Indian Summer

November, 2008

Fall is so fickle. Sometimes it is cold and wet and makes one leery of the onset of winter. Othertimes it is warm and sunny and creates an optimism of a less harsh winter. This has been one of the warm and sunny falls. The last few days have been so warm and pleasant. After I get my chores done that have been assigned by Carol I head to the treehouse to read or out to the nature center to walk. Yesterday I went out to Binder Lake and played disc golf. I didn't do to badly considering it was my first time. Disc golf for those of you who don't know is similar to regular golf but it is played with frisbees. I'll try and get some photos of the course here in Jefferson City. It is a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours on a nice sunny day.

November is also the time of birthdays. Andrew's is November 1 and Annabelle's is the 19th. We went over to Kansas City last weekend to spend the day and help them both celebrate. Andrew is 2 and Annabelle is 7. They grow so quickly.

I have also been taking a few photos and will share those with you now.



Annabelle and her American girl doll



Andrew anticipating his birthday cake

In the fall when I'm out walking in the forest or at the nature center I can't help about Robert Frost's poem 'The Road Less Traveled'. Here it is along with some photos to remind us of this wonderful time of year.

ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth



Then took the other as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same



And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet, knowing how way leads onto way
I doubted if I should ever come back



I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference

Robert Frost



See the face?



Taken at the Runge Nature Center in Jefferson City

Now for a photo tour around the place.

My favorite place to relax is the tree house. Here are some photos.



You can barely see it at the end of the path



The front porch



The view from the porch at dusk



The view from the porch in early morning

I bet you wonder what chores Carol has me doing. Well here are a couple of them.

I finally got all the firewood stacked from the oak tree we felled behind the house.



It turned out to provide us with about a chord and a half of good firewood. This combined with the three chords we already have should see us through the winter.

Here is a photo of the view from the front porch of the house. When we moved in it seemed that the house was almost in a valley surrounded by trees, but we were actually on a ridge, so Carol wanted a bunch of trees cut out front so we could see the valley below us and the far ridge, providing visual proof that we are on a ridge. Here is the results after cutting down about five sizable trees the other day, more wood to cut up and split.



Carol also wanted a fence around the garded to keep the deer out next summer so this is the result of that directive. A number of 8' posts surrounding the garden. This was the hard part digging the holes and cutting the cedars for posts. The fencing will come later.



I don't know how I ever had time for a job before I retired. Ain't retirement great.
Actually this is fun stuff for the most part but I'll never admit that to Carol.

We had some more gravel put on the drives a few weeks ago and it really looks nice.



Looking out toward the road



Looking back toward the camper - the road to the right goes to the house



View of the lodge on the way down the drive



Welcome, come and see us when you can

The Lodge and a Hint of Fall

Little Cedar Lodge Fall 2008

Mid October usually means colorful leaves and crisp mornings. It also means a lot of work especially since we have been gone for five months. I got the grass under control and have been trimming limbs from cedars. Carol wants a fense around the garden to keep the deer out next summer so I have spent the last couple of days digging post holes and cutting and limbing cedar trees for posts. She wants it 8' tall to keep the deer from jumping over it.

Carol has been busy decorating and cleaning up until last week when she had some bunyons removed from both feet at once. This makes her stay in one place but she can certainly give orders from the recliner. Here is a photo of the front door decorated for fall.



Welcome to Little Cedar Lodge

When we got home from Colorado we discovered a large oak tree behind the house had died. We had someone come in and drop it because I certainly didn't want it to fall on the house, which it might have done if I had dropped it. We had them leave the tree right where it fell and I have spent a couple of days cutting and splitting it.



Wood cutting

Actually this photo is a little misleading. Had brought his tractor up with a splitter attachment and I used that to split the wood. Thank goodness for splitters.

Here are a few more photos from around the place.



Asters Lining the Front Porch



Hay Wagon



Path to the Tree House



Annabelle, Andrew, and Poppa's Treehouse



Wood Pile Looking Toward the Hot Tub

We got to babysit Annabelle and Andrew a couple of weeks ago. Here are some recent photos.



