A Christmas like no other...

I'm glad to be alive, how about you? Granted its been an exceptionally traumatic year and I think most everyone will be glad to put 2020 in the rearview mirror. The Associated Press reports that 2020  is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths expected to top 3 million for the first time — due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic. But it's Christmastime (or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or Diwali among other holidays celebrated around this time of the year) and despite Colorado's level Red Covid Restrictions the stores in my area are packed (if the parking lots are any indication). People seem to be making up for the rest of the year in an overabundance of Holiday cheer. My wife and I have noticed that almost every house in our neighborhood is decked out with holiday lights and decorations this year. Normally there are lots of houses lit up but this year its noticeably more. As usual, we like to drive around upon a snowy evening and look at all the beautiful light displays and like last year I've put together a short video of some of our favorites to share with you.

I live in a solidly middle-class neighborhood and sometimes we head to some higher-end areas that often feature some extravagant light displays this time of year. Not so much in 2020, and at first we were at somewhat of a loss to explain why some of these very affluent  neighborhoods were relatively dark this holiday season. The only thing we could come up with is that COVID has put a damper on holiday parties and celebrations and the homeowners couldn't justify the time and expense (in past years some of these displays were obviously professionally done) when they wouldn't be hosting the usual family and business get-togethers. 

Most of the light displays in the video this year come from neighborhoods much like mine though we did also make a jaunt to the town of Golden, Colorado to stroll their beautiful river walk which was decked out beautifully. 'Golden City' served as the capital of the Territory of Colorado from 1862 to 1867. In 1867, the territorial capital was moved about 12 miles east to 'Denver City'. Golden has a nice downtown area along Washington Avenue that is fun to stroll when December weather allows, as it did earlier this week, some relatively balmy evenings with afternoon temps in the 60's. 

2021 will soon be upon us, and like the incoming Presidential administration, is already hamstrung by unrealistic expectations. All I want is to stay safe and healthy long enough to roll up my sleeve for the much anticipated vaccine. It may be closer to 2022 than to the start of the year when that finally happens for us normal Americans and patience is clearly not an American trait. Still, I'm cautiously optimistic that 2021 won't set the record for American deaths like its cousin 2020 has. Sadly, there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of our friends, family members, and acquaintances who will still die in the new year before we presume to have the great Pandemic behind us. That ubiquitous symbol of 2020, the facemask, won't be disappearing anytime soon, and some of my friends who to this day still contend COVID is a hoax will be hard pressed to maintain that charade. 

Still, this time of the year offers Hope. Defined as  a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen, Hope has it's hands full going into the New Year so perhaps we can come together in this time of 'Good will toward Men' and ALL do our part to help Hope have a chance. Stay safe, and from my house to yours have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday...

Person of the Year?

Time Magazine, that venerable bastion of print journalism (Time Magazine debuted March 3, 1923 as the first weekly news magazine in the U.S.), has, since 1927, announced a “Person of the Year” (“Man of the Year” or “Woman of the Year” until 1999) in one of its December issues. Since 1998 Time has also held an online poll of readers to query who they think should be recognized, but the final decision remains that of the magazine’s editors.

Charles Lindbergh
Time Man of the Year 1927

The “Person of the Year” came about as a method for the magazine to overcome the oversight of not putting aviator Charles Lindbergh on one of its covers after his historic first trans-Atlantic flight in May 1927. The magazine thought an article on Lindbergh as “Man of the Year” would remedy that mistake. 

Who do you think should be 2020’s “Person of the Year”? The online poll features 80 nominated people or groups (groups have been recognized in at least 11 years, and inanimate objects twice - The Computer in 1982 and The Endangered Earth in 1988. 

Among the 80 nominations this year are folks like Dr. Anthony Fauci and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo along with as-you-might-expect people like Joe Biden, Donald Trump - Man of the Year in 2016, Kamala Harris, and Mike Pence. Group nominations include The Black Lives Matter movement. There’s also the usual mix of entertainers and sports figures along with some notable tech giants (Jeff Bazos/Amazon -who has already been recognized -  in 1999, Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook - recognized in 2010, and Zoom’s CEO Eric Yuan). Even royal couple Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were nominated. Do you remember who won in 2019, which seems such a lifetime ago? Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate change activist, was selected by Time’s editors over “Hong Kong Protesters” which won in online polling.  

The annual announcement does not always celebrate good: Adolf Hitler was recognized in 1938 and Joseph Stalin made the cover not once but twice, in 1939 and 1942. Ayatollah Khomeini, who led the Iranian Revolution and was instrumental in the Iranian Hostage Crisis was recognized in 1979. Even Vladimir Putin, who has featured so prominently during the Trump years, made the editors choice in 2007. 

Rudolph Giuliani was featured on the cover in 2001 as epitomizing America’s response to the September 11th attacks. Few would have argued with that selection. Mr. Giuliani remains in the news having recently led the current President’s efforts to overturn the results of what appears, according to all reliable sources, to have been a fair and honest election contest. On Tuesday he called into a radio talk show program criticizing the widespread use of masks and social distancing  to prevent future outbreaks of COVID despite the fact that he himself remains hospitalized in a Washington D.C. hospital after testing positive for the virus. It is not anticipated that Mr. Giuliani will repeat his cover appearance this year.

So, how about it - who’s your choice to represent the year of the Pandemic? My vote mirrors the results in online polling - The Essential Worker - those doctors, nurses, delivery workers, public transit, and grocery store employees, who have played such critical roles in the year of COVID. Truly, where would we be without them? Even with their efforts, and through no fault of theirs, its anticipated that we, as Americans, will have lost more than 300,000 of our fellow citizens by Christmas. Maybe the Time editorial staff will simply pick COVID, the virus itself, for its cover this year. That would open the way for my potential pick for 2021 - the Vaccine. For this year we can all find out who they pick on December 10th when Time televises its first-ever “TIME Person of the Year” television special on NBC, on Dec. 10 at 10 p.m. ET. For a list of all those who have graced Time's Person of the Year covers click here.

