Disappear

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

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

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)

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

?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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.


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

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