Andrew



Annabelle and Her Cake

Nick and Sharon Neely stopped by last week. They are a couple who worked with us out at the Buena Vista KOA this summer. They live in Oklahoma and had been up in Hannibal visitng friends so they stopped by on their way home. It was great to see them. We were so glad they made the effort to stop by and see us.

Carol is recouping well from her surgery, but it is hard to keep her sitting down. She is getting bored.

Life is good.

Coming home

September 23



A last look at Mt. Princeton -note the yellow patches of aspen

We're on our way home now. I'm sitting here at Hasty Lake State Park in eastern Colorado this morning looking out the window and enjoying the serenity of an early morning sunrise. It is hard to believe that five months have passed so quickly. As I look back on it, this summer has truly been a dream come true for me. I have always wanted to live out in the Rockies, even if for a short time. This summer I had that opportunity, and it was truly a joy.



Hasty Lake State Park in eastern Colorado

I have had an addiction to the mountains since about 1980 when Dave and I took a van and spent a couple of weeks out here just driving and exploring. That was only 28 years ago, I was 35 at the time. My only regret is that I did not discover them sooner. I had just finished graduate school and we were about a year into the waterbed store. I had a wife and two lovely little girls I had to support, and I felt somewhat overwhelmed with the responsibility. It was a fantastic trip and very much needed at the time. Since then I have made many trips to the mountains, but none like this where I actually lived here for a few months.

I'm not sure if it was on this trip or shortly thereafter that I discovered John Denver and really came to appreciate his music. His one song that really touches me and reminds me of the mountains is Rocky Mountain High. I'm going to provide you with the lyrics of that song below and then I will post some photos to highlight it. I hope you enjoy it.

"Rocky Mountain High" by John Denver



John Denver memorial park in Aspen

He was born in the summer of his 27th year
Coming home to a place he'd never been before.



May 2008

He left yesterday behind him. You might say he was born again.
You might say he found the key to every door.
When he first came to the mountains his life was far away
On the road and hanging by a song.
Well the string is already broken and he doesn't really care.
It keeps changin' fast and it don't last too long.
But The Colorado Rocky Mountain High
I've seen it raining fire in the sky.



Fire in the sky

Shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullaby.
Rocky Mountain High
Rocky Mountain High
Well he climbed the feeble mountains.



Climbing Mt. Princeton

He saw silver clounds below
He saw everything as far as you can see.
They say that he got crazy once and he tried to touch the sun.
He lost a friend but kept his memory.



Mike Cooper (1950?-2000) in the Wind River Range circa 1990

Now he walks in quiet solitude thru the forests and the streams
Seeking grace in every step he takes.
His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of clear blue mountain lake.



Lost Lake

And The Colorado Rocky Mountain High
I've seen it raining fire in the sky.
Talk to God and listen to the casual reply.
Rocky Mountain High
Rocky Mountain High
Now his life if full of wonder
But his heart still knows some fear
Of the simple things he cannot comprehend.
Why they try and tear the mountains down
To bring in a couple more, more people, more scars upon the land.
And The Colorado Rocky Mountain High
I've seen it raining fire in the sky.
You know he'd be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly.
Rocky Mountain High
The Colorado Rocky Mountain High
I've seen it raining fire in the sky.
Friends around the campfire and everybody is high.
Rocky Mountain High
Rocky Mountain High
Rocky Mountain High
Rocky Mountain High
Rocky Mountain High
Rocky Mountain High

Rocky Mountain High



Our Rocky Mountain High

September 24, Thursday

We made it home yesterday about mid-afternoon. The house isn't in too bad a shape considering the fact that it had been unoccupied for the last five months. Carol stopped off at the outlet mall at the lake to do a little shopping while I came on home and backed the camper into the drive. There is quite a bit of work to do mainly on grass and cleanup. Mice have gotten into quite a few areas and enjoyed the free run of the house recently but that free run is about over. We're declaring war on the mice. A couple of wasp nests had to be sprayed, and I began sweeping off the porch, deck, and treehouse. Things will return to normal in a few days.



