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Snowmobile Training

On By rrainefioreIn Beautiful Colorado, Beautiful Things, UncategorizedLeave a comment

There’s a guy in Search and Rescue that has caught my attention.  I know he has a snowmobile so I asked him if he wanted to go snowmobiling sometime.  He said yes.  And then asked if anyone else wanted to go.  Huh?   Oh, he didn’t get it.  I do know that my friend wants to go badly.  We are both new to Search and Rescue and in need of some snowmobiling practice/lessons.  So I mentioned her.  Next thing I know, it’s 4 of us going and it’s now a training.  I played that wrong.

I know very little about snowmobiles.  I think I was on one 17 +/- years ago and then again 25 years ago.  Plus, who gets to go snowmobiling for “training”?  So, even if it is training and not a date, it’s going to be fun.

The two guys decide that we should take 2 snowmobiles out instead of 4.  Good plan.  Richard comes up to me after the two snowmobiles are ready to go and asks who is riding with who.  Really?  He doesn’t get it.  We all ride out to a big field where the two guys get off and let us newbies practice riding.  Riding out to the field I kept imagining what it would feel like to drive a snowmobile, and even though I’ve done it before, I couldn’t even guess what it would feel like.  That in itself is such a very weird feeling to be setting out to do something you can’t even imagine feeling.  We around the field for a bit.  It took me a while to get comfortable with the speed and turning, but I got more comfortable.  I thought it might feel like floating, but it wasn’t quite like that.  It was quite a bit more effort than I expected to turn them.  Even though it didn’t feel like floating, it was fun.  We spent the rest of the afternoon trail riding.  There are so many snowmobile trails.  I think you could ride for days.

A few days later we decided to go again, but this time start at dusk.  It was three of us since the guy I like decided not to go.  He definitely doesn’t get it.  Still, it was so much fun. I got to drive the whole time.  It was super creepy which added to the fun.  The headlamps would only illuminate a small section of the trail ahead of you and the area to the sides and behind you was dark.  The headlamps would throw weird shadows which looked like animals or other things moving just off the trail.  We went up to a point where you could look out over the valley and see all the lights of Granby.  Granby isn’t that large so “all” the lights isn’t like looking at a city, but it still was fun to see and it was more lights than I would have expected.

Post blog note: It has been confirmed that at the time of snowmobiling, he did not get it.  It took until August, but now Richard is my boyfriend.  He gets it now.

1 Fox 2 Moose Day

On By rrainefioreIn Beautiful Things, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I’ve lived in Grand County for six months now.  I had heard the stories of how Grand County, especially the Rocky Mountain National Park, was infested with moose, but I’ve only seen one moose.  I’ve even gone on “moose hunts” (hunting with my camera). I’ve purposely driven through the park.  I’ve gone on hikes where moose are known to be.  Where are they?

Today I went up to Monarch Lake.  People always see moose there.  Maybe I’d get lucky,  It’s late in the day – perfect moose sighting time of day.  Plus, if you were a moose, why would you want to be anywhere other than Monarch Lake?  But, I didn’t expect to see moose and I was in great need of a cardio workout since I often sit in front of my computer for days due to work.  I have walked part way around the lake before.  I usually go left around the lake, but have never done the full 4 mile loop. So, today I was going to go right around the lake just to see something different.  Maybe I would even have time to do the full loop.

As I’m driving into the parking lot, I see a grey fox off to the side.  He looks at me for a while.  I look back at him in amazement and talk to him.  I don’t think he understands what I’m saying. Then he runs off.  I’ve never seen a grey fox.  I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a grey fox.  I’ve only seen red fox.  One time in Evergreen, I saw a black fox.  That was one of the rarest and most special things I’ve ever seen.  But, here is a grey fox and it feels almost as rare and special as the black fox.  This is a good day.

