Tag: Wildflowers

Springtime in the Rockies

It is now officially spring at 8,500 feet in Colorado.

I saw lots of American Pronghorn antelope and a golden eagle on the drive in to my cabin. Four elk and two antelope met me in the front yard as I arrived. Two geese appear to be nesting at the beaver pond, and I’m hoping for a new crop of “young ‘uns”.

Alpine Forget-Me-Nots, Hedgehog Cactus, Arrow-leaf Balsam Root and Western Pasque Flower are in bloom. Broad Tail Hummingbirds and Mountain Blue Birds have returned – the hills are alive!

Some surprises in the game camera keep things interesting 🦁

Lovely sunsets each evening . Wish you were here !

Xx
Alpine Forget-Me-Not

Western Pasquale Flower
Western Pasque Flower

Neighbor Deb’s Hedghog Cactus

Arrowleaf Balsam root

One of many beautiful sunsets

Mountain Bluebirds on the wind turbine

A cow elk vists in the early morning

January Moose

January coyote

Surprise!  A Mountain Lion visits the game camera on April 1st!

 

Colorado Backcountry Camping Above 10,000 Feet

Sally’s first nights in a tent in over 30 years (she, of course was 9 years old then…..🏕

I planned a 3-day off-road tent camping trip with my lovely wife Sally, to appreciate the summer Colorado High Country. I “tent-camp” annually, but Sally has not slept in a tent for 30+ years. Will she agree to go again?  I will do my best to make this trip adventurous, fun and also offer tasty dishes to entice her back again!

We will tour “Jeep trails” in the Roosevelt National Forest of Northern Colorado at around 10,000-11,000 feet elevation, do some fishing and explore the natural beauty.  There are still lots of wildflowers in the Colorado high country in late July!

Continue reading “Colorado Backcountry Camping Above 10,000 Feet”

Rainy Spring Days in the Mountains 

View from the front porch of the cabin
Arriving at our cabin for a rainy-day work weekend, we count ourselves so lucky to have such a wonderful retreat.

View from the back deck on a cloudy evening.  Snow drifts are still quite deep!
Two pair of geese mating on the beaver pond, then the beaver makes a dramatic appearance as the rain falls heavily.

Antelope herd grazing in the front yard
New shooting gear!  Even the drizzly cold weather doesn’t dampen my excitement.  Getting prepared for my 2017 horseback elk hunt!  Labradar Chronograph and Lead Sled+ make shooting much more fun and setup much less time consuming.  Unfortunately, one Barnes round penetrated the steel plate backstop

A few of the early wildflowers in bloom.  Pasque flower and buttercup.  Due to the rain, I couldn’t get a good picture of the forget-me-nots covering the front yard.

In addition to the usual moose, elk and deer captured in the game camera, we found a few less frequent visitors: a marmot, a goose in flight and a coyote.

Rained all last night and all Wednesday.  It’s no hardship with a cozy fire and a good book.

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Moab, Utah: Spring Camping and Hiking in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks

My friends Ray and Shirley had only been home a few weeks, but were getting restless to get their camper back on the road.  They invited me to tag along on a five-day excursion to explore the lovely parks located near Moab, Utah.  It has been years since we were last here.

Driving south on Utah highway 128 following the Colorado River.  A beautiful, curvy drive with wonderful vistas of the buttes ahead and lots of campsites along the river.  Unfortunately they all appear to be full.

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Beautiful Utah Highway 128 following the Colorado river

Arches National Park

Continue reading “Moab, Utah: Spring Camping and Hiking in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks”