Desert photos

There are a couple of notable photos I thought I should show you. The one below is a Desert Big Horn Sheep. We must have seen 15 or 20 of them on our raft trip.


This is Mexican Hat, where we took our raft out of the river. It's about 400 ft high and the "hat" rests precariously on top of a much smaller rock. What a balancing act!


The desert has a special charm about it. While you don't want to step on this cactus, it sure is pleasant to look at. All the cactus were in bloom.

Bluff panels

Following the advice of the cashier at our restaurant last night, we found more beautiful panels. The hike up to the area was not easy. We followed a ridge about 400 to 500 ft. up to the edge of the cliff where the 900 year old rock art was located.

This panel showed animals and anthropomorphic figures as well as many other unidentifiable shapes.


This anthropomorphic figure looked as though it was giving birth, and a breach birth as well! Many daily events in life are depicted in these panels.

To get to each new panel we had to traverse across some precarious ledges. Below the girls are following along and not looking down.

The panels in this area were some of the best we've seen. The position from up so high was especially good. In spite of the difficult hike up, we enjoyed early morning shade and cool air.

Rafting the San Juan

Without any shade, we rafted down the San Juan. Marcos our guide, and native Navajo described the history and geology of the area. We went by one cliff, easily over 100 ft. high and very vertical. Marcos told us a story about Patterson's dog (he's at the helm of our boat steering). Evidently, Patterson's dog was chasing a rabbit and ran off the cliff, falling 100+ feet into the river. He said the dog survived but had a limp afterwards.

Our first stop was at Butler Wash. We looked at some excellent panels. The one below depicts a dead man (he's upside down without a head) and the guy next to him is holding a handbag made out of this guys head.

We also stopped at the river ruins along the way and explored the area. Marcos said at least 2 families of about 30 people lived in this ruin with 16 or 17 rooms. There was a beautiful spring at the bottom of the cliff providing ample water for the inhabitants.

Exploring the ruins was interesting. I wondered what each window was for and how they used the place. I found a little bin with small ears of corn inside.

Bluff, UT

Bluff, Utah. We met with Craig & Kathy this week to go rafting and hunting for rock art and and ruins in Southern Utah. The new restaurant at Cow Canyon was very good. I had vegetarian lasagna which was excellent. Notice the chalk board on the bench in front, with today's menu.

Next door to the Cow Canyon Restaurant was the trading post. I liked the car parked in front and thought you might enjoy the photo. This is pretty typical of Bluff, population...300.

Here is the view from inside the restaurant. It's absolutely spectacular. At the base of the the red cliffs is the San Juan River. Tomorrow we raft from here to Mexican Hat.

Tyler pens about life

Tyler is home now. As a result, he's decided to write about me and living in the "burbs." Here is his last post. Somehow my skills at raising a child are less than satisfactory. I did raise a writer though.

A nice hike

Today, I went for a hike with Jabin. It was in the 80's and a little uncomfortable. But we brought a nice lunch and had a great hike. Tomorrow we go to the BOMA show at the convention center and work the booth together.

Rockies again

I went to the Rockies game Friday night with Jabin. We had a great time together but the Rockies didn't fare so well. We lost 7-2. After a terrible 2nd half inning, the pitcher came back to the dugout. Before sitting down, he kicked at the bat rack. The manager said, "Don't do that. You'll break your leg and we'll never be able to trade you."

The hitting wasn't so good either. Some of our batters are so bad they can strike out in two pitches. Actually, the Rockies are doing much better now. Their record in the last 17 games is 12 wins and only 5 losses. I think the team is starting to look good on paper. Maybe they should take out the grass and put in Astropaper! We're still in the cellar. We've been there so long it's damp!

Who is God

I like what Donald Miller says about God in Searching for God Knows What. "The very scary thing about religion, to me, is that people actually believe God is who they think He is. By that I mean they have him all figured out, mapped out."

I appreciate talking with people who aren't so sure of themselves about God and religion, they wonder in a way. I think that's healthy to wonder and to question. Miller also says the obvious; "In my opinion" he writes, "there are two essential problems with believing God is somebody He isn't. The first problem is that it wrecks your life, and the second is that it makes God look like an idiot." If the center of what I believe about God rests in a relationship with him (I believe it does), then we certainly need to ask ourselves who He is. Is He good? How forgiving is He? What does He want?

Who's in charge here?

Kids will never understand why parents make them go to bed when they're wide awake and then make them get up when they're sleepy. This little guy is no exception. Life just isn't fair. After spending time last week with my grandson, I realized he has hair growing out of the top of his head! This isn't fair either. I have hair. It's just not growing on the top of my head so well. It's coming out my ears, and my nose.

Once again to the summit

Today, Tyler and I climbed Carpenter Peak. We climbed it because there is a spur trail from near the summit which connects with the Colorado Trail. Here was the view from the top. If you look closely you can see my house. It's in that block of houses just the other side of the hogback (small hill with a ridge). The buildings on the bottom left corner are part of Lockheed Martin.

