Stardate 2018.858

Fall 2018 Is Going Strong

Doing a blog post a week didn't get far, did it? Oh well, I blame it on Parkinson's. However, in all fairness to my new disease, I've had a busy fall as well. Snowcatcher and I spent two weeks in travel to California and back. Both of us have been very busy at work. Instead of blogging, I've been watching old original series Star Trek episodes, et cetera, et cetera.

I've been doing lots of work overtime too, which needs to stop because it enhances Parkinson's irritation. I've now experienced two types of fatigue; the good fatigue, such as doing a 120-mile bike ride and being dog-tired, yet feeling good about it. Then the second type of fatigue is being dog-tired for no good reason and wanting only to curl up with depression and sleep for hours on end, feeling good about nothing.

Nonetheless, my mountain biking skills are slowly getting better. However, I don't, at this point, expect them to be where they once were. Time will tell.

Anyway, following are a handful of pics taken this past September and October. I would have taken the mountain bike out today, but I'm not quite ready for temps in the 30s. At least the sun is out. The first photo is of Waterton Canyon resident bighorn sheep lounging around chewing their cud pre-rut season. Currently, they're busy chasing the girls. Enjoy the pics.




We all know this girl. If you require a hint, she's the S*********r.



I grew-up skiing at a small ski area in western Colorado called Powderhorn. Below rises its eastern lift. I miss those years of skiing a lot. Things were different then.




The middle section of the ski area is kind of rolling.




I love seeing kids start so early. You go girl!



Cedar City, Utah, is almost halfway between Denver, Colorado, and Bakersfield, California. The town is on our retirement short list. It lies at the base of Utah's Markagunt Plateau and north of the whopping 20-mile drop onto the northeastern Mojave Desert. Many, many, years ago I thought I'd landed a job in Cedar City as a hydrologist for the Forest Service; it didn't happen. I've also spent time here doing geomorphic field work with a buddy working on his PhD.



See you next time!

Adios

Stardate 2015.162

Winter Returns

After a nice January thaw sporting low 60-degree temps, normality returned. The following pics are from a recent stroll up Waterton Canyon.



Snowcatcher is at work doing her thing.



The eerie mouth of Waterton Canyon beckons us on.



Riders on fat bikes looked a bit frosted as they went by. It is a good day for a fat bike. Fat bikes are relatively new; they are mountain bikes that sport very wide wheels for enhanced buoyancy on mediums like snow. We thought about taking out the mountain bikes, but changed our minds at the last minute.



A field of icicles hanging from a leaky water pipe. There is a constant drip here during the warm months, as well.



The South Platte River



The higher realms of Waterton Canyon are in silent mode.



Colorado Fish and Game fish squeezers try to maintain a fishery in the canyon. The rocks create some slackwater. As you can see, the structure performs kind of like a weir. It's not a gabion. It's a very leaky check dam. It would be interesting to see it functioning with higher flows.



This is the same stream structure as above.



Too bad, it's definitely a good day for a swim.



The ice was building fast in areas of slackwater.



It's common to see bighorn sheep through this reach, but not today. The walk out is a bit chilly. While warming in our car, we bid farewell to Waterton as another day's light slowly fades.

Until next time...

Adios