Snowblind

The US beat Costa Rica 1-0 on Friday in the snowy spring wonderland of Colorado. It was a World Cup Qualifier, so the game must go on if possible. It started snowing a couple of hours before the start of the game. It wouldn’t stop until 24 hours later. My seats were out of the wind for the most part. I had a lot of layers, but I didn’t use them all. So I found the experience very fun. Pretty much all of the fans stood the whole game in what might be the best overall atmosphere for a game at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The game was sold out with an announced crowd of 19,374. There were some no-shows, but not many. As far as the play, it wasn’t that bad in the first half. As the snow got deeper, it was definitely affecting the game. To me, the play looked better than some of the games in the Caribbean when it rains and the pitch becomes a bog. There really wasn’t much in the way of slipping in the snow. It just seemed to slow the play down. I think everybody enjoyed the experience except Costa Rica. I’m alright with that! With the US having to play in the horrible Ricardo Saprissa Stadium in Costa Rica in years past, I find Costa Rica’s whining about playing conditions a bit futile. Anyway, here are the pictures from the game.

Me

Me and some of my US/Rapids friends

Moments before kickoff

The ground crew at work before the players got off the field at halftime.

Marcelo Balboa - US Soccer Hall of Famer. I patted him on the back as he walked by me.

My friends keeping refreshed with snow cooled beers.

Looking towards American Outlaws section

Omar Gonzalez

US players warming up in front of me

The game goes on

Game Over

One last look at the stadium

Bonus photo I found on the Internet.  I'm located in the bottom right half, 2nd row.  I'm not seen though.  I'm hidden by one of my friends.

Prologue

I haven’t posted anything in a while. It is almost like starting over. I haven’t visited any place new this February. So I really haven’t had anything to post. To keep the blog alive I will talk a little soccer. The Major League Soccer season kicks off this coming weekend. The Colorado Rapids have a new jersey that is quite cool. The faint hoops of the jersey are made up of the season ticket holders names. I picked up my jersey this past Saturday. Hopefully, this won’t be the high point of the season.

The front of the new Rapids jersey

Zoom version of some names on the back.

A blast from the past.  The Pid Army supporters with the 2010 MLS Cup.  Probably wishful thinking this year.

Just so that it is not all soccer.  Here is a picture from Fremont Peak looking towards the Sangre de Cristo Mtns from a couple of weeks ago.

IHOP

A week ago, it was downright frigid in Colorado. The great thing about Colorado though is that it doesn’t take long for the weather to change. The weather was back to being gorgeous this weekend. On Sunday, I went for a hike on some BLM trails. The trail is called Section 13 on the BLM web site. It is a mountain bike trail, but I hiked it. There were some nice views on the trail, but the trail was more of an exercise trail. It aimlessly wandered all over the place. At one place I bet I walked 200 yards only to find myself 10 yards from where I once was with no elevation change. The weather was great, so it was still enjoyable.

Pikes Peak and the metropolis of Cañon City

Cactus

Mountain side

Monday was a holiday, so I went for another hike. Monday’s hike is a repeat for this blog, but it is a good hike. I returned to Pancake Rocks. Pancake Rocks is located north of Cripple Creek. It is a six mile round trip hike that gets above 11,000 feet. While it was cold at Pancake Rocks, it was quite nice considering that it is January. Like two weeks ago at Twin Lakes, there was a lack of snow in the Pancake Rocks area. Anyway, here are the pictures.

Arrival at Pancake Rocks

Tall Stacks

Short Stacks

Pancakes and Mountains

Filled up after eating pancakes

Me at Pancake Rocks

Sentinel Point

North side of the mountain, there should be more snow in January.

Twins

The weather was beautiful in Colorado this weekend. The temperatures reached the 50's where I live. So on Sunday, I went to a spot that was a little colder, but it still wasn't bad since the wind was mild. I went to Twin Lakes Reservoir and went for a hike on the Colorado Trail. Twin Lakes Reservoir is about half way between Leadville and Buena Vista. I brought my snowshoes with me, but there wasn’t enough snow to use them. So I left them in the car. The deepest snow depth that I saw was about 2 inches. Walking along the shoreline of the lake was interesting; I could hear the ice cracking. Anyway, here are a few pictures.

Mt. Elbert from the dam at Twin Lakes Reservoir

Outlet for the dam

View through the trees

Twin Lakes and Mt. Elbert

Parry Peak and the way to Independence Pass

Southeast side of the eastern Twin Lake shoreline

Mt. Elbert and the lake

Rocky Ground

I went back to Red Canyon Park on Sunday and did some more exploring. It is a cool place for exploring small canyons and red rock formations. Here are some pictures.

Hoodoo

Hoodoo

This Canyon doesn't see much sun

Garden Park

Looking North

Turkey

White Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day, eh!

A Festivus for the Rest of Us!

On this special day, I explored some different sections of Red Canyon Park. Here are some pictures.

Red Canyon Park

Red Canyon Park.  Looking towards the Shelf.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

Happy Festivus

Festivus tree photo courtesy of Matthew Keefe: Flickr: Celebrating Festivus 2

The Dirty Dozen

I'm a little late putting something up for Carter's Birthday; however, it still is Carter's Birthday in Colorado as I'm writing this.  None of my famous friends were around this year, so all I got are a couple of funny videos for your entertainment. Happy Birthday Carter!!!

The Thanksgiving Filter

The tradition of doing something active on Thanksgiving continues. I went for hike again this Thanksgiving. The hike was a repeat, but this time I had company. Charles and Tina joined me for a Thanksgiving hike up Fremont Peak. It is a short hike and the weather was perfect. After the hike, I went to Charles and Tina’s house and had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.

Charles and Tina with Royal Gorge behind them.

The Trio on top of Fremont Peak

Meal Time

I went on a solo hike on Friday. I checked out Cheyenne Mountain State Park. The trails in the park are pretty easy. None of the trails in the park go to the top of Cheyenne Mountain. NORAD blocks the approach from that side of the mountain. The weather was a bit cooler on Friday, but it was still nice.

Cheyenne Mountain

Cheyenne Mountain