Completely unrelated to anything so momentous as "Person of the Year", have you noticed how many more homes are being decorated for the holidays this year? Almost every house in my neighborhood lights up in a splendiforous light display the minute the sun sets. Most of my family's decorating takes place on the inside of our home as my wife brings out her collection of snowmans (snowmen?). To that end I share with you the following short film featuring just some of her collection of these wintry visitors. They don't last long, leaving behind only puddles and happy memories when they go so enjoy them while you can!

Records are made to be broken...

 I'm a big fan of the printed newspaper so a year or two ago I was sad to make the switch to the online version of the Denver Post. Despite the newsroom being trimmed (gutted?) by it's owner MediaNews Group, Inc. I still rely on the venerable Post to fill in some of the information gaps my other sources of news don't seem to cover in-depth, at least on the local level. There is still a tactile pleasure about turning the physical page of a newspaper, or a book for that matter, that I really miss (with apologies to my beloved Kindle). I also miss the printed paper for that other time-honored use - starting a fire in the fireplace. Both the Denver Post and Leadville's Herald Democrat pages have helped keep me and mine warm on many a chilly winter's evening. No gas fireplace, as of yet, for me. I rue the day when I don't have the pleasure of heading out to the woodpile to split a couple of logs to feed the fireplace as the snow gently falls, and the temps start to plummet as the brittle sunlight fades behind the mountain tops.

Speaking of temperatures plummeting, its almost December as I write this and even with global warming we're heading for the coldest months of the year. The days are getting shorter, the nights longer and hibernating in front of a roaring fire with a good paper or book sounds like heaven to me. My better half and I were watching an excellent movie the other night about a place even colder than Colorado - Antarctica. Shot by Anthony Powell, Antarctica: A Year on Ice is a stunningly breathtaking documentary covering his ten years spent living and working at the bottom of the world. The photography is absolutely amazing and the characters who spend their time there, especially the "winter-overs", are as fascinating a bunch as any you'll find anywhere. 

I worked with a gentleman (hi, John) who had the enviable job of doing psychological assessments for Americans heading to The Ice to make sure they were compatible with frigid temps and no sunlight for months at a time. I remember a conversation where he told me if ever I was interested in heading south to let him know. Hindsight being 20/20 how I wish I had taken him up on that offer... 

Here's the Post's weather
article for December

On the last day of every month the Post has an article talking about the weather we can expect in the upcoming month. I think this article is a carryover from the long-gone Rocky Mountain News. I can remember as a kid growing up my dad used to cut the article out and tape it on the fridge so he could know, day by day, what the 'average' weather was supposed to be. Granted the T.V. weather forecasters of today are far nicer to look at and they certainly have some fancy graphics, but that little monthly synopsis was his bible and candidly he could generally forecast what was to come about as accurately as today's computer models and glitzy prognostications. 

I had never thought about it, but when I saw the article in today's Post, it started me to thinking, which is always a dangerous thing as I never know where it will lead. Anyway, two of the columns I always peruse are those showing the record high and low temps for the day. It struck me that I have been around for more than half of the records being set (14 record high and 21 record low years). So if my math is right, most of these records have been set in the last 63 years. Seven of the record highs have been set in the last 20 years along with eight of the lows. Now, I don't pretend to know what any of this means other than perhaps I've been hanging around this beautiful blue orb way too long. I do know it might have been nice to have been around back on December 5th, 1939 when the temperature was a balmy 79 degrees but not so  much on Christmas Eve 1876 when it was 25 below zero. December 1939 also saw Germany begin deporting Polish Jews as well as the premiere of Gone With the Wind, while December 1876 saw the United States Electoral College casts their votes in the disputed Presidential election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden with two sets of conflicting results returned to Congress on December 7th (Mr. Hayes eventually assumed office even though Mr. Tilden actually won the popular vote). I guess, just like the weather, what comes around goes around.

Photo By Jeffrey Beall 

Closer to home, Colorado became a State in 1876 while in 1939 we had a new Governor, Ralph Carr, take office. Mr. Carr would go on in 1942 to oppose, to the detriment of his political career, the internment of American citizens of Japanese descent during WWII once saying: 

"...the Japanese are protected by the same Constitution that protects us. An American citizen of Japanese descent has the same rights as any other citizen. ... If you harm them, you must first harm me. I was brought up in small towns where I knew the shame and dishonor of race hatred."

Another interesting statistic on the Post summary is the average windspeed - 8.4mph. It may mislead however, in that it fails miserably to forecast how the winds of change may really blow. 

Happy Turkey Day!

It would be so, so easy to lament all the bad things we’ve experienced in 2020, a year for the history and record books. As citizens of the world we’ve dealt collectively with COVID and shared the sickness and death it has wrought with the rest of humankind in every corner of the globe from Europe, to Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and yes, China. Only a few nations have not directly experienced COVID’s wrath, most of them island countries in the South Pacific (Palau, Micronesia, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Samoa for example) while Antarctica remains the only COVID-free continent on this, our little blue speck in the cosmos.

And how quickly the protests of spring and summer have faded from consciousness. There's seemingly more concern over the 5,700 fans allowed into the current incarnation of Mile High Stadium to watch the Broncos than there is for who's kneeling and for what. 

My next door neighbor, Mike, is an Intensive Care Nurse at Denver General. He's one of those front-line heroes we celebrated months ago. Remember? He's well aware there's not a lot of civic howling anymore in support of these folks who's sole job is saving the lives of others. He was telling my wife this morning as he was going to work that as bad a picture as the media paints COVID, its far, far worse. He spoke of his hospital having a hard time simply staffing the ICU because folks on the front lines are getting burned out or, yes, dying from doing their job. Fewer and fewer people are available, or willing, to step up and fill the ranks of those we all depend on to stay alive. Our Governor is now talking about allowing hospitals to turn away patients if their ICU's are at capacity while at the same time county governments are saying they won't enforce the State's mask mandate or COVID-dial restrictions.

