A Year About

At Mills Lake.

I learned a lot about elk from Ms. Information yesterday. Thought I’d share some of it with you, whether you’re elk lovers or not. I’ll start off with a really impressive statistic:

Elk antlers grow half an inch to an inch a day! Remember the bull elk in the picture from yesterday? His antlers have been growing since the end of March and already they are huge! They will continue to grow for another month or so, when the blood flow to the antlers stops. Once this happens, the velvet covering will start to fall off. He will rub his antlers against nearby trees to assist the de-velveting. Now he is ready for rutting season.



During rutting season, the bull elk collects his harem. He usually gathers 20 or so cows, but the ranger I talked to yesterday said she has seen a bull with 60 cows! During the rut, the bull has to constantly “look his best” and impress the girls. When it comes down to it, though, it is the cow who chooses the bull, so he can work to impress as much as he wants, but she still may not choose to mate with him. But the trickiest part of mating season is that the cow only goes into estrus once every twenty-one days and only for 12 to 15 hours! This is a lot for the bull to keep track of and it is no surprise that he can lose up to 25% of his body weight during the rutting season. This becomes a problem if winter comes early because he doesn’t get the chance to get the weight back on.

Yesterday we explored the alpine tundra area of the park and we were all amazed at the diversity of plant life. The growing season up there is just about 40 days. That’s how many days are frost-free, on average. The trees are horizontal, not vertical. They grow very close to the ground and never produce cones. That would use up too much of their energy. They just put their new sprouts into the ground and grow sideways.



The flowers on the tundra are incredibly delicate and beautiful. The wind speeds can reach well over 100 miles per hour so the flowers grow very low to the ground. The stems are sometimes so short that the flowers sit on the leaf mat. The root systems of these plants can reach six feet, though, to ensure they get adequate moisture. The roots also anchor them against the wind.

The other incredibly cool fact we learned (and even you, dear reader, will have to agree with me on this) is how to tell the difference between a pine tree and a fir or spruce tree. It’s all in the needles. The needles in a fir or spruce tree grow individually from the branch. The needles in a pine tree, however, are bunched. They meet at the base of the needles in a cluster, or bundle which is attached to the branch.

OK — on to today.

The day started slowly with a few phone calls and emails. We only had one planned hike, so we rolled out of the trailer close to 11:30. Rocky Mountain has a shuttle service, like other popular national parks, so we drove to the park and ride area and got out of the truck ready to board the bus. This is when we realized that I had left Elise’s sneakers back at the trailer. She had asked me to pick them up since her hands were full. I forgot. Back to Shackleton we went. A half an hour later we were back at the park and ride area and finally boarded the bus.


One of the trail signs along the way.

Our trail was from the Glacier Gorge trailhead to Mills Lake. We were not the only ones with this idea. I’m sure that the trail was busier yesterday since it was Sunday, but I can’t believe by much. I noticed an automatic counter on the trail and when we started, the number read 6441. When we got back, the number was 7356.



The trail takes you through the montane ecosystem — pine forests and mountain meadows. There was a slight breeze and I was delighted to watch the quaking aspen trees dance. Eight tenths of a mile into the hike, we arrived at Alberta Falls, full of snowmelt and hurrying down the gorge. We stopped here to eat our lunch since we had gotten such a late start to our day.



Appetites sated with cream cheese bagels, trail cookies, wasabi peas, and a cherry Jolly Rancher for Elise, we rolled on. It was here that we lost 90% of the crowd. Perfect.


The view from Alberta Falls.

Remember that Elise likes to talk and hear stories while she is hiking? Well I was the target today. “Mommy, tell me a story about when you worked at the hotel.” Right away, 85% of the stories that popped into my head were dismissed as inappropriate for young ears. The one I could tell her, though, was the one about The Thief. Quick synopsis: I had a woman try and check into the hotel with a stolen credit card and I had to stall her until the police arrived and then I was subpoenaed to testify at her trial. Elise loved it. Later in the day she wanted me to tell her again. Nothing like a little intrigue and a not-very-smart thief to make the time pass.