Tyler's back

Yesterday, Tyler returned from Kuwait. It was a great day. No sooner had he arrived and he found the chips and dip in the pantry. We're glad he's home. Now he's planning a backpacking trip down the Colorado Trail for about 40 or so days. But, not before we get to abuse him for a while.

Time in Memphis

I was in Memphis this week and rewarded with this little guy. We had some fun crawling around on the floor and chewing things. He has three or four teeth and a good little grip. While I was banned from showing all the "good" video's, I can show you this little gem.

More exercise

I worked out again this morning. Since my blood pressure is normal now and cholesterol is good and low, it's time to wake up my muscles. I think they've been asleep for some time now. Most of the time I wake up in the morning with a real desire to exercise. So I usually stay in bed till the desire goes away!

I get tired thinking about exercise. I'm actually not in bad shape. Now that things are getting better my Doc says I have the body of a 40 year old. He even showed me where the corpse was buried.

Carpenter Peak elevation 7,160 ft.

The climb was only an hour and a half to the top of Carpenter Peak. The trail was moderately steep and the summit is about 3.5 miles from where we parked the car today. Near the top we ran into Sharon and her husband, from my cycling class. Sharon just had both knees replaced in February and now she's walking to the top of this lovely peak near Denver. Modern medicine is remarkable.

There was a nice granite outcropping at the very summit. So I had to stand on it and pose for Nancy. We had a nice lunch and enjoyed the views of Denver and the front range.

In this photo I was trying to capture the white mountain top of Mt. Evans. Looks like all I got was the white top of Nancy and a couple of small clouds.

Headlines from the year 2029

Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest country in the world, Mexifornia (formerly known as California). White minorities still trying to have English recognized as Mexifornia's third language.

Spotted Owl plague threatens Northwestern United States crops and livestock.

Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage.

Iran still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least 10 more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.

France pleads for global help after being taken over by Jamaica.

Castro finally dies at age 112. Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking.

George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2036.

Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesday's only.

Florida voters continue to have trouble with voting machines.

IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75 percent.

Massachusetts executes last remaining conservative.

New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swatters, and rolled-up newspapers must be registered by January 2036

85-year, $75 billion study: Diet and exercise is the key to weight loss. Average weight of Americans drops to 250 pounds.

More Alaska

After visiting some people up in Fairbanks, I went to Anchorage. Below is a photo from my hotel window. The weather was nice, although a little cooler than Fairbanks. Once again, the sun never seemed to go down. I did have my trusty paper clip.

I drove about 50 miles North up to Wasilla to visit some franchise owners. I took this photo from the car on the way up. The mountains rivaled anything in Colorado. You would think I took this photo at the Tetons. Nope, it's just off the highway a few miles North of Anchorage.

On the way back I stopped and walked up the bank of this river for a while. I think it was called the Kitna River or something like that. The gray color is from the silt which originates in the glaciers.

Couldn't Bee-Leave it!

While in Alaska I got this panicked call from Nancy. She said that bees had swarmed on my car while she was downtown at a clients office. Not only were they on the outside of the license plate but they were swarming on the other side, underneath the fender and behind the plate!



Nancy took the car home for the night thinking they might leave. On her drive home she said people were stopping her and waving at her to tell her there were bees on the car. The 65 mile per hour drive home down I-25 did little, she said, to dislodge the bees. The bees were still on the car in the morning, so she called a beekeeper who came out and vacuumed them up.



He put them into a box to be reserved for a hive to make honey. I'm expecting a jar of the stuff. I guess they liked the color of my company car. It does kind of resemble the color of a flower.

Alaska

I arrived safely in Alaska today. My 50th state to visit, and the weather was pretty good. I stopped in Anchorage and flew on to Fairbanks.

In Fairbanks I had a nice dinner with Dick and Becky Wenger. We drove about 30 minutes into the wilderness and ate at an old roadhouse. My salmon was from Copper River and very very good. I went to bed at 11:00p and the sun was still streaming in the window but the drapes wouldn’t shut all the way. I found a paper clip in my briefcase and clipped them together but the light still came in from above and below the drapes. I woke up at 3:00a and looked out. It was still very light outside. I got up at 5:00a and went for a walk to get some exercise, in the neighborhood around the hotel. The temperature was about 60 degrees and sunny of course. It’s all residential around the hotel. I walked down to some river about the size of the Colorado River and was introduced to Alaska mosquitoes… the state bird obviously. A number of the houses had airplanes parked in the driveway. Where do they take off? On the way back someone’s dog (it looked like a wolf with big blue eyes) decided I didn’t belong there and so I got more exercise than expected. I got back to the hotel just as two busloads of seniors left to go on a tour. I hope there’s some eggs left in the buffet.