I walked the short distance to the trailhead.  I turned right.  I was stopped instantly.  A mother and daughter were just standing there staring at two moose.  There was a mother and baby moose standing in the shallows of the lake eating.  They were only about 100 steps or so away from me.  Backing up back down the trail might have been the smarter thing to do, but I was rooted where I stood and couldn’t move.  So were the two people that had gotten there before me.  They were right next to the trail I had planned on taking.  There were a couple other people on the trail on the other side of the moose.  We all stood there for what seemed like forever, but was probably only a few minutes.  I guess I’m not hiking today.  This is just a wildlife watching trip.

Then the two people on the other side of the moose gave up on waiting and decided to walk by.  They must have come withing 4 feet of the moose.  I thought, oh jeeze, this isn’t only the day I get to see moose up close, this is the day I get to see a moose trample people.  A mother moose is a terrifying thing.  Am I ready for this?  They walked by and the moose paid no attention.  I watched them for about 45 minutes total and then decided to head home.

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20190510_15085020190510_145409It was a 1 fox 2 moose day.  I think that’s a good day.

The Sound of Happy

On By rrainefioreIn Beautiful Colorado, Beautiful Things, UncategorizedLeave a comment

There is a very big YMCA camp near where I live.  They have cabins, lodges, horseback riding, a sledding hill, a Nordic ski center and so many other amenities.  I have gone cross country skiing there a few times.  The sledding hill is near the Nordic center.  Today it must have been part of spring break as the amount of kids on the hill was 4 times as many as I’ve seen before.  Usually, I enjoy the quiet of being out in nature or at least the sound of my skis on the snow or my jacket rustling as I move.  Today, you could hear laughter, squeals, giggling, screaming and general chatter.  It filled the air and traveled quite a distance.  If you closed your eyes you could just see the smiles on all the kids faces.  The sound of happy was everywhere.  It was such a nice change from the quiet and much better than listening to music through ear phones.

Trough Road

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The fastest route to go west of where I live is not to go down to the highway, but to travel west through a couple small towns and then west along a long dirt road (Trough Road) through the mountains.  I have taken this route a few times now to get to Snowmass Village where some of my friends live.  The first time I took the route, I just let google maps direct me and I was quite shocked when it took me down this long, steep, not very wide road for over an hour.  After looking at maps closer, I realized, this really is the quickest way.

A large storm was due to hit Denver the day I was supposed to be going to Snowmass.  My plan had been to drive to Snowmass in the evening.  The whole city of Denver was in a panic over the storm.  You would think the end of the world was coming.  Grand County got the edge of the storm.  Schools were closed and the news was covered in warnings.  At one point I looked at the traffic maps and almost every highway was closed.  I debated leaving earlier to go to Snowmass, but I was afraid to get on the highway and I was sure Trough Road would not be navigable.  Plus, the mountains had been trying to kill people with avalanches lately and I was very wary of the avalanche danger.  Many areas that haven’t had avalanches in 10 or more years were covering roads and highways.  I watched the snow plow go down my road at least 5 times during the day even though I could barely see the end of my driveway.

At one point in the early afternoon, the storm lifted a little.  The clouds were still there, but they rose a little higher in the sky.  The snow slowed and I could see the end of the driveway.  I thought, if I’m going to go, now is the time.  The hardest part of the drive was my own driveway since I didn’t shovel first.  All the roads in Grand County were cleared pretty well.  I think the county has a shortage of plumbers, but an excess of snow plowers.  As I was driving, I was wondering what Trough Road would look like.  I was wondering if there was avalanche danger or if the snow would be so thick you couldn’t drive on it.  I got to it and it looked like it had been plowed.  So, I took a chance, hoping I wouldn’t get stuck if it wasn’t plowed the whole way.