Mills Lake is everything you would want a mountain lake to be. Waterfalls tumbling into it, clear water and mountains rising up on all sides. We said hello to a few fly fisherman who were there and then found a few great rocks on the shore on which to sit and enjoy the view. Unfortunately, the mosquitos also really liked these rocks, too (or at least, us on the rocks!), and it was just beginning to rain. We stuck it out for a good ten minutes or so, but then it was time to move on.


Bobby enjoys his Cheez-Its by the lake.


Elise has a hairnet over her baseball cap. She got it at the Celestial Seasoning tour and it came in handy today. She put it over her face to keep the mosquitos out.

Our hike back to the trailhead was helped along by a progressive story. Elise started it, Bobby took care of the middle and I brought it to a close. Another quick synopsis: Clarisse loses her Barbie house and all its furniture, male Barbie doll and her wallet with $9.64 in it. She suspects her best friend’s sister, Sally, of taking it all. Turns out it wasn’t Sally, but Ron, the best friend’s cousin, who just wanted to play with it because he thought it was cool.


The rain’s a-comin’!

About five minutes from the trailhead we started to hear some really significant thunder. The storm never reached us but we were glad to get back on the bus, nevertheless.




Today’s wildflowers.

We spent Sunday in the park with about two million of the three million people who visit Rocky Mountain National Park each year. The roads were busy. Some folks were rude. Some ignored the multitude of signs and ranger admonitions not to walk on slow growing tundra or feed the wildlife. It didn’t matter and couldn’t take away from this place. All those superlatives I’ve used for other parks, and all of the times I’ve told you people to go here or there, they all apply to Rocky Mountain. Danine and I loved it (Elise was tolerant).

The Trail Ridge Road is the highest through road in the nation. After winding up amidst montane forests and subalpine forests, we found ourselves above the tree line and on top of the world. Up above 11,000 feet the terrain is similar to that found at the Arctic Circle. We drove in the midst of tundra and rock, with the occasional slow-melting drift of snow. Tundra is not merely stubbly grass. Walk a trail and you can see the numerous grasses, mosses, lichen, wildflowers, and other plants that make up this complex and painfully slow growing (hundreds of years to recover from damage) ecosystem.





Danine was photographing a small group of female elk trotting along when we came around a bend and saw the whole herd. It mosied and then ran across the road and down the broad meadow toward the treeline. It was breathtaking. The elk, moving as one, were far more elegant and noble than the other large mammal species gawking nearby.



We drove across the Continental Divide to a picnic spot near Lake Irene. The Clarks Nutcrackers swooped and eyed us as we ate, hoping for a dropped Triscuit or two. We watched a ground squirrel run under our feet and settle for a black banana peel (not ours), which he nibbled for awhile. Then we continued a little farther to an overlook called Farview. The view looks south down the Kawuneeche Valley. Far below us a small, snaking Colorado River can be seen beginning its long journey to faucets in southern California. There we stood and chatted with a ranger about moose, bark beetle infestation, birds, and other things. Elise dubbed this ranger Ms. Information.




The Kawuneeche Valley

Danine and I would love to come back here and backpack. The park almost begs you to do this in summer. Everywhere you look, you see a place it would be lovely to walk to. Like most parks, if you walk less than a half mile from the road 90% of the people disappear. Tomorrow we are going to take a hike to a waterfall and a mountain lake. I can’t wait.

Kid, candy store

Estes Park is a beach town. No, I haven’t lost all sense of geography. It just has the same kind of feel. It has the many crafty stores, and, most importantly, the t-shirt shops. It’s a touristy town, but also a really fun place to walk around. It has a mini river walk which parallels the main drag (Elkhorn Avenue). Many shops and restaurants open on both the street and the walk by the river.



Our campground is a half mile from Rocky Mountain National Park and a little less than a mile from town. We took a quick trip to the Beaver Meadows visitor center in order to figure out what to do for the next two days. It won’t be complicated: look around; enjoy beauty.

