Monthly Archives: July 2011

July 14, 2011 · 1:42 am

Cold coffee

Alone, he sits in the far corner
where he can survey the whole shop.
He sees everything,
yet comprehends nothing;
he focuses not on the people or place.
Lost in thought,
trapped in feeling,
memories batter his spirit
mistake
upon
mistake
upon
mistake
they parade past his mind’s eye.
A legion of poor choices and bad decisions
march endlessly from his past and
define his present and
shape his future.
When he can stand to watch no more,
with an effort of will he shakes his head and
returns to the moment.
Fingers gnarled as pinon tree.
wrap around the mug before him.
The coffee has grown cold.

13 July 2011
Ghost Ranch, NM 

Leave a comment

Filed under National Park, Poem

Tagged as , ,

July 12, 2011 · 3:50 am

Night on the mesa

Lightning pierces the blue-black night
illuminating the cholla;
the moon fights through a cloud,
turning it a pale white;
a soft breeze sweeps across the mesa,
bringing a gentle chill;
the silent night is broken only by the
chirping of crickets and the
thumping of the dryer.

11 July 2011
Ghost Ranch, NM

Leave a comment

Filed under Poem

Tagged as ,

July 10, 2011 · 4:30 am

Driving east to Greeley

Engaged in its eternal effort to wear away the stones in its bed,
the Big Thompson thunders beside the road
as I drive east to Greeley,
there to remember, to celebrate, to give thanks for the life of a friend.
Memories – of things done, things left undone – wash over my mind.
Death after death – of those loved, those unmet  – flood my heart.
The road winds round a rocky outcrop;
the sun’s brilliant rays stab my eyes,
bringing tears.

9 July 2011
US 34, Greeley, CO, Estes Park, CO 

Leave a comment

Filed under Poem

Tagged as

July 9, 2011 · 3:43 am

Sentinels

For uncounted ages they have kept
a silent vigil over the valley:
steadfast, firm,
silent observers of
days gone by,
events long forgotten,
moments well-remembered.

For unknown ages they may stand
a stoic presence in the valley:
constant, unmoving,
voiceless witnesses to
occurrences unforseen,
futures unknown,
happenings unimagined.

8 July 2011
Estes Park, CO
The image was taken at the Lumpy Ridge Trailhead, Rocky Mountain National Park 

Leave a comment

Filed under National Park, Photo, Poem

Tagged as

July 9, 2011 · 3:12 am

An early start – at least in my world

I am not a morning person. On Koenig Standard Time, the hours for sleeping run from approximately 2:00 or 3:00 AM to 11:00 AM. Clearly this poses a challenge with the way days are currently structured. I do try to follow that schedule on weekends and vacations.

Today was an exception. I did stay up until 1:00 AM or so, but I also managed to awaken early. This was my day to spend in Rocky Mountain National Park. I decided to get an early start. I succeed. Even with spending time for breakfast and having to return to the hotel to pick up my National Parks Passport, I made it into the park by 8:30 AM (which probably isn’t all that impressive for others).

For a couple of hours, the park was reasonable empty. I drove the Trail Ridge Road to the Alpine Visitor Center, stopping often for pictures and to do a bit of hiking. By the time I made my way back – around 10:30 or 11:00 AM – traffic had picked up considerably. But still it was an enjoyable day – short of wildlife – but an amazing diversity of eco-systems – incredible views. Not sure my photos do the park justice – not sure they show up here – but I took a bunch.

Walked the streets of Estes Park again in the late afternoon. Picked up Leavings by Wendell Berry. Very impressive. I had read some of the poems before, but there are some awesome ones.

Found Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on TV.  They were young. Clips from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II are being shown. It looks good. Will have to figure out how to see it before the Trail takes me back to Manhattan. Patience not being one of my strong suits.

Tomorrow back to Greeley for the memorial service for Steve Brown.

See you along the Trail.

Leave a comment

Filed under Movie, National Park, Photo

Tagged as , ,

July 8, 2011 · 6:13 am

"Not in front of the Klingons"

I heard one of my all time favorite questions again tonight and a cute line that I had forgotten.

The day began with dealing with some emails. Then a visit to the Centennial Village in Greeley, Colorado. An interesting place. The signage could be better. Or they could have folks stationed throughout the village to do interpretation. Of course, we could have gone on the tour, but we did not have a whole lot of time as we had picked up some additional responsibilities for the day. Still, even taking the village at our own, somewhat rapid pace, there was much to learn. And there were many great, great flowers.

Lunch followed. I was looking for something light like a turkey sub. We came across Cheba Sub Hut. Most excellent. A quirky environment; a manic person at the counter, and good food. I could get hooked.

A drive to the Denver airport followed. Tricia went to a retreat. I went to Estes Park. I did a bit of walking around – it was a cool, rainy evening so I neither walked as much as I had planned nor did I take as many pictures as I planned although there were a number taken for the pine cone collection. But I saw some of the city – amazing how much I remembered given that I had only been here once and that some ten years ago. I picked up a copy of Live Rhymin’ by Paul Simon.

