Category: General (Page 55 of 61)

This last weekend it was snowing in the high country both Saturday and Sunday. Forecast was for 1 – 2 feet of snow, and we could see the clouds from our back deck. Since I didn’t want to ride solo in those conditions I left the snowmobile at home and  took out my ATV. The weather was good enough for a short trip – about 3 hours – into Wild Horse Mesa. Yes, there is that much change in weather between our 5,028 foot elevation and the 10,000 foot plus elevation of Grand Mesa.

As I was heading out the words of John Denver’s “Home Again” stuck in my mind, particularly the phrase “There’s a storm across the valley, clouds are rolling in…”  To my left I could see snow falling on the south side of the Colorado River. (Ahead of me a cloud bank was on the horizon.)

Storm across the valley…

The sun was shining so I knew I had some time before I would need to turn around for home. Here is a shot of the landscape as it looks about 8 – 9 miles out. Note the unusuall purple colored rocks in the center. There is a band of this color throughout the region, but it is particularly evident here.

Landscape about 9 miles from home, Wild Horse Mesa

The road, dry at the beginning of the ride, went through a couple of transitions. At about 11.5 miles out it turned muddy as the snow was melting, mile 13 saw a mix of mud and snow, and by mile 15  the road was snow-covered and frozen. It doesn’t seem like the change in elevation is that great, but the changes in road conditions are a reminder that the farther you go the higher you get.

I rode for several miles observing the landscape and looking at the animal tracks. I didn’t see any wildlife, except for a few birds. As I went I kept an eye on the sky knowing the forcast included a 70 percent chance of precipitation. When I saw this cloud bank coming toward me I knew it was time to turn around and head home:

Clouds are rolling in!

The fact that it was already beginning to snow – lightly – reinforced my decision. I was 19 miles out and it had taken me about 90 minutes to get here. (That time included photo stops.) The mud and snow zones cut down on my over-the-road speeds and I was not in a hurry.  I knew it would take me as long to return as it had to get to this point.

The ride home was uneventful –  but colder – as the clouds continued to build and block the sun. I had to stop once to warm up my right thumb as the ATV has no grip or thumb warmers. (These are available as after-market add-ons but I don’t have a set installed on The Griz.)

Once home I parked The Griz and proceeded to fix myself a nice hot cup of tea. While it was steeping I fired up the Mac, started looking at the photos, and began to plan this post. It was a nice way to finish off the day’s ride.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Well, today is Super Bowl Sunday, neither Pam or I are too excited about it. We just hope it’s a good game (with excellent commercials!) Most of the pre-game pundits have picked Baltimore to  win, but the ’49ers are closer to home for us so we will be rooting for them.

A recent post by Pam’s sister Becky was a trip down memory lane. It got me to thinking abut digital photography. Going back, it looks like I bought my first digital (a whopping 1.2 mega-pixles!) back in 1999. Boy, has that technology advanced! I don’t have many decent digital images from that time, and those I do have need to be run through an editing program to see if they can be improved. Still, this one caught my eye:

Caitlin and Felicity, March 2000

Becky’s daughter Caitlin and our daughter Felicity show off their (temporary) tats. Taken in March of 2000. I have no idea why Felicity’s arm turned out that color. Too much flash, I guess!

Little new since my last post. The weather got warm enough to melt a lot of our snow, with standing water that now has nowhere to go. The high temps are all below freezing so it’s back to “normal” winter weather.

I took another snowmobile trip yesterday, this time to a place called Stevens Gulch. It was a nice, bright day in the high country. Early morning frost had covered the tree branches and turned them into ice-covered art:

Ice-covered branches are winter’s art.

Here is a landscape shot of a similar scene:

Winter landscape in ice.

The Stevens Gulch trail offers some excellent views of the Elk Mountain range. I enjoy this route and the scenery along the way. Here is a shot of me pulled up along the trail’s edge and using a tripod to get into the picture:

Elk Mountains from Stevens Gulch Trail

I had parked at the Visitor’s Center on Grand Mesa. Here is a shot of the car and sled as I’m getting ready to return home at the end of the day. At this point I had ridden 102 miles and the gas gauge showed 1/4 of a tank left. I still have to put the tie-downs and cover on the sled before I head for home.

Car, trailer, and snowmobile.

There were dozens of other snowmobilers out, along with some cross-country skiers and snowshoers. (No fat tire bikes this time!)