We drove into town, parked, and raced over to the Scandanavian festival. We watched some folk dancing and heard folk tunes played on an accordian. (One of the greatest instruments ever, right Emma?) The arts and crafts booths were filled with jewelry, wooden statuettes, walking sticks, dolls, and gnomes. Gnomes are to Scandanavia what kokopelli is to the Southwest: ubiquitous. They are the go-to cultural emblems for gifts and souvenirs.



I prefer edible souvenirs. The food booth was out of sauerkraut, but I still got a Swedish sausage on a bun. It was great — Danine liked it to. According to the food booth guy, the meat is ground with potato, making a sweet and mild sausage with a distinctive flavor. It is possible that it contains gnomes, but I could not confirm this.


River walk

We walked from shop to shop. Danine bought a lovely dress. Elise bought a bag of candy. I almost bought a hat, but didn’t. Then we walked a mile to church. Last week we went to Our Lady of the Woods. This week it was Our Lady of the Mountains. I can only assume next week will be Our Lady of the Plains. After Mass we strolled along the river walk and found ourselves at Poppy’s where we consumed vast amounts of good food. Poppy’s has a really long and elaborate beer list. This is good, but can be a bit of a stumbling block unless you’re decisive. We did pretty well. Danine had a stout and I had an English style bitter.

A little more walking helped our digestion after dinner and then we went home. The best part of our campground is also the best part of Estes Park: from most places you can see snowy mountains rising up before you. Boy, I wish they’d put a few of those just west of Washington, DC — or maybe on top of Washington, DC.

Today’s goal was to drive to the top of Mt. Evans on the highest paved road in the United States. These are the kinds of superlatives we are collecting as we travel.




Today’s wildflowers

You have to really want to get to Mt. Evans. From I-70 you drive 14 miles to the entrance station and then once you pay your $10 (free for us because of our National Parks Pass — yeah!) it’s another 14 miles to the end of the road. The roads are all very steep and windy, so it takes you a while. Luckily for us, we had Book the Tenth from A Series of Unfortunate Events to listen to and that passed the time for us. The dastardly doings of Count Olaf and his troupe keeps you on alert.



The scenery held our interest pretty well, too. Mt. Evans is one of Colorado’s 54 fourteeners (mountains over 14,000 feet), and once you get above the tree line the views are limited only by the haze. We added two previously unseen mammals to our list, too, both seen on the side of the road and then later, on a path we were walking.


Both male and female goats have horns. Female’s are smaller. I think this is a girl.

The first was a herd of mountain goats. Bold as brass on the side of the road. We paused to take a picture of one and as we moved on she started to follow us. She lost interest soon enough, but it was kind of fun to think we’d be bringing home a new pet! I was surprised by their size. Their hindquarters and shoulders are thick with muscle but their torso is thinner than I expected it to be. They have a ridge of hair on their shoulder (in the same place the mane of a horse would be) that acts as a windbreak of sorts to help retain their body heat.



We had the windows open as we drove higher and I could already feel the effects of the thinner air. This is the highest in altitude that we have been but I was surprised how quickly I felt a little woozy. At the top of the road there is a small parking lot with a few buildings and an observatory. The observatory didn’t seem to be open and I wonder who uses it. There is an odd shaped building up there, once the highest building in the world. It was built between 1939 and 1941 and was, apparently, a restaurant. In 1979 there was a propane explosion (oops) and what we see now is all that is left of the building. We wandered around it for a minute or two before taking to the summit trail.


Before and after.

Elise already had a headache and Bobby and I felt kind of lightheaded so we took it easy going up. Elise and Bobby paused (for Elise’s sake) about halfway up and I continued on, giddy with oxygen deprivation. The view from the top was pretty amazing. My favorite view was of Summit Lake, over a thousand feet below us. We had passed it on the way up, but because of the way the road curved around it, we missed seeing over half of the lake. On my way down, I met Bobby and Elise slowly heading up. Elise and I headed down and Bobby took the camera to the top for pictures.


