The River Trail

We enjoyed this trail very much. We started out about 10:20 am and arrived back at the car at about 2:30 pm. It crosses the river right at the start then you don’t see it again for an hour or so as you climb up through dense forest and arrive at a meadow. Then the trail continues through deep old growth forest skirting around the meadow with the river running through it. The only people we passed were two guys on horseback. We kept Penelope on the leash and used her “Gentle leader” that fits over her nose and keeps her from pulling on us like a sled dog.

The day was quite warm but the trail was shaded most of the time. We love the smell of the pine mulch on the forest floor and the sounds of the babbling brooks and streams. That and the feel of the sun, the vivid blue sky, and the sounds of breezes approaching through the pines is what we’d like to pass down to our grand kids someday. Pictures just don’t do it, you have to experience it!

We passed a grove of aspens that were already turning golden. Word is that the aspens will turn earlier this year because of the drought. Coming back we took the Meadow Loop and sat by the river on a log to eat our bagel sandwiches. It was glorious.

Birthday in Centennial

We returned to the historic Mountain View Hotel this year for my birthday. This was the big six zero and I just wanted to get out of town and do some hiking. Here is my post from last year. http://hikeprayquilt.blogspot.com/2011/09/hiking-in-snowies.html

We were the only guests on my birthday this year and it was nice and quiet being midweek before the Labor Day weekend. We drove around first checking out some trailheads and then picked up trail maps and deep woods insect spray at the tiny local store when we arrived in town. We had a great dinner at the very rustic Trading Post restaurant and bar. We sat by a window looking out into the garden with daisies and hollyhocks. Click on any of the pictures to make them bigger.

After dinner we took Penelope on a walk around the town past the house that we used to visit with our kids when S.’s parents spent their summers there. The present owner has made a lot of improvements but the kids should still recognize it. It is painted green now but used to be a rustic red. The large white building with a green roof is the hotel from up and behind on the hill. The red house in the pictures is the house where two retired schoolteachers named Jane and Ros lived and the kids used to go visit them. There were some pink clouds over Sheep Mountain as the sun set. Our kids might  remember going to the local museum in town that has a caboose and other farm and mining implements outside. It shows up as a yellow/gold building lowest in the pictures through some houses. A brief rain shower moved in from the south right as we got back to the hotel. 

I wrenched my hip last year climbing over boulders and suffered for two weeks afterwards. This year we decided to explore some of the lower trails in the Snowy Range and settled on the River Trail on the Lower North Fork of the Little Laramie river. See next post.

Aftermath of the Squirrel Creek Fire

We got to see the aftermath of a fire in the Medicine Bow National Forest this week as we drove through the area.
The fire started on June 30^th and was 100% contained on July 9^th. It burned 10,921 acres of forest and grassland or about 14 square miles. Here is a link to a dramatic photo that was taken from Laramie at the height of the fire as it crested Sheep Mountain. http://www.flickr.com/photos/turbguy/7487464120/

 

Today 8 weeks later while still blackened there are signs of new life emerging. I wonder if the area will be reforested over time or if it will revert to grassland or sage now due to climate changes.

The open fire restriction has now been lifted for the forest due to recent rains but the condition of the unburned forest that we saw was approximately 50% dead from beetle kill. The forest fires of this summer most likely will continue for years to come because there is just so much dry fuel there. There were several campground and hiking trail areas closed while the forestry personnel remove trees likely to fall in the national forest.

They believe the Squirrel Creek Fire was human caused as so many of them are even though often unintentionally.

Our Tomato has a Nose!

Today was the day to pick our only red tomato so far. It has been growing in the bottom branches of the plant and finally had gotten ripe enough to pick. When I plucked it off, I had to laugh at it. On the side we couldn’t see it has a funny “nose.” I took a few pictures and then decided to enhance it a bit and took some more.  

I don’t even remember what kind of tomato it is except that we selected it because it was an early maturing variety, which comes in handy around here where we can get an early frost. This one plant in a container (so we can rescue it quickly in case of hail) sits on the patio and is our entire vegetable garden. We do water it twice a day and fertilize it with Miracle Grow like good growers.

So I Googled “nose on tomato” or something like that and found this site and pictures of other mutant tomatoes! It is caused by an early mutation probably caused by temperature fluctuations. Click on this website for more information. Nature is fascinating!

http://www.walterreeves.com/food-gardening/tomato-horns-and-nose/

 We plan on having BLT sandwiches tonight!

Emily Hijacks Lou's Blog

Hello all,

I might be the worst daughter of all time as I remember to check my email far more often than I check my own mother's blog. Apparently my actions indicate that getting a discount on airfare between Turkey and Spain is more important than pictures of my niece and nephew. 

So, I set out to find a solution to this problem and found several valuable online tutorials! You can now subscribe to Lou's blog by entering your email in the box in the top right corner where it says, "Subscribe Via Email!!!" You have to prove that you aren't a robot, but follow all of the easy steps in the dialogue and you will receive an email when there is a new post! Now, my Mother's words are as easy to obtain as Facebook spam (but FAR more valuable). Sigh, stamps are easier.

Much Love,

Emily

P.S. This does serve as my very own test post to see if my fix has worked. If you have any issues, let me know. I am about 15% positive I can fix them and 85% sure I can do an internet search to find the real problem. 

The Crow Creek Trail near Granite reservoir

Last week we were invited on a hike by our friends Rick and Linda. Just 20 miles west are two man made lakes that serve to supply our city drinking water. We have great water coming out of the mountains and always refreshingly cold. The Crow Creek flows into the first lake that then flows into and out of the second lake. We hiked up the trail that follows the creek to its source or at least as far as one can go as it dead ends in a canyon where the water flows out of a rock out-cropping.

The trail is nicely maintained and marked along the way especially where it meets up with other trails. There are several nice wood bridges built for crossing over the creek with nice handrails too.

Most of the trail is through wooded areas so there is plenty of shade and only a few really steep places. It goes through some really old growth forest and you can see thick moss on the trees and rocks especially as you get into the canyon.

I think it was about 2.2 miles to get to the “hidden waterfall.” Steve’s photos are outstanding but mine show enough to see that it is a pretty hike. To view the waterfall you either have to scramble up the rock wall and look down from above or take off your shoes and wade through the freezing cold water to get closer. You'd be proud of me since I did just that.

It was a great hike, one I’d like to do again.