Life in Colorado

Training Day

2012-01-23T20:17:00.012-07:00

Life found me outside of Colorado this past weekend. I traveled to Phoenix, Arizona for an extended weekend. I did a little hiking and caught a soccer game. This post is part 1 of 2 two posts that I will dedicate to this trip.

I arrived in Phoenix late Thursday night. Despite my late arrival, I got up early and went hiking Friday morning. I climbed Picketpost Mountain which is located east of Phoenix near the small town of Superior. While Picketpost Mountain only has an elevation of 4375 feet, it is a tough climb. There is a lot of scrambling over rocks in order to get up the mountain. I had to use my hands quite a few times. There are routes marked by rock cairns and paint; however, it is quite easy to get off route. I found my way though. I had the top to myself. I did see a couple of people going up as I was going down. But for the most part I had the mountain to myself. Here are some pictures from the hike.

The way up Picketpost Mtn.

Looking west towards Phoenix & US 60

Mailbox on top.

Superior, AZ

Me on top

Me again

Southern view

Going Down

Cactus

Picketpost Mtn.

Friday afternoon/evening, I attended the US Men’s soccer training session. They had an open practice for fans to watch at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. I had a VIP pass since I am such an important person. I got to watch the practice from field level. The practice consisted of a few drills and some eight on eight. After practice, the players came over to the fans and signed autographs. I didn’t have anything with me that I wanted to get autographed. So I just took pictures and shock hands with a few of the players. I did have a short chat with Jeff Larentowicz. He plays for the Rapids my favorite club team. Here are some pictures from the training session.

Inside University of Phoenix Stadium with the roof open

Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann (center)

Several US Soccer players

More players

Jermaine Jones kicking the ball

A.J. DelaGarza and Benny Feilhaber

Begin The Begin

2012-01-16T20:30:00.007-07:00

It is a new year, and it is time to finally tear down the wall and begin posting stuff occasionally. Yesterday, I went for a hike at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Here are some pictures from the hike.

11

2011-12-18T09:43:00.002-07:00

Turn it up to 11, it is Carter’s Birthday! My buddy Chuck was out here again. I had hoped that he would help celebrate Carter’s Birthday again, but he said “why bother, Carter won’t believe that I went to Colorado for his birthday.” We sort of celebrated anyway. Landon couldn’t come this year. He is busy getting ready for his Everton loan in England. I didn’t want him to show up anyway, he would probably gloat too much about the Galaxy’s championship. Have Happy Birthday Carter; I hope it is a great one!

The Horse Thief

2011-12-11T21:40:00.005-07:00

I went for a hike on Sunday. I went to Horsethief Falls and Horsethief Park. The trailhead for the hike is the same trailhead that I used for the Pancake Rocks hike I did over a year ago. It is north of Cripple Creek and west of Pikes Peak. The weather was nice, but it was still quite cold in the shade. The waterfall was frozen over, but I could hear the water under the ice. After viewing the falls, I hiked north through Horsethief Park. Here are some pictures.

Horsethief Falls

Looking down the Falls.

The creek

Horsethief Park

Sentinel Point

The trail

A beaver dam at the northern end of Horsethief Park.

Climb That Hill

2011-11-24T21:03:00.006-07:00

I got out and went hiking on Thanksgiving; however, I didn’t climb a mountain. I climbed a hill instead. The hill is called Midland Hill (9,556 ft.) The trailhead for it is at Riverside Park in Buena Vista. The hike is about a five mile round trip. The views were great. The weather was quite nice. It was warmer than I expected. I wish I had worn shorts. There were quite a few people out for a Thanksgiving Day. I did time the summit right. I had it to myself. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Mt. Princeton

Mt. Columbia

Me on Midland Hill

Looking south from the top of Midland Hill

Mt. Yale and Buena Vista

Mt. Yale, Mt. Columbia, and the top of Midland Hill

The trail below the summit on the north side.

Blue Cyclone

2011-10-24T19:34:00.017-06:00

This past weekend my friends Charles and Tina along with Tina’s cousin Kevin were in Colorado. I met up with them at their campsite at Great Sand Dunes National Park. We hung out and went for a short hike on Saturday. We hiked to Zapata Falls and a little ways beyond.

Charles & Kevin working their way to Zapata Falls. The falls is around the corner.

Zapata Falls

Me at my cabin

Looking out the cabin door.

Kevin, Tina, & Charles hiking

Lonely Yellow Trees

Charles, Yellow Trees, Sand, & Mountains

Fall Color near Zapata Falls

Fall Color and the San Luis Valley.

After the hike, we went back to their campsite and did some beer tasting. There were some very good beers. Tommyknockers Vienna Amber was my favorite.

The beautiful beer tasting venue.

The Beers (Sunshine & 1554 hidden by salsa)

You might wonder why the Blue Cyclone as a title. Beer drinking and blue ice chest triggered the memory of the song with Charles. Kevin was able to find the song on YouTube through his phone. So we got to listen to it. I didn’t realize there were two parts to the song. Anyway, below is the Ballad of the Blue Cyclone Parts 1 and 2 if you care to revisit this infamous song from the past.

Show Me

2011-09-19T22:18:00.009-06:00

Another weekend, another 14er. I climbed Missouri Mountain on Sunday. At 14,073 feet, Missouri Mountain is shortest of the 14ers I did this season, but it may be my favorite of the five. I used the Missouri Gulch Trailhead which is the same trailhead I used the previous weekend for my hike up Mt. Belford and Mt. Oxford. The hike is 10 miles round trip. I started at daybreak. It was a bit on the cold side. The mountains had a touch of snow on them at the higher elevations. There was dramatic drop in the number of people hiking this weekend. I saw only four other people climbing Missouri Mountain. I had the summit to myself. The wind was a bit brutal up top, but I found a spot out of the wind on southwest side where I was able sit and enjoy the view. On the way down, I warmed up enough to strip down to shorts and a short sleeve shirt. This is probably it for my tour of 14ers in Sawatch Range this season. I'll be busy with the Rapids back in town the next couple of weekends. It won’t be long for it to be too cold for my tastes at the higher elevations. Anyway, enjoy the photos.

The climb up this ridge is where the trail gets a little tough.

Looking back on the easy part of the trail.

Looking back from the top of the ridge. Mt. Belford (Left) Mt. Harvard (right)

Huron Peak

The trail on the ridge

The top of Missouri Mountain is in sight.

View from the top. The Three Apostles are in the clouds.

Huron Peak

Mt. Princeton, Mt. Yale, Mt. Antero, Mt. Shavano, & Tabeguache Peak

Harvard and Columbia on the left.

The ridge of Missouri Mtn. La Plata Peak (center) Mt. Elbert (right)

Missouri Gulch. The shoulder of Mt. Belford is on the right.

Mt. Belford is on the left. Mt. Oxford is peaking out in the middle.

Me

Mt. Belford from Missouri Gulch.

The Rising

2011-09-11T19:59:00.009-06:00

Today, I climbed my 10th and 11th 14er. I did Mt. Belford (14,205 ft.) & Mt. Oxford (14,160 ft.) The mountains are located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness northwest of Buena Vista. I took the standard route from the Missouri Gulch trailhead (9,640 ft.) Mt. Belford was the first and last of the 14ers I climbed on the day. It was 3 and half mile hike to the top of Mt. Belford from the trailhead. It was quite cold on top of Mt. Belford. I didn’t stay too long due to the wind and because I needed to keep moving so that I could climb Mt. Oxford.

Mt. Oxford from the top of Mt Belford.

Top of Missouri Mtn. on the right. Huron Peak is right center behind the ridge.

Me on Mt. Belford

From the top of Mt. Belford, I hiked down to a saddle of about 13,500 feet. I then started up Mt. Oxford. Trail distance between Mt. Belford and Mt. Oxford is about 2 miles. The climb up Mt. Oxford from the saddle was relatively easy. By the time I got to the top, the Sun was partially out, and the wind did not seem as bad.

Me on top of Mt. Oxford

Looking back on Mt. Belford.

Mt. Harvard. To the right of Mt. Harvard is Mt. Yale with its top in the clouds.

Look,there is a pika on that rock.

To get back to my car I had to backtrack back over Mt. Belford. The climb up Mt. Belford from the saddle is quite steep. I would say it was toughest part of the hike. I made it, and I was rewarded with some nicer temperatures on top Mt. Belford. I could also see a little bit more. There were surprisingly a lot of clouds in the area this morning. The clouds never threaten, but I kept an eye on them. I made it back to my car around 2 pm. It was a tough day, but obviously it was worth it.

Me on Mt. Belford again

The way down

Mt Oxford on the left and the summit of Mt. Belford on the right.

LaPlata Peak on the left. Mt. Elbert is right center.

An alpine flower.

Number 9, Number 9, Number 9...

2011-09-06T20:49:00.007-06:00

On Monday, I reached the summit of Mt. Antero (14,276 ft.) It is the second 14er I’ve hiked this year and my ninth overall. There is a 4WD road that goes up to 13,700 feet. The standard route is the 4WD road. I didn’t want to hike up the 4WD road so I took a different route that avoided the road except for a small section near the end. I started at Browns Creek Trailhead at an elevation of 8,920 feet. I hiked up the Little Browns Creek Trail. Round trip for this route is listed as 14 miles. I wanted to be on top before the 4WD traffic got there, so I started the hike on Sunday. I hiked up about half way and camped. I was up early Monday morning, and I made it to the top of Mt Antero by 8:45 AM. I had the summit to myself the whole time I was up there. Some 4WD traffic had reached the end of the road while I was on the summit, but nobody was willing to take the short hike. They were either too attached to their veeHICles, or they were looking for gems. Apparently, the mountain is big for gem collectors. On the way down, I saw the three people hiking up the road (the standard route). I think they were the only ones going to the summit. Once I was off the road, I didn’t see a soul until I was a half mile away from my car.

View of Mt. Antero from the end of the 4WD road.

Mt. Princeton on the right. Yale, Harvard, & Columbia are to the left of Princeton

Mt. Shavano (left) & Tabeguache Peak(right)

Looking southwest from the summit.

Me on the summit

Little Browns Creek Trail. Pikes Peak is on the horizon.