It was a great summer

It has been fun this summer. I hope you all enjoyed living our adventure with us through the blog. I imagine I will rest for awhile before I make any more entries, but keep checking. You can't tell when I will get the urge to share more of our lives.

Life is good.

September 13 through September 19

September 13 and 14



At least I'm not as old as this cabin

I had my 63rd birthday a couple of days ago. I sure don't feel 63, or what I presumed 63 to be. I think that the 60's are comparable to what the 40's use to be for people. You're only as old as you feel. I keep telling myself that anyway.



Nick doing his Mark Twain presentation at Turner Farm

Well, we are off again this weekend but we don't really have anything exciting planned. We did our usual garage sale tour on Saturday morning. There was an apple festival at Turner Farm so we went by there about mid-morning. Turner Farm is a farmstead that was built around 1900. It is now in a trust and administered by a foundation to preserve knowledge of life here in Colorado around the late 1800's and early 1900's. They had some folks there who demonstrated clothes washing, blacksmithing, and various techniques of apple use. There was one fellow there who talked about mining in the 1800's and he was fascinating. Carol and I stood there and listened to him for about half an hour. He told about how the miners first panned for gold, and then started searching for veins and how they drilled and blasted mines. It gave me a new appreciation of how hard life must have been for them.

One of our workampers, Nick Neely, is very involved with Mark Twain, and he gave a presentation there as well. It was very good. I learned a lot about Mark Twain.

We came back to the camper after doing some grocery shopping and I watched Georgia and S. Carolina football. I had hoped the Mizzou game would be televised but it wasn't here. I did see that Mizzou put it to Nevada though. The final score was 69 to 17. Go Mizzou. Thank goodness we have one football team in Missouri. Kansas City and St. Louis obviously are out for the season. Both the Chiefs and Rams are pitiful this year.



Sunset at the lake

Carol and I walked over to a lake across the highway from the campground tonight. The sunset was beautiful and I took a lot of photos. We saw a deer as we usually do when we walk over here. I went up a small embankment to get a photo of it and found an old rusted railroad spike. I hadn't even realized this road was an old railroad bed. I'll miss the sunsets when we leave Colorado.



Another sunset photo

Sunday we went on a hike up north of BV at Pine Creek. It was an absolutely beautiful hike. Almost like walking in a park. We hiked in about 2.5 miles and then back out for a total of about 5 miles. It was pleasant to sit and nibble on some snack food next to the creek at out furthest point and smell the pines. I am going to miss the mountains when we go home.



Hiker (Carol) on Pine Creek Trail

Speaking of going home we'll be leaving in about a week. We still have some fun days ahead of us though. Dave and Linda are due here Tuesday night. We'll get in some good hiking and exploring with them. I just can't believe how fast the past five months have gone. It is almost a blur. I'm glad I have the blog to refer back to so we can remember our summer. It has been a dream come true for me. I've wanted to do this for years. We will be back. Although I imagine next time we will just bring the truck camper and not work camp, but just explore for a month or so. This is a fantastic place to just explore and dry camp. But, that is for another year.



Pine Creek Trail

Life is good.


September 16, Tuesday



Dave and Linda on the bluff overlooking the campground

Dave and Linda arrived right as we finished work this evening, around 8:00. It was dark and they had a little trouble finding us at first but then Carol found them and led them up to the camper. We really expected them before dark, but that is silly, I mean this is Dave we're talking about.

September 17, Wednesday



Lar and Dave

After we had our first cup of coffee this morning we took Dave and Linda up into the BLM area behind us so they could get a better view of the valley and mountains. When we came down we had breakfast burritos and headed into town to rent a jeep for tomorrow. We were planning on taking them up Antero tomorrow in the jeep. After visiting with Gary, the owner of BV Jeeps we decided to go up over Mosquitoe Pass. From the jeep rental office we headed up to the Lost Lake trail head. It was clear this morning when we got up but the clouds were moving in by the time we hit the trail. It was a beautiful hike though as usual. This is such an easy and pleasant hike we take everybody on it.



