings all along the length of the deck, but fortunately we lost no tools, chairs, or humans in the several days before the stock panels were re-attached.

one of the new redwood posts added as part of the improved design

The remaining surfaces still had to be prepped, primed, and painted, and I probably wouldn’t have finished before the first snows, had I been doing it by myself. But with the help of my “crews” (with painting expertise as well as labor) it’s been done in just over two weeks, and all it cost me were a few dinners. Tom Sawyer has nothing on me!

sweet sister Joan hard at work prepping

Garry takes a quick break from priming while Sassy supervises

Carol prepping while Pete cuts new posts (yes, he also brought his portable workbench)

These fine folks helped with prepping and priming. My third group of friends came later and helped with the final painting, but I inexcusably forgot to get pictures of them at work. Thanks to you, too, David and Louise! 

To keep this post from being much, much too long (if it isn’t already), I’ll show you the progression of the job next time.

Wordless Wednesday: best lunch stop for weary travellers

The Beauties of Flat

A lot of people complain about having to drive the length of the Texas Panhandle, and I've been among them.

But having such a flat, unimpeded vista does have its advantages, especially when thunderstorms are in the area and the clouds are looking spectacular...

You are even sometimes treated with unexpected aerial entertainment...

...like this crop duster that buzzed the highway a few times outside of Dumas.

Yes, it's a long, long road from San Antonio to our place in Colorado*...

...and a lot of the first day is flat...flat...flat. But it pleases me to be able to find some beauty in even such monotonous countryside.

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*Since I'm up in the mountains, I'm pretty much off the grid, except for occasional junkets to town, which is 20 miles away. But I hope to have some pictures to share with you soon concerning the reason for my trip. Stay tuned!