Looking back on the trail. The summit is not visible

...But Seriously

2011-08-28T15:20:00.014-06:00

I got back to some serious hiking on Saturday. I’m climbed Mt. Yale which has an elevation of 14,202 feet. They say you can see thirty 14ers up there. I didn’t pick out that many, but I did see quite a few. I did the standard route up from the Denny Creek Trailhead. The trailhead is easy to get to. It is right on the Cottonwood Pass Road. So it was a paved road all the way to the trailhead. I stayed in Buena Vista the night before. So I had real short drive to the trailhead in the morning and was able to get an early start without being tired out from a long drive. The trail was short. It is only a seven mile round trip. The trailhead is at 9,900 feet. So there is 4,300 foot vertical gain. The trail is in great shape. It is not too hard. It is mainly a steady walk up. There is a little of Class 2 climbing near the top. That is where you may need to use your hands for balance. Anyway, I made it to the top without stopping for any water breaks. I didn’t even stop to take my camera out till I got to the top. So here are the pictures starting from the top.
Mt. Princeton is on the left. Antero, Shavano, & Tabeguache are in the center of the picture

Right to Left: Columbia, Harvard, Oxford, & Bedford.

Buena Vista and Pikes Peak

Me with a bunch of 14ers behind me

Looking west towards the cloud covered Taylor Park Reservoir

The start of the trail down.

Me with Beford, Oxford, Harvard & Columbia behind me.

Me with my head in the clouds

Me enjoying the view on the way down.

Looking back at Mt. Yale

Flowers with mountains behind them

Lizard

2011-08-24T20:18:00.006-06:00

Here is a find Mike in the crowd photo. We haven't had one of those in a while.

The Rapids were home last weekend, so I didn’t do any serious hiking. However, I did go for a short a hike before the game. I hiked to Lizard Rock in the Tarryall Mountains. The trail is located of County Road 77 between Lake George and Jefferson. Here are a few pictures from Lizard Rock.

A view

Tarryall Mtns

Lizard Rock?

Looking back at the trailhead

View from Lizard Rock

...In That Quiet Earth

2011-08-16T20:53:00.011-06:00

I went for another hike last Saturday in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. I climbed Cottonwood Peak (13,588 ft.) I used the Garner Creek & Hot Spring Canyon Trailhead located in the northern half of the San Luis Valley. The trailhead is below 9,000 feet so it was a good haul. I took the Hot Springs Canyon Trail up. It was a long steady climb. Above treeline, there were lots of pikas keeping me company. The views were great. It was a bit hazy, but I managed to filter out some of the haze in my pictures. There was a register at the top. I was the first person to sign it in a month. After enjoying the view, I worked my way down to opposite side of the peak in order to make this hike a loop trail. The going was rough at first due to lots of loose rocks, but I made it over to the established trail. I followed the Garner Creek Trail back to my car. It was full day of hiking, and I didn’t see a soul. I was the only one to sign the register at the trailhead for that day. I know that this isn’t the Front Range, but I still would have thought others would have hiked at least part of one of these trails on a Saturday. Oh well, I definitely not complaining!

Cottonwood Peak in sight after a false summit

Looking back

Pikes Peak on the horizon

Looking at the northern end of the San Luis Valley

Me on top Cottonwood Peak

Crestone Group on the horizon

Silver Lake

Flowers

Looking back at Cottonwood Peak and lots of rocks

The Garner Creek Trail goes thru the canyon all the way to the valley

Goal!

2011-08-08T21:24:00.012-06:00

I saw a beautiful goal Friday evening. Brian Mullan hit a screamer in the Rapids 2-0 victory over the Crew. I hang out in the supporter’s section. The view is not great down there, but I saw this goal all the way. From where I was at, it looked liked the ball was heading right for me. Thankful, the net caught it. Here is a YouTube video of the goal, unfortunately it is not the view I had.

On Sunday, I climbed Carbonate Mountain (12,250 ft) in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. To start the hike, I drove to Mosca Pass. There is a road up to pass on the eastern side. It is one of the few gravel roads in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains that I can drive with my car. The trail to Carbonate Mountain is not well known. There are no signs pointing the way. To get to the trail, I followed the Mosca Pass Trail east for about 300 yards. Then I took an unmarked trail that went off to the left. Shortly after getting off the Mosca Pass Trail, I came across the ruins of an old cabin in a beautiful meadow.

Afternoon shot of the cabin in the meadow

From the cabin, I followed a path that took me to the ridgeline. For the most part, the path follows the ridgeline the rest of the way up. The first grand view came at an unnamed knob at 11,268 feet. I could basically see the entire sand field of the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

The Great Sand Dunes

Mosca Pass

The false summit of Carbonate Mtn on the right. Mt. Lindsey peaking out on the left.

The path was not as obvious after the view from the knob. I guess the few people that find this trail are satisfied with that view. My goal was to go further though. After a steep climb, I reached treeline. And to my surprise, I found an abandoned miners cabin on top of the ridge. There was an abandoned mine shaft that was nearby as well. The cabin had a pretty good view to say the least.

Miners Cabin. Picture taken from the ridgeline.

From the cabin, I climbed the false summit. The top of the Carbonate Mountain is just beyond the false summit.

View of Carbonate Mtn from the false summit.

View of Mt. Lindsey, Iron Nipple, Blanca Peak, and others.

From the top of Carbonate Mountain, I was looking at the map and noticed that the next major peak over was a little bit higher than Carbonate Mountain. There was also something on the top of the peak. (I’m not sure if the peak has a name. Google Earth marks it as North Zapata Ridge. It is the high point of that ridge at 12,330 ft.) I figured it was less than a mile to the peak. The weather was perfect. So I kept going and expanded my goal.

Blanca Peak in the center. North Zapata Ridge with object on top on the right.

The object on top of the peak turned out to be a major rock cairn. There were some nice wildflowers on top of the peak. There were also some white rocks which I am guessing is marble, but I’m not a geologist. Anyway, I turned around and made the trek back to my car from there. It was a beautiful and interesting hike.

Rock Cairn on top of North Zapata Ridge

A Flower

A view of the Dunes with Kit Carson Mtn. and Crestone Peaks visible on the right.

White rocks, Carbonate Mtn, & Mt. Herard.

The Dunes. Day Use area and CG is visible if you know where to look.

Back In Time

2011-08-03T21:21:00.008-06:00

I’m a little late posting this hike. It is a blog worthy hike, so here it is. Last Saturday, I hiked to the Horn Lakes. The Lakes are in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains. I used Horn Creek Trailhead once again. It is the third time that I have used that trailhead. There are lots of good trails out of it. The hike was 11 miles round trip. It was an easy hike. The climb is pretty gradual which I can’t say about the other two hikes that I’ve done in the area. Anyway, here are the pictures.

The Trail

Flowers

Horn Lake

Horn Lake again

Flowers in the woods

Looking across the valley at the Wet Mtns.

Looking back

The Pass

2011-07-19T21:19:00.007-06:00

Last Saturday, I went for a hike along the Continental Divide Trail north of Monarch Pass. I hiked all the way to Bald Mountain. (12,851 Ft.) It was a round trip of 12 miles. Most of it was at or above tree line. If you’re reading my blog looking for hiking ideas, I suggest starting at Old Monarch Pass. It will save a couple of miles on the roundtrip. Plus, the section from Monarch Pass to Old Monarch Pass is below tree line. Anyway, here are the pictures.

View of Bald Mtn from Monarch Ski Area

Flowers and Trail

The trail to Bald Mtn

Bald Mtn

Deer on the side of Bald Mtn.

View from the top

Mt Aetna

Waterdog Lakes, Monarch Ski Area, & Monarch Pass

No Retreat No Surrender

2011-07-04T17:10:00.005-06:00

I went for a good hike on Saturday. I climbed Horn Peak (13,450 ft.) in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. I’m not really in shape for 13ers at the moment. I was breathing fine, but the altitude was messing with my energy levels. However, I fought the desire to stop and made it to the top. It was worth the effort because the view was outstanding. Horn Peak doesn’t get a whole lot of traffic. I saw three other people going up as I was going down. That was it. Not bad for a Saturday on a holiday weekend. Here are the pictures.

An Elk taking notice of me

Horn Peak

Zoom View from the top of the Crestone Group and Kit Carson Mtn.

Dry Lakes with Little Horn Peak and a bunch of 14ers in the background

Mt Adams & Fluted Peak

The way up Horn Peak and the Wet Mountain Valley

One of the Dry Lakes

Me

Flowers and Rocks

Columbine

Yesterday And Today

2011-06-26T15:18:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, I hiked to the Waterdog Lakes. The hike is only 4 miles round trip. The trailhead is on the eastern side of the Divide a few miles from Monarch Pass. I have not done much in the way of hiking lately. So this was a good easy hike to loosen up the muscles and breathe in the air. The lakes are above 11,000 feet. There are three lakes. I hiked to two of them. The third lake had a lot of rotten snow on its approach so I skipped it. I didn’t feel like aggravating my knee again by trying to hike in that stuff. Here are some pictures of the lakes.

Waterdog Lake (Middle Lake)

Another view of Waterdog Lake (Middle Lake)

The smallest of the Waterdog Lakes.

A flower in the lake

Today, I hiked up St. Charles Peak, which is the second highest peak in the Wet Mountains. It has an elevation of 11,784 feet. This hike was bit longer. It was 10 mile round trip. It was a shaded hike most of the way up. The top opens up to a magnificent view of the surrounding area. I only saw four other people while hiking. Not bad for a Sunday. There was absolutely no snow on St. Charles Peak. The Wet Mountains and the Sangre De Cristo Range did not get as much snow this past winter as other places in Colorado. Anyway, here are the pictures from this hike.

The summit of St. Charles Peak is in sight.

Flowers

Greenhorn Mtn. from the summit of St. Charles Peak

Sangre De Cristo Range from the summit of St. Charles Peak

Just below the summit of St. Charles Peak. Pikes Peak is in the distance.

This Friendly World

2011-06-14T18:33:00.006-06:00

The Rapids Supporters did a road trip to Portland, Oregon this past weekend. I went on the trip. It was a bit of rough start for me. I had a cold that I had not gotten over yet. I was in the process of getting better, and I got better as the trip went along. I figured fruit would be a good way to make myself healthier faster. So I went to the First Annual Portland Fruit Beer Festival at Burnside Brewing Company and had some liquid fruit. I felt really good afterwards.

The people of Portland were some of the friendliest people I have ever met. The Timbers Army, the Portland Timber Supporters Group, welcomed us with open arms. I wasn’t able to buy beer in their bar, they kept buying it for me. Incredible! They had us as guests at their tailgate as well and invited us back to their bar even after the Rapids beat the Timbers with a goal in the 92nd minute.

I can’t say I saw too much of Portland, but what I saw was quite nice. The only pictures I took are from inside the stadium. It is a cool old stadium that has been reconfigured for soccer. Here are the pictures.

Timbers Army out in force for the pregame warm-ups

This Note's For You

2011-06-01T18:14:00.002-06:00

It looks like I am in the advertising business now.

Dark Side

2011-05-31T21:16:00.002-06:00

For Memorial Day, I went for hike in the Shelf Road Recreation Area. I hiked to the Dark Side Cliffs. The pictures of the cliffs didn’t come out. They were in dark shadows. Here are some pictures that did come out.

