Boots On Dirt Roads

Red Rocks Natural Amphitheater

2011-08-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

Red Rocks defies classification... so I am placing this post in the "Mountain" section because it is in CO and I'm not sure under what other title to place it -if you have a suggestion, please do feel free to share.

Red Rocks, as the name implies, is a rock formation and mostly red. It has been made particularly famous because of its naturally formed amphiteater that provide "accoustic perfection for any performance". The first series of concerts were produced between 1906 and 1910 on a temporary platform; see history and geology here.

Red Rocks Park is located near Morrison, CO, about 30 minutes due west of downtown Denver.

Hiking - Horsebak Riding - Mountain Biking Trails

The Trading Post Trail is a quick 1.4 miles and the Red Rocks Trail is about 3 miles, and can be extended to 6 miles by connecting into another Jefferson county trail.

We did the 3 miles loop and it was a very pleasant, casual hike. The day was rather overcast, so no sunny rocks (we went in Feb.) though still very impressive in their formation and coloring.

The trail altitude is 6,280 ft above sea level and appropriate for children, with a few areas of steep grades and road crossings. Please do stay off the rocks -this is a sensitive area, and this request is posted several times throughout the trail, even though we did see a couple people ignoring the signs... :(

The Ampitheater

It is apparently a very popular site for runners and work out groups.

There was a yoga class in session and numerous people either running or walking up and down the bleachers, which, at 6,400 ft altitude, will get you in shape.

The park is open daily from 5 am - 11 pm free of charge.

In case of performance, the park is closed to the public in the early afternoon.

Walking Around Salida, CO - part III

2011-03-29T15:13:00.000-07:00

This is the third and last part of the Salida, CO weekend trip.

As in every trip coffee shops were involved. My traveling partner has a gift for finding the perfect local places to hang out in, and this one certainly more than lived up to expectations: great staff, great atmosphere, great service, great food/drinks, great everything.

We stopped at Cafe Dawn the first time Saturday morning for a quick hot drink before going on our little touristy day of visiting the town (see previous 2 posts).

We liked it well enough that we decided to come back Sunday morning to read the newspaper... the place was packed!

There was a family reunion in town and they all decided to come down to Cafe Dawn for their breakfast too! It gave the place a very jovial atmosphere for sure, if at times a bit loud.

The owner came around to greet people and attend to their needs. Very friendly guy with a pleasant demeanor. I'd seen a poster about music on the wall and asked him about it. On Sunday afternoon several local musicians come around to play and have a good time together. We made plans to come back.

After our afternoon hike, we came back to rest our feet and get settled to wait for the music to start.

If you've been around this blog before, you'll know I like the occasional hot chocolate and I am very picky about how it's made: no syrup (bad aftertaste), has to be quality powder, in hot water.

Just at the off chance they might have more than soy milk (it seemed like that kind of place) I asked for their current choices: yeah, almond milk!

The barista was very nice in heating up the milk espresso fashion, giving it a fun layer of foam at the top.

Check out this absolutely scrumptious glass of hot chocolate! Hmmm, good!

A little while later the musicians started coming in and the place slowly filled up with what looked like mostly regulars who knew what they were in for.

Nothing fancy, just a group of friends enjoying playing together. Good rythm, good vibes. What a great way to spend a couple hours.

On Monday morning we headed home towards north Colorado, opting for smaller roads over the mountain pass rather than boring highway... little did we know a snow storm had had a similar idea. Besides the harrowing driving and skidding across the road, two cool things happened:

We saw a herd of wild elks off the side of the road, who promptly ran off before I could take a closer picture (the nerve), and a small family of bighorn sheep who came down the mountain to graze in someone's yard.

A great finish to a great weekend.