On top of Mt. Evans . . .


The view from the top.


Summit Lake, still slightly frozen.

We stopped at Summit Lake on our way down. Elise still wasn’t feeling very well, so I headed down to the shore on my own. This lake reminded me very much of the lake I soloed by on my Outward Bound trip in 1993. I loved being by the alpine lake with the mountain rising up steeply from its shore, then and now. I saw another path leading around the lake on the other side, and Bobby and I convinced (coerced) Elise to come along. Ask Elise, we’re “forcers”.




The ice is still melting on Summit Lake.

This was the best part of the day. The path winds around the back part of the lake to a hidden valley that was stunning. Bobby and I have already decided where in the valley we want to build our house. We just have to check with the national forest people first.



It was here that we saw our other mammal, a yellow-bellied marmot and a member of the squirrel family. A cute little fellow, he was sunning himself on the rocks.


He’s in the middle of the picture, toward the right side.

I continued on the path a few hundred yards and sat down to enjoy the view. Below me, I saw another mountain goat so I called out to Bobby and Elise to come join me. I made the mistake of telling them in a loud voice that I had seen this mountain goat which prompted the couple that was also in the area to embark on a ridiculous escapade which left all three of us shaking our heads at people’s sheer stupidity. Apparently the couple couldn’t see the goat from where they were standing so instead of staying on the path and coming to where we were to see it (which was up on a ledge), they decided to leave the trail (a huge no-no on national park or forest land) to try and get as close to it as possible for a picture. Keep in mind that they are both wearing flip-flops. They decided that the best way to get to the poor, unsuspecting goat was to walk down an area that the forest service had shored up in terraces because the area was eroding too quickly. Probably from people like them walking around — OFF THE PATH! They never got too close to the goat, but not for lack of trying on their part. He would move every now and then, just to keep them guessing. At one point, the wind blew the baseball cap off the guy’s head but he let it go so he could get the picture he just had to have.


The goat is down the hill, kind of a white blob on the rock. She is above him to the left. You can see the reinforced terracing in the foreground.

After about 10 minutes of this, we hear another goat bleating from somewhere nearby. The goat we had in our sight answered and we soon saw Goat #2 arrive on the scene. Goat #2 was looking to get to Goat #1 but Clueless Couple stood directly in the way. He was at the top of the slope, Goat #1 was at the bottom and Clueless Couple was in between the two. Instead of staying still and letting Goat #2 pass (there was enough room had they stayed still), the couple started toward Goat #2 to get his picture. Goat #2 panics slightly and now has no choice but to walk in the opposite direction to try and get away from the couple. This takes him farther away from Goat #1. The couple ends up walking behind him all the way to the parking lot! Granted the goat could have left the path at any time and gone up onto the rocks and circled around, but he didn’t. We saw the threesome in the parking lot a short while later, the goat eating something, the girl still taking pictures, and the guy pointing out the goat to everyone. They had seen us in the valley and made some comment about how Goat #2 had “cornered them” (like that’s possible). I told them that I had seen it from the path. Bobby made a comment about how the second goat was trying to get to the first but it somehow got detoured. We hinted, but I don’t think they got it. Poor goat.

Our drive home was a little trafficky, but uneventful. Count Olaf continued to be cruel and foul-smelling, as all good villains are. Once home we invited our neighbors, David and Nora over for a S’more-fest after dinner. They came over with their golden retriever, Darby, and we passed a very pleasant evening chatting and wiping melted chocolate from our hands and legs. Actually, I think I’m the only one who dripped chocolate everywhere. Everyone else was a much neater eater.

Tabitha and Elise

Today we kept it simple. Our only goal (aside from filling up and visiting the library) was to tour the Celestial Seasonings factory. This is a free tour at the company’s only factory, and it’s pretty well done. First, your tour ticket is a single packet of tea. The flavor of the packet corresponds with the time of your tour. So, everyone in our group got Tangerine Something-something Zinger. Before the tour begins we all watched a promotional video. Then we got our hair nets. We get to keep those.