A view

Shelf Road below

Another View

Its The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

2011-05-21T22:58:00.002-06:00

Actually, I feel more than fine. I attended a beer festival this afternoon. Good Beer, eh! This morning I perused Red Canyon Park. Here are some pictures from the park.

Mother

2011-05-08T14:28:00.007-06:00

I went for hike on Saturday in the Beaver Creek State Wildlife Area near Penrose. I did a combination of three trails that made a lollipop loop. It was scenic hike, but obviously not as grand as my previous batch of posts. It is starting to get on the warm side here. I’m going to have to start getting some earlier starts on my hikes. Got to go, the telephone is ringing… Enjoy the pictures.

Grassy area on the right is where I parked.

A view along the Skaguay Powerline Trail

Beaver Creek

Looking down on Beaver Creek while on the Beaver Creek Trail

Here are some pictures of flowers.

Happy Mother's Day,

-MM

Uprising

2011-04-24T18:11:00.010-06:00

The following takes place on Saturday, April 16th. This was my last real hiking adventure on my Utah trip. It was the toughest hike of the trip that was made a little rougher by a lack of sleep. I hadn’t slept well all week, and on this last night I had noisy neighbors camped near me that woke me up during the middle of the night. Fortunately, it was not as bad as a certain night in Yellowstone N.P. a few years back. Anyway, I got up before sunrise and made the trek to Canyonlands, which was around an hour’s drive from where I was camped. At Canyonlands, I hiked the Syncline Loop Trail. The trail is a little over 8 miles. The Syncline Loop Trail circles the controversial Upheaval Dome and Crater. The debate is how the dome and crater were created. I didn’t get a good look at dome or crater, but I did see lots of beautiful canyon scenery.

A view along the Syncline Loop Trail

The trail goes down and around the massive rocks on the right.

The Trail

Rock Cairn

The ground was covered in salt at this spot of the canyon floor.

Me

Me again

The way out.

Looking back

Looking back again

I was tired after the hike. The temperature was not really hot, but the sun’s rays were draining. Plus, the lack of sleep was getting to me. I also had an ankle that was tender. I think my boot may have been too tight. So I decided just to make a few stops at overlooks and call it a trip. And a good trip it was.

Green River Overlook

Lizard

An overlook on the way out of the park

Until the next hike,

-MM

200

2011-04-20T22:04:00.013-06:00

For my 200th post, I figure I’ll celebrate with a jug, a bowtie, and a Corona. After Fiery Furnace tour, I went back to my camp and had dinner for lunch. After lunch, I followed the road on the north side of the Colorado River west of Moab. I came across Jug Handle Arch on this drive. The arch can be seen from the road.

Jug Handle Arch

The trailhead for Bowtie and Corona Arch is also on this road. This was my next hike of the day. It was only about a 3 mile round trip. Here are the pictures.

Railroad cut on the trail to Corona Arch

Bowtie Arch on the left and Corona Arch on the right

Bowtie Arch

Bootlegger Canyon

Corona Arch

Cactus and Corona Arch

Bowtie Arch

After the Corona hike, I did a hike on what I believe is called the Portal Overlook Trail. The trailhead is also on this same road. It has great view of Moab, the La Sal Mountains, Arches, and the Colorado River.

Cactus

Colorado River

Tightrope walker

Moab

Moon

Stay tuned...

-MM

Into The Fire

2011-04-19T20:25:00.011-06:00

Friday morning, I took the Fiery Furnace tour in Arches National Park. The Fiery Furnace is a sensitive area that the park service is trying to keep as natural as possible. It is a maze of fins. There are lots of dead ends. The only way to visit the Fiery Furnace is by tour or possibly a special permit if one has done the tour before. The tour I took consisted of 25 people. It is 3 hours long and goes by rather quickly. The hike is only 2 miles. Everybody follows the ranger in single file over rock, between rocks, and through washes. My pictures for this hike don’t come close to capturing the beauty of the place. My camera was less than a week old, so I haven’t figured it out yet. Regardless, I doubt I could have captured the beauty even if I knew my camera better. Below are the pictures that came out okay.

Sunrise from the park road.

Three Gossips & The Organ on the left. I'm not sure what the big boy on the right is called.

Skull Arch in the Fiery Furnace

In the Fiery Furnace

Kissing Turtles Arch

Ranger Casey

Looking towards Balance Rock from inside the Furnace

Fiery Furnace

Surprise Arch

Looking back on the Fiery Furnace

To Be Continued...

-MM

Into The Great Wide Open

2011-04-18T22:44:00.009-06:00

Last week, I was in Utah for a soccer game and a little R&R. So I’ll share the pictures and story of my trip over several posts. The first stop of the trip was Salt Lake City for the first leg of the Rocky Mountain Cup between Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake. This is a bitter rivalry that did not end well for the Rapids. RSL won 1-0 in stoppage time on a goal that was clearly offside. The Rapids have been snakebitten against RSL in recent years. As fans, we were waiting for something bad to happen as the clock hit the 90th minute. Hats off to the Rapids players. After such a bitter defeat, they still took the time to acknowledge the fans that made the road trip.

The next day, I drove to Arches National Park. I found a campsite outside the park, and then went for a hike in the park. The first stop was Delicate Arch. I had done this hike before in 2005, but I wanted to revisit it when there was snow on the mountains. I figured it would add to the already beautiful scenery. That it did. Here are the pictures from the hike.

Delicate Arch with the snow covered La Sal Mountains

Delicate Arch with one of the Window Arches in the distance

Delicate Arch from Frame Arch

Frame Arch

Me and a different view of Delicate Arch

View from inside Echo Arch

Echo Arch

After the hike, I had some time to kill so I stopped off at one of my favorite arches.

Double Arch

Sunset from Double Arch

More to come…

-MM

VI

2011-04-05T21:57:00.007-06:00

Happy Birthday Cara! I guess. I'm not sure. Look at my Calendar. I'm so confused.

I guess you don't have a birthday this year.

This dinosaur was upset about it. I was worried it might get out of its fenced in area.

This is what Rex had to say.

I hope your missing birthday was great!

-Uncle MM

Uncertain Weather

2011-04-04T19:31:00.006-06:00

On Saturday, I went for a hike at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. The weather was beautiful with record highs in some parts of the state. There are some nice trails at the Monument. They are all pretty easy. Here are the pictures from the hike.

A petrified redwood stump

Me and a view of Pikes Peak

Snow/ice that is trying to survive

Me and the boulders of Boulder Creek

Looking back on the boulders

View of Pikes Peak

I attended the Rapids game on Sunday. The weather was not that nice for the game. It was cold with some light snow. It was warm in the stands from the cheering of the die-hards that made the game. The Rapids won 4-1. No pictures from the game. Who knows, maybe some “find me in the crowd” pictures will turn up somewhere on the internet later this week.

-MM

Insomniac

2011-03-22T21:32:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday, I went to the Rapids season opener vs. the Portland Timbers. The Rapids won 3-1. I had plans to go hiking on Sunday, but I didn’t go. I couldn’t get to sleep Saturday night. It was probably 3 in the morning before I fell asleep. It wasn’t a sound sleep either. I guess I had too much excitement from the Rapids game.

The unveiling of the MLS Cup Champions banner

Colorado Flags in the Pid Army Supporters section

I'm holding up one of the poles for the Tifo display of the Denver skyline.

I'm holding up a flag in this one.

4X4

2011-03-17T20:57:00.008-06:00

Last Sunday, I attended a Rapids Supporters party at the Celtic in downtown Denver. It was good time. We celebrated last year’s Cup win and talked optimistically about the chances of repeating. Things do look good. All the starters are returning from the Championship team, and they have improved the bench. The new season starts for the Rapids on Saturday, March 19th.

Me with the MLS Cup.

I’m in the new Rapids Season Tickets commercial.

What, you didn’t see me? It is a bit subliminal. He is a screen capture of my subliminal fame. You might recognize my dirty Rapids hat that I wear hiking a lot.

As most of my regular readers know or figured out, I often allude to music or other bits from pop culture in the title of my posts. It is usually music. Anyway, I figured with this post I would include some music from one of my favorites.

Here’s what little info I know about the EP

Works Progress Administration - 4X4
Four friends, four songs, most of a day, many tacos.

credits
released 05 March 2011
Made by WPA
Mixed by Jerry Roe at Ed.

Glen Phillips - vocals, guitar
Jerry Roe - drums, vocals
Sebastian Steinberg - bass, vocals
Sean Watkins - vocals, guitar

Cloudy

2011-03-06T20:49:00.003-07:00

I went for short hike on Sunday. I hiked up Fremont Peak again. I did this hike last Thanksgiving; however, this time I hiked a little further since I did not have to get back for turkey. I followed the ridge east a little ways. There really wasn’t a trail; so I had to watch out for the cactus. On the way back I found a trail below the ridge that took me back to where I started. The trail was not maintained. It was overgrown. However, the trail had switchbacks. So it was definitely a man-made trail despite the Elk Duds.

View from the top of Fremont Peak

Tannner Peak on the left. Sangre de Cristo Mtns on the right. Arkansas River down below

Looking east along the ridge.

Looking back at Fremont Peak

Side trip to a view of the Bridge.

Anyone Seen The Bridge?

2011-02-27T21:12:00.008-07:00

I went for a short hike today along Grape Creek. It was more of exploring trip to see what was there. I parked at B.F. Rockefeller Ecology Park. I walked through the open space park to BLM land. I then cut through a water gap that took me to Grape Creek. I crossed the creek and followed a horse trail upstream into Temple Canyon. I crossed the creek 7 times before I decided I had enough of testing luck on my rock hoping skills. The water was low, so it wasn't too hard to get across the creek. It looks like the water gets pretty high during the spring runoff. The canyon was quite pretty. It is worth further exploring.

Looking towards Tanner Peak

Grape Creek

Crossing spot

Ah, Sheep

Lots of Cactus in the Canyon

Grape Creek

Twice If You’re Lucky

2011-01-30T19:15:00.002-07:00

Two posts in one weekend. That hasn’t happened in a while. It was another nice day in Colorado, but that will change on Monday. With Sunday being nice and with me wanting to try something new again, I hiked to the top of Tanner Peak in the Wet Mountains. Tanner Peak has an elevation of around 9340 feet. I’ve seen three different elevations for it. I’ll go with the one in the middle. The bad thing about this hike is that ATV’s are allowed on the trail. I saw four ATV’s on my hike. They were noisy, smelly, and loud. Two of them just drove up to a scenic spot to shoot their guns in the National Forest and leave a mess. It surprises me that the Forest Service still allows ATV’s here; however, I did know that ATV’s were allowed before I went to the trailhead so the damage that was left is not a surprise. I heard that Tanner Peak was a scenic hike, and I was not disappointed there. On the way up, there were some great views of Pikes Peak and Cañon City. The top of the peak opened up to a grand view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. By the time I got to the top, clouds had moved in and it started getting cold. I did not spend too much time on top. I needed to head down. The hike was a little longer than I expected, and I wanted to get back before it got dark. I did. Here are the pictures.