It was plowed the whole way, still covered in snow and slush, but not so deep that you couldn’t drive through it.  The clouds stayed low and threatening, but it didn’t snow any more and the wind was calm.  Everything was a monotonous grey.  I saw deer, lots of deer, crossing the street, walking down the street.  I saw some elk also.  I even saw big horn sheep, which I hardly ever see in Colorado anymore.  I only saw one truck.  It was this very quiet world in slow motion as if I was in a secret bubble hidden from the storm, hidden from other cars and other humans.  It was just a pocket of beautiful nature and me.

As I got to the end of the road and close to where I would get on the highway, the road became dry.  The clouds were even higher in the sky.  The western part of the state hardly saw any of the storm.  Instead of terrifying, Trough Road had been a tunnel of safety between the storm and the highway.

Wild Animals

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I miss seeing wild animals from my house.  When I lived in Evergreen, I had a fox that visited regularly.    There were lots of deer, elk every once in a while, and bear.  I saw a black fox once which was very neat.  The squirrels told me stories every day and the chip monks terrorized my house.

When I lived in Morrison, I had a bunny factory under my porch.  There were lots of deer, some rattle snakes and I even saw one bobcat.

I was excited to move to Grand County, thinking I would have even more wild animal sightings.  But so far, there haven’t been any sightings near the house.  There have been footprints in the snow in front of my office window so something has been visiting.  I can’t tell from the prints what it is, only that something small has been there.  Is it a fox, a small wild cat, or something else?  Then one day, I finally saw I white blur go running in front of my office window.  It was difficult to see since it was white on a background of white snow.  Maybe I would see it again the next day.  I did see it the next day, and the next and almost once a week.  It was the small white house dog of my next-door neighbor.  Roughly every few days he goes tearing through the neighborhood in the pure excitement of being outside and able to run.

In a Cloud

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I always get a kick out driving through the mountains and seeing the clouds dip lower than the tops of the mountains.  You feel like you are driving through the clouds.  Actually, I guess you are.  I have the opportunity to see this more often now.  It’s not often you get to come out of the mountains and see the city hanging in the clouds.  One morning, as I was coming into Denver, the whole city was engulfed in a large cloud.  Only the tops of the taller buildings were visible.  It looked like a floating city.  The clouds were a fluffy white and the buildings were shiny in the early morning sun.  It was a very fantasy world sight.  I also got to see this later in the week when I was driving down into Steamboat Springs.  This time instead of clouds, it was more like fog.  The fog looked like you would see in an 80’s rock concert, creaping across the landscape low to the ground, swirling slowly.  It was fun approaching the fog, just above it all and then finally dropping into it.  I didn’t get pictures of the Denver cloud, but the Steamboat fog pictures are below for you to enjoy.

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Field Ready

On By rrainefioreIn Beautiful Things, Uncategorized1 Comment

Earlier this week I met with my Search and Rescue mentor.  She helped me go through all the stuff in my backpack to make sure I had a pack ready for any Search and Rescue mission.  She also gave  me a short test that went over my general knowledge of the wilderness and Search and Rescue.  I took the required ICS classes back in December.  At tonight’s training, I was granted Field Ready status.  I think this is a shorter way of saying “she knows close to nothing, but is in good enough shape to carry stuff and isn’t a danger to herself or others” status.  They gave me a radio, a t-shirt, hat and a giant red jacket as well as some other gear.  I can now go on missions and continue my education toward the next level.  It’s wonderful to be a part of this group of people.20190213_205149

Winter Carnival

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I was searching on-line for things to do in Grand County around Christmas when I came across some information about the Grand Lake Winter Carnival.  I thought, how much fun would a small town winter celebration be?  Even though it was hard to tell how to participate or exactly what you would be participating in, I put it on the calendar and invited one of my friends from Denver to come up and share in whatever festivities we could find.