Walking Around Salida, CO - part II

2011-03-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

FIBArk, advertised as "America's Oldest and Boldest Whitewater Festival," has been taking place every summer at the Riverside Park in historic downtown since 1949. If you look close enough, you can see the slalom sticks in the photo below

After spending the whole morning walking around the town, we decided it was time to visit the surrounding open spaces for trails to take the dogs on... here are a couple shots of that hike:

and today's parting shot, a room with a view... :p

Walking Around Salida, CO - part I

2011-02-26T10:16:00.000-08:00

Continuing with our Memorial Day weekend trip:

We rented a little cabin in Buena Vista (right next door to Salida). Cabins are more pleasant than a motel room and when you travel with 2 dogs, it does offer more wiggling room. The other advantage is being able to fix a meal rather than eating out all the time.

We stayed at Vista Court Cabins. Rustic, simple, it turned out perfect for what we were looking for.

Cabin #3, that's us! :)

Saturday was reserved for walking around and exploring the Downtown Historic District in Salida, CO.

The day was very overcast, unfortunately not ideal for my little point-and-shoot camera.

Salida is known as the "Heart of the Rockies" and is located on the Upper Arkansas River Valley in central Colorado.

The streets were mostly deserted, being early in the year and still most definitively on the chilly side -though I'm willing to bet that changes once Spring and Summer come around!...

There's plenty of cafes, diners, restaurants, pubs, and shops to go around (our favorite coffee shop of the trip coming up soon)

You can see the 14,000 ft mountains all around town with their amazing snow caps, making for some fantastic views. Salida itself rests at 7,000 ft. elevation.

Besides the architecture, there were a few interesting sightings worth mentioning...

Local art:

We considered joining...

And last but not least, this one gets "Best Red Neck Brush Guard" award:

Next, favorite coffee shop in town and a hike outside of town.

Winery at the Holy Cross Abbey

2011-02-01T15:33:00.000-08:00

Driving back from the Royal Gorge (see previous posting), we went into Canon City, CO to visit the winery at the Holy Cross Abbey.

The Abbey.

It started when two Benedictine monks came from Pensylvania to Breckenridge, CO in 1886.

More followed as they moved from Brekenridge to Boulder to Pueblo and finally to Canon City, naming the foundation Holy Cross Abbey.

The Abbey was built in 1924 in the gothic style, where the monks ran a boarding school for high school students until 1985.

Monks still resided at the Abbey until 2006.

You can actually visit the monastery during the week and if I remember correctly, the sign at the front also listed mass hours for Sunday mornings.

The Winery.

The vines were started by the monks a few years before the church decided to close this monastery and move them out of state.

Very few wines are actually produced there now, though we did see several rows in front of the tasting room. I don't recall where the vines are currently grown -where's that handy tourist flyer when you need it- but they do have over a dozen wines including Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah.

The tasting room is open Monday - Satruday, from 10 am - 6 pm, and Sundays from 12 - 5 pm. Most selections are free except for a few reserved collection, requiring a small fee.

Royal Gorge Bridge

2011-01-23T14:50:00.000-08:00

Memorial Day weekend was the perfect time to get away for a couple days. In that spirit, we rented a little cabin in Salida, CO and went visiting the area. The weather was perfect for it.

First stop was Royal Gorge Bridge, the highest suspension bridge in the US, located over the Arkansas River near Canon City, CO. It was built in 1929 for $350,000, or the equivalent of about $15 million today, and took 6 month to complete.

A few facts:

Length: 1,270 ft (387 m)
Width: 18 ft (15 m)
Main span: 880 ft (268 m)
Towers: 150 ft high (46 m)
Height above river: 1,053 ft (321 m)

I hiked down the canyon a few yards to try a get a good view of the bridge. The semi-arid landscape of red rocks and cactus offered and great contrast with the snow patches still present.

Be advised that is it $12 per person to get anywhere close to the area, with rides, shows, petting zoo and other attractions. You can also either walk or drive accross the bridge. We did neither as it was not part of our budget this time, but we do plan on coming back.

Intrepid Trail at Dead Horse Point

2010-09-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

One last item on our list for this particular trip was a mountain bike trail, for which we choose the Intrepid Trail System at Dead Horse Point State Park.

