For the beauty of the earth

For the beauty of the earth,

For the glory of the skies,

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies;

Lord of all, to Thee we raise.

What you don't see

 Sublime. I don't know how else you can describe it. The views and magnificent scenery in Colorado are absolutely over the top. What you don't see in the photo below is the creek rushing down the rock with a delightful noise, or the wind blowing in the trees. You don't see the birds singing and smell the pine in the trees blowing in the air. What you don't see is the crisp air making bumps on your skin and cooling you off like no other air. What you don't see is the creator resting in His creation and enjoying what He's done. You only see an image, you only catch a glimpse of glory.

Black Lake hike

Our hike to black Lake yesterday was spectacular. It was five miles up to timberline to the lake with about 1,400 feet of elevation gain. We started at the Bear Lake parking area in Rocky Mountain National Park. I had done this hike two times before with Leon in January (some 20+ years ago) for purposes of ice climbing. The area certainly looked different in the summer.

We stopped and had lunch on this nice ledge by the lake and enjoyed the wonderful views and smell of the forest. We could see the fish jumping in the lake and a couple times I could see the rainbow trout swimming in the shallows on the edge of the lake.

The trail was well maintained by the Park Service but it sure didn't make the hiking any easier. This trail was moderate + I would say. We all had a great time during out 2.5 hour hike up and 2.5 hour hike down. I would highly recommend this trail to anyone in good shape, and say; "take your camera!"

Who will help the Rockies?

I wonder if this guy could help the Rockies? I doubt that any minor management changes in the front office will do much. Another trade maybe? Well to get someone good, you have to give something up and other teams are smart enough to know what you've got. For example, let's trade veteran Marco Scutaro to the Giants for a minor league player, and then play the Giants tonight and see how he does! What! How about finding another proven player?  Nope, too much money! What's left? Fire everyone?  How about "let's develop our minor league players!"  Nah, they're too much fun to trade away, like Matt Holiday and many others. How about a new manager?

I'm told the Rocks may be in real trouble tonight against the Giants. This afternoon, the pitching machine threw a no-hitter! We've been in the cellar so long, it's damp!

Why do we do, what we do?

I bought a couple of small finger dolls from this little girl on Taquile Island on Lake Titicaca. They are the little puppet like dolls you can slip over your finger and are made of Alpaca fiber. Anyway, my first instinct was to  get the best deal I could. But then I thought, 'what kind of ugly American would I be then?' Besides, her mother had just finished cooking lunch for me and my friends and was standing nearby. You could tell Mom was watching and concerned about her little one. I gave this beautiful little girl more than they were worth and we were all happy.

What a treasure children are, in all cultures. Where does that idea come from? Was it planted in us? Animals don't think this way. A horse does not show concern for his stable-mate. In the stable the heaviest and clumsiest does not give up his oats for the other or is in any way concerned about him, the way men wish to be treated. Why is that? We didn't just learn this from our parents, it's everywhere.

Ankle breaker

This is Butler Wash road. It is very close to where Nancy broke her ankle. She rolled her ankle about 7 weeks ago at the end of a nice hike up to procession panel. For those of you who have been asking, she is on the mend and exercising her foot now. She is in and out of a walking cast but mostly out now. She can't wait to get back to Butler Wash! She's standing over my shoulder and laughing right now!

When we went to the Doc in Blanding, I was cringing at the cost of health care. Of course obamacare doesn't address the costs, only who will pay for it. But I digress. At the doctors, Nancy got an x-ray, a really nice cast, lots of attention, and good medical care. The insurance did pay for it, or will except of course the deductable. Then it dawned on me why doctors wear masks. It's the cost of health care!

For those of you who've been to Bluff before you probably understand the soft sandy soil. It's pretty easy to slip or lose your balance and twist or break an ankle. I wonder if any of those Anasazi ever did this? If so, I imagine it would be life threatening. Doctors are amazing, they cure people faster.

My question is, "Do doctors who treat people for amnesia make them pay in advance?" Paul, what do you think?

We visit Bluff once in a while looking for rock art and native American ruins. Every time I drive by this sign I think, "this must be the oldest town in the U.S.!" Well, we all know what's going on here, some towns are so small they deserve a special category.  And Bluff is small, maybe 200 people. I'll bet in 650 AD there were more natives here than this!  Anyway, when they wanted to paint a white line down the middle of the street, they had to widen it. Also, I'm told, "if you want to buy a house here, you'll need exact change."