Dave and Linda at Lost Lake

We sat at Lost Lake for about a half hour and had some snacks and enjoyed the alpine scenery. Most of the wildflowers are gone now and the yellows and reds of fall have taken their place. It won't be too long before it snows heavily up here and the lake will not be accessible except by snowshoes. The road is not maintained in winter anyway. I think they close it at the end of October so about one more month until closure.



Fall in the Rockies

We went by Cottonwood Lake on the way back down and there were groves of aspen turning yellow. The turning of the aspens is a sure sign of the cold weather approaching, but is is so beautiful to see.



On the road to Cottonwood Lake

It amazes me that we have been able to experience the spring, summer, and fall seasons here. The winter season I really didn't want to experience anyway.



An aspen grove at Cottonwood Lake

We got back to town and stopped by the jeep rental place and told Gary we had decided to wait until tomorrow to pick up the jeep since it was late, 4:00 and cloudy and we were tired.

It is probably a good thing we are renting a jeep for tomorrow since Linda announced that Lost Lake was the only hike she cared to take. I guess I shouldn't take low-landers who haven't had a chance to acclimate to the altitude on a hike this high. Lost Lake is about 12,000 feet. I'll file that away for the future.

We got back to the camper and got the grill going and I grilled some chicken. Carol whipped up some rice and we had invited Howard and Jean over for supper so they brought some slice French bread with tomato slices, basil and mozzarella cheese that had been roasted on it over. It was a delicious supper. We had apple pie for desert.

We went to bed fairly early tonight since we were all tired.

September 18, Thursday



A photo op on the road up to Mosquito Pass

Today is Mosquito Pass day. We had breakfast at The Evergreen Cafe in BV and then went and picked up the jeep. We took the north river road up to where it meets 285 and then headed on up to Leadville. Carol and Linda had to do a little end of season shopping at a couple of the stores there and finally around noon we headed on up toward the pass. Mosquito Pass is the highest drivable pass in the country, according to the signs and handouts we had. The road goes up gradually at first and then gets steeper as you get closer to the pass.



Looking back and down on Leadville from the Mosquito Pass Road

Mosquito Pass was established in the 1870's to give access to the gold fields around what is now Leadville. It was, of course, at one time an Indian trail and eventually worked it's way into a wagon trail. It was closed around 1900 in favor of Weston Pass which was much shorter and lower in altitude. It was reopened in the late 1940's for 4-wheel drive enthusiasts. In it's heyday it might see 150 wagons and stagecoaches go over the pass a day. We only saw one other ATV (all terrain vehicle) go by us. It was named Mosquito Pass, not because of a large number of mosquitoes, but due to the fact that at the second meeting of the group that was to name the pass a dead mosquito was found in the log from the first meeting, having been squashed when the log was closed after the first meeting.



Are you sure this is a road?



Freezing on top of Mosquito Pass

The pass tops out at 13,185 feet. It was really cold when we got there so we didn't spend too much time taking photos. Even Dave was reasonably fast. Dave drove on the way up so I got to drive on the way down. The road down was a little wider but it had some great dips and boulders to get around or over. We stopped for lunch, pb&j sandwiches, and as we were eating it began to snow. Luckily this passed fairly quickly. We stopped at an old mine to take some photos and then on down the road we found an old cabin to take some photos. A little further we stopped to take some pictures of the yellow aspens with the dark cloudy sky in the background, and the sun in the foreground.



Aspen yellow against the dark sky

We finally made it to the bottom and got back to the campground, where we stopped to drop off our gear and then we dropped the jeep back off at the jeep dealer. We then went to Casa Del Sol for supper. By this time it was nearly 9:00 and we were all exhausted so we headed back to the camper and very shortly to bed.



September 19, Friday

Dave and Linda headed back east this morning. It was great to have them here and be able to show them some of the sites we have found this summer.