And for Becky: Yes, grip and thumb warmers are now standard on all snowmobiles and have been for some time. They are independently adjustable – grips on one switch and thumb warmer on another – and the heat is very welcome on cold rides!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Hmmm… 10 days since my last post. I like to keep the interval down to about a week, but some times there is not a lot to blog about. This post will cover a few events that have transpired recently.

It’s still cold. The story is not just the sub-zero temps, but the number of them in a row. From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

“We fell below zero once again this morning in Grand Junction, marking the 20th day this has occurred this winter season. Interestingly, looking back at the records through 1893, the most days with a minimum temperature below 0 F is 21, which occurred during the winters of 1919-20, 1924-25, 1962-63, and 1990-91. Last winter, we did not even fall below zero. Anyone else looking forward to spring?”

We have set several new low-for-the date records during this stretch as well. Mostly these have been in the 8 to 12 below range for us, but other parts of the state have hit 24 to 40 below. It’s cold outside!

As an anomaly,  for several days temperatures have been higher  as you go up in elevation. The Grand Valley, where we live, is suffering from an inversion. Cold air sinks into the valley and warm air rises, making places like the top of Grand Mesa (10,800 feet) warmer than Grand Junction (4,800 feet).

The answer is, of course, to go snowmobiling!

I took my Mountain Max out yesterday to the top of Grand Mesa for the first long ride of the season. My trip before Christmas ended early as heavily falling snow made it hard to follow the trails. Complete opposite this time: beautiful blue skies, groomed trails, and warm enough to not need the grip and thumb warmers.

Heading west on Land’s End Trail

Trail grooming makes snowmobile trails easy to follow and safer to ride. I was able to go for a total of 72 miles this day, a good outing for a single ride.

Approaching Land’s End lookout point from trail SP1.

The Land’s End trail is always wind-blown and the snow is not as deep as one might expect. You can see tufts of grass sticking out of the snow.

My Mountain Max near Land’s End Point

Last year (the first year I had this sled), I had a few mechanical problems that limited my number of rides. This time the sled ran perfectly.

It was a good afternoon to get out. In addition to others on snowmobiles I passed cross-country skiers, a couple  people on snow shoes, and for the first time, snow-bikers. Snow-biking (aka fat tire biking)  is relatively new to Colorado. Take a mountain bike, add huge balloon tires and very low gearing, and you have a bike that is capable of riding on snowmobile trails. It looks like a lot of hard, cold work, but the sport is gaining in popularity quite rapidly. Below is a stock photo of one of these rigs.

Snow-bike, also known as a fat tire bike

I had heard about them but hadn’t seen one on the trails until yesterday, when I saw a total of 4.

 Today it is back to more mundane stuff, like solo grocery shopping (since Pam is still recovering from the head cold I gave her) and other household chores. Football is on this afternoon and I will take in some of the playoff action. Too bad my 2 favorite teams, the Broncos and Packers, will be watching from their homes as well.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

The tree is down, the ornaments packed and returned to their storage place for another year. This past weekend I took the lights off the end of the garage. Christmas 2012 is over.

Now, back to a regular work schedule. Pam is beginning her busiest time of the year at her job, and my fiscal year began January 1st so I’m getting my 2013 work projects under way. I wish I could report something more exciting in our lives, but there just isn’t anything real interesting going on!

We would like to thank all the people who wrote letters, e-mails, and dropped by the blog this season, and hope you will continue to do more of the same throughout 2013. Pam and I appreciate hearing from all of you.

Taking up a thread from my last post, it is still very cold and additional snow is in the forecast. Sub-zero low temps and high temps below freezing for the last 3 weeks or so have been the norm. Average high for this time of year is 37, low 16, so we have been running 16 – 22 degrees below average. I am not looking forward to our next heating bill!

Judy: Your fudge is great. I ate the whole pan over the last 3 weeks. Thank you! Can you get DTs (withdrawal symptoms)  from lack of chocolate?

Hard to believe next month will mark the start of year 3 of this blog. Sometimes the words come easily, sometimes  with more difficulty. I hope you continue to stop by and leave feedback.

Pam says I can’t have a post without at least 1 picture in it, so here is a fall color shot of a park near work where I walk at lunch from time to time:

Three Rivers Park in fall colors.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

It’s cold. Below zero cold. Not unheard of here at the eastern edge of a high desert, but cold non-the-less.