So, do you have anything to be thankful for this Thanksgiving? I'm thankful for simply being alive after spending my own four days in intensive care back in April and watching those critical care staff try to save my life. I'm thankful for my friends and family. They really are my better angels. My family is not getting together for our traditional Thanksgiving meal and I'm thankful that they respect the sanctity of each other's life more than a day spent putting those we love in harm's way. 

Most of all perhaps, I'm thankful there is still beauty in this world and that I occasionally get to glimpse it. More than ever before in my life I find myself actively seeking it out. Sometimes - many times - its hard to find, especially in today's world. Sometimes it sneaks up on me when least expected, some days my conscious effort to seek it out is rewarded but either way its something no virus, no war or famine, no manmade catastrophe can steal from me. 

With that in mind I share with you two of my recent efforts to find some of that beauty. Both took place in the Colorado High Country that I love so much. The first is a simple walk through the little town of Twin Lakes which is nestled at the base of Independence Pass. Perhaps you've been there in the summer when the warm wind rustles through the leaves of the quaking aspen trees. This time of year, the town is nearly deserted and at first glance might seem abandoned yet its in that peaceful solitude that I most find its beauty. The second is a hidden treasure called Mushroom Gulch. Near Buena Vista, its just a couple of miles off Highway 285 yet lightyears removed from the frenetic pace and sometime ugliness of the outside world. In its own special way it offers a chance to find the peaceful serenity that only the beauty of nature can provide. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, 

"I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees."

And not least of all, I'm also thankful for you as a reader of this blog. I wish you and yours a happy and safe Thanksgiving no matter how you choose to celebrate it this year. 

A Tale of Two (or more...) Cities

The storming of the Bastille by French Painter Jean-Pierre-Louis-Laurent Houël. During his long life Houël witnessed the reign of Louis XV, the French Revolution, and the period of Napoleon's First Empire. (Wikipedia)

One of my favorite books is A Tale of Two Cities which was written in 1859 by Charles Dickens. It is a historical novel set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution and tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris and his release to live in London with his daughter Lucie, whom he has never met. The story is set against the conditions that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. The book opens with a paragraph that could well mirror the times we are living through right now: 

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

We, you and I, are now in month nine (it seems so much longer...) of the 2020 pandemic. Literally and figuratively we are now entering "the season of darkness" having set our clocks back just a couple of weeks ago and with the COVID virus seemingly completely out of control going into the Holiday season. Whether the next few months will live up to "the winter of despair" remains to be seen.

Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution of 1789-1799 much of his stirring account takes place during the Reign of Terror, perhaps the most violent period of the revolt. From the summer of 1793 through the summer of 1794, more than 50,000 people were killed for suspected counter-revolutionary activity or so-called “crimes against liberty”. One-third of this number died under the falling blade of the guillotine. Some accounts put the number of victims actually closer to 250,000. As I write this, more than 249,000 Americans have fallen victim to our own current reign of terror for which we, as of yet, have no real cure.

Just as historians and authors look back upon the past so too will their counterparts in the future look back and study the time we are living in. It may sound cliché, but we are living history. Living through history of course means that we are feeling our way, charting our own new path through the perils of our time. No one of us has all the answers, though collectively we may have a few if we can ever reach consensus. 

One of the things historians of the future will surely look at are all the statistics being generated in the information-overload culture of today. There is always a story to be told behind the numbers and already, just 9 months into our current predicament, there is a story to be read by simply looking at one statistic - the number of new COVID cases. If you do a Google search for COVID in your location you're likely to be given a chart, courtesy of the New York Times, that gives the number of COVID cases by day from  March to present. The numbers by themselves are of course staggering - who back in March, "...the spring of hope", would have guessed that cases in the U.S. would be upward of 11 million and that a quarter million of us would not be here this Thanksgiving to break bread with family and friends. To me though, as staggering as the numbers are, its the pattern of the charts across different locations in the U.S. that speak to how we have taken such a divided approach on how to deal with the unfolding nightmare of this newest of new viruses. 

Lets start with the chart for Colorado:

It would appear that Colorado was able to largely contain, though never eliminate, the spread of COVID-19 at least until recently. Compare the shape of our graph to another U.S. location:

Clearly what was going on in location "D" was very much different than what we lived through in Colorado. 

Let's look at another location's graph (see if you can guess by its shape where it is):

Think about why a location might see such a pattern of new cases. What was going on - what were they doing, or perhaps more importantly what were they not doing, to see new cases behave as they are reflected in location "B".

Here is a location that was perhaps as unique in its locale as any...

yet it's graph nearly mirrors that of location "B". In terms of geographical distance location "C" couldn't be further removed from location "B" so why are the two graphs so similar to each other and so dissimilar from Colorado's?

OK, you get the point; its this type of data and the behavioral questions it raises that will keep PhD candidates busy for years to come. You don't need these graphs to know that different places in the United States have had widely different responses to dealing with COVID. Some were pragmatic and scientific in their approach while others to this very day continue to downplay the seriousness of the situation. To use another historical reference, they say that Nero played his fiddle while ancient Rome burned back in the year 64. His supposed fiddling now has come to represent the epitome of acting irresponsibly in the midst of an emergency. It would appear from the graphs that some today have as much of an affinity for fiddle playing as Emperor Nero did nearly 2,000 years ago.

Here are just a couple of more to show the disparity between U.S. locations:

So, have you figured out where some of these locations are? Here are the actual locales:

A: Colorado

B: Florida

C: Hawaii

D: New York City

E: Texas

F: Utah

G: Washington D.C.

H: Washington State

I'll leave it to far greater minds than I to further extrapolate the real meanings behind the disparities in the data but I'd hazard my own guess that in the years to come some of these locations may look back on their graphs and raise the question: what could they have done differently? 