Hey, where’d you get that snappy hair net?

First we saw the huge bags of innumerable herbs and dried plants of all kinds — they make around 100 flavors of tea. The most famous and best selling flavors you can probably name yourself: 1) Sleepytime, 2) Chamomile, 3) Peppermint. The ingredients come from all over the world and the company carefully cultivates relationships with their growers, some for three generations. As soon as you walk into the milling area — this is where the dried raw ingredients that have passed inspection are cut into fine sizes that will be used in their tea blends — you smell a million lovely smells all at once. It’s not overpowering, but I wondered if working here everyday wouldn’t make my nose tired.

Next we went to the tea room. This is separate from the main warehouse and contains only tea leaves or camellia sinensis. That is the latin name for the evergreen bush grown first and most widely in China and India whose leaves provide the flavor for all black, green and white teas. In fact, most of what Celestial Seasonings produces are not teas, but herbal infusions. That sounds kind of dangerous, so they call ‘em herbal teas. Tea leaves absorb odors readily. If they were left in the main area of the warehouse with all of the herbs and other ingredients, they would absorb their smells. On its own, this room smelled great.

You may already know this, but I’ll write it just in case. The difference between teas called black, green, and white isn’t ingredients. It is only processing. All are made from tea leaves. To produce white tea, the leaves are not allowed to wilt and are quickly dried to prevent oxidation (like how an apple turns brown). Oxidation increases the flavor of the tea. Green tea comes from leaves that are wilted, and only slightly oxidized. Black tea is produced from leaves that have been permitted to fully oxidize, thus bringing out the strongest flavors.

We made a stop at the mint room, which contains the bags of milled peppermint and spearmint leaves. Mint leaves are not milled at the factory because their overpowering aroma and oils would require constant, thorough cleaning of the machines. After our tour guide opened the big bay door he said feel free to go in, but only stay as long as you want. We walked in. It was as if you put your face over a boiling vat of Vics Vaporub. The menthol immediately invaded your sinuses, clearing them nicely, and made your eyes sting and water. For a minute or two, it’s pretty amusing. Any longer than that would be a cruel and exotic form of torture.

The final leg of the tour takes you past the packaging machines. These are classic assembly line systems, like you saw every so often during a segment of Sesame Street or Electric Company or some other educational-PBS-type show. I love to watch ‘em go. After the tour we found ourselves in — where else? — the tea store. We milled about. Elise hung out with her new fast-friend Tabitha whom she met at the start of the tour. I went over to the sampling room, where you can try any flavor of tea (and now coffee) that the company makes. Whilst sampling the Peach Apricot Honeybush (yes, that’s what it’s called) I sweetened it with pure agave nectar. This is the best sweet stuff I have ever tasted. It’s pure sweet. I bought a bottle. Danine got a box of the Peach Appaloosa Honeybunch stuff. All in all, it was a fine tour and pleasant afternoon.


The sampling room with its comfortable seating and funky tea art.

Today has been a day about Elise. In March, she and Bobby made her a “One Hundred Kindnesses Chart”. Every time she did something kind or thoughtful, she was given a sticker. When the chart was filled, there would be a reward. It was a chance for her to focus on others and notice how good that feels. Early on she decided that her reward would be going to see “Prince Caspian“, the latest movie in the Chronicles of Narnia series. She completed the chart earlier this month, but this is the first major town we have been in in quite a while so we had to wait until now.

What a great movie! The cast was great and the special effects were well done. The production company did a great job of limiting the amount of gore during the fight scenes, which I appreciated (and Elise’s dreams will, too). We saw the 1:00 show so we were able to eat lunch while watching. Of course lunch consisted of a large Orange Fanta, a medium popcorn and a box of candy for each of us.

