Michigan or Bust!

 But we didn't make it out of Colorado!  We started on our trip to Michigan and parts beyond but found so many photo opportunities to slow us down along the way.  This small cattle drive had claimed  one lane of the highway in South Fork  which was much better than  the traffic jam in Colorado Springs where we found that commuters had claimed all lanes of the highway.  We are settled in for the night at the Comfort Inn in Limon, having soaked our tired bodies in the inviting hot tub. And we had ice cream for dinner!  (We're senior citizens now, so we can do that. . ) Stay tuned for the further adventures of Tom and Sandy. . . SF

Snow for Mancos Mush IV

The slow advent of the snow season has people wondering whether there'll be enough snow for the mushers to run on Feb. 9 and 10, the dates of Mancos Mush IV. We're here to say it sure looks good at this point! We went up beyond Transfer Campground this afternoon and there was solid snowpack on about 99 percent of the route we covered above the point where the races started in 2006. Most of the course is even higher than we were, it's still early in the winter and we feel very optimistic about good sledding. Doing snow dances still won't hurt, but it looks pretty good (and beautiful!) up there right now.

Sandy got this shot of the snow-packed course just above Transfer, and I captured the scene around the Aspen Guard Station higher up.

Sunday morning sparkle

On Sunday morning, reversing the route that we had driven through blinding snow just a few hours before was beautiful ... sparkling snow, bright blue sky and peaks playing peek-a-boo through the wispy clouds! Sitting in silence in meeting for worship, thinking back about the years in which I have felt driven by obligations and appointments, I'm so glad to have reached a different state of mind. I still have obligations and appointments, but I do take time to smell the roses. Or, to adjust to the season ... Delight in the sparkle!

Delight was definitely part of the experience in the afternoon, too, when Sandy and I caught the matinee performance of the Mancos Valley Chorus Christmas program. They do such a good job, and they have such fun! It was standing room only, as I imagine their other two performances will be, too. I was sad to hear that the Cortez Choralaires had folded after so many decades of singing together, but it was nice to see a few folks from that group had decided to pursue their love of community singing with the Mancos Valley Chorus, under the sparkly professional direction of Kriss Larsen.

May not post to this blog for a few days ... gotta get ready for the upcoming trip. Still got lots of people to see about sponsorships for the Mancos Mush, too. Saturday night's snow certainly boosted visions of dog sleds gliding over the snow! TV

Midnight mini-blizzard

I've taken 3,000-mile winter trips and encountered the worst weather of the journey in the 10 miles between Mancos and Hesperus. That was true last night, too. 

Sandy arrived at the La Plata County airport east of Durango at 11 p.m. The weather there wasn't too bad (thank goodness, or she would probably have spent the night in Albuquerque!), but it got worse as we traveled west from Durango. 

By the time we reached Hesperus, the snow was blowing into the headlights so ferociously that we were creeping along at 20-25 miles an hour, just trying to stay in the roadway. Fortunately, the CDOT plows had already been both ways (bless those folks!), so there was a small line of piled snow at each edge of the highway to guide us. The lighted angel Christmas decoration at the Montoya ranch was certainly a welcome break in those miles of snow-in-the-face. 

The fury of the blizzard lessened slightly as we went through Thompson Park, but then it resumed full-force as we started up Mancos Hill. As we started around the curve to go down the west slope of Mancos Hill, the banshees must have taken control of the wind; it was blowing this way, that way, swirling ... a maelstrom of blowing snow. Though the accumulated snow gave pretty good traction, I crept down the slope, mindful of the many fatalities that have occurred there in the past.

'Twas well after midnight when we got home ... and darned glad to be there! It doesn't look like our total snowfall was very much ... just a couple of inches here at the house ... but it was wild while it lasted! TV

Flickr Web pages

I just sent news of this blog to a buncha relatives and friends, then thought maybe I should include the URL for the Flickr site where we have posted pictures. So, have done so in the profile. To save time, it's www.flickr.com/photos/waggin. TV

Mesa Verde in the mists

I drove into Mesa Verde yesterday afternoon. Cold, rainy, misty. It was a different place than in the sunshine we're so used to. The clouds were walking, and trees were silhouetted against the mist, canyons disappeared into fog, etc. Shivery, too. 

Rained practically all night, but didn't turn to snow at 7,200 feet. When it clears, though, I'll bet we'll see a welcome blanket of white on the La Platas! Tom

Navajo Canyon in the mists, Nov. 30, 2007