In the end, A Tale of Two Cities is a classic love story about the love two men share for a woman, and ultimately about Man's love for his fellow Man and the sacrifice some are willing to make for that Love. In that, there are lessons to be learned by all of us.

Here's hoping that the "season of Light" still awaits...

All good things...

Photo courtesy of National Park Service

All good things must come to an end, or so the saying goes. Today is Election Day in these “United” States of America and the country is as not-united as I have ever witnessed it. Stores are boarding up their windows in anticipation of civil unrest regardless of who wins. Are you as sick of all this as I am? 

I was in California at the start of this year and saw an election themed t-shirt proclaiming support for “Any Functioning Adult”. I’m not sure that’s what we’ve ended up with after a truly dismal election cycle but we clearly have a clear choice as America lurches to the polls (assuming you’re not one of the majority who have already cast their ballots prior to today.)

Did we get this?

Everyone is saying we won’t even know tonight who the winner is (perhaps the T.V. networks would have better served us if they had postponed their hours of coverage until tomorrow evening) and one side is already announcing they have a team of lawyers set to contest the results should they end up on the losing side. Yet it’s America who has really lost, regardless of who garners the magical 270 Electoral College votes this evening (actually we won't know for sure until December 14th). There’s more than enough blame to be hurled around by both sides but can anyone really argue we as a country are in a better place today? I know, I know, some would resolutely say “Yes!”, but truly they must be in the minority. 

Some wounds take a long time to heal, while some never do. Again, regardless of who “wins” tonight, the changes wrought during the last four years (be they good, bad, or indifferent in your opinion) will likely last far longer than the time they took to inflict. Love him or hate him, Mr. Trump has irrevocably changed  this country we call home and we will be living with the ripple effect for generations. It’s good that so many Americans have decided to participate in their civic duty this year. It is after all our country; it does not belong to Mr. Trump or Mr. Biden. And it is us, 300+ million strong, who in the days, months, and years to come must still decide and come to grips with what we want this “one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” to look like. I don’t think God was in line at the polling site this morning but if so, may she continue to bless America.

And may we hope that another old proverb comes true: 

"All's well that ends well."

Boo!

 BOO! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I know, I know, we're coming up on the scariest night of the year. No, I'm not talking about Election Eve, but rather that other standby of good cheer, Halloween. American elections have only been around since 1788 while the celebration of ghosts and goblins heralds back more than 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. 

I used to work with a lady who professed that Halloween was her favorite holiday of the year and she used to love to get dressed up in some pretty amazing costumes she designed herself. She used to encourage me to do the same but I demurred using the excuse that I was already scary enough. 

Of course this year has perhaps been one of the scariest in recent memory. Short of wars, famines, and global climate change, pandemics rank right up there on the short list of frightful events. Halloween festivities (is festive even the right descriptor for Halloween?) likely will be a little subdued this year given that we're already wearing masks and we're supposed to separate from one another by whatever the new standard is - 6 feet, 20 feet, miles? A friend I went walking with yesterday is being clever in her approach to still celebrating All Hallows Eve and still staying safe as are many others. The local ghosts and ghouls won't leave her house disappointed. For us adults (I think I still fit into that category despite what my wife sometimes tells me) there's plenty of spookiness already (like having to take on the hat of Teacher while home schooling AND trying to get their own work done) but hopefully next week's election will at least give us some certainty in some very uncertain times. At least I think it will, once we know the actual results by early January or whenever the Supreme Court deigns to inform us who is to lead us for the next four years. 

So for those of you who still love Halloween the scary times will likely continue long after October 31st this year. And for those who don't, not to worry. I saw my first official Christmas T.V. commercials last night. Now that was really scary.

I think there's another Holiday in between moving from celebrating Ghosts and Ghouls to Santa and elves (elves, actually, could probably do double duty on both Halloween AND Xmas - kind of the Yin and Yang of Holiday characters). My local hardware superstores (Lowes and Home Depot) seem to have forgotten entirely about Thanksgiving having rushed to get the Christmas decorations out for sale by late August. Perhaps they think we don't have much to be thankful for this year, but I think they are wrong. I give thanks for the special people in my life as well as the simple gift of simply being alive when so many of our friends, family, and neighbors will have unexpectedly empty seats round the Thanksgiving table this year. There was fear of a Holiday COVID spike due to folks getting together to celebrate the season, but given the numbers in Colorado right now that boat has already sailed. So lets all stay safe (Yeah, wear the mask, stay as socially distant as you can, etc.) but while your at it, please pass the turkey...

Here's a short video I put together to put a little Halloween fright into your day as well as a second one I shot up in them high Country during the recent snowstorm (it might get you into the mood for sleighs and sleighbells, HO, HO, HO!):

'Til next time, BOO! and Merry Christmas!

Absolutely positively the trip that wasn’t...

The plan was to be writing this in the ninety-plus degree heat of Palm Springs, CA but COVID put a nix on that. We had reservations at the Palm Springs KOA but the message from them was that while most everything was open (pool, amenities, etc.) mask-wearing was 50-50 at best and they told us that we’d be coming “at your own risk.” Digging a little deeper on the internet showed that the positivity rate for the Palm Springs area is running anywhere from two to three times the rate of metro Denver which, if you have been paying attention, you know is increasing to levels not seen since early summer. 

So we decided that the prudent thing at this point was to stay put. I hate being prudent. 

Like most of you I’m getting really, really tired of COVID yet there doesn’t appear to be any end in sight. I feel for whoever happens to be President in 2021 because it appears that no one on this blue ball called Earth truly has the answer to our pandemic woes, least of all whichever candidate you cast your ballot for. I perhaps feel most for Mr. Biden who at least seems willing to pay some heed to the medical community but then I wonder why, for goodness sake, he even wants the job given the seemingly insurmountable issues we will face in the next 12-18 months. 

