Spinning at Curt's

Took a bike ride today to a place I don't go much. Curt Gowdy State Park. It's nice, has nice trails (more for hiking IMHO) a reservoir, camping, etc. It's closer than some of the other places I go, but not real large. And usually kind of busy.

Here's a shot from along the trail. At least the weather cooperated. Lack-of-rain wise. The wind was blowing so hard sometimes it was pushing me off the trail! This view is looking towards Granite reservoir in the distance.

A shot of the serious biker. With his 'ancient' mountain bike. This thing is really punishing me on rough trails. No suspension, low bottom bracket, long crank arms and a semi-skilled, tired rider equals a lot of scraping and bouncing off rocks. This trail has too many of them!

Another along the trail shot. It is pretty good in some places. In others, it's get off and walk. Which I did a LOT of today. Kinda frustrating. The trail is often no more than a foot wide, with too many rocks trying to snag me. And cactus cactus everywhere, right along the edges. I've never seen so much cactus. The little clumpy ones, with the big long spines. Overall, not my favorite kind of riding. Maybe my opinion will change if I ever get a new, full-suspension mountain bike. But the scenery is nice!

The Stone Temple. That's what it's called. A rock feature along the Stone Temple circuit. What a coincidence! That trail is 'intermediate' difficulty. Some of it I'd say. A fair amout should be considered Advanced. I went on several Advanced and Expert trails today also. How? You guessed it - mostly on foot pushing the bike! Not ridable. Not by me. Didn't feel like breaking any bones. Though I managed a few minor wipeouts anyway. Tough ride day.

Hey, did that rock just move???

A nice waterfall just a short way off one of the main trails.

So how'd I do for the day? Somebody must want to know

• Ride time of 2 hrs, 40 minutes. But I was there for close to 6 hours
• Average speed of 5.4 mph. Blistering!
• Distance of 14.7 miles.
• Max speed of 25 mph! There were a few clear downhill areas, apparently!

Nice area, many good views of scenery. But more a hiking destination that a biking one for me. After the pounding on the trail, the wind and the rest I was pretty wiped out by the end of the day.

Common Sense Comedy

Took a trip down to Denver yesterday (in a strong rainstorm) to see the Glenn Beck Common Sense Comedy Tour with some friends. Glenn has a popular radio talk show, a TV show, and several other things. He's one of the best common sense commentator/entertainers out there, I think. And pretty funny too.

The show was downtown in the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. A very nice restored building. We were way up in the top balcony. And I was using my little pocket camera. Which doesn't do dark very well. But it does zoom pretty far. These images are good examples from the show.

From the first half of the show. Talking about where we are all heading.

The start of the second half. A little 'retro' look, back to the 'old days' of the USA.

Wrapping up the 2 hour show. It was very good. Lots of good info, and laughs too. Plus, we ate at a great Indian restaurant before the show. Lots of delicious spicy food. My Chicken Vindaloo was hot but it was gooooood!

The Wet Way

Went out for a hike at one of my favorite local spots today, the Pole Mountain trails. Lots of trails and not very crowded. The weather is finally nice enough. At least, according to the weatherman it was supposed to be.

The day started out pretty nice. Mostly sunny and warm. But some clouds to west.

That's good dandelion! I wasn't the only one enjoying the nice day.

Panorama shot on a scenic lookout, from south to west. And as you can see, it's getting to look a bit stormier. Guess I'll continue on...

Within couple hours it was thundering constantly, sprinking rain, and hailing. That's hail. Not flowers or anything else. Good thing I brought a rain coat. Cause it opened up soon after, and really rained. I had to hide out under shelter during the heavy pours. And it got a lot colder also.

Shot from near the end of my hiking day. I quit earlier than planned because the weather just wasn't gonna cooperate. I was cold and wet enough for one day. Back home, it was dry, warmer, just cloudy. That's annoying. The weather is usually nicer up on the trails, and wetter back down in town. Oh well, there's always another weekend.

Depot Days

On Memorial Day weekend the Union Pacific here opens their old Roundhouse and yard to visitiors. You can wander around and look at a bunch of old trains, both diesel and steam. Some are fully restored, operational and are used on special occasions. Other things in the yard are just old junk for parts or possible restoration I imagine.

844 is one of the big old steam engines still taken out on special runs.

3985 is another old restored steam engine that still makes runs. You know when one of these things goes by. You can really feel the power from the steam engine.

Now this is travelling. A fully restored Pullman car, in older western style. Kind of an executive car. With a sitting area, bathroom, 2 bedrooms, a dining area, plus a kitchen area with another small bedroom. The woodwork and fixtures in this car are beautiful.

A diesel that isn't going anywhere anytime soon. There's a lot of derelicts around the yard.

A shot of the side of a beat up old Chicago Northwestern caboose. Not everthing in the yard is UP.

The backside of the UP Depot building from the Roundhouse. It's been restored over many years, and is pretty impressive inside with many original features, a UP museum, a restaurant and other spaces. It's a popular local spot for many activities.

Zoom Zoom

Oh boy, a new toy. Yes, a new lens for my Pentax K10 DSLR. Got to feed that LBA (lens buying addiction).

Specifically, its the Pentax DA 55-300 mm zoom. I have an older Pentax zoom that goes to 210mm. But this one is new, has more zoom range, can autofocus, and its smaller and lighter. It's not as sturdy as the older one that's all metal, but I think it'll be good to take on hikes and other uses. The lens isn't made in Germany - I wish it was! Just the filter I have on it is. Here's a few sample shots from the park today -

A pair of metal chairs. Playing with depth of field and composition.

It's that time of year. The tree rats are everywhere.

All aboard the train to nowhere...