Today is also a “No Boss Around Day” for Elise. Every now and then, she gets a little overwhelmed at her parents constantly telling her what to do. A “No Boss Around Day” means that we can’t tell Elise what to do. There are parameters, of course, but she’s not a kid to push her limits so we feel pretty comfortable with this. Elise gets to decide what she eats today and when she wants to get dressed, among other things. The only thing I require is toothbrushing. It’s a chance for her to be in charge for a change.

My mom also sent me Elise’s test results from the standardized test I had to give her earlier this month. Elise did great. I am completely relieved that I didn’t botch the job and Elise feels good that all of the harassing from her mother is over.

It’s warm here in Denver — feels like home. The library is nice and cool so we’re hanging out here for a bit. The AC is on in the trailer, but it never seems quite cool enough. Tomorrow we might head to Boulder to visit the Celestial Seasonings factory and enjoy their tea room where you can sample every flavor of tea they have, hot or cold. Our other option is to drive up Mt. Evans on the world’s highest paved road to 14,134 feet and then hike the last 130 vertical feet to the top. It’s nice to have options and we realize that we won’t have them for much longer, so we’re trying to squeeze all the goodness out of them that we can.

Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs

It kind of feels like the long wind-down has begun. Danine and I talk about jobs, houses, selling the trailer, and school for Elise in the Fall. We are looking forward to settling back in Falls Church, but the idea that the trip is ending is a little sad. Obviously, taking eleven months to explore the country has spoiled us. We still have about five weeks left, which is a grand vacation in most anybody’s book. Don’t worry, we’ll make the most of it.


A view from Monarch Pass

The prospect of driving over the Continental Divide on Saturday made us hungry early. So we went back to Firebrand for a delicious breakfast. Once our glucose meters read ‘Tilt!’ we were ready. Much of our drive was (again) on US 50 — the same US 50 that goes through Falls Church, VA. This stretch is prettier. The snowy mountains contrast nicely with the deep green conifer forests and the bright green meadows. Turns out, Monarch Pass isn’t really too bad. I just stayed in a low gear up and down, and we made steady, happy progress. The top of the pass marks the highest in altitude we have been.



The drive into Eleven Mile State Park was also great, but the park was crazy. It was Saturday after all. The place was packed with boaters (it’s on a reservoir) and weekend campers. The loops through the campground are gravel when they aren’t rutted dirt and some of the little hills and twists were just about too sharp for the Airstream. We drove around looking for an open site that would fit us and found none. Back at the campground office — the staff is very good and very kind — I put on my best forlorn expression and asked if there were any other options. There were. Many campgrounds have sites that are reserved for emergencies, booking mix-ups, or forlorn campers like us. They gave us one of these and, after negotiating the narrow, sloping road and campsite, we found our ample glucose reserves drained. Twizzlers helped solve this problem.

There were a number of things in the area we wanted to do on Sunday and hanging out at a campground filled to the gills on a Saturday night, just didn’t excite us. Instead we drove 24 miles East to Woodland Park and went to Mass at a little church called Our Lady of the Woods. It was excellent. When we got back Elise was ready for sleep and Danine and I were ready for several games of Ticket to Ride. I lost them all.


That’s stone, not wood

Our plan for Sunday: Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Pike’s Peak, Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs. Florissant was a neat little place. A huge mud flow, like totally more than 20 years ago, buried the dead creatures in a lake and the bottom 15 feet of the surrounding redwood forest. This mud and all of the organic matter gradually turned to stone. Water carrying silica and other minerals seeped into every cell in the base of these redwood trees — the same species now found only on the Pacific coast. The result: a perfect stone replica of a tree. This place has one of the world’s largest concentrations of fossilized plants and animals. We walked around, eyeing the thunderclouds in the distance, but they stayed away.


Parking Lot of the Gods

Our next stop was Pikes Peak — Oops! I missed the turn-off. Nevermind. Our next stop was Garden of the Gods. This is a busy place on a Sunday afternoon. The park protects an area of sandstone formations that have weathered into fascinating fins and needles. It also harbors a wide variety of wildlife: mountain lions, bears, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, bighorn sheep, mule deer, prairie falcons, prairie falcon food (also called pigeons), hawks and magpies. Magpies. We didn’t start seeing magpies until Colorado and now we see them regularly. They are related to crows and jays, making them obnoxious and interesting, and now one of my favorite birds.