So instead of heading west towards California I was able to talk my better half into taking a day jaunt to the Pawnee National Grasslands to see the Pawnee Buttes. Palm Springs it is not, but this quiet expanse of prairie located about two hours northeast of Denver does offer majestic views and some great hiking. We were there on a weekday and had it almost to ourselves with just a handful of cars in the parking lot and not a single soul on the trails we took. The drive to get there is somewhat convoluted but we were determined. I had not been to the Grasslands before even though I’ve lived in Colorado since 1971 so shame on me. My only excuse is that like many of you when I head out of Denver I usually head uphill instead of out onto the open plains east of town. Anyway, we were happy we made the effort to get to this remote part of Colorado. Here’s a sample of what there is to see if you ever decide to do the prudent (there’s that word again) thing and venture somewhere less traveled.... 

All aboard!

I'm a slacker. I admit it. I've been going to Leadville for 40+ years and it was only last weekend that I first rode the Leadville train. Of course, in its present incarnation as the Leadville Colorado & Southern Railroad, its only been hauling passengers since 1988 so I guess I'm not too late to the party.

We took my wife's mother along for the 2 1/2 hour jaunt from Leadville up towards Fremont Pass gaining 1,000 vertical feet along 9 miles of track. It's an out and back ride and features spectacular views of the Arkansas River valley as well as Colorado's two highest peaks, Mount Elbert and Mount Massive. The railroad encourages mask wearing and social distancing but, as they tell you when you get on board, they are not policemen and make no effort to enforce the guidelines. On the day we went I'd guess it was about a 50-50 split between those wearing masks and those not. The train features seating inside and outside and seemed to offer a fair amount of room to spread out. Dogs are also allowed to ride then train. My mother in law brought along Bijou and you'll see this little white fluffball featured in the video below.

Tickets were $40 a person and there is some light food and beverage service onboard. And yes, there are restrooms on the train as well. All in all, it was a great trip and I'd recommend it to train buffs and anyone who likes to occasionally ride the rails. It was certainly a nice break from all the stuff going on in the world right now. If you can't make it up to Leadville in the next couple of weeks (the weather seems to still be cooperating for trips like this) just sit back and come along for the ride in the video. Oh, and if I ever come out of retirement I want the engineer job on a railroad like this one...

Fall in my neck of the woods

October 1st. Sitting here in a sweatshirt and jeans rather than shorts and tee shirt and almost - almost - turned on the heat this morning when I got up. Back when I was working I would be getting up before the sunrise at this time of year and on my commute I could always tell what time of the year it was as I watched the eastern sunrise move north along the horizon in spring and early summer and then start it’s leisurely jaunt south as fall settled in.

This year of course is like no other. Between COVID, civil unrest in the streets, and it being an election year there’s enough stress to overwhelm almost anyone. Watched the first “Presidential” (it was anything but) debate and all I can say is ouch, just ouch. What a painful experience. I don’t care which side you’re on, vote for whoever you want, but if this is the best America can do then we have a bigger problem than a pesky (if 204,000 lives lost can be called pesky) virus and people marching in rightful protest.

But that’s not what I’m here for today. I’m extremely fortunate to be able to spend much of my free time in the Colorado high country and I don’t think any time of the year is more enjoyable than early fall. The aspen have been changing colors for a couple of weeks now, the temperatures, especially in the mornings, are downright cool, and it seems as if Nature is taking a pause, a silent breather between the hustle and bustle of busy summer and the soon to come somnolent snows of winter.

In the video below you’ll tag along for a meandering trip capturing some of the sights of a fall between 8,000 and 12,000 feet (there’s a reason they call it the high country...). Some of my favorite spots in the state include the areas around Leadville and Twin Lakes, Monarch and Cottonwood Passes, Taylor Park and the Taylor River, and Gunnison and Crested Butte. By the way, they finished paving Cottonwood Pass out of Buena Vista and its a beautiful road trip well worth your time. Monarch Pass is always spectacular in the fall, especially the east side, but just before the top we like to head over “Old Monarch Pass” which is still a dirt road (suitable for passenger cars and SUV’s). We went over Old Monarch Pass last weekend while filming the video and there must have been a recent wind storm as several still-green pine trees had fallen across the road though someone had already come through and chain-sawed a path so vehicles could still get through. 

Once down the Pass we turned right on the beautiful road to the little (“tiny” might be a better descriptor) town of White Pine tucked 10 miles off the highway. Back in 1878 White Pine’s rich silver deposits were beginning to be mined. Though never quite a boomtown it was certainly busier than it is today and that’s fine by me. People still live in White Pine mainly during the summer months and I’m not sure if anyone really winters over as winter road maintenance is minimal making access difficult. On a crisp but sunny Autumn day however, its as beautiful and tranquil spot as any in Colorado. There’s even a small historic cemetery where some of those folks who lived out their final days in White Pine  in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s now enjoy their eternal rest under the shade of a beautiful aspen grove and whispering pines.

Heading over Black Sage Pass, still on dirt roads, towards Waunita Hot Springs takes you through some of the prettiest aspen in the state. The day we drove it we didn’t see another single vehicle between White Pine and Waunita Hot Springs (yes, there is still a hot springs pool though it’s use seems to be primarily reserved for private groups and events). As you crest Black Sage Pass the vistas open up giving some spectacular views.

Gunnison is a town I could easily live in, at least during the month of September! We always take a drive just outside of town along Ohio Creek (you can make this a long loop to Crested Butte over Kebler Pass either by car or bike). There’s apparently a lot of wealth in Gunnison County and along Ohio Creek it’s on display as you can see some incredible ranch homes the equal of anything you’d see in far more crowded Aspen. 

Well, this blog is getting a little long so I’ll let the video speak for itself. It seems each year I try to capture the feeling of what Fall is like in Colorado and each year I wish I could do the season justice. I'm starting to realize how hard that is, but still I try. There’s still time to head up high to see Colorado’s version of fall foliage in a blaze of golds, oranges, reds, and yellows. Oh, and the mountain views aren’t half bad either. It’s easy to get caught up in life in Denver and forget that just a couple of hours away there’s a whole other world that may not take you to a different state but will definitely put you in a different state of mind.