The trail

Pikes Peak and Cañon City

On top of Tanner Peak with a view of the Sangre de Cristo Mtns.

Me and the southern view from Tanner Peak

Another view of Pikes Peak and Cañon City on the way down.

Out Of Touch

2011-01-29T20:11:00.002-07:00

It has been a while since my last post. I haven’t done any new hikes lately. They have all been repeats. Well that changed on Saturday. I went for a hike on Thompson Mountain. The trails where I went for a hike are located off of Highway 11 southwest of Cripple Creek on some BLM land. The weather was outstanding. I wore shorts on this hike. The only people I saw were four horseback riders at the halfway point of the lollypop route that I took. They came up a different route so I only followed their hoof prints for about a quarter of a mile. The only other prints I saw besides mine were from the critters. It was quite nice. Here are the pictures.

A view of Pikes Peak

The trail near Thompson Point

Sangre de Cristo Mountains

I believe that is Cap Rock on the horizon

My car is in the valley below those cliffs.

Ten

2010-12-18T00:23:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday Carter!!! Did you get snow for your birthday again? We got a light dusting the day before your birthday. Plus, Landon Donovan stopped by my place so that he could wish you a Happy Birthday. I couldn’t resist reminding him that Rapids were the Champions and that his team was eliminated easily from the playoffs by the runner-up. I probably shouldn’t have done that because he kept the ball that he had with him. So all I have to show for his visit is this picture. Happy Birthday.

Mike Versus the Leftovers

2010-11-28T17:15:00.007-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. I went for a blog worthy hike on Saturday. I hiked to the Pancake Rocks. The trailhead for the Pancake Rocks is north of Cripple Creek. The trail was a gradual climb through woods to an elevation of about 11,000 feet. The trail drops below 11,000 feet before reaching the final destination. I hung out at the Pancake Rocks for about 50 minutes. I ate a turkey sandwich while I enjoyed the view. Here are the pictures.

Me on a Pancake Rock

Me by a Pancake Rock

Looking south at the highway split for Cripple Creek and Victor

Pancake Rocks

Me and the Pancake Rocks

Zoom View

A touch of snow on the rocks

Feeding Frenzy

2010-11-25T19:48:00.009-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I enjoyed the day by going for hike, eating a lot of turkey, playing some games, and probably by eating some more turkey after I finish this post. My hike took me to the top of Fremont Peak at an elevation of 7,233 feet. Fremont Peak is in Royal Gorge Park. The hike starts in the campground/picnic area at the park. I hiked up an access road that leads to some radio and cell towers. From there I followed feral hiking path to the top of Fremont Peak. It is a short hike. The only steep part was the last bit. The trail is not maintained so it just goes straight up at that point. Fremont Peak has a nice 360 degree view at the top. Today was the coldest day that I have gone hiking so far this season. It was only really cold when the wind blew. It certainly doesn’t come close to the wind last Thanksgiving on top of Mt. Sniktau. Anyway, here are the pictures as always.

View from the Top

Me on top

Royal Gorge Bridge

Looking towards Pikes Peak

Looking towards Cañon City

The top and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Happy Thanksgiving,

-MM

We Are The Champions

2010-11-22T20:54:00.007-07:00

The Rapids are the Champions of the MLS!!! While I did not make it to Toronto to see the big game, I did make it down to the Celtic in downtown Denver on Sunday for the biggest viewing party in the Rapids 15 year history. There was lots of great singing, chanting, and celebrating. It was a special night and a magical season. Being a part of a supporters group this season made it that much better. I have had greater connection to other fans and the players this year. I look forward to next season when the Rapids repeat!!!

Here is a video of the final whistle. It is quite dark and shaky. I was celebrating and filming at the same time. It’s all about the moment.

On the day before the big game, I went for a hike at Dome Rock State Wildlife Area. It is located west of Pikes Peak and just south of Mueller State Park. I did a loop hike that took me around Dome Rock. It was a beautiful hike as most hikes are in Colorado. There are quite a few trails there. I’m sure I’ll go back there. I definitely need to go back during the fall color to hike the southern portion of the loop again. Anyway, here are a few pictures of the hike.

Me in front of a icy beaver pond.

A view along the Dome Rock Trail

Dome Rock

Note: Dogs are prohibited in Dome Rock State Wildlife Area. Also several trails are closed from December 1 through July 15th. This is due to the area being a prime calving ground for bighorn sheep.

Rapids Wonderland

2010-11-14T23:33:00.005-07:00

On Saturday Night, I attended the Eastern Conference Finals between Colorado and San Jose. The temperatures were probably in the upper 20’s by the end of the game. It didn’t matter. We were warm from cheering, and we’re thrilled with the Rapids victory. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera to capture some of the moments. Here is a photo I got off the Pid Army Facebook Page that has Pablo Mastroeni, the Rapids Captain, singing and drumming with the Pid Army.

The Rapids face FC Dallas in Toronto for the MLS Cup on Sunday, November 21st. I would go, but I don’t have a passport. Ugh! I didn’t realize the final was in Canada until it was too late. I guess I’ll watch at one of the viewing parties. That should be fun too.

Go Rapids!

Raspberry Beret

2010-11-07T21:06:00.005-07:00

No raspberries or berets were used in the making of this post; however, Raspberry Mountain (10,605 ft.) was hiked, and the song Raspberry Beret popped into my head on the way up. Ugh! The hike was great though. Raspberry Mountain is northwest of Pikes Peak and is near Mueller State Park. Go here for directions and more detailed information about this hike. That’s what I did. The trail follows an old road most of the way up. There is a rock outcrop on top that has a magnificent 360 view. The weather would have been perfect if it was not for the wind. I had to take shelter behind some rocks to eat my lunch. Here are some pictures from the summit.

Me with a view of Pikes Peak.

Me on top of Raspberry Mtn

North Catamount Reservoir behind me

Looking back on Raspberry Mtn.

On the way down, I had the song “Rapids Burgundy” going through my head. It is set to the tune of “Yellow Submarine”. I got the Rapids on the mind. The Rapids get to host the Eastern Conference Championship next Saturday despite being a Western Conference team. Crazy MLS playoff system, but I’ll take it. It is going to be fun.

I hope I didn't scare you too much with this picture. I meant to put it up last week, but I forgot.

-MM

Halloween

2010-10-31T22:29:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone survived all the little ghouls out in the streets this evening. There were quite a few of them on the streets where I live. I haven’t really done any major hikes the past two weekends. So here are some pictures I’ve taken recently just to keep the blog alive.

Fall view along the Arkansas River

Royal Gorge Bridge

Royal Gorge Bridge

Royal Gorge Bridge once again.

The Bridge is huge tourist trap. The bridge and gorge is quite cool by itself, but all kinds of junk has been built around it. It is way too expensive to visit. Fortunately, I have been given a pass so I didn't have to pay to see it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made the stop.

Happy Halloween,

-MM

Solitude

2010-10-17T20:31:00.005-06:00

The Rapids qualified for the playoffs on Saturday!!! They still have a game to spare. The Rapids have missed out on the playoffs the past 3 years in heartbreaking fashion. It is a huge relief that they didn’t wait till the last game again. So I celebrated on Sunday by going hiking. I did a hike in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains near Westcliffe. I hiked up to the Dry Lakes. I parked at the Horn Creek Trailhead. I followed the Rainbow Trail to the Dry Creek Trail. The Rainbow Trail is open to ATV’s, so it is quite wide. The Dry Creek Trail pretty much just goes straight up the mountain. It is a good haul up to the Dry Lakes. Fortunately the trail is only 3.5 miles long. The Dry Creek Trail is quite wide as well. I bet it was open to ATV’s at one time. It is open to hikers and horses only now. I made it to the Lakes and back to my car without seeing a single person. I’m not sure if I have ever done that in Colorado. I know I’ve had some mountain tops to myself, but I would still see people on other parts of the trail. I was quite surprised not see anyone. The road to the trailhead was paved except for the last quarter of a mile. Anyway here are some pictures.

Getting closer to the Lakes

Me at the Dry Lakes

Lake

Looking back at the Wet Mountains

View from my lunch spot

The Fall color still hanging around on the road out.

Chicago

2010-10-14T21:38:00.021-06:00

I was scheduled to change planes and go back to Colorado after my Iowa trip; however, when I discovered that the US was going to play Poland in a friendly in Chicago, the thought crossed my mind to hop off the plane in Chicago and see the game. And that is what basically happened. Jim and Stacy decided to come out well. I met them in Chicago last Thursday, October 7th. We played tourist during the day. On Friday we did a bike tour of the city. It was quite interesting riding down the streets of downtown Chicago.

A stop along the bike ride. Oprah lives near by.

Jim and Lincoln

View from our hotel room

We went to a MLS game Friday evening. We saw the Chicago Fire beat the Columbus Crew 2-0 at Toyota Park. We joined a bunch of American Outlaws at Small Bar north of town and took a chartered school bus to the stadium on the south side of town. It was a long ride made shorter by the fact that beer was allowed on this school bus. Only in Chicago I guess.

Brian McBride scores a goal

We didn’t have any plans before the game Saturday so we basically walked around and saw the sights that were within walking distance of our hotel. Here are a few pictures from that.

The Egg a Millenium Park

Under the Egg

The side of the Egg

The Sears Tower

View from the Ferris Wheel at the Navy Pier.

On the way to game, we walked by the head-quarters for the US Soccer Federation.

The US/Poland game was a 2-2 draw. We stood in the US Supporters section for the first half. It was a little too crazy. There were a few people there who I doubt will remember being at that game. Jim and Stacy got nailed pretty good by some flying beers. It got me a little bit but not too bad. We had enough of the festivities in the supporters section by half time and moved to the nosebleeds so that we could pay more attention to the game. The majority of the crowd was Polish, and to our surprise, they spoke Polish. After the game, we watched the fireworks that took place at the Navy Pier from the top of Soldier Field.

View from the top of Soldier Field

Fireworks at Navy Pier

On Sunday, I returned to Colorado while Jim and Stacy returned to North Carolina.

Until next time,

-MM

Is this Heaven? No…it’s Iowa

2010-10-11T21:11:00.009-06:00

Last week, I spent Sunday through Thursday in Dubuque, Iowa. I was there for classes and a conference. Dubuque is right on the Mississippi River in northeast Iowa near the border of Illinois and Wisconsin. Dubuque is quite scenic. I got chance to see town during my off hours. One of things I did was take a ride on the 4th Street Elevator. The Fenelon Place Elevator Company dates back to the 1800’s. Elevator is basically a cable car railway. It is described as the world’s shortest and steepest scenic railway.

