Bluff Spring Journal
July 2006
July 3, 2006
The Buffalo is River is doing it's normal July running low act. We had to go to Tyler Bend just to get enough water to float and still had to drag the canoes through several sections. The low water bridge at Hasty is out so our trip to Tyler bend was made even longer as we had to take 74, then 123 to 65 and then on down to Tyler Bend. Our Welsh Corgi, Annie, was loving every minute of the trip as she took her place on my dry bag so that she could have a good view of the river. As we were navigating one of the slower sections Annie decided it was time to abandon ship. She promptly got up from her place on the dry bag and went overboard. My, my, did my lovely bride get out of the front of the canoe in a hurry. You see, our Annie is a fairly good swimmer but her small and stout body was not created to be an efficient swimming machine. She barely keeps her nose out of the water as her short little legs are paddling furiously to keep her afloat. Anita to the rescue! Without capsizing the canoe or dropping her paddle my lovely bride vaulted out of the canoe and rescued Annie before she had gotten too far from us. She loves that dog more than just about anything and couldn't stand for her to be in danger.
Notice Annie's patriotic bandana. She wore it all week and was visibly upset when we took it off.
One good thing about having to go all the way to Tyler Bend is that we got to stop in at Coursey's Smoked Meats and avail ourselves of some of the best smoked pork tenderloin on the planet.
July 4, 2006
Happy Birthday America! A special thanks to all the veterans and service men and women who have sacrificed so much to give us the freedom we have today. We also want to thank their families for giving us and our country their precious sons and daughters.
Cool this morning as we awake 1200 feet above the valley below. We are staying on Red Rock just south of Jasper as we continue to finish our LCITW (Little Cabin in the Woods). It's off for a day of work at the cabin. Our builder is putting the finishing touches on the outside of the cabin and is now turning his attention to the inside. The pine ceiling is going in today and tomorrow. Our job today is to set the kitchen counter top so that the plumber can plumb and then the propane guy can run the propane so that then the fireplace guy can put in the fireplace. Kind of like dominos. Everybody is waiting on someone else.
We decided against staining the outside of the cabin and were we glad we did. Rain, blessed rain. We got a great couple of rain showers that added much needed moisture to the landscape. It was great to just listen to the sound of the big rain drops hit the metal roof in a chorus of sounds that I could listen to for hours. But time is a wasting as we need to put a clear protectant on the interior cedar logs. Cedar if left to itself will turn completely gray in a matter of months if not protected. I took the high parts and my lovely bride took the low sections as we applied a generous amount of clear coat to the logs. The knots take an extra coat or two as they really soak up the protectant. With assistance from Bob and Pam, our partners in crime, we managed to finish all but one of the rooms in the cabin. I'm sure we killed a few brain cells as occasionally we had to head for the outside just to breathe a few minutes of 'good air'. That protectant sure was smelly.
Next we all got into the act of rolling a finish on to the pine that was going into the ceilings of the closets. The great room ceiling finish will be applied with a spray gun after it is in place. But, the closet ceiling pine needs to be finished by hand. It took 24, 12 foot by 8 inch boards just to do the closets.
We were all dead tired at the end of the day and were most appreciative of my lovely bride as she grilled tuna steaks for us. Amazing how good food tastes after you've put in a full day of work. Hopefully the cabin will be finished in August and we'll be able to grill out on our own deck. Below are a few of the critters who are watching over our work at the cabin.
July 19, 2006
Colorado Wildflower Trip
After all the research and planning it’s finally good to be getting in the suv and getting on the road. I’ve been scouring the net, checking on photographers forums and even having my friends who are traveling through Colorado do some reconnaissance for me. With all that input these next few days seemed like the best time to head out to catch the wildflowers as the season was peaking. It also helps that it is 101 degrees here and the forecast high in Silverton, Colorado is 73. Now the only thing standing between me and cool air was 1100 miles of asphalt. My plan was to drive until I got tired and then find a rest area, catch a few z’s and head on to southern Colorado. Driving into the night I covered mile after mile accompanied by a thermos of coffee and when that ran out I had Starbucks Frappuccinos waiting in the cooler. All was going fine and then I started hitting construction zones. Navigating these one lane stretches certainly kept your attention. They call them ‘Safety Corridors’ but I certainly didn’t feel safe hurtling through the darkness with concrete barriers on one side and a shoulder drop off on the other. Of course they also threw in a couple of thousand orange cones which of course had occasionally been dislodged by motorists. The cones now became obstacles to be dodged at 70 miles an hour. To add insult to injury Oklahoma also had the gall to make you pay tolls for this driving pleasure.
I really thought I’d get tired somewhere out in the panhandle of Texas. But, 1 then 3 a.m. came and went and I still didn’t feel sleepy. It could have been the excitement of what I was to find in Colorado but I really think it was the coffee, frappuccinos and adrenaline rush from the ‘safety corridors’ that kept me awake. On through Texas and into New Mexico I then headed north out of Albuquerque on I-25 for a small stretch to catch Hwy 550 that took me through northern New Mexico where I got to see a beautiful desert sunrise.
On through Durango and up into the mountains surrounding the small little town of Silverton. The town is aptly named for the silver mining that started in the 1870’s. Today they mostly mine tourists as they make their way up from Durango on the Narrow Gauge Railroad.
I arrived in Silverton about 10 am and wasted no time heading up into the mountains to check out the wildflowers. One of my first photographs was this collection of the classic Columbine.
I worked throughout the day photographing as many wildflowers as I could find along with the occasional mining shack. I was amazed at the variety and quantity of wildflowers. My research had paid off as my timing was right to catch this short lived blooming season.