The times, they are a-changin'

Come gather 'round, people

Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters

Around you have grown

And accept it that soon

You'll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you is worth savin'

And you better start swimmin'

Or you'll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin'

Bob Dylan

Mr. Dylan's prophetic words certainly rang true this Labor Day weekend. Colorado saw temps from the 90's plummet to freezing conditions and snow. Wildfires raging in our state and those to the west brought flakes of ash that were soon replaced by snowflakes. And it was just the first week of September. I was fortunate, along with apparently the majority of the population of the front range, to spend the holiday weekend up in the Colorado High Country. From stand-up-paddleboarding at Twin Lakes to crowd-watching along the main street of Leadville there were tons of people everywhere. Fortunately the smoke where I was wasn't horrible until Monday when you would have thought there was a fire right next door. For the first time in my life I actually didn't ride my beloved bike because the smoke was so thick. It actually gave you a sore throat just breathing and the ubiquitous COVID mask actually served a secondary purpose as a filter against the wildfire particulates. 

One of my nieces and her friend spent a couple of days with us but left before Monday's smoke. The picture above is my niece doing a handstand on her paddle board, something I, being the wimp that I am, did not even attempt to emulate. Then again, I know from first-hand experience how chilly the waters of Twin Lakes are even when the air temps head north of 80 degrees. They are both young adults and it makes one wonder what the world will be like over the course of their lifetimes. 2020 will forever be remembered for COVID but as bad as that virus has proven to be it may pale compared with some of the other things going on that my niece Payton and her friend Kaylee will be dealing with long after I'm gone. 

Today's Denver Post had an article on climate change and how its only going to get worse. I know, old news right? But just consider some of the items the article pointed out:

• A record amount of California is burning
• Parts of Oregon that usually never burn are also alight
• Colorado's wildfires have set new records for acreage burned
• The Atlantic has seen 17 named tropical storms, a record for this time of year
• Last month it hit 130 degrees (what does that even feel like?) in Death Valley
• Phoenix, AZ hit records on Sunday of 112 degrees after seeing 115 degrees the preceding day. There hadn't been a day below 100 degrees since July 23rd
• Siberia, not known for its balmy climate, saw temps of 100 degrees on June 20th

And, according to Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb "It's going to get a LOT worse" in years to come. There may even come a time, in twenty or fifty years, folks look back on the 2020's as the good old days. Hard to fathom that living in this moment, but who knows?

And while I can't match the list above with my own observations I can attest to the fact that the Colorado Aspen are starting to change color early this year (it seems I've been saying that for the last couple of years so maybe I am seeing a trend?). Don't believe me, just watch the video I shot this last weekend in one grove of Aspen near Forebay Reservoir above Twin Lakes. As Bob says, the times they are a-changin'.

The journey continues...

 I had promised to give an update once I was firmly ensconced in Cardiac Rehab which had been delayed for a couple of months when they shut down for COVID. Well, I've been going for about a month and a half so thought I'd share what it's like. The schedule is three times a week which for me means Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and each session is two hours long. On Monday's there's an hour-long educational lecture on healthy lifestyle choices, on Wednesday there's a cooking class on preparing healthy meals, and on Friday there's an informational video on everything from stress management to how to properly exercise. After the first hour we head over to the gym where we're hooked up to monitors and then we warm up for five minutes and then do 15 minutes of exercise within our target heart rate ranges. Then after the fifteen minutes is up we switch to another piece of equipment for another 15 minutes. Then there is stretching, cool down, and then we're done for the day. There are always exercise physiologists and RN's watching over us and due to COVID restrictions there's only 6 to 8 of us in each class. They also monitor blood pressure before, during, and after exercise. As each week goes by you do find yourself able to tackle substantially harder workouts. On days I don't go to Rehab I'm out on my bike for one to two hours or taking a long walk. 

This last weekend I was up in Leadville and rode for the first time since April at high altitude (Leadville brags about being the two mile high city). We did the Mineral Belt Trail which can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it. I took it fairly easy and used as n excuse the making of the video below. Still, it felt really good to be back riding the "Belt". If you have never done the Mineral Belt Trail its really a special treat as it winds through the Leadville Mining district with lots of signage along the route sharing the history and fun facts of what you are seeing. As much as I appreciate Cardiac Rehab, I'll take riding the Colorado High Country any day! Plus it was a nice break from the heat down in Denver, with temps in the 70's when we were riding and hardly a cloud in the blue Colorado sky. Enjoy the video as you come along for the ride!

Anniversaries and Passings

Its been a while since my last post and that's o.k. I didn't want to add to the cacophony of COVID-related hyperbole or the national debate on racism that I fear will still be with us long after the pandemic is relegated to its place as a historical footnote.

This blog will celebrate happier themes that still deal with life and death which, apart from taxes, seem to be the universal constants. Last night my wife and I took a jaunt up to Genesee Mountain Park to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I have now been married for 10,950 days or 262,800 hours but who's counting. That's 30 years folks, and best of all, all of them to the same lady who caught my eye and my heart so long ago. So long ago yet it seems just the blink of an eye. Like any couple we've had our ups and downs, our highs and lows, good times and bad times, for better and for worse, richer and poorer, in sickness and in health but I'd do it all over again. Don't ask me for any tips or secrets to making it this long when so many relationships fall apart along the highway of time. I have a dear friend, Cecelia, who is known to share words of wisdom and she often says the key to marital bliss is "Happy Wife, Happy Life." I can't argue with that but from the male perspective I'd perhaps amend it to "Happy Spouse, Happy House" since it takes two to tango. All I really know is that after 30 years I'm still very much in love with the same person with whom I've shared all the travails and blessings of a life spent together.  