This trail has three hiking and biking loops, from 1 to 9 miles and varying in difficulties.
The Intrepid is the first and shorter of the three for those novice riders wanting a decent ride without rattling too many teeth -i.e. me. The loops are relatively flat with about 140 ft elevation change on the longer loop, and made of sand and rock and a few sections of slickrock along the way.

I can tell you I'm not much of a mountain biker and I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

We stopped at every overlook off course (what did you expect, ha) and I assure you they are well worth it. The view is breathtaking.

Oh, by the way, it is $10 to get in Dead Horse Point State Park.

Here are the bullet points, taken from the link provided above:

Trailhead: Dead Horse Point State Park, 32 miles west of Moab
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Length:

Intrepid Loop: 1.1 miles
Great Pyramid Loop: 4.2 miles
Big Chief Loop: 9.0 miles

Elevation @ Trailhead: 5900
Directions: Nine miles northwest of Moab on US 191 and then 23 miles southwest on Utah 313 to the end of the highway.

Enjoying the view...

This post concludes the Utah trip. :)

Moab, Utah

2010-08-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

It's been a bit hectic at the house lately with starting a new job, but I do intend to finish this story arch with this post and the next (about time, I know).

Ok then, Moab.

The town was nothing like we expected. We had imagined a big tourist type town, busy with cars, people, and cyclist coming to ride the canyons. Not at all.

Moab turned out to be this neat little town of about 5,000 population with a good buzz to it without being overwhelming. We cycled out from the campsite (5 miles), parked the bikes and walked around for a good chunk of the day.

A quick search will come back with tons of sites on Moab.
Here are a couple: Moab.net and DiscoverMoab.

We stopped at the Love Muffin Cafe on Main street for breakfast.

Great little coffee shop. The service was fantastic. A couple guys were keeping up with traffic behind the counter, one handing out coffee drinks at top speed and the other making sandwiches and passing out orders from the kitchen. Someone else was walking around serving orders and cleaning up. I had the bowl of quinoa with fruits breakfast. Yum!

It got very buzy very quickly. Check out these ratings from TripAdvisor.

Corona Arch Trail, part 3

2010-07-18T14:31:00.000-07:00

This second, the Corona Arch, is only a few hundred yards further than Bowtie Arch (previous post).

The opening is 140 ft long by 105 ft high, and apparently large enough that a small airplane actually flew threw it once.

A sandstone fin eroding over time to eventually create the arch.

Notice the "small" people underneath the arch in the second images on the left.

This is the view looking out at the canyon from under the arch.

Corona Arch Trail, part 2

2010-07-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

This first one is Bowtie (one word).

Bowtie is approximately 30 feet in diameter and formed when a pothole met a cave underneath.

Here's an interesting bit of trivia: it used to be called "Paul Bunyan's Potty," until that name was taken for another formation in the Canyonlands National Park.

Corona Arch Trail, part 1

2010-07-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

Because the Arches national Park was not on our itinerary this time around, and because I was determined to see an actual "arch" on this trip, we set out on the Corona Arch Trail.

After an initial climb and a sandy pass, the "trail" is marked by cairns along slickrock overlooking the canyon below, making good shoe traction recommended.

I kept stopping and looking at the landscape, trying to assimilate the utter vastness of it all. The colors were absolutely spectacular, offering up a palette of vibrant reds, oranges, and greens, all reinforced by a stark blue shy.

I was surprised to find this labeled a "family" trail, not because of technical hiking or climbing -it's an easy walk for sure- but because we are literally walking along the slickrock, at times rather close to the edge, and seeing little kids running around made me very nervous.

I was more inclined to walk with a few feet of "cushion" myself.

