End of Month

We just got back from Durango, Colorado; we took the big boy and got him all setup in the dorms at Ft. Lewis College. The room is an ok size and he has a roommate. We never did get to meet the roommate but they will make friends quickly. I was pretty excited for him, looks like he is going to have a blast. We have no doubts that he will do great!

So for the month I only got 99.91/Miles in. I came up about 20 short from August of last year. I am going to have to really step it up this month as I need 155/Miles just to be on track with last year.

Miles Update

For the month of August I am up to 85/Miles and 504/Miles from March 1st. Currently I am 59/miles behind where I was last year at this same time. Going to have to step it up!

You can do it!

Saturday I took a couple hiking in Cheyenne Canyon. We started on trail 666, which for most of you know that it is a gradual incline for three miles. We then took trail 667 up and around and then trail 665 aka Captain Jacks and then took a side trail which will take you down Sesame Canyon back to High Drive and the parking lot.

I felt bad as it ended up being a little over 8.5/Miles and I had said that it was about 6.5/Miles when we started. Everyone made it though but I am sure that the lady that was in the group will have some blisters. I don’t think it would have been so bad if we had gotten an earlier start. We left the trail head at 9:30am and it was already hot. I went through two bottles of water which is rare for me. It might have been because we had to make a few stops and let everyone catch their breath.

I took some pictures but didn’t get them loaded over the weekend, will work on that tonight.

I am working on my route for the Ring the Peak Trail. It will be a little over 60/Miles if I leave from my house. I may take a Llama with me on this one to help me haul the gear I need. If nothing else it will be a hell of sight if you come across me. And yes you can actually rent a Llama for just this purpose.

http://wildflowerridgellamas.com/

Starting to plan our moonlight hike

Oct. 4, 2:10 a.m. EDT -- Full Harvest Moon. Traditionally, this designation goes to the full moon that occurs closest to the Autumnal (fall) Equinox. The Harvest Moon usually comes in September, but sometimes it will fall in early October as is the case in 2009; the next time won't come until 2017. At the peak of the harvest, farmers can work into the night by the light of this moon. Usually the full moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice -- the chief Indian staples -- are now ready for gathering.

More updates to come, stay tuned!

From the garden

I picked a few peppers off the plants tonight. Lot's of blooms and more to come.

Good Guys Car Show

On Sunday we did a little urban hiking. We left our house at about 10am and headed down to Old Colorado City to check out the Good Guys Car Show. It’s about 2.5 miles from our house. Walking down 21st was exciting as well as trying to cross Highway 24. Was almost like playing Frogger for real.

We walked up and down and checked out all the cool looking cars. Lot’s of money sitting on street and folks who have invested a lot of time. We had lunch at Thunder and Buttons, it was OK. We then checked out the rest of the cars and then hit the chocolate shop and got a few chocolate cover strawberries and jalapeño’s.

Candy had gotten a blister from her flip/flops so she called a friend who picked us up on our way home. Total miles for the day was 4.5.

See all the classic car pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/drobincorvette/20080816#

The Horns

Today’s hike to us back to the Horns. Candy and I met up with a coworker at our office. And then we headed out. We had our dog Mable with us and Nik had his dog Princess. We drove up Old Stage to the parking area. We were not the first as a gray Toyota Tacoma was parked.

We loaded up and headed up the trail. The dogs dig great and stayed with us all the way. For the most part they were off the leash. We moved pretty quick today up the trail. Early in we passed the owners of the gray Toyota. Nik and I ventured off the trail at the top and climbed up the rocks the rest of the way to the peak. The up portion was easy; the coming down was a little intense. There were a couple of places that if you slipped or the rock gave way; you would be going home on a helicopter. Everyone did great and we even found a trail that we may have to go back and try next week.

All pics can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/drobincorvette/20090815#

Nik at the top of the Horns

Picket Wire Canyon Lands

This last Sunday, Candy and I hiked down in the Picket Wire Canyon lands. This was the second time for me and the first for her. We got lucky as it was overcast cool in the morning. We had great weather all the way out to the track site. On the way back the clouds had broken and it heated up quick. There is no shade to speak of so hard to cool down. Total miles came in at 11.4 and total time out was six hours.