On a another note our family marked the passing of one of our own a week or so ago when my wife lost her father and my mother-in-law lost her husband of 55 years. Yes, that's a sad thing but he lived a life long and blessed and the night before he left us he was surrounded by his family, daughter and son, wife, and the apples of his eye, his four grandkids. I had almost preceded him back in April so while heartbroken at his leaving us I count myself fortunate to have been able to spend time with him I otherwise would not have had. 

Back in April I had promised myself to try to live each day to it's fullest. I knew full well when I made that pledge it would be difficult to achieve that goal and so it has proven to be. But perhaps it's in the effort that the dream is realized. Maybe simply trying does count a little bit after all. I don't know. Still, it's all I can do. One of the folks I still admire to this day from my work life (and there are not that many still standing upon their lofty pedestals) used to say that showing up was half the battle. Simple words, but for me, I fully intend to continue showing up for as long as I can. And to my Sophie who apparently destined to be my partner in this journey called life, you've got a date for 30 years from now, same place, same time.

Phew...

By the time you read this you’ve survived yet another 4th of July so congratulations. Some folks are not quite so proud of the good old Red White and Blue this year what with COVID and protests left right and center. Heck, there was even an article in the Denver Post pointing out that as professional sports get underway there will be intense pressure on athletes to kneel rather than stand for our National Anthem. No matter which side you come down on we can probably all agree that these are challenging times for a country celebrating its 244th birthday.

How was your neighborhood last night? Did it seem that there were a lot more fireworks going off than normal? At our house our two huskies were under the bed hiding from the whistling and booming from around noon until after midnight. Kudos to all those who felt obligated to fill in for the professional fireworks shows that were cancelled all around town. You did yourselves proud. One of the local T.V. Stations had their helicopter up after dark and you couldn’t have known that there were any cancelled fireworks shows what with all the ‘rockets red glare’ shooting skyward all over town. I should have taken out what was left of my 401(K) and invested in the local fireworks stand. Again, regardless of where you stand on the hot topic of fireworks, you’ve got to admit it’s incongruous that in most of the urban counties around Denver it’s perfectly legal to sell all manner of fireworks from your local stand but illegal to actually use them. But perhaps it’s fitting in this most unique of years that so much of the population chose to so blatantly disregard the law when law enforcement itself has lost so much respect. 

Anyway, I really didn’t set out to write a blog about what’s wrong in America this Fourth of July, 2020. There are too many other folks doing that most capably. America may be 244, and some may say she’s getting a little long in the tooth, but I think this grand old dame still has some kick in her yet. For me, as I sit here writing this with two dogs still shaking in fear in the bright light of a new day, I’ll just offer up a far more mellow Happy Birthday wish to this land that despite its faults and foibles still represents one of the grandest experiments in the history of humankind. For those who have seen my offerings on Instagram you know I love to take pictures of nature in general and flowers specifically. Many of these are from my wife’s garden but some are truly wild flowers encountered this year in my wanderings and I think they are the best. So here’s to you U.S.A., have a flowerful fourth!

Box Creek Placer Mine: Then and Now

In my last blog I had mentioned that there was a new gold mining operation going on just south of Leadville that is capitalizing on the leftovers of a dredging operation from a century ago. In the video below you'll see a bird's-eye view of the current placer mine. Today's dig relies on large dump trucks and front-end loaders to deliver the massive amounts of dirt and gravel to the trommel and sluice box that sort the material and collect the gold but a hundred years ago you would have seen a gold dredge at this site. I've seen and visited dredges from Fairplay to Alaska but knew next to nothing about the dredging operation along Corske and Box Creeks that are two of the myriad of streams coming down from the eastern flank of Mount Elbert, Colorado's highest 14'er at 14,440 feet. 

On Sunday, October 10, 1915 the Derry Ranch Gold Dredging Company, owned and operated by the New York Engineering Company began operation of a dredge of their own design and manufacture first on Corske Creek and after 1923 on Box Creek. It would continue operating until 1926 when it was subsequently dismantled ultimately to be shipped to South America.  The dredge was equipped with 6 cubic foot steel buckets electrically driven (power supplied by the Colorado Light and Power Company) and in its first two months of operation handled 142,900 cubic yards of gravel and recovered $69,552 in gold ($1.78 million in 2020 dollars). 

Now, if you are not familiar with what a dredge actually is picture a floating barge with a digging conveyor belt of buckets at the front end (that can be moved up and down and side to side) to dig into the slope ahead of the dredge. In the middle is a revolving perforated cylinder and screen (trommel) which washes and sizes the material with the over-sized material being carried via another conveyor belt at the rear of the dredge where it is dumped and left behind as a tailing. The smaller screened gravel is processed via a sluice where the gold is actually recovered.

As the dredge moves forward in the pond (either natural or man-made) in which it floats it continues to process material from the front while discarding tailings from the rear so the size of the required pond remains relatively constant. A huge digging spud holds the dredge in place and can be raised when the dredge is moved forward.

Over the time period the Derry Dredge operated it collected 39,000 ounces of gold. At the time the dredge was operating the United States government set the price of gold at $20.17 an ounce. That equates to $786,630 in 1920 dollars. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics $1 in 1920 is equivalent in purchasing power to $12.82 in 2020. So those $786,000 1920 dollars would be worth a little over $10 million in today's world. Not bad, but consider this - unlike when the Derry Dredge was mining and the price of gold was set by our government, in today's world the price of gold is free to fluctuate based on demand. In June 2020 the price of gold is around $1,761 per ounce. Those 39,000 ounces at today's price would be worth more than $68 million. Thus the incentive to see if there is any gold in the tailings left behind by the Derry Dredge. One Colorado company, Titan AU out of Greeley, is betting there is. 