From the DiscoverMoab site:

- Length of Hike: 1.5 miles to Corona Arch; allow 2 hours round trip.
- Type of Hike: Constructed trail and slickrock. This is a hiking-only trail.
- Area Attractions: Corona Arch (140 by 105 foot opening) and adjacent Bow Tie Arch; also views of the Colorado River and a large slickrock canyon.
- Trailhead: Utah Scenic Byway 279, 10 miles west of Utah 279/U.S. 191 junction.

Coming ahead: Bow Tie and Corona Arches.

Morning Glory Natural Bridge

2010-06-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

At the end of Negro Bill Trail is Morning Glory Natural Bridge.

It is 243 feet long and separated from the cliff by only 15 feet, technically making it not an actual bridge, but rather a large alcove arch.

My initial reaction when reaching the bridge was actually slight disappointment -I was so expecting one of those fully detached arch. Nonetheless, it is impressive to see up close and particularly from beneath it.

Oh, and that intrepid explorer in right side picture?... that's me, and probably as close as you'll ever see me on this blog. ;o

Looking up. Thankfully, nothing fell on anyone's head.

Canyon Lands Continued

2010-06-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

Continuing our way through Negro Bill Canyon.

I mentioned this canyon following a year round stream in the previous post, making it relatively lush for what one might expect of a canyon.

Appreciate the contrast between looking ahead on the trail and looking upward to the edges of the canyon.

Canyon Lands

2010-06-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

Late afternoon and evening visit into the canyons,
during the cool hours of the day.

Negro Bill Canyon
- Named for an early 19th century Afircan American pioneer William Granstaff who grazed his cattle here, it has retained its name for historical reasons.

It is an easy 4.5 miles round trip through sandstones, willows, cottonwoods and sandy trails. Though the recommended time to allow is 4 hour round trip, I think it took us a little over 3, taking our time.

It's actually a great place to take kids. The trail follows a year round stream with plenty of place to stop and play in the water. Kids don't have to make it all the way obviously, and we in fact did meet several parents with small 2-4 years olds doing just that.

From the Bureau of Land Management site (BLM):

Trailhead: On Utah Scenic Byway 128, three miles east of junction with U.S. 191.
Length of Hike: 2 miles to Morning Glory Bridge; allow 4 hours round trip.
Type of Hike: Constructed trail with several stream crossings. This is a hiking-only trail.
Area Attractions: Year-round stream in scenic canyon. Morning Glory Natural Bridge, which has a span of 243 feet, is the sixth longest natural rock span in the United States.

Road to Utah

2010-06-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

Amazing sky on the way to Moab.

Trip to Utah

2010-06-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

A few days into Utah, mid March of 2010.

Blogger Changes

2010-04-28T05:46:00.001-07:00

Blogger is implementing changes in the way images are displayed on blogs, which basically means that at this moment, I have no idea how to post images!!!!

... :(

Hopefully I'll figure it out pretty quick and resume posting.

update 06/2010: apparently the image upload window is back... will take advantage of it while I can.

This Is It

2010-04-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

This is it! This should be our last significant snow fall of the year.

I took these in the yard the morning after a crazy snow blizzard that came through a few weeks ago.

It's early in the morning, so the light came out all blue... I kinda like them like that though.

Hitting The Slopes

2010-04-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

Hitting the slopes one last time... at the local golf course. ;P

Mountain Winter part 3

2010-04-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

Last pictures from this winter trip -though we've had a rather spectacular snow fall since, and I took a couple pictures of the yard with 10+ inches, so there might be another one or two, then... Spring pictures! Yeah!

Next trip is a few days into Utah, so get ready for that when we come back. :D

Mountain Winter part 2

2010-04-01T06:16:00.000-07:00

Mountain Winter

2010-03-27T14:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Trails Coffee Shop

2010-03-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

Looking for a little morning hang-out while in Nederland, we opted for the Happy Trails Coffee Shop.

There's a great view of the town from the patio, which I imagine to be very pleasant during warmer weather.

The little round tables were a tad small for newspaper reading (our Sunday morning ritual), but otherwise very adequate for a typical "meeting up with friends" customer.