The Mississippi River from the top of the bluffs above Dubuque

Top of the Elevator

The Elevator Car

The track

I also went out to the Field of Dreams. The movie site was only a 30 minute drive from Dubuque. It is a cool place to visit. It doesn’t cost a thing, although I did make a nice donation. People do come from all over to see this place. Some people from Australia and England were leaving as we got there. I’m not sure what they know about baseball. Anyway the place was pretty cool. It looked just like the movie with the exception of the power line going through the middle of the field.

Field of Dreams

I wish I had done the wave while I was here.

The view from foul territory in left field

The view from the corn

Rounding 1st Base

Batting practice on the field

If you build it, he will come.

The hotel I stayed at in Dubuque overlooked the Mississippi River. I did short walks along the river every day I was there.

Shot Tower

Prayer Booth. I prayed for Dubuque Star Brewery to reopen.

The view of the Mississippi River from my hotel room

The Mississippi River was a little bit high

I left Iowa on Thursday; however, the adventure continued in Chicago. Look for an update on the Chicago portion of my trip later this week.

Road Trippin'

2010-09-27T22:15:00.008-06:00

The Colorado Rapids played their arch rival Real Salt Lake this past Saturday in Sandy, Utah. The Rapids supporters make this an annual road trip. I met up with them in Salt Lake. We had a blast at the tailgate and game. Click here for an article by the supporter's group that I'm associated with. Here are a couple of videos that I shot of some of the events.

The Rapids almost pulled off the victory. Real Salt Lake scored in the 93rd minute to tie the game up at 1-1. The game was over a minute later. It was a bit heartbreaking to miss out on the win in that way. In reality, the draw was a good result for Colorado. Real Salt Lake has not lost a game at home this year. They meet again in Colorado on October 23rd, which is the last game of the regular season. It should be a good one.

On the way home, I stopped off at Colorado National Monument. I basically just drove through the park and stopped off at a few overlooks. It was kind of scouting trip to see what was there. It made a nice break on the drive back. The park is small, but nice. I think it will be worth it to come back and see what the place looks like away from the road. Here are a few pictures.

Revolution

2010-09-20T22:37:00.007-06:00

On Saturday, I went to the Rapids game and watched the Rapids beat the Revolution 3-0. It was the Rapids third straight 3-0 win at home. On Sunday, I went to the Wild Basin Trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park. This was my first time going to Wild Basin area. Wild Basin is south of Longs Peak in the southeast portion of the park. I hiked to Ouzel Falls, Ouzel Lake, and Bluebird Lake. It was a roundtrip of 13.8 miles if the sign mileage was correct. Anyway, it was a beautiful hike. Here are the pictures to prove it.

Ouzel Falls

Longs Peak and Mt Meeker

Fall color along the trail

Ouzel Lake

Bluebird Lake

Me at Bluebird Lake.

Mahana Peak and Bluebird Lake

Ouzel Peak and Bluebird Lake

Another view of Ouzel Peak and Bluebird Lake

Zoom view of Longs Peak and Mt. Meeker. The Home-stretch is up there somewhere

Dune

2010-09-07T20:50:00.006-06:00

I went down to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve on Labor Day. I met up with my friends Charles and Tina who are visiting from Florida. We went hiking in the dunes. Instead of hiking to the top of High Dune, which we had done before and is the most popular destination, we decided to hike deeper into the dune fields. It was quite interesting hike to be surrounded by dunes and not seeing anybody else close by. Here are the pictures.

Charles and Tina climbing the Dunes

Charles and Tina on the ridge of a dune

Prairie sunflower

Mt. Herard

Charles and Tina

The final ascent of one of the steeper dunes we climbed.

Me

Going Down

Charles and Tina in a field of prairie sunflowers

Prairie sunflower field

I Did It

2010-08-22T22:02:00.005-06:00

On Saturday, I knocked off my 7th 14er. I climbed Mt. Evans (14,265 Ft). I had been to the top of Mt Evans twice previously, but this is the first time I truly hiked to the top. I just can’t count driving to within a quarter of mile from the top as a hike. A lot of people drive up to Summit Lake (12,834 Ft) and hike up. I decided that was too easy and wasn’t challenging enough. So I started my hike from Echo Lake (10,597 Ft) by following the Chicago Lakes Trail. The hike starts off by losing about 300 to 400 feet in elevation. It felt like a lot more on the way back. I walked by the Idaho Springs Reservoir and after about 2 miles I came to the Mt Evans Wilderness Boundary. There was a sign that said 6.3 miles to Mt. Evans. I still had a ways to go. I hiked on by the Chicago Lakes. The lakes are worthy of hike all by their selves. They are extremely gorgeous with cliffs all around them.

The first Chicago Lake. Mt. Spalding is on the right in the sunlight.

Looking down on the first Chicago Lake from the 2nd one.

From the Chicago Lakes, I climbed up to the saddle between Mt. Warren and Mt. Spalding. It was a steep haul. Summit Lake is just on the other side of the saddle. Summit Lake is where I started seeing people. I hadn’t seen a soul before that.

Looking down on the Chicago Lakes. Longs Peak is visible on the horizon on the left.

Summit Lake and Mt. Evans

From the saddle, I took a right and started up Mt. Spalding (13,842 Ft). It was a little discouraging being passed by some of the hikers just starting out from Summit Lake. I was pretty tired at this point. I made it up and over Mt. Spalding. There were lots of people on the trail. Most had come from Summit Lake, but some had come from Mt. Bierstadt via the Sawtooth route. The summit of Mt. Bierstadt looked crowded. It was quite busy when I did it a few years ago.

Mt. Bierstadt and Abyss Lake

The closer I got to the summit, the more people I saw. The road came into view, and there were cars and people everywhere. It was too much to take. I went to the top, got my summit photo, had some water, soaked in the view briefly, and then started down the same way I came.

Summit Lake from the summit of Mt. Evans

Me on the summit

A marmot watching me in the saddle between Mt. Evans and Mt. Spalding

Going down was tough. The legs were tired and my energy was low. I had to take a few more breaks than usual going down. Going down can be dangerous if you’re tired. I was careful, and I made it. Looking back, I’m not sure if I would recommend taking the long way like I did. It is too discouraging seeing all the people who drove up after you’ve hiked all that way. At least I can say that I did it though. I’ll have to deal with this once more if I ever decide to make Pikes Peak legit. (It is not included in my 14er count.)

Happy Trails…

-MM

In Hiding

2010-08-16T22:40:00.007-06:00

I met up with Flat Feet this past weekend in Grand Lake. He is going back and doing sections of the Continental Divide Trail that he road walked around because of weather related issues. This weekend he is acclimatizing to the altitude. I did a couple of day hikes with him in Rocky Mountain National Park. Here are some pictures.

The mighty Colorado River just north of the site of Lulu City.

Flowers along Grand Ditch

Flat Feet along Grand Ditch

Mama Moose. Baby moose is in hiding.

Me above Grand Lake on the East Inlet Trail

Flat Feet at Lone Pine Lake

Flat Feet walking along the East Inlet Trail

East Inlet

East Inlet once again.

Rosalie

2010-08-09T22:08:00.004-06:00

On Sunday, I hiked to the top of Rosalie Peak. (13,575 Ft.) It is a part of the Mt. Evans group. With Rosalie Peak being so close to Denver you would think it would be overused, but surprisingly, it is not. I had the mountain to myself for most of the morning. It was almost noon before I saw someone else going up. I saw some other people later, but I don’t think they were going to the top. I started at the Deer Creek Trailhead (9,248 Ft.) and hiked up the Tanglewood Trail to a small pass on the ridgeline. From there, I took a left and followed the ridgeline to the top. There is no trail, not even a rock cairn. I figured there would have been a worn path. Anyway, no big deal, it was class 1 hike all the way to the top. The hike kicked my butt though. It was not hard; I’m just not in shape. I haven’t done enough hiking this summer. My endurance is not there. The hike was 9.5 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 4,327 feet. It was not the cakewalk that Mt. Audubon was three weeks back. Despite my lack of fitness, I made it and enjoyed the view. Here are the pictures.

Treeline

Looking down on Roosevelt Lakes

Left to Right: Mt. Bierstadt, Mt. Evans, and me.

View towards South Park

Another view from the top of Rosalie Peak

The way down (also the way up)

Get Up

2010-08-02T21:22:00.012-06:00

While I worked during the week, I don’t think my parents did much other than read. So I had to get them up and out hiking this past weekend. While the hikes were extremely easy, they were at least out doing some walking. Hopefully they will do more of that, but I doubt it. Saturday we went to Roxborough State Park. We did the Fountain Valley Trail. It’s a beautiful hike through the red rocks.

Moms & Pops on the Fountain Valley Trail

A view along the trail

Moms & Pops hiking up the trail from Persse Place

Lyons Overlook

On Sunday, we went to Castlewood Canyon State Park. It is a state park near Castle Rock. Cherry Creek runs through the canyon. There are ruins of a dam there. It broke in 1933 and flooded parts of downtown Denver. We did a short hike down into the small canyon and took in a Clark Griswold view of the dam and then climbed back out of the canyon. Apparently dogs are good at finding rattlesnakes. We met one couple with a dog that saw two rattlesnakes. They turned around and warned as about one snake, but we never saw it. Another couple with a dog had an encounter with a rattlesnake; unfortunately their dog got bitten on the nose. From the stories we pieced together, this happened shortly after we walked through that section of trail. We never saw or heard the snake.

Pops on a rock in Castlewood Canyon

Above: Moms & Pops in front of a conglomerate rock

The dam is right there, but it is too far...

Pops & a tree

Mama

2010-07-25T21:41:00.008-06:00

Sunday was Mom’s Birthday. It was celebrated by going for a drive in the mountains, eating lunch that consisted of potato chips and a Dairy Queen Blizzard, a train ride through Royal Gorge, and a Dairy Queen dinner. Here are the pictures from the day.

Beckwith Historic Ranch in the Wet Mountain Valley

Moms and Pops above Grape Creek

A view from Temple Canyon Park

Royal Gorge Bridge from the train

Arkansas River

Royal Gorge Bridge

Long way up.

View of the train and Arkansas River

Moms & Pops on the train

Pops on the train

Helicopter flying through the gorge.

The Phantom

2010-07-24T16:28:00.007-06:00

It is parent’s week in Colorado. My parents are here this weekend and next. Today was scenic drive day. We drove up the Phantom Canyon Road to Victor and Cripple Creek and enjoyed the sites. It was a real rough day. Pops had to take a nap afterwards. Here are some pictures.