Elise nabbed two junior ranger badges today, one at the fossil beds and one here. At the visitor center they announced her name to everyone and told them to clap. At some parks, the final junior ranger activity is called Mortify the Children. If the child, or children, survive this gauntlet of attention and clapping, then they get their badge.

As we headed back towards Eleven Mile, we kept a lookout for the Pikes Peak turnoff. We found it and began our drive up. This would mark our highest driving adventure. This would be the highest we had every been in our lives (over 14,000 feet). This would give us incredible views. This would cost us thirty-five bucks? Forget it. We may try to drive up Mount Evans west of Denver instead. It’s higher anyway.

That there, folks, was a full day. We stopped at a pizza-pasta place for dinner. I am writing this on Monday evening and I am still full. Back at Eleven Mile we found a ghost town. Everyone had left. Our next door neighbors were one of the few who remained. Ah, a quiet night for sleeping awaited. After losing a few more times to Danine in Ticket to Ride, it was time for bed.

This morning we took the scenic route to Denver on 285. It’s longer, but we wanted to squeeze in as much Rocky Mountain viewing as we could. Colorado has some of the prettiest driving we’ve seen. Next time you’re heading out to the 7-Eleven, swing by and take a jaunt on 285 or 50. You won’t be disappointed.

Now we are parked at Cherry Creek State Park, which is on a reservoir in Aurora just a few miles from downtown Denver. This park was recommended to us by a number of people, but mostly by Rich Luhr. It is super. The facilities are the best and the sites are roomy and paved and tidy. We are here till Saturday while we explore the area and catch up on chores and stuff.


Colorado makes good clouds

After posting yesterday we went to a great sandwich place in Gunnison called Firebrand. De-lish. Then I bought some used clipless bike pedals for Danine’s bike, which is not with us on this trip, but they were just right and only $20 bucks, so I almost had to do it.



This morning we got up and got going. It was a pleasure backtracking to Black Canyon of the Gunnison because the road is so lovely. It follows along Colorado’s biggest lake, Blue Mesa Reservoir, which is the dammed Gunnison River. And what a river it is.

Here are some fun facts right out of the park brochure. The Gunnison drops farther in elevation in just 48 miles of the canyon than the Mississippi River does in its enitre length. At Chasm View it is 1100 feet from South Rim to North Rim, and 1800 feet down. Although the Grand Canyon is twice as deep, the Colorado has had three times longer to cut it out of much softer stone than the Gunnison has had to cut through granite-like rock.



You should see the National Geographic topographical trail map for the park. The contour lines along the canyon are stacked up so close it’s just a thick band of brown ink. The sheer, craggy walls are hard to fathom — literally. The canyon is deep enough to fit two Empire State Buildings one of top of the other. We tried to picture this at Dragon Point, but we couldn’t.


That’s Painted Wall. Can you see the dragons?

This is a rugged park. However, the ranger who told us on the phone that our trailer would have trouble fitting in the campground was being pretty conservative. We scoped three or four sites that would have worked nicely. No biggie, though.

There is no water on the rim. It’s trucked in from Montrose, CO. If you want to climb down to the river and have a drink, you are welcome to, but there ain’t no mule ride to the bottom. Mules aren’t suicidal. We are though, and drove down the paved, winding 16% grade to the river. At the bottom we were close to the Gunnison diversion tunnel. This built about a hundred years ago — when many great engineering wonders were built. It’s a six-mile tunnel from the river, through the canyon wall, and to the otherwise dry fields near Montrose. The water still provides irrigation for the farms in the area.



Sorry for the jumpy post. We are leaving tomorrow morning for one of our most challenging and beautiful drives along US 50. We’ll be crossing the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass (11,000+ feet) and heading towards Colorado Springs for a couple nights.


A young pinyon pine cone. Pine nuts are one of nature’s most perfect foods.