After wandering around Estes Park for a while, I returned to the Rocky Mountain Park Inn where I had received a good deal on Hotwire.

Channel surfing, I came across Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country playing on the SyFy Channel. It has some interesting moments. Shakespeare contributes the title and gets quoted fairly frequently.

It was followed by Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. It definitely is not one of my favorite movies in the franchise. But it does have one of my favorite questions of all time. The plot involves a search for God led by Spock’s half-brother. He takes over the Enterprise and away they go. Adventures follow. There are some intriguing reflections on the pain we carry. I need to ponder that further. After additional adventures, they arrive at the planet where God supposedly lives. They encounter a being who claims divinity. However, Kirk and Spock and McCoy are surprised to learn that this being is overly interested in the Enterprise. The being suggests that the starship will be useful as he (at least he appears as a he) seeks to escape from the planet. Finally Kirk can take no more and poses the eternal question: “Why does God need a starship?” I will tell no more to avoid spoiling the film. But I love that question.

Of course the line, “Please Captain, not in front of the Klingons.” isn’t bad either.

Tomorrow: Rocky Mountain National Park.

See you along the Trail.

Leave a comment

Filed under Movie, National Park

Tagged as , , ,

July 8, 2011 · 3:11 am

Evening, Estes Park

The aroma of coffee comforts me
as a slow drizzle falls;
clouds creep down the mountains,
a chill steals into the air.
I grasp my mug tighter,
warmth seeping into my fingers.
The rain increases.

8 July 2011
Estes Park, Colorado

1 Comment

Filed under National Park, Photo, Poem

Tagged as ,

July 7, 2011 · 5:06 am

TV, laundry, burgers, small critters

I am not a big television fan. I watch very little. But Men of a Certain Age  is on at the moment. It is a reminder that I could watch Andre Braugher read the phone book. I don’t get it all – it’s a bit hard joining a series at the last episode of the season and having a sense of the back stories and how things have come to where they are. But Braugher’s performance caught and held my attention.

Homicide: Life on the Street is the one series I have watched from beginning to end – using Netflix to help me do that. And I did that primarily for Braugher although the whole cast was amazing.

Today was another slow moving day. When we finally got moving, we drove to Greeley. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Good Time Burgers – they also served custard – which probably helped absorb the grease from the burgers. They were OK, by no means were they the best burgers I have ever eaten (of course they did not claim to be).

Fort Vasquez was the next stop. It was a trading post – furs, beaver and buffalo, were the featured item. The traps looked particularly brutal. Then made it to Greeley. Drove around the town a bit and then checked in to the Days Inn – where Tricia did the laundry. We went to dinner with Sue Brown and a bunch of her friends from the Presbytery of Plains and Peaks.

Tomorrow night – Estes Park. The last time I was in Estes Park was 10 years ago when the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program held a seminar there and I led a workshop. I drove to seminar and around the town and the YMCA of the Rockies. I am embarrassed to say that, in the process, I struck a number of small animals. I will try to be more careful this time – maybe even much more careful to paraphrase Captain Jack Sparrow.

See you along the Trail.

Leave a comment

Filed under Travel

Tagged as , ,

July 6, 2011 · 7:05 am

Fossils and a Peak

Started the day late – largely because I did too much work – and I remain way behind. But eventually I stopped, and vacation began.

We started with a journey to Florissant, CO and Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. This involved a drive over Ute Pass. We ate at the Swiss Chalet in Woodland Park – an interesting town – definitely worth checking out further should the Trail ever wend this way again.

Florrisant Fossil Beds was an interesting mix of pine forest (pictures added to the pine cone collection photo album), fossils large (petrified wood) and small (insects), and frontier history (the Adeline Hornbek homestead). The petrified wood is from redwood trees – 35 million years or so ago, volcanic eruptions (they must have been huge as the volcano in question was some distance away) buried the valley – it was apparently quite lush and feature major redwoods. The eruptions buried a significant part of the redwoods – the tops died and decayed over the years – the stumps petrified. The volcanic activity also created a lake in the valley; the bottom of the lake became the resting place for insects and plants which became fossilized. Adeline Hornbek, a single mother of four, claimed land under the Homestead Act. She pushed the boundaries on traditional gender roles and became a prosperous rancher and a community leader.

From pondering fossils, petrified wood, and homesteading, we returned to Manitou Springs and the Pikes Peak Cog Railway for a journey above the timberline. We observed changing environs as the train climbed some 6,000 feet. Two elk, viewed from a distance, highlighted the trip – first time I have ever seen elk in the wild. Several deer were viewed as were numerous marmets.

Tomorrow is a little unplanned – it involves travel to Greeley, CO where we will have dinner with Sue Brown. We will see what else the day brings.

See you along the Trail.

Leave a comment

Filed under National Park, Photo

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 6, 2011 · 6:09 am

115

This is the 115th post for 2011. With this post, the number of posts for 2011 (to date) equals the number of posts for 2010. That’s the whole point of this post.

For good measure, it includes a picture from Pikes Peak. It’ll do.

See you along the Trail.

Leave a comment

Filed under Photo, Travel

Tagged as , ,