On Friday the 28th we took a trip to the lot. We wanted to see how much snow was on the ground and pick up a load of firewood we had staged on our last visit. Temperature topped out at 11 degrees F with a north wind blowing gently but steadily. It was cold! We had the 3 dogs with us. They thought the outing was fun, but did spend some time in the car while we got our work done. Much warmer in the car, after all.

We loaded our wood in the trailer then headed up to Pam’s Pavilion Point to check out the wintery view.

We brought a load of firewood home. It will be cut up and donated to a cat rescue agency.

Winter view of South Park from Pam’s Pavilion Point

We are using the above photo as our current screen saver. Pam says it makes her cold just to look at it. With temps at 11 degrees and a wind blowing, it was on the cool side.

Pam and the dogs near Pam’s Pavilion Point.

Most of the lot faces south, and there was not much snow in most places. Even in more sheltered areas the snow was not much more than 2 – 3 inches deep. We have more snow at home! Note Blondie is in her winter coat. With her short hair she is the least adapted to cold weather, so Pam puts a coat on Blondie before Blondie ventures outdoors for any length of time in temps like these.

Now the work really starts.

Saturday we cut the firewood into lengths and stacked it up along our driveway. Below is the result of our hauling and cutting. We plan on delivering the wood this Sunday.  (After all, if there’s wood in the trailer, how can I load my snowmobile?)

Firewood cut and ready to be loaded and delivered.

Overall this was a successful, if short, trip, We are moving firewood off the lot and developing a sense of where the snow is distributed on the land. One problem on the way home: an accident toppled a power pole over the main road from Fairplay to Breckenridge. Traffic was already backing up so we turned around and took an alternate route home. This detour took us an hour longer, but we drove through some areas we hadn’t visited in several years (like Leadville) so it wasn’t a real big issue. Waiting for hours for the road to clear with three dogs — and no restrooms — was not an option.

We aren’t sure when we will get back to the lot; I may plan a solo trip in January. Little work can be done due to the cold and snow cover, but we can continue to monitor the snow load and perhaps work on clearing the rest of the driveway route. It all depends on how much more snow South Park will see in the coming weeks. (It turns out the proposed driveway route had the most snow of anyplace on the lot. Go figure!)

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Most people think of Colorado as a “snow state” primarily because of the ski industry. However, at our elevation of 5,028 feet, snow is an occasional visitor. We always get some snow, but it is unusual for us to have more than a few inches at a time on our lawn.

Not this year.

I just finished clearing last night’s 2 – 3 more inches of snow from our driveway and sidewalks. This is the 3rd time in 4 days we have had snow, and it is piling up a little deeper than normal. It’s still not at Midwest levels, but the thick blanket of the white stuff is a bit out of the ordinary for us. The ski area we can see from our back deck, Powderhorn, has received more than 4 feet of snow in the last 10 days. We have 8 – 10 inches now, and that is the “settled” figure.

My main snow plowing rig is this 1979 Gilson lawn tractor equipped with a snow blade:

Gilson tractor with blade

I have had this rig for many years, going back to our Wisconsin days. The rig was a gift from Mary and Jeff Hayes. It sat unused and sinking in the mud in a corner of a farm shed , and when the farm – owned by Mary’s family – went up for sale I was given the opportunity to haul it away. After some repairs and TLC I was able to get it running and have used it for plowing snow for the last 18(?) years.

On snowy days like these, I have taken to clearing some of our neighbor’s sidewalks in addition to ours.  A few neighbors are ladies “on their own.”  One couple are “snowbirds” — they live in Arizona during the winter months, and another  neighbor is a Vietnam veteran who has some difficulty getting around. Helping clear their sidewalks is a bit of a way for us to give to the community and help our neighbors.

Here is a shot of some cleared sidewalks.

Plowed sidewalks.

No more snow is in the forecast for the next week, so we’ll get a break. Right now we are getting ready to do some post-Christmas errands so will soon be driving to town (Grand Junction, 35 miles each way).

Arrived home and guess what? Right…it’s snowing again! Lightly, though….:)

Tomorrow we are heading for the lot to see how much snow has fallen there and, hopefully, pick up a load of firewood.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Welcome to Christmas 2012

For all who are visiting this blog as a result of receiving our Christmas cards, welcome and Merry Christmas! The same for those who have visited in the past. It’s nice to have you stop by. (Click on any photos in this post to bring up larger versions.)