Mom along the Phantom Canyon Rd.

Ditto

Mom & Dad along the Phantom Canyon Rd.

I nearly got stepped on when taking this picture.

Flowers in Victor

The Mall

Pops in front of the Victor Hotel

Magnificent

2010-07-19T21:39:00.015-06:00

Since my last post I have watched a lot of soccer, I’ve been sick, and I have done a lot of non-blog worthy stuff. With me being better and the World Cup over, I managed to go for a blog worthy hike on Sunday. I drove up to Brainard Lake Recreation Area in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. I have done hikes in this area before. It is close to Denver and is extremely popular for good reason. I decided to hike Mt. Audubon (13,233 feet). I have had my eye on Mt. Audubon for a while. It is a relatively easy 13er that I figured would be good one to do early in the hiking season. As advertised, it was easy. The round trip hike was about 8 miles. There were lots of wildflowers, pikas, and magnificent views. Enough of this writing, here are the pictures.

I believe this is a White-tailed Ptarmigan

Flowers along the slope of Mt. Audubon

Pika on the rock.

Flowers and Longs Peak

The summit of Mt. Audubon

Me on top. Lake Granby is on the left in the distance.

Me on top with Longs Peak in the background

Looking south at the Indian Peaks with Blue Lake down below

Northwest view with Upper Coney Lake below

Columbine

Mitchell Lake

When The Yanks Go Marching In

2010-06-12T21:17:00.004-06:00

British Bulldog: June 12, 2010

The wait is over; the World Cup has started. The U.S. is off to a decent start. They tied England 1-1. It is a good result. The U.S. goal was a bit of an English blunder to say the least, but it counts. Overall, I think the tie is a fair result. Both teams had excellent opportunities to win it. I went to the British Bulldog in Denver to watch the game. It was a blast. The place was should have been renamed the American Bulldog. They closed the roads outside and had a street party. From the video I saw on the local news, it was packed despite the wet weather. Here are some videos I took from the day.

When The Yanks Go Marching In

The National Anthem

Here's a guy dancing to a U2 cover band long after the game ended.

The next game for the U.S. is against Slovenia on Friday. I’ll be late getting to work that day.

-MM

Energy Spent

2010-06-07T21:30:00.008-06:00

It was a soccer day on Saturday. I watched the U.S. beat Australia 3-1 in the morning at the British Bulldog, and I watched the Rapids beat the Crew 1-0 at Dicks Sporting Goods Stadium. I’m getting warmed up for the World Cup when everyday is soccer day. The first World Cup game for the United States is against England on June 12th. It will be televised on ABC.

On Sunday, I made my way up to Rocky Mountain National Park where I did some hiking. I started my hike at the Bierstadt Lake Trailhead where I hiked up to Bierstadt Lake. I had the lake to myself.

A view along the Bierstadt Lake Trail

Bierstadt Lake

Me, Longs Peak, and Bierstadt Lake

After enjoying the scenery at Bierstadt Lake, I started hiking towards Bear Lake, but I did not go to Bear Lake. I kept on going. I made way to Lake Helene and Odessa Lake. The trail was not steep, but once I got past the turnoff for Flattop Mountain I started getting into some significant snow. The snow made the going slow. The scenery was great though.

Looking towards Notchtop Mountain

A small pond along the way

Looking down on Lake Helene

Notchtop Mtn and Grace Falls

Odessa Lake

Me with Grace Falls in the background

While sitting on the rocks above Lake Helene and Odessa Lake, I decided to make this hike an adventurous loop hike. I made the way down toward Odessa Lake. It was rough going in the snow. I didn’t even bother trying to get to the lakes edge because of the snow. I kept on going to Fern Lake.

Fern Lake

Thankfully, I was through with the snow at Fern Lake. From there, I hiked on down to The Pool. The water level was impressive.

After The Pool, I had a long uphill hike to get back to Lake Bierstadt. This route had some nice views looking down on Cub Lake. I lost my sunglasses somewhere in this section. I had them on top of my hat and must have flipped them off at some point while adjusting my hat. I was tired, but I made it back to my car. I estimate that the round trip was at least 15 miles. I think I’m being conservative with the estimate. I don’t have mileage for all of the connecting trails. The snow hiking sucked a lot of the energy out me. Except for losing my sunglasses, it was a great day.

Cub Lake

Until next time,

-MM

Steam Engine

2010-05-31T17:31:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful three-day weekend. I enjoyed a couple of soccer games on Saturday. I did some long neglected chores on Sunday. I did my hike on Monday. I hiked up the Newlin Creek Trail in the Wet Mountains. The trail is about 2.7 miles long. It goes up a canyon to the site of an old sawmill that was run off of a steam engine. The official trail ended at the historic site; however, there was a trail that kept going. So naturally I followed it. The feral trail climbed out of the canyon. The trail eventually disappeared, but a route had been marked by rock cairns. This led me to a high point where I had views of the surrounding valleys, canyons, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Looking up

The Herrick Sawmill

A view from the top

Zoom view of the Sangre de Cristo Mtns.

Looking down on The City.

Can't Complain

2010-05-26T21:42:00.003-06:00

Things have been a little busy for me as of late, but I can’t complain. Things have been good. Anyway this post is about a hike I did last Sunday. I climbed to the top of South Boulder Peak. (8,549 Ft.) I had done the approach trail up Shadow Canyon a couple of times, but I had not taken the spur trail to South Boulder Peak until Sunday. The view was great and the weather was perfect. I hung out on top for probably 50 minutes just soaking in the view. As I was going down, there was a rush of people going up. I’m glad I got the earlier start. Here are the pictures.

View of Boulder and Bear Peak from the top South Boulder Peak

Looking south from South Boulder Peak. The railroad is visible in Eldorado Canyon

Me thinking about some hikes for later this summer.

I Must Be In The Front Row

2010-05-09T20:18:00.006-06:00

I did two hikes this weekend. On Saturday, I hiked the Spruce Mountain Open Space Trail. It is in Douglas County along the Palmer Divide. The trail is pretty easy. It follows along the top of a small cliff that has some nice views of Pikes Peak.

Looking towards Pikes Peak from the Greenland Overlook

View of Eagle Mtn.

Mushroom rock

Flowers are trying to come out despite it still feeling like winter on the Palmer Divide.

On Sunday, I hiked to the top of Mt. Morrison, which is the mountain above Red Rocks. It is a mountain that I have been thinking about hiking for a while. After climbing it, I wish I had done it sooner. The trailhead is less than 10 minutes from my Lakewood estates. There are several routes up Mt. Morrison. I used the trailhead near entrance 4 of Red Rocks. The trail is not well known. None of the trails are marked or have signs at their trailheads. Which is kind of cool, it keeps the number of people hiking it down. I saw several people on the trail, but it was not bad for the weekend and for being so close to Denver. The open space parks nearby are always overwhelmed on the weekend. The hike up was steep. It wasn’t the cakewalk that I had the day before. The view up top makes it worth the effort, and the weather was extremely nice.

A cactus flower near the top of Mt. Morrison

Looking towards Mt. Evans from the top of Mt. Morrison

Dinosaur Ridge and Green Mtn down below

Red Rocks from the Uecker seats.

Outlaw Man

2010-05-02T20:19:00.005-06:00

This weekend, the American Outlaws got an official chapter in Denver. It’s about time. For those who don’t know, American Outlaws is a nation-wide supporters group for the US National Soccer Team. The British Bulldog will be home base for the Denver Chapter. We’re trying to rename it to the American Bulldog for the World Cup, but I doubt that is going to fly. It should be an interesting scene in the bar on June 12th when the US faces England in the World Cup.

Outlaw Man

As far as hiking, here are some pictures from a recent hike near Cañon City that I never got around to posting.

Inside one of the tunnels on the Tunnel Drive Trail

The trail goes through the tunnel

Arkansas River

Working For The Weekend

2010-04-18T22:35:00.003-06:00

My adventures these days are going to be relegated to the weekend. That is very much a good thing. I’m a little more dependent on the weather now, but I’ll deal with it. Saturday was overcast and damp. It ended up being an errand day. On Sunday, the weather was great, and I enjoyed a Rapids game at Dicks Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids beat Toronto 3-1. Conor Casey got 2 goals. He has 3 goals on the season, and all of them have been penalty kicks. He needs to produce in the run of play if wants to make the World Cup team. I do think the Rapids might have a real good team this year. Unfortunately, the fans are not showing up. Even the shady side of the stadium is lacking fans this year. Hopefully, the World Cup will create some excitement for soccer in Denver, and the fans will give the Rapids another chance.

Turn The Page

2010-04-09T21:55:00.005-06:00

Today, I went to Rocky Mountain National Park. I went snowshoeing in Loch Vale. I probably hiked a mile past The Loch. I thought about going further, but the terrain was getting steep, and I was developing blisters on both heels. Ouch. The scenery and the day made up for the pain. The wind was cold at times; however, I was tempted to strip down to my shorts when the wind was not blowing. Anyway, here are some pictures from the day.

The snowshoe route to The Loch

View of Andrews Glacier

Typical view

Me

The ice is melting around this rock in the middle of The Loch.

V

2010-04-06T00:02:00.004-06:00

I was out and about today, and I saw this amazing site.

As windy as it was, it was hard to believe that it was safe for the balloon take flight. I somehow managed to get a picture before it blew away.

Happy Birthday Cara!!!

- Uncle Mighty Mike

Disappear

2010-03-22T15:58:00.003-06:00

Today, I went for a hike at Reynolds Open Space Park near Conifer. I was there in January. I did the same hike. The snow was crunchy and the temperature was great. I am mainly doing this post so that I don’t disappear again like I did in February. I don’t know when my next grand hike will be, but hopefully I’ll do something soon. For now, here is a picture from Reynolds Park.

Anyway

2010-03-13T18:34:00.003-07:00

Today was a beautiful day in Colorado. Tomorrow is supposed to be a snow/rain mix. Then it gets back to being beautiful. Anyway, I went for a hike today at Elk Meadow Open Space Park near Evergreen. I climbed Bergen Peak. Like a lot of my recent hikes, I have hiked this trail previously. However, I had done this hike only once. It is a great hike. It is about 9.5 miles round trip from the Stagecoach Blvd. trailhead. Here are some pictures.

On top of Bergen Peak

Looking down on Evergreen

Mt. Evans

In Your Honor

2010-03-09T15:01:00.004-07:00

Happy Birthday Pops!!! For lunch, I had a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich in your honor. I did a short hike today at Mt. Galbraith Open Space Park. It is another park that I have been to multiple times. The park is right outside of Golden.

Lookout Mtn. is on the right. Green Mtn. is directly behind me.