Anyway, we spent many a night here hiking and exploring the Southwest and Four Corners areas. It really is a nice place but you have to appreciate it for what it is. If you're an amateur archaeologist, don't miss it. If you're looking for Macy's or the Opera, forget it.

Up on Peak 10, the easy way

Nancy and I went 4-wheeling with Mark and Teena over the weekend. What a great time we had going up and down steep trails, through the mud, and grinding it out up to the top of mountains. We stayed at their place and got up early, met a couple of other friends and began our morning tour.

Below is the trail up Peak 10 and that's Breckenridge in the background. We drove through the ski area and then connected with the old mining road. We drove up this for 5 or 6 miles maybe to within a couple hundred feet of the summit, which is just over 13,600 feet in elevation. The switchbacks were really fun.

When we got to the summit ridge we could see Crystal Lake (pictured below) and Upper Crystal Lake. What a magnificent view without a lot of work. Normally we would hike something like this!

At the top, we enjoyed a great view of Colorado! Nancy got to see quite a bit without ever getting out of the jeep. Her broken ankle prevented hiking and biking of course, so this turned out to be a really nice time. We did see a few hikers and people mountain biking. This was all in the morning. In the afternoon, we went up Chihuahua Gulch and Peru Creek to the old ghost town of Chihuahua.

Four Wheeling

We went four wheeling with Mark and Teena over the weekend and had a great time, in case you've wondered where I've been. Of course Mark's jeep got pretty dirty on the trip, going through mud and muck in the high country. I reminded him that a dirty jeep is a happy jeep and for some reason we all seemed to understand this. More on this later.

Fishing

On our last hike up to Diamond lake, I took this photo of these guys fishing. One of them was from Dallas. Hmm, a Texan! First he told me he caught a fish right over there, so big that it nearly pulled the rod right out of his hands. Then he was telling me about some of the fish in the pond back home. He'd taken a picture of one of the smaller ones, and the picture weighed five pounds! Why is it, fishing spawns so many lies? I told him I fished at a lake in Scotland that was so crowded with fish they had to swim standing up. That was the end of our conversation. Pretty lake, don't you think?

Contemplation

Contemplating the sea and its endless beauty, reflecting on its ceaseless motion, crafted by the creator and flowing endlessly in nature. Its beautiful tide and distant horizon a grandeur of thought, barely captured by the thoughts of poets.  How captivated we are by our vision of the sea! Pensee fait la grandur de l'homme! Well, maybe not...

Meeting Mini Mouse

Meeting Mini Mouse is something very special. Below, my daughter and grand daughter get an introduction. I personally have never met her but I did meet Mickey, when I was very young. I tried to think about all the famous people I've met or at least had a conversation with, and there aren't really very many. Let's see, I've met Bob Dole, John Madden, Mike Singletary, Joe Frazier, Shane Barrier, Richard Petty, Buz Aldrin and Brooks Robinson.  Meeting someone famous like Mini Mouse is really cool for a young person. A few of us wake up and find ourselves famous. Most of us wake up and find we're a half hour late!

The beach at Corona del Mar

I went to the beach with the kids Saturday. I held my stomach in so much I threw out my back! But I didn't feel too bad about it. There was this one lady who was rather plump. She didn't have to go to the beach. She was the beach! Anyway, we had a great time, sunburns and all.

It's really fun watching the kids in the surf, trying to figure out which way it's going to go, and if it will take them along for a ride.When the water comes in, they want to go out. When the water goes out, they want to go in. Of course, the problem with any beach in California on Saturday is finding an inch of beach without a body on it. And then there are the bikinis. It's the closest thing to a barbed-wire fence. It protects the property without obstructing any of the view.

Corn grinding appliance

On our last trip to Bluff, we hiked up to a ruin at Comb Ridge. Teena and Tammie found a Matate which was used by the Anasazi to grind their corn. Yep, Teena and Tammie found the kitchen! Of course, I had to joke about the kitchen not being organized correctly. They are two really good cooks, so it's not surprising they wanted to try out the appliances. I doubt either one of them has a corn grinder in their kitchen though! I could be mistaken.