Pam and I had the typical year with both high and low points. I will cover a few of them here, but you might want to go back through previous posts to get more details and view photos of these events. At the top of the page is a link to my photo galleries. The galleries include photos of our land, trips I have taken on my ATV, collections such as my fall colors photos, and other general interest collections. Viewing them is a good way to kill a couple of minutes!

Pam’s father, Myron, passed away in February. This leaves both of us without fathers at Christmas for the first time. Myron was a Navy veteran and was interred in his home town of Merrill, Wisconsin. I must give a public “Thank You” to Pam’s eldest brother, Larry, who had taken it upon himself to take care of Myron’s affairs for the many months Myron was in care facilities. Larry did a geat job.

That was probably “the biggest downer” of the year. However, we also had high points.

For the last couple years we had been looking for a piece of recreational land in the mountains of Colorado, and finally found a 7 acre place that fit our budget and “want-to-have” list. The driveway will be long and expensive, but the lot itself has a good mix of evergreen and aspen, a decent place to build a cabin, and does not look over a next-door neighbor. Did I mention it’s at 9,600 feet in elevation?  We closed on September 14 and have begun the process of putting in that difficult driveway, clearing the lot of some dead wood, and just enjoying being in the high country. You can view more photos of our lot by clicking on this Sanderling link. (The lot address is off  Sanderling Court.)

View of South park from our lot.

I was able to take my ATV, acquired in November of 2011, out on some excellent rides in Colorado and Utah this year. One of the reasons I enjoy Colorado is due to the state’s rich history of mining and railroading, and I greatly enjoy mountain scenery. Getting off-road with the ATV helps me enjoy all these elements. Photos of these trips can be found on the Galleries page in the “ATV and off-road trips” section.

Jerry with “The Griz” ATV in Tomboy Basin

Other activities for 2012 included a motorcycle ride to Ohio where I joined a few dozen club members. We were able to ride in eastern Ohio and western West Virginia and worked in a visit to the American Motorcycle Association’s museum. I enjoyed this trip, which took place a few days before and after Memorial Day.

Jerry (back right) with club members at AMA Museum.

While not of high interest to many people, I was able to bring my Dad’s old 8N Ford tractor back to Colorado and begin working on it. Many of my blog posts have details of the trials and tribulations these repairs generate. My goal is not to restore the tractor, but to have it in good running condition and use it to pull a trailer around the mountain lot while we get firewood, plant trees, haul landscaping materials, and other light-duty work. The tractor has been in the family for more than 45 years and many family members, including all of Mom’s and Dad’s grandkids, have memories of riding behind “Grandpa’s tractor.”   My brother Jon, Dad and I also used this tractor in the woods during long-ago summers, when we cut and sold pulp to cover college expenses.  I would like to keep it going a few more years.

Bringing the 8N home.

Pam was, as usual, active in fostering kittens for the various rescue agencies in the area. She had a couple batches of kittens to take care of, and kittens are always fun. Pam does an excellent job of raising the kittens  to the point where they can be returned to the shelters ready for adoption. It seems like the ones that come out of our house are adopted very quickly, as the kittens are so well acclimated to house-hold living, dogs, and other cats. The last batches all were adoped within 3 days of  getting back to the shelter. We’re always glad to see them get into good homes — that’s what fostering is all about.

Pam with a batch of foster kittens.

Son Toby moved back to the Midwest (South Bend, Indiana) in October. This move was something he had saved for and planned for some time. Toby said when he had a choice of where to live, a choice he could make for himself, why not live next to Notre Dame University?  We hope it works out OK and that he finds a job.  Daughter Felicity entered Year Two of running her own social media company. Felicity is our “city girl” and enjoys the music and cultural opportunities that a large metro area  (Portland, Oregon) can offer. She recently joined a singing group and has been performing at concerts around the Portland metro area. You can see more about our kids on our Kids page.

Over the months we completed some home improvement projects, such as adding a privacy fence to our back yard and upgrading lighting in the garage. Over-all, though, it was a quiet year compared to some.

We do seem to be busy and life (particularly vacations) seems to pass quickly. Please keep visiting this site; it is the best way to get a peek into what we are doing with our time and energy.

And finally:

The Mayans were wrong. Happy New Year!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!