Another Post On The Blog (Part 2)

2010-03-02T17:45:00.005-07:00

It seems I have taken a minor vacation from blogging. It wasn't intentional; I just haven't been on any grand hikes lately. And I still haven't. The hikes have been local lately. In order to fill the void, I took my camera with me to Mt. Falcon Open Space Park. I have had quite a few pictures on my blog from this park in past. So here are a few more.

The sunny side of Mt. Falcon

The view from inside Eagle Eye Shelter

Abert's Squirrel

I saw a skunk today as well, but I had no intention of chasing after him to get a picture.

later,

-MM

?

2010-02-03T17:02:00.006-07:00

So far in 2010, Greensboro, North Carolina has gotten more snow than Denver. I think Denver has gotten around 2 inches this year. We might get some snow tonight and tomorrow (Thursday), but it is not expected to be much. The storm is too far south. Apparently, this storm may impact the southeast. So Greensboro may get some more snow. While it hasn’t snowed much in Denver lately, I don’t have to go far to see it. I just have to look out the window. There is still snow in the shade that is left over from a November storm. If I want to see areas where there is total snow cover, all I have to do is drive west a little bit. In fact, that is what I did today. I drove up to Kenosha Pass and did some snowshoeing. Here are some pictures.

Me on the Colorado Trail

A view towards South Park

Looking down on US 285, South Park, & the town of Jefferson

No Reply At All

2010-01-18T20:28:00.004-07:00

Today, I went for hike at Reynolds Park. It is an open space park near Conifer. I was there two years ago. It is a nice park with great views of Pikes Peak and Rampart Range. The weather was nice today. It was in the 50's in town and probably the high 40's at Reynolds Park. Anyway here are a couple of pictures.

Icy spot on the trail

Pikes Peak on the horizon

No Jacket Required

2010-01-12T21:34:00.005-07:00

The weather was outstanding in Colorado today. The temperature reached the 60’s in Lakewood. I went for a hike at Alderfer/Three Sisters Park near Evergreen. The temperature was in the 50’s there. I hiked up Evergreen Mountain (8,536 feet). On top, I sat on the rocks and enjoyed the sunshine. I never even had to put on a jacket. I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while I was up there. After enjoying lunch and the view, I took the long way down. I made a side trip up The Brother for old time’s sake. Here are a few pictures from the day.

Me on Evergreen Mtn. with a view of Mt. Evans

Me on Evergreen Mtn

Silver Fox Trail - Mt. Evans on the horizon

2010

2010-01-01T09:43:00.004-07:00

Happy New Year! I’m back home in Colorado now. I got back on December 30th. I had fun visiting family in North Carolina. It was good to see everybody. I especially enjoyed throwing snowballs at Carter. Here are a few pictures from the visit.

Cara

Carter

Christmas Day

Duke vs. Fla St.

East Bound And Down

2009-12-16T22:12:00.005-07:00

I'm on the way to North Carolina, and I'm driving. I left Wednesday morning. I made it to Mt. Vernon, Illinois for the night. Tomorrow, I get to drive through Indiana. That's a new state for me. Here are a couple of road pics from the day.

Sunrise on the Colorado plains

Wind Farm about 25 miles west of Salina, Kansas

Excellent Birds

2009-12-03T21:20:00.008-07:00

Greetings! It has gotten chilly in Colorado. It didn't get above freezing today. I saw that it is predicted to be 2 below in downtown Denver tonight. (The airport, which is the official reading, will be even colder) It should be a little warmer where I am at, but not by much. I walked to Bear Creek Lake Park today. It seems I make this walk every winter. It is a nice walk in the snow. The lake is starting to freeze over for the winter. It is still too thin to walk on. Here's a picture and movie from today.

Thankful

2009-11-26T19:02:00.009-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I kept with the old tradition of being active on Thanksgiving Day. I drove up to Loveland Pass and went for a hike. I climbed Mt. Sniktau (13,234 Ft.) It is a short hike. It is a little less than 3.5 miles round trip. Perfect for a Thanksgiving hike. The weather was great. Denver had temperatures in the 60’s. Obviously, it was a bit colder in the mountains. It wasn’t bad considering the elevation. The wind was not a problem until I reached the ridgeline. I had to put on the extra clothing because of the wind. It was beautiful hike. I had climbed Mt. Sniktau before in June of 2007. It is a cool short hike that is completely above tree line. Just as I was leaving the summit, I saw a bighorn sheep. I think we saw each other at the same time. I managed to get a zoom picture before he got out of sight. Here are the pictures from hike.

The ridgeline. Mt. Sniktau is not visible.

Mt. Sniktau

Looking east from Mt. Sniktau. I-70 down below

Torreys Peak

The tunnel and Loveland Ski area

Me

Bighorn sheep

Strange snow formations.

Walking on Sunshine

2009-11-03T20:48:00.004-07:00

The weather has been beautiful this week, and it is only going to get better. I hiked to the Summer White House ruins in Mt. Falcon Open Space Park. I've been here before several times. I was going to eat lunch on some rocks that overlook Denver, but the lady bugs ruled the rocks. So I walked 100 yards down the trail to a bench that overlooked Mt. Evans and Longs Peak. It was real hard to deal with that view:)

Let It Snow (Part Deux)

2009-10-29T17:50:00.003-06:00

It's almost 6:00 P.M. on Thursday, and it is still snowing. It has been a light snow all day. It should stop soon. I measured the snow depth at 15 inches near the spot that I measured yesterday. It looks like it might be a few inches deeper in other spots near by. I found a drift that was 2 feet deep. The roads look to be in good shape in my neighborhood. Anyway, I thought I would give another update of the storm. It is a big storm for October. It should melt quick though. 50 degree weather is expected by Saturday, plus it should be in the 60's next week. Here are a couple of pictures from today.

Let It Snow

2009-10-28T15:18:00.011-06:00

I wasn't planning on doing a post this week, but Denver is getting a pretty good snowstorm this week. The previous snows this month have been glorified rain, but not this one. The rain switched to snow at about 9:00 P.M. last night (Tuesday). It is a little after 3:00 P.M. on Wednesday, and it is still snowing. It is not supposed to stop until Thursday afternoon. I will need a yard stick to measure snow tomorrow. I got a foot of snow at my place now.

Looking out the back of my apt. this morning

My car around 3 PM on Wed.

Out the back of my apt around 3 PM on Wed.

Ruler in the snow

Already Gone

2009-10-24T12:43:00.005-06:00

Charles is on his way home now. It has been fun to have him out here all week. From the great tunes of WPA, to the hiking, and to all the beer stops. I also appreciate the beer he left in my refrigerator. Charles’ beer review on my blog yesterday was excellent. It should also be noted that we did not have Odell’s 90 Shilling at the brewery (we goofed there), so it didn’t make Charlie’s notes or write-up; however, it should be noted that he had 90 Shilling at my place and thought that it was a very good beer. As for his favorite styles, hopefully he’ll make a comment about that inquiry.

I didn’t take notes like Charles, so I don’t remember everything that I had. I generally liked or didn’t mind (there were exceptions) a lot of the beers that Charles liked. The IPA’s were usually the worst of the beers we sampled. I recommend Z Lager by The Fort Collins Brewery. Fat Tire has been a favorite of mine for a while. It was great having it only 10 minutes old at New Belgium. The tour of the New Belgium Brewery is a must. Reservations are recommended. While waiting for the tour to start, I had an Adam’s Ale (I think that was the name of it). It was very good; however, I don’t see it listed on their website. So I don’t know what their plans are for that beer. Odell Brewing Company has some good beers. 90 Shilling is still my favorite of theirs. I need to try the rest of their regular beers. I’ve been to Tommyknockers several times now. Maple Nut Brown has always been a favorite of mine. Ornery Amber Lager and Rye Porter rated well for me this time. I also recommend a stop at Walnut Brewery in downtown Boulder. My favorite of theirs was a specialty beer that unfortunately I can’t remember its name. Anyway, that is it for my beer ramblings.

As for having a new post every day as it has been this week, don’t expect it. This is a unique occurrence for this past week. I have no idea if that will ever happen again. As for now, I’m ready for a break in writing the blog. If you haven’t checked my blog in a while, I suggest clicking on some WPA tunes, then scroll down and enjoy the pictures from the recent barrage of posts.
<a href="http://wpamusic.bandcamp.com/album/wpa">Always Have My Love by Works Progress Administration</a>

Here’s a video that was shot to try and show the wind on Colorado Mines Peak that we were dealing with yesterday. It is a lot worse than what the video shows.

Until next time, whenever that may be.

-MM

Breumyer

2009-10-23T20:02:00.009-06:00

Today, we have a first for my blog. We have a guest blogger. Charles is doing the the write-up for today and a review of some the beers we've had this week. Pics at bottom. Enjoy...

-MM

I am privileged to spend time in this Rocky Mountain state and I thank Mike for this opportunity and his knowledge of the area. It is an honor to be his guest blogger today. We have hiked close to twenty miles this past six days, each one being different and exciting. I like the wide open spaces and the distant views when on top of a mountain. Today, only hiked a mile up Colorado Mines Peak starting at Berthoud Pass. Half way up is 12,000 feet, which is as far as we got. Just too windy, blowing snow, and temperatures likely in the 20’s. Not every enjoyable. Afterwards we went to Tommyknockers and tried their beer sampler.

While I did come out here to visit Mike and to do a little hiking - I took advantage and sampled many of the fine craft and micro beers. Mike and I sampled about sixty beers, taking notes about each ones’ brewing technique, ingredients, and flavors. Each sample was about four ounces. I admit to sampling some two
and even three times. It is these specifically (and a few others) that I would like to briefly describe.

First, some good tasting beers:
ODell Brewing - Town Pump Pale Ale 5.1% dry hopped, whole flower hops gives a fresh flower and an interesting middle taste. St. Lupulin 6.5% pale ale, dry hopped gives a medium hops flavor and a dry quick finish. Isolation Ale 6.5% their winter beer is very malty with a long finish, a little heavy. Strong Golden Ale 11.5% soft tannins and toffee like malts give scant aroma, reminds of cream sherry toffee at end, good sipping beers on a cold day, do not drink much.

Fort Collins Brewing - Z Lager 5.4% hops is dried over beach wood fire gives light maple smoke and a light sweetness of caramel. Chocolate Stout 5.4% this is not heavy, rather velvet smooth, chocolate is scant to none, a very slight smoke taste. Harvester Lager 5.3% gives mild hops, slight honey tones, a mild beer.

Left Hand Brewing - Sawtooth gives mild hops, clean. Jackmans Am Pale Ale 5.2% give flower taste, some lingering bitterness. Black Jack Porter 6.5% gives malty then chocolate taste, bittering late and only slight. Snowbound Ale uses cinnamon, ginger, orange zest, cardamom, cloves, honey giving smell mostly of cloves, long cinnamon taste at end, makes a good Christmas time beer.