This was actually our second time in this coffee shop, and amazingly enough, both time a particularly loud-mouth, self-important male customer was present, with non-stop "sharing" of his infinite wisdom throughout the time we were there. I think the barista was getting a little tired of his attention. I would have told him to chill. Some people...

Service was great.

They serve a very good breakfast burrito and the usual suspects of pastries, including no-wheat, no-dairy. I had herbal tea.

There's also a ski / snow-shoe rental shop in the back, which I believe turns into a bicycle shop once winter season is over.

Snow Blanket

2010-03-13T12:08:00.000-08:00

Nederland, CO - really cool mountain town. We drive up on a regular basis to visit, walk around, hike on the surrounding trails (or snow shoe, as the case may be), and even camp out.

There's a great art community with several summer festivals, the usual array of tourist shops, art galleries, and a very neat local food co-op.

Anywhere we go, we always make it a point of visiting a local coffee shop -not the bland, chain type of shop, mind you, but an individually owned kind of place.

The New Moon Bakery had been our favorite for a while now. Since the "original" owners sold about a year ago, it has changed hands 3 times... and each time brings a few changes here and there... jury still out of the latest.

Invitations

2010-03-07T13:51:00.000-08:00

These images all struck me as having to do with some sort of invitation, in one form or another.

Images taken in Niwot, Colorado.

Niwot Colorado

2010-02-28T09:51:00.000-08:00

old firehouse.

Niwot, Colorado is a small town in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains about 10 mn. from Boulder.

It is know for its numerous art and music events, including Rhythm on the Rail, a very popular summer concert series.

I was invited to participate in the 1st Friday Art Walk event (see art blog) and had a few minutes to walk around.

The town is named for Chief Niwot, an Arapaho leader, meaning "left hand." His people lived in the front range until the arrival of miners in 1858.

The railroad tracks was an important aspect of this new community, connecting it to markets as far as Denver and Wyoming. The small business district developed on the west side and resident neighborhoods on the east side the the tracks, with trains running through town.

In early 1900s the business disctrict moved to 2nd avenue and evolved into what is now called Niwot Historical District.

Smallest Town

2010-02-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

What would be your guess if someone asked you:
"What is the population of the smallest town in the US?"

Mine would have been in the low 100s or so -I've come across a couple of those.

Well, as it turns out, that is way off on this one.

May I present, the Nation's SMALLEST town.

The town consists of ONE house, and ONE gas station / convenient store. Oh, and we met the Mayor -he runs the gas station.

That Urban Bird

2010-02-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

This post is dedicated to that very urban bird called The Pigeon.

Yes, ladies and gentlement, the Pigeon...

I know this particular bird species has entered the human consciousness as somewhat of a pain, at least in modern urban circles. After all, who hasn't been the recipient of that much unappreciated gifts from above, compliment of the pigeon?

As it turns out, the pigeon has a rich, far reaching ancient history with human beings, and doing a quick search, I came up on this very interesting site with 21 Amazing Facts You Did Not Know About Pigeons

I'll highlight a few points here:

The first images of pigeons found by archeologists were in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), dating back to 3000 BC.
Pigeon poo was considered a highly prized fertilizer in the 16th, 17th and 18th century Europe, with armed guardes stationed at pigeon houses to prevent theft.
In both world wars, pigeons saved hundreds of thousands of lives by carrying messages across enemy lines.
Large scale communication network using pigeons as messengers was established in Syria and Persia about 5th Century BC.
In Roman times the pigeon was used to carry results of sporting events such as the Olympic Games and this is why white doves are released at the start of the Olympic Games today.