We drove from Mesa Verde to Curecanti National Recreation Area yesterday. We decided to overshoot Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP because Curecanti has better camping. Don’t worry, we’ll drive back tomorrow to explore the national park. Our drive took us over two big, beautiful mountain passes and two or three little ones.







The Titan did great, but it worked hard. We were not the only ones glad to pull into our campground and take a break! We are settled on the banks of the Blue Mesa Reservoir. We wandered to the shore at sunset to take in the sights.


Danine and Elise snuggle on the rocks, hoping to avoid being bitten by the gnats.



Today we are catching up on posts in Gunnison and planning our next couple stops in Colorado. Two posts from Mesa Verde are below.

A detail of Long House

Our wildlife sightings were excellent today, not in quantity but in quality. On our winding drive to Wetherill Mesa we saw a pick-up stopped in the middle of the road on a hairpin turn. As we drove slowly around it we complained that it was a terrible place to stop. Then Elise said, “Look!” We looked. Then we stopped in the middle of the road. We saw, some sixty yards off, a big black bear. It was looking at the two trucks and then decided to lope off into the scrub and over the ridge out of view. It was particularly interesting to see it move rather quickly. Oh, and it wasn’t black, it was a deep golden brown, like the retirees you might find in Phoenix or Palm Beach.

On our tour of Long House I saw a kestrel fly from its cliffside nest high into the air and soar. Kestrels are raptors, like hawks only smaller and more fierce. One ranger told me she has seen this very same bird chase and harrass a raven, which is twice its size at least.

Finally, on our walk through the Step House site we saw the cutest little snake. It was a very young rattlesnake. The wide, diamond-shaped head tells you it’s venomous. The leopard spot markings are also distinctive. I think I heard its tiny rattle make a hissing sound. The ranger was sure to watch it slither far away from the path and people. She said young rattlesnakes cannot control the amount of venom they release like adults can, making them rather deadly.


See the cute lil’ deadly venomous snake?

Aside from all the cool wildlife, we had an excellent day exploring the two sites I mentioned, Long House and Step House. Long House requires a ticket to tour (as did Cliff Palace and Balcony House yesterday). A ranger walks you through the site and talks to you about the environment, the culture, and the methods of living in this place. The Long House tour takes you in and around the structures more than the others. We liked that. We also liked the timing of our tour. It was high noon and the sun shown down on the rim of the site, but left the back cool and gently aglow, but not dark or dank. We didn’t learn any new amazing facts here, but it reinforced for us that these people had a very hard, yet productive, life.


Long House


This spring is behind the wall at the upper right of the picture above: a modest, but reliable water source.

The neatest new fact we learned at Step House. You can tour its ruins on your own. A ranger is always on hand to answer questions and make sure you don’t carve your name in the sandstone or swipe a pot shard. Step House is unique in that it has, side by side, the remains of pithouses from around 600 A.D. as well as a substantial cliff dwelling from around 1200 A.D. While all of the sites we toured probably had pithouses at one time, they have been built over by the larger sandstone and mortar complexes. Here, for some reason, the Ancient Puebloans left several alone.


Petroglyphs at Step House

Oh, right, the neatest fact. Well, on our tour of Cliff Palace the ranger promised to tell us about the three sisters: corn, beans and squash. Only he never did. His presentation was very good despite the omission, but we kept wondering why these three crops are called the three sisters. We asked the ranger on duty at Step House. She told us it is because they grow well together.

As the corn grows, its stalks become perfect poles for the bean vines to climb. The squash covers the ground, helping it retain moisture for all three crops. Corn drains a lot of nutrients from the soil, including nitrogen. Beans put nitrogen back into the soil. What an tidy little system. When we get back from the trip and buy a shack of our own, we are definitely going to try this gardening experiment. If you want details and advice for how to do it, just search the internet. It has eighty bazillion pages devoted to this very topic.

Tomorrow we are heading to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. It is the only park with more letters in its name than it has annual visitors. I’m looking forward to it!