Tommyknocker Brewing - Ornery Amber Lager has good hops balance, very drinkable routinely. Maple Nut Brown Ale has a light woody maple taste, quick finish, hints of caramel, maybe chocolate.

New Belgium Brewing - I leave this to you. I really enjoy their beers including Fat Tire, 1554, Abbey, Sunshine Wheat, 2 Below, and La Folie. Some, others may enjoy, but not myself include Trippel, Hoptober, and Mighty Arrow. Give them all a go, and follow your folly.

Walnut Brewery - No Notes for this brew pub; however, it has good beer, good food, and even better prices.

There are beers that I would be happy, and even thankful, to never taste again. ODell IPA Nitro 7.0% hops, hops, hops smell and taste, make you squint. India Barley Wine 9.7% smell of fruit, like rotten peaches, bitterness is mild. Fort Collins Kidd Lager 5.4% little bitter, smoke, like smoked fish. Left Hand -Expreso Milk Stout, smell coffee, taste coffee, not drinkable, sipable at most. These beers do have their place. They give and bring up aspects of brewing that can be used by us individually in forming our opinions and descriptions of beers. Also, by the brew masters, so they will -- every so often, create that one outstanding beer that we might enjoy tasting.

Now, I suggest that everyone go to the refrigerator, get a beer, and taste what is in that bottle -- enjoy! Once again, thank you Mike. Thanks everyone and remember to follow your folly whether it is beer, hiking, or -- heck, anything!

-----charles

The climb up Colorado Mines Peak out of Berthoud Pass

Tommy-
knockers

Left Hand

2009-10-22T22:13:00.007-06:00

Today, we hiked Lily Mountain (9,786 ft.) The mountain is just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park. It is a four mile round trip hike. It is not particularly hard. There is a mild rock scramble at the top which leads to a spectacular 360 view. Longs Peak, the Keyhole, Andrews Glacier, Moraine Park, Estes Park, etc. are all visible from the top. The weather was nice and sunny.

Charles on the Lily Mtn Trail

Me on the Lily Mtn. Trail

Longs Peak

On top of Lily Mtn.

Zoom view of Longs Peak and the Keyhole

Zoom view of the Keyhole

View of Moraine Park

Charles on Lily Mtn.

After the hike, we drove to Longmont and visited Left Hand Brewing Company. We sampled their beer. There were some good brews and some bad brews.

Charles at Left Hand Brewing Company

After Left Hand, we went to Pumphouse Brewery and Restaurant. It is also in Longmont. We sampled some of their beers and had dinner. They were out of the beer that I really wanted to try. They had some ok stuff. It is worth another visit. As far as favorite beers from this week, stay tuned…

Sampling the brews at the Pumphouse

The Beerhunter

2009-10-21T21:43:00.007-06:00

Charles in the wet snow in Lakewood

The weather changed from rain to snow this morning. No big deal to me. This was a pretty wimpy storm. It was more like rain. In fact, as we traveled north today, it was rain. With the weather being on the soggy side today, we went to Fort Collins to see what the town had to offer. The first stop was Odell Brewing Company. We sampled their fine brews and toured the brewery. The Odell Brewing Company is small, but they are expanding. Construction was in progress while we were there.

Odell Brewing Company

Life on Easy Street

First sample of the day.

Line them at Odell's

After lunch, we went to New Belgium Brewing Company, the home of Fat Tire. New Belgium is becoming a large brewery. We did the tour at New Belgium. It is an hour and a half tour. You get to sample beers along the way including Fat Tire that was only ten minutes old. It looks like a cool place to work. They got ping pong, foosball, volleyball, slides, etc. not to mention the beer. It was a very relaxed tour.

Going for a bike ride in Fort Collins

New Belgium tour stop

Fat Tire

The next stop was The Fort Collins Brewery. It is a very small brewery. I overheard that they are moving. They do need a bigger place. We sampled their beer there. They have some fine brews. After that, we called it a day. We got a place to stay in town and had dinner.

Outside The Fort Collins Brewery

Maybe I can drive this truck for a living

Walnut Grove

2009-10-20T21:06:00.010-06:00

Today, we hiked to Bear Peak (8,461 ft.) on Boulder Mountain. I had done this hike before. This time I did it without the snow and dangerous ice. It is a tough hike. I believe Charles got a good work out. Round trip is around 8 or 9 miles, and there is an elevation gain of about 3,000 feet. Pops, do think you could do this one:) The weather was pretty good at the start of the hike. Shortly after we got to the top of the peak, the clouds started rolling in. The temperature dropped a good bit. We didn’t stay on top too long because of that. After the hike, we enjoyed some fine brews at Walnut Brewery in downtown Boulder.

Charles with Boulder down below

Almost There

Look, the top of Bear Peak

On top of Bear Peak

Looking towards the Continental Divide

Going down Bear Peak

Close To The Edge

2009-10-19T21:19:00.005-06:00

Today’s adventure took us to Roxborough State Park. In a strange coincidence, I was there exactly one year ago. We did a hike on the Fountain Valley Trail through the red rocks. We also did the South Rim Trail. The elevation was around 6,200 feet. It was an easy day. The weather was on the warm side. It was around 80 degrees.

Charles on the Fountain Valley Trail

The Finger

Lyons Overlook

Yellow tree

Good As Ever

2009-10-19T00:51:00.006-06:00

My buddy, Charles, is in town this week. He arrived in Denver on Sunday the 18th. We went to see Works Progress Administration (WPA) at the Soiled Dove Underground on Sunday night. Great band, here is their album if you want to check it out.
<a href="http://wpamusic.bandcamp.com/album/wpa">Always Have My Love by Works Progress Administration</a>

There are even a few songs that Pops might like. WPA’s core consists of Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket), Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek), and Luke Bulla (Lyle Lovett). The core band is what we saw tonight, and they put on a wonderful show. There are other cool members in the band on the album, but logistics makes it too hard to tour with the full band. That’s alright, the core turned out to be pretty good all by their self. Ryanhood opened the show. They are a duo and were impressive as well.

Earlier in the day we made a trip Tommy Knockers for some beer and food. It is an excellent brew pub in Idaho Springs. We took the scenic way back via Squaw Pass Road near Mt. Evans. It shocked Charlie’s sea level system. 10,000 feet elevation gain for one day is tough. The beer at lunch probably didn’t help.

Charles at Juniper Pass near Mt. Evans

Africa (Part II)

2009-10-12T09:55:00.002-06:00

I haven't found any pictures that were taken outside the British Bulldog on Saturday night. However, I have found a picture and a video of what it was like inside the bar. Their write-up says "75 or so fans never made it in the door", I would say way more than that. Fans were constantly showing up outside, most of them didn't hang around very long because it was obvious they were not getting in.

Africa

2009-10-11T10:04:00.003-06:00

Four years ago, I watched the US clinch a 2006 World Cup birth in Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The US beat Mexico 2-0 in that game. It was great experience, and it was also my first US Men's National team game. Last night, the US clinched a spot in 2010 World Cup that will be played in South Africa. I didn't get to go to the game for this clincher. The game was in Honduras. The TV rights for the game were held for ransom. The game ended up only being available on closest circuit TV for a couple of grand. So there weren't too many places across the country that showed it. The Colorado Rapids split the costs with the British Bulldog (a soccer bar in Denver). I got to the bar an hour before game time. The line was out the door and around the corner. I was shocked, Denver fans are not supposed to be this dedicated to soccer. Like a lot of fans, I was not able to get into the bar. A lot of the people left, but I hung outside with a group of at least 20 people and watched what I could through the window. During the second half I watched by standing on the outside bar. It gave me a better view of the TV. The atmosphere was great. I'm not use to that in Denver. These were the dedicated soccer fans of Denver. I was outside with fans willing to watch the game with a limited view in 20 degree weather. Yes, 20 degree weather. There was supposed to be a baseball game in Denver last night, but it was apparently too cold for the baseball wimps. It was a unique experience. It was great to see the fan support in Denver. Best of all the US clinched a spot in the World Cup with a game to spare.

Jefferson

2009-10-07T17:19:00.015-06:00

I went back to Kenosha Pass today. I hiked in the opposite direction on the Colorado Trail this time. The Pass looks a little different. The leaves had fallen off the trees. That was not unexpected. The elevation of the Pass is 10,000 feet. The Colorado Trail was just as easy as it was on the other side of the pass. There were lots of great views of South Park and the town of Jefferson. I didn’t see Kenny, Cartman or any of the other foul mouth kids from this side either. I did see a few relatives of Mr. Hanky in the trail though. Thankfully they weren’t fresh. Anyway, it was beautiful hike and a beautiful day. Unfortunately, that is supposed to change tomorrow. Tomorrow, the temperature is forecasted to drop 30 degrees from today’s high. There is also the possibility of snow. Oh dear, I guess I better make sure I have milk and bread:)

The Colorado Trail

Trees & mountains

The Colorado Trail

Me at my lunch spot

Looking at South Park and the town of Jefferson

Another view, taken from the same place as the picture above

Fore!

2009-09-25T21:43:00.010-06:00

No, I’m not playing golf now. I have been living in Colorado for three years now. The third anniversary was last weekend. So I figure I would start year four with another geeky reference to a Huey Lewis album. I have been busy lately, and I haven’t had too many blog worthy events. However, I did get out of town today. I drove up to Kenosha Pass. This is where US 285 crosses the mountains into South Park. The fall color can be spectacular here. I did not time it quite right this year, but the color is much better in real life than what my pictures show. I have driven through the pass in previous years and the color was much better. When I got to the pass this time, it was sleeting on me a little bit. There was no snow on the ground though. I was surprised since I was at 10,000 feet, plus there was a storm early in the week. I went through Conifer (8,400 feet) on the way up and it had a little bit of snow on the ground. I guess the storm was more Denver based. The first half of the week was cool and misty in town. Anyway, back at Kenosha Pass, I decided to go for a short hike on the Colorado Trail. The hike was about as easy as they get out here. It was pretty too. I walked through lots of aspen groves. I had all kinds of views of South Park and the snow peaked mountains across the park. The weather got better as the day passed as well. The sun came out, and I was in shorts by the time I got back to my car.

Kenosha Pass

Old railroad tracks at Kenosha Pass

An aspen grove

South Park

A View

A view along the trail

A view near my lunch spot.

Tomorrow is a football day, both kinds. I dread watching the Bulldog defense. It seems they have fully implemented the bend and break defense this year. I have to hope they out score everybody this year, which is not likely. At least the offense has improved after the first game. Too bad they don’t have a Syracuse or a Duke on schedule to make things easier:)

-MM