Getting High...

Yep, That's what we do in Colorado when the temperatures start rising. 

We get high in the mountains to cool off.

(what were you thinking?)

 

A couple weeks ago, Jim, the dogs and I went for a 9+ mile trek through the high country (topped a saddle at 11,949 ft. elevation, averaged 11,500).  We explored a trail we hadn't been on before.  The wild flowers were poppin' and the water falls were flowin'!  It was gorgeous!

 

Enjoy some of the pictures as we tried to capture the experience.

(but really, you just have to go for yourself)

 

~click to enlarge photos~

Adhering to the warning sign,  Aspen inspects the unstable rocks.

 

 Jim leading the way up to the saddle.

 

 Amongst the "unstable rocks", I spy the tiniest bunch of wild flowers I have ever seen!!

 

Who could resist playing in the snow at almost 12,000 ft in June?

 

Crazy trail work!

Look closely and notice that the trail is outlined with rocks!

Who does this?  Aliens?

 

Celebration Mountain

Looking across Bear Creek Valley

 



 One of many waterfalls

 

 Jim kisses a Grandfather tree.

So big and so old, bearing an ancient trail blaze, we just had to pause in awe of this natural wonder.

 

A glance back to the saddle we crossed through.

(located in the deep V right where the top of the tree is touching the sky)

 

 A picnic at the Bear Creek Trail connection.

 

 Exhausted Pups

 

 As we hiked, we gathered bits and pieces of trash.

At the connection, I used a recovered piece of cord to rehang a fallen sign.

 

We also did some trail maintenance along the way back,

rebuilding trail cairns...

 

and righting fallen log markers.

 

 Is that a baby dragon?!

(perhaps too much time in the sun at high elevations were getting to me)

 

 Aspen looking regal.

 

A family of Marmots that taunted us with their whistles as we passed along the trail.

The dogs were so tired, they didn't even give these critters a second look.

(look close, it's like a "where's waldo" search - there are 4)

 

Thanks for joining us.

Hope you enjoyed the high!

 



Birthday Girl!!

Aspen is 6 now!!

Her birthday was on Valentine's day and she celebrated with an "A" shaped pancake.

A little older and a little whiter in the face, but still young at heart and obsessed with her ball.

Another birthday still to come this month, stay in touch!!

Birthday Boy!!

Douglas Fur of Durango

Last Friday, February the 3rd, Doug turned 4 years old.

Can't you just feel his excitement?

Jim says, "Doug is the "blue-est" yellow dog he's ever met."

I think we should have named him Eore, after the mopey donkey from the Winnie the Pooh stories.

Either way, Doug is Doug and we love him.

After a bit of scratching he rolled to his back for his famous bat impression.

Happy Birthday Doug!!

February holds lots of birthdays in our house, stay tuned for more...

Snowshoeing...again!

Really, how often do I get to go snowshoeing two Wednesdays in a row?!

This week I went with my friend Barb, her sister Jill (visiting Durango) and Jill's funny lil' pup Sally.

Of course, we went to one of my favorite places - La Plata Canyon.

We explored a series of frozen beaver dams.

 Lead the way Sally!!

 We found mountain lion tracks.

Which didn't photograph very well.

 A beautifully constructed and still intact paper wasp nest.

 A peek at the opening, shows it to be dormant or vacant. 

I wasn't gong to knock and find out.

(I believe it was a paper wasp nest but I am no expert, if someone knows better please feel free to comment with a correction.)

 Barb and Jill

At the end, Sally was so excited with her new buddies that she hopped right in my car with them.  Sorry, Sally you can't go home with your friends.

Another peaceful day spent in the canyon!!

Oops, again my failure to be competent in computers shines through.  I compressed these photos to email to someone and now they are forever small.  I was later informed that I should make a separate file with duplicates in it , one for originals and one for altered.  Ugh!!  Live and learn.

Snowshoeing with Steve

Steve & Doug & Aspen

One of the best things about my friend Steve is that he's always up for an adventure.  One of the other great things is that he's usually available in the middle of the week!!  When everyone else is working or at school, I can count on Steve for company on a mid-week back country excursion.  Today we went snowshoeing up La Plata Canyon with the dogs.

 Me & a found mine

After following other people's trails for a while we decided to break our own through knee deep powder.  While exploring, we happened upon this mining claim.  Crazy that we still live in the "Wild Wild West" where you can claim a mine and dig for gold or silver or whatever.  According to the USGS tag (the brass colored circle on the top right corner of the gate) this mine was established in 2008. 

 Another find was this snowball that had rolled down the side of the slope.  Upon inspection, we found that it had rolled perfectly straight down the hill (not randomly tumbling) thus resulting in a "jelly-roll".  If you look closely at the middle (double click to enlarge photo) you will see a perfect spiral!  It was shaped like a tire, so we had to lay it on it's side to capture the photo.