In December 2018 Titan AU filed an application with the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board to commence placer mining in March 2019 with a proposed date of completion of 2044. The proposal indicated the land would be returned to rangeland and ponds after mining is finished. There was some local opposition to a large scale gold mine in the area but if the company truly reclaims the land as promised it will more closely resemble what it looked like before the Derry Dredge began operation 105 years ago. From a historical perspective one might not appreciate that the reclamation done by the current mine operators will also actually erase the signs of the Derry Dredge tailings. Once the reclamation is complete future generations may look at the site and have no real comprehension of what happened there. So if you are a history buff or simply interested in what a placer gold mine in full operation looks like, now is your chance. To get there, drive south out of Leadville on Highway 24 and then turn right onto County Road 24. I think the best views are from County Road 24A which parallels the south side of the mine. Bring the binoculars!

According to the Leadville Herald Democrat the Box Creek Placer mine sits on 950 acres including land leased from the City of Aurora and the Colorado State Land Board. The State Land Board is the second largest landowner in Colorado (the Federal Government is the largest) and manages their land in large part for the financial support of Colorado's public schools and other public institutions. 

Lots of resources were used in writing this blog. History Colorado, the Denver Public Library, the Leadville Herald Democrat were all very helpful in doing research. Perhaps most helpful in learning about the early days of the Derry Dredge was a hard to find book published by the actual owners of the Derry Dredge, the New York Engineering Company, titled "The Business of Gold Dredging" in 1922. The book provides a wealth of information not only on the Derry Dredge but on the dredging business in general in the early 1900's. It's a fascinating and fun read for any history buff and can be found here. 

And as promised, here's a short video on the Derry Dredge and the Box Creek Placer Mine then and now. Enjoy!

Can you imagine?

Coloradans love their High Country. And each has their own individual  reason. Some like to take in the grand vistas, some like to hike/bike/fish/camp/ski. I increasingly find myself seeking out the quiet peaceful places where I can look around, close my eyes, listen as the wind wafts through the pine and aspen, and get transported back to days long gone and long forgotten.

The High Country around Leadville is dotted with mines. The remains of most of them are almost gone but here and there enough remains to pique the curiosity of what they must have looked like when in their prime. With names like the Matchless, Julia Fisk, Young America, Painter Boy one wonders what significance those monikers had to the miners of those days. Some evoke sweethearts, wives, and loved ones. Others reminisce of countries, States, and towns hailed from or left behind. Others are aspirational while some make you scratch your noggin wondering what were they thinking.

The decaying wood and stone remains silent, giving no hint as to how meaningful those names were in the hearts of those men (and yes, a few women) who gave their blood and sweat in hopes of  striking it rich. This time of year wildflowers share the stage with the remnants of mines that made Leadville the richest square mile on earth at its peak. Not so wealthy today though there still are active mines operating. One of the newest, just

south of town, is the Box Creek Placer Mine. This site saw dredging in the early twentieth century and the new miners, using modern techniques, are going through millions of tons of dredged up rock gleaning the gold that older technologies could not. Their claim lasts until 2044 and from watching the size and scale of the operations grow in the last year there is enough gold to be had to justify spending a lot of money and effort. Dreams of striking it rich are alive and well to this day.

For me, I'm content musing on once was as I sit among the beauty and solitude at 10,000 feet. Here's some of the view...

Here and there...

Are you getting tired of COVID? I am. That's not to say that I'm not still taking prudent precautions (wearing a mask in public and practicing social distancing) and I have yet to visit a restaurant or bar now that they are able to reopen. The gym we go to just reopened Monday and they put up some pictures of the occasion. Not a mask in site and social distancing seemed non-existent. Class size is however limited to a maximum of 9 participants in rooms that used to accommodate 30 plus. While that may be nice for the 9 folks lucky enough to get in it raises inevitable questions of the value of maintaining our memberships for the rest of us.

The Red line represents Google 
searches for COVID

The airwaves and social media are still crowded with COVID this and COVID that, but as tends to happen with any news item it inevitably is forced to eventually make room for other news events. Of course, the predominant other non-COVID item that is front and center right now is the phenomenon of the George Floyd death at the hands of police and the resulting, and continuing protests. Google statistics on COVID show the drop in people searching for COVID-related topics since the peak in March while those for George Floyd continue to skyrocket even surpassing, I'm sure to his chagrin, searches for Donald Trump.

Which will we be talking about a year from now? COVID, Floyd, or Trump? Or none of the above? I hope COVID is not still dominating the headlines in June 2021 and there's a chance that November might take Mr. Trump out of the spotlight. On the other hand, if in 2021 we're not still talking at some level about the repercussions of Mr. Floyd's death then perhaps shame on us.

Meanwhile life goes on. I'm still waiting, thanks to - guess what - COVID- for my cardiac rehab to begin. While miniscule in the grand scheme of things my little heart event in April was a big bump on my road through this thing called life and I'm treating the fact that I'm still alive as a second chance at living it to the fullest. I continue to be a walking fool as it's the only exercise (other than my wife's Honey Do list) that I'm ok'd to do. I've had the chance to get up to the High Country in the last week and surprisingly feel very good at 10,000 feet. In part its due to it being cooler up there than the hot temps Denver has been experiencing but I also think the repair they made to my heart by removing the 99% blockage in one of my arteries has actually made it easier for me to breath 'up high'. 

And when I say it's cooler up there, yesterday we woke to four inches of fresh Rocky Mountain powder. The day before we did a 5 mile hike through the Leadville Mining District on a picture perfect Colorado day with temps in the 60's. Here's a short video recap of some of that walk (I'm not allowed to 'hike' yet so between you and me we'll just consider it a wee little stroll). There's even a short clip of a young lady participating in my favorite activity of mountain biking and perhaps from the clip you'll understand why I miss it so. 

I had also put up a video detailing what actually happened to me in April that landed me in the Intensive Care Unit at Littleton Adventist Hospital. The video above is certainly a more happy subject but somebody might at some point go through what I experienced so thought I'd share...

I'm certainly looking forward to making more of the happy type of videos that I usually put up. If only 2020 will cooperate!