The pigeon is revered in India.
In the Christian religion the pigeon is both a symbol of peace and of the Holy Spirit.
Pigeons have monocular vision (side mounted) rather than binocular vision (forward facing eyes), and bob their heads for depth perception.
In the early 1800's, the Rothschild family used pigeons to carry information between its financial houses. This proved very efficient in staying ahead of the competition and helped the Rothschild family build the fortune which still exist today.
One racing pigeon recently sold for a staggering $132,517.00!
A champion racing pigeon can be released 400-600 miles away from its home and still return within the day.
The peregrine falcon, the pigeon's natural predator and fastest bird on the planet (200 mph dive), is being introduced into towns and cities as a "natural" pigeon control.
A pigeon can recognize its own reflection in a mirror and is one of only 6 species -and only non-mammal- that has that ability.
The pigeon can recognise all 26 letters of the English language as well as being able to conceptualise. In scientific tests pigeons have been found to be able to differentiate between photographs and even differentiate between two different human beings in a photograph when rewarded with food for doing so.

And there you have it.

Photos taken in Laramie, Wyoming.

Remember to look up ! ;P

Church

2010-02-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

I love churches; the architecture, the stained glasses, the old wooden doors.

This is St. Matthew Episcopal Cathedral in Laramie, Wyoming. Unfortunately it was locked.

The Catholic church next to it, however, was open because of the caretaker cleaning and dusting. He was very nice in letting me visit and walk around, and even shared with me a bit of the history of some the stained glasses (newly restored) and paintings (oldest from 1860s). I don't have pictures of that one... it was rather ordinary looking on the outside, though the inside more than made up for it.

He explained that most churches nowdays are locked because of vandalism and theft. Someone took the chalice out of the Catholic church once, and it's been locked ever since. It's a shame really. Churches used to be open to all, providing shelter and refuge, or just a place to sit quietly. No more. Open for service -that's it.

Room With A View

2010-02-04T10:15:00.000-08:00

Continuing with the Wyoming trip, we certainly enjoyed a room with a view.

On the menu: hummus, home-sprouted rye crackers, cherry tomatoes, celery, green mix, and corn chips.

This second made it as top banner for this blog.

Wyoming's Winter Blanket

2010-01-29T13:37:00.000-08:00

Maiden Voyage

2010-01-27T11:52:00.000-08:00

Our maiden voyage with the newly acquire "camp-mobile", a spur of the moment three days on the road into Wyoming...

Would you describe this expression as... Excitement ?

About This Blog

2010-01-25T17:49:00.000-08:00

~~~ About This Blog ~~~

The camera is one of the first things I pack whenever leaving the house. Some days I click like mad at everything around, acting like some idiotic eager tourist -to the chagrin of my traveling companion(s)- while other days I am more tame and subtle in my search for visual treasures.

Nevertheless, this blog is here to share the resulting photography, mostly of travel adventures and landscape, architecture, oddities one finds along the way, and anything else that catches my eye (and camera).

Rather than an A to Z type chronical journals of these travels, the images will help share instances, thoughts, fun times, and most of all, a little of the beauty or extraordinary that surrounds us.

A lot (though not all) of the images you see here are/will be available as cards, postcards, 8x11 in. prints (and on various other items as fitting), through my Zazzle Photography Gallery ... in -hopefully- organized, easy to navigate categories. ;p

I do invite you to comment and share your thoughts as well and create a conversation along the way.

~~~ About The Author ~~~

I am an artist, author, self-publisher and entrepreneur.

To date, I have self-published 3 comic books and continually produce a variety of art through several venues that keep me occupied on a daily basis.

You are invited to visit any and all at your leisure.

Self-published books to date:
A Cappella
- v.1 When Are You Coming Home?
- v.2 Open Heart
- v.3 ... in progress
Stray Tales
- v.1 Transcending

Books available directly from me at the main site: RiverbyNight.com

More Art:
- Sketch blog: DancingBlender
- Greeting Cards: RiverbyNight's Card Store
- Gear, Prints, Stickers, etc.: RiverbyNight Gallery
- Photography: RiverbyNightPhotos Gallery
Other Blog:
- Foodie blog: Cats, Sprouts and Coconuts

To receive my "off and on" newsletter, go here: The River Notes

That about covers it for now.

Cheers everyone-
Christine