I was on the look out for snakes, scorpions and tarantulas but didn’t manage to find any. Of course I didn’t venture to far off the trail to look for them. We did see lot’s of birds, grasshoppers and beetles. I think it was mating season for the beetles or maybe they are just at it all the time. We came across a box turtle and one grasshopper that I had never seen before. Most of them were grey, black or green. But this one had orange, yellow, blue, black and white colors. Looked it up and it is called a Painted Grasshopper (Dactylotum Bicolor).

The river wasn’t running to high, we took off the shoes and socks and made our way across. Took a break had a peach and some almonds. Checked out the dinosaur tracks for a while and then headed back. For more info on the track site visit: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/coma/palo/index.shtml

We headed back to town and grabbed lunch and then stopped at a couple of farm markets and got some peaches, corn, tomatoes, etc. all good stuff. Then we headed home, the drive back was just about 90 minutes.

All pictures can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/drobincorvette/20090809#

On my way to work

This week I took the camera with me and snapped a few pictures from my route to and from work. The direct route is 5/miles round trip. I try to mix it up and go different ways. The longest this week was 7.5/miles.

These pictures are from Bear Creek Park. This is the scenic route, maybe next week I will take pictures from the Urban Route. Which can at times be a very interesting, but that’s another story. I have been trying to get pictures of Coyotes. I came across one this week, but by the time I could get my camera out he/she was gone. In the spring I had come across two pups, but once again to slow with the camera. This year I have probably seen seven of them. Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/drobincorvette/20090805#

Tomorrow I am headed out early to drive down to La Junta, Co. The plan is to do the Palmer Loop Trail before I go to work and then head out early to drive down. I am going down to meet my parents and go to an auction. I am staying an extra day and will be hiking the Picket Wire Canyon Lands again. The following link has a picture and gives a great description of the attractions and how the canyon got its name: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/coma/main/picketwireguide.shtml

I did this hike back in November out to the Dinosaur track site. You have to cross the Purgatory River, which is fun. So take extra sock if you go.

Birds from the Pikes Peak Region

These are pics of birds that I have taken around the house and on the trails:

Gray Back Peak

We headed out today to hit a new trail. Today it was Gray Back Peak off of Old Stage Road. Look for the sign for Emerald Valley Ranch aka FR 371. Go about a half mile and park at the top of the pass on the left. You will see two trail heads and you will want the one going up.

A little over a mile in you will come to a junction in the trail. Today we stayed to the right on the trail. It was marked with a stack of rocks and a horse shoe hanging from the tree. All together the GPS records 3.9/miles round trip. I would rate this as a medium trail with several spots with a few good inclines.

We took Max with us today and he was smiling all the way. He was a little slow on the way down but managed to keep up. It worked out nice as we did not come across anyone on the trails today. Had it all to ourselves!!! I don’t think this trail sees much foot action. You could tell it was used by horses as we found several dried piles.

We had some great views from the top of the peak. You could see out to the foot hills and view into Emerald Valley. Once again we came across thousands of ladybugs. I think today we saw more that we did yesterday on St. Peters. Pretty Awesome!

You can find all the pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/drobincorvette/20090802#

Happy Anniversary and St. Peters Dome

Well today the wife and I are celebrating out 22nd wedding anniversary. What better way to celebrate then to go climb a mountain! We did get a late start, but drove up Old Stage Road to Saint Peters Dome Trail. We had a blast and did some serious climbing today.

We found were ladybugs come from, who new they came from the top of the mountain. There were thousands of them, they covered the rocks and were buzzing around. It was very cool to see. When we finished we headed to Cripple Creek and had lunch and walk around the casino’s and looked in a couple of gift shops.

Made our way back home on Hwy 67 through Divide and Woodland Park. They were having an Art and Crafts show so we stopped and looked around. Didn’t see anything we needed.