When we first arrived in town we saw a bunch signs for Ice Addiction.  What is Ice Addiction?  After we parked, we noticed that there were a lot of people hanging out at the lake and something exciting was going on, judging from the announcer’s voice in the background.  Ice Addiction was fully underway!  It was an ice fishing contest.  I’ve never would have thought that an ice fishing contest would have need for an announcer.  Even though we couldn’t quite tell what the announcer was saying, it sounded very exciting.  The ice was covered in people staring down tiny holes waiting for fish.  Even if Winter Carnival was a bust, seeing this was worth the drive.

After watching Ice Addiction for a bit, we headed to main street to see the other festivities.  We missed the tea pot curling contest.  There was a put put golf course in the snow, a bunch of other races and activities for kids and the main event, the bed races.  What is a bed race, you ask.? Teams like up and push a bed down the snow packed street.  It was fun to watch.  In the evening there was a costume party at one of the bars and then fireworks off the lake.  All in all, it was great small town fun!

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Moose Ski

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Grand County is supposed to be infested with moose.  I’ve lived here since September and haven’t seen a moose.  I’ve been hiking and snowshoeing many times, going places I think moose might hang out.  No moose.  My neighbor, Kathern, and her friend were going back country skiing because he hasn’t seen a moose either.  They invited me to go with them.  She had an extra pair of cross-country skis I could borrow.  I’ve been cross country skiing at the Nordic center once a week since December.  But I haven’t been on a regular trail yet.  Her feet are bigger than mine so her boots won’t fit right.  What could go wrong?

The trail they picked was beautiful, but it started with quite the impressive downhill.  Off to a good start, squealing as I fly way faster than I want down the hill in the largest, snow plow ever seen.  The trail mellowed out after that.  We passed many moose tracks crossing the trail.  There was moose poop on the trail and you could see where they had laid down to rest.  This had great promise for a moose sighting as they were probably here 5 minutes ago.

The trail got prettier, but a steeper uphill and I was struggling with boots that didn’t fit right.  I had to keep stopping to tie them tighter in an effort to keep my feet in them.  Kathern and Mark continued uphill and I turned around knowing they would probably still catch up later.  I’m sure to see a moose now.  The journey back to the trailhead was peaceful despite the 3 flailing ungraceful crashes.  It’s so awkward to try to stand up with long skinny slippery skis on the bottom of your feet.  I made it back up the giant hill near the trailhead with a bit of huffing and puffing and very little backwards sliding.  Over all, I’d call this a win in the ski department.  But, it’s definitely time to buy my own skis.

After they caught back up with me, we took the moose hunt from the trail to the road.  We drove through the National Park – everyone sees moose there – except me and Mark.  We drove through a Grand Lake neighborhood that has moose all the time.  Yep, you guessed it, no moose.  Mark and I must be wearing moose repellant.  With two of us, we really scared them off.

It was a beautiful day with new friends and the wonder of the gorgeous place I live in fills my heart.  Once again, my choice to move to Grand County is validated as a fabulous choice.  I’ll have to wait for another day for moose sightings.

Father Daughter

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There is a local bar/restaurant that has decent food so I go there often when I need to get out of the house or when I don’t want to cook.  Tonight, when I got out of the car, I saw two girls about age 7 or 8 dressed to the nines in pink frilly dresses and Patten leather shoes.  They were with their dads.  Normally, they would be cold in these fancy dresses, but they looked invigorated and excited.  They didn’t even notice it was cold.  The dads were dressed in suits and ties.  I thought maybe it was a wedding reception and these were the flower girls, even though the time of year seemed off for a wedding.

I went inside and sat at the bar and ordered my dinner.  I noticed the girls and their dads sat at a big table with a lot of other girls of different ages, dressed up in silk, tulle, sparkles, and pretty pink, blue and green colors.  Then I noticed that all the adults at the table were men.  Oh, there must be a Father Daughter dance tonight and they were going out for dinner first.  Over the next hour, more father daughter duos came in and took up seats in the restaurant.  It was fun to watch them come in, to see the pretty dresses, the happy princesses and the very proud fathers.  The whole restaurant was full of shiny sparkly girly-ness.