Another wonderful day in the mountains!!

Mother - Son Day at Lemon Reservoir

Monday (MLK observance) was a holiday for some and others had to work. In our family, Jim had to work and Stown and I had the day to play together. We had planned on going up to the mountain and working on our snowboard park skills (jumps, rails, etc.) but I woke up with a wicked sore throat so we decided to take it easy. We loaded the dogs up and took a drive to our property up at Lemon Reservoir. We hadn't ever been up there in the winter and wondered how much snow would be there and if my 2 -wheel drive car would even make it.

Driving up the snow packed road to the land.

The roads run on the east and south of the property.

The trees on the corner are the only trees on the entire plot.

Our snow covered mountain meadow, blanketed with about 3 feet of fluff.

( I can't wait to build our home up here.)

Back down to the frozen lake (reservoir) to let the dogs run. Boy, they sure love the snow!!

Stown (looking like the infamous Bigfoot picture) hiked ahead towards the lake. The wind was whipping but there were no kiters (people who fly huge kites and ski or snowboard behind them) out that day.

Looking south down the lake towards the dam.

We realized that the kiters weren't out due to the thin ice conditions. There were bare spots across the lake where you could see water. A very unusual thing for this time of year. We don't seem to have as much snow as years past but statistics say we are 7% above average. Of course, some placed have gotten an overload where others have been deprived - but that's why they call it an average.

As for now we keep -

Praying for Snow!!

Scenes from a dogs nose...

Ever wonder what the world looks like from the dog's point of view?

Doug ponders the fence.

Beautifully frozen ice crystals ontop of the fluffy dry snow.

Iron cross

Boldly go where no dogs has gone before... atleast since the last snow.

So many trees to pee on...

why must there be a fence?

Another Baking Day...

For Hanukkah Stown decided to give me one of the gifts he had bought for me, a new beater blade for my mixer that scrapes the bowl as it spins. He knew I had a big baking day coming up and could really use it. On a Sunday morning, Jim and Stown went to the mountain for the day, leaving me home alone.

Dressed in my flowered flip flops to match my flowered apron, I addressed the dogs and gave them strict instructions to stay out of my kitchen.
Five hours, four cds, three cups of coffee, two patient dogs

and one floured baker.

The boys came home to a table covered with goodies. Bars, cookies, fudge, bread - I stopped counting after 10 loaves and 28 dozen cookies (not all pictured). They were kind enough to bring home a pizza so I could kick up my heels and retire with a glass of wine for the day.

Most of these delights went out in boxes or bags to various friends, relatives, mail folk, trash men, etc. We still have a few in the freezer but they may be there until February as we are "cookied out" for the season.

Hope you had a delicious holiday season!!

Sand Canyon with Steve

Yesterday was a crisp early winter day here in the Four Corners area. A perfect day to head west to Sand Canyon with my good friend Steve and our dogs.

(As with all pictures I post, if you click on the photo it will enlarge for you. I highly suggest it on a few of the following pictures.)

Steve pausing for a sip in the sun with snow dusted mountains in the background.

Ruins you can walk up to. We nicknamed this one "Chimney House". Doesn't it look like it's sitting in a little patio stove?

Stopping for lunch, Steve demonstrates -
"You can lead dogs to water but you can't make them drink".

Aspen watches with curiosity as the water displaced by her body overflows down the rock.

Only a few inches high, I fell in love with this cute little "tree".

Nicknamed "Sun House" - Look at the size of this building!!

Unlike Mesa Verde and other National or State Parks, Sand Canyon is the way it was left hundreds of years ago not reconstructed for tourist to see. So why are these still standing while others had to be rebuilt? Mostly due to the remoteness, not many are adventurous to hike miles to see them. There are also not very many dwellings, more of a sporadic rural settlement not a "city", so scientist didn't excavate them like the larger areas (i.e. Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, Chimney Rock) Hike over and explore but leave no trace.

Click to enlarge - Dwelling in arch in the center

There is still active building in the area.

This ant mound was spectacularly constructed.

Natures Sculptures

Amazing display of erosion on the side of a boulder (click to enlarge).

More Sculptures

On top of the left mesa there is a circular rock wall (click to enlarge).

Was it an ancient look out?

Perfectly Framed

I love that all of this is just a short drive from our home here in Durango. We are constantly out exploring and grateful that these areas have not been discovered by the masses. I am sure someday they will pave this too as they did Mesa Verde, give tours and serve fast food. Until then we will continue to enjoy our hikes there with minimal interaction with other.

Thanks for sharing in our adventure!!