Late into the afternoon I ran into a park ranger who told me about one of the other basins that was not on my A list to visit. According to the ranger this basin was well worth the climb from 9,000 up to 12,000 feet. My question of how long would the hike take was answered with 3 hours in and 3 hours out. After driving all night I was in no shape for that kind of a hike so I decided to get a good night’s rest and start out early in the morning. I headed back into Silverton to get cell phone service so I could check in and assure my lovely bride that I was still alive. Lately she has been reading a newspaper article to me about a photographer who stepped over a guard rail to take a photo and fell 500 feet to her death! After checking in with an “all’s well haven’t stepped over a guard rail” message I stopped in at the Mobuis Cycle and Coffee Shop. Not only did they have some of the best Café’ Mocha I’ve laid lips on they also had free wireless internet. Café’ Mocha and the internet—two of my addictions. All was well as I headed back to the campground and lucky me I happened to see a sign for the basin that the park ranger had told me about. I took this 4WD road and after numerous switchbacks I arrived at this beautiful lake with wildflower carpeted banks.
I spent the next two hours taking pictures around the lake and down the small stream that flowed out of the lake into a beautiful waterfall. There was only one other person at the lake and he left within 10 minutes of my arrival. Alone, I felt both the magnitude of these towering mountains and the importance of the trust we have been given to protect this magnificent land.
As dark started to settle in the basin I gathered up my gear and headed to back to the campground. I was really starting to feel the consequences of driving all night and shooting pictures all day. I was so tired after being up for 43 hours straight that I didn’t have the strength to setup my sleeping tarp or get out all my cooking gear. Two pieces of cheese would have to suffice for supper as all I wanted to do was sleep.
July 21st, 2006
I awoke to a small amount of daylight which meant that I'd better get moving if I was going to get to my planned destination before the basin was filled with sunlight. Not much to breaking camp as I had been too tired to set up my sleeping tarp and had crashed in the back of my suv. To not disturb my fellow campers I headed out of the still sleeping camp without using my headlights. Once back to the main road I cranked up the old Honda and headed over Red Mountain Pass. The pass is at about 11,100 feet and straddles a divide that separates Ouray and San Juan counties. It's name comes from the iron laden soil that makes up a lot of the slopes.
Just above the city of Ouray I headed back west up a 4WD road to Yankee Boy Basin, Governor's Basin and Imogene Pass. The road only becomes 4WD after you pass Camp Bird mining area. From there on up it's put it in Granny and go real slow. After a few kidney bruises I reached an area that had some nice waterfalls and a carpet of wildflowers. My timing was great as the area was still in the shade and there was only one other person taking pictures.
Yankee Boy Basin Waterfall
Lone Columbine
I took pictures for nearly four hours as I made my way up and down the basin. Around lunch time I got out my camp chair and just sat out near one of the hiking trails and enjoyed the scenery. I was really sleepy and soon dozed off. I just hope I didn't disturb any of the local wildlife with my snoring. A cool breeze woke me up. I had only slept about 45 minutes but it felt like I had been asleep for hours. I have inherited a family sleeping trait. Seems most of the people in my family can go to sleep at the drop of a hat and wake up just as fast. My lovely bride thinks it's cute that I drift off so quickly. She even called me once out of the clear blue and asked if I was o.k. I asked why she was calling with that question. She then told me she had heard on the news that someone had fallen asleep at a traffic light and another motorist had to go up to the car and tap on the window to get the guy to wake up! No... it wasn't me I assured her, but thanks for the thoughtful phone call.
Afternoons are not the best for photography so I headed on down the mountain to Ouray where I found a great little sandwich shop. They were kind enough to let me plug in my laptop for a charge while I devoured a tasty smoked turkey and ham on a croissant. Ouray is a beautfiul little town that has been nicknamed the Switzerland of America. The city is situated in between Mount Abrmas to the south and the majestic Amphitheater to the east. I could have stayed for a lot longer but there was a lake I wanted to visit for a reflection picture that was the last item on my list of have to have photos. I headed back over Red Mountain Pass on the 'Million Dollar Highway' and made my way back into San Juan County.
After bagging my reflection picture I called my beautiful wife to check in on the homestead. All was well as I was brought up to date on the antics of Annie our Welsh Corgi and the usual events of the day. As we were talking I got a lonesome kind of feeling for home. I was in an odd kind of circumstance. Here I was in the middle of some of the most majestic mountains, beautiful wildfowers and waterfalls you could ever want to see, and I was longing for home. What to do? Heck, I had checked off the last photograph on my list and I still had caffeine rich Starbucks Frappuccinos to keep me awake. Not a tough decision-I headed the Honda southeast towards Albuquerque and for the next 16 hours looked forward to seeing the suprised look on my bride's face when I arrived back a day early.
July 22nd, 2006
My betrothed was still at work when I arrived back home. Even though this was a Saturday she was slaving away at the upcoming projects she had going in August. Speaking of August, I have a love-hate relationship with this month. I love it because it is the month in which we were married. But... I hate it because it is the busiest month of our year. Our time together is limited to mostly, "Hi, what's coming next?" conversations. Anyway, I quietly sneaked into my wife's office building and made my way to find her working hard at her computer. As I approached she heard me and quickly turned around and exclaimed, "I thought you might be headed home!" It's bad when she can tell what I'm thinking some 1100 miles away. Glad to be back home we actually got to spend the evening together. Colorado is a nice place to visit but I'm always glad to get back home.