July 30, 2025

Another hot day here below!  We were almost ready to sell the RZR because of heat and dust. I read recently how removing the windshield might help. So I took it off and put the half one on but had to raise it up about 4” above the hood due to the glass w/s brackets. I headed up to go up Cushman. It was better right away concerning dust. But, still hot but it was a hot day anyway. Once on Cushman I decided to take the halfer off. Strapped it on the bag in back and noticed an immediate difference. Sure there was wind in my eyes but I’d have that from the sides anyway. So I rode on up and went over to the Dry Creek overlook, then on up to the top. It clouded up and was very nice. That road has really gotten rough though. Lots of loose big rocks going up onto Cushman. At the end I wondered about the trail from Cushman over to Transfer. It’s always been too nasty for me to try. I decided to walk down it and up the other side to see for sure as it looked well traveled. The Transfer side is very very steep at the beginning but looked doable. So, over I went and had no problems. I hit the throttle pretty hard for that first part and only felt the front end getting light but not leaving the ground. Once on Transfer it started to rain so I put on my raincoat and pants. It never did rain hard, but it sure blew and thundered a lot. Zipped back down Transfer and got to load up in a steady light rain. All in all a great day. We will keep the RZR for now. I’m getting better at keeping it from freewheeling too, which is good of course. Iphone

Bear scat

Bear track

 July 26, 2025

Joann went with Sharon to Cowboy Up at Ridgway.  Too many people and too hot for my liking.  I went up P77.  Not many critters - it's been too hot.  Saw a couple jackrabbits and a few deer including fawns.  It was fun.  Nikon P950

 July 25, 2025

Allen and I went today to Sanborn and what we call the Gutshall Homestead. He took his metal detector and we spent all day digging up stuff. Horseshoes, treadle machine seed support, pick ax head, some sort of what we think are iron wagon rope tie downs or something similar. Everything good was buried except one bottle we found. It was a lot of fun and quite hot. Lots of sweating. Tired from all the ups and downs and digging. Iphone

 July 23, 2025

What a wonderful day. Joann had a hair appt so I took off up the mountain. I went hiking on the west side of the Hornet Trail that goes over to Antone Spring and beyond. A motorcyclist buzzed by me on the trail, but no one else. It was partly cloudy and in the low 70s. Perfectly acceptable though I like it about 15 degrees cooler. Didn’t see any critters. I only walked about four miles or so. Still lots of flowers and surprisingly green back in the shadows. It had rained up there yesterday so the trail was perfect. I stopped for some video at the pond by the Nucla Road.

This evening we did the P77 ride. Saw a few elk, lots of deer and even a couple jackrabbits. Saw one group of five bucks. A couple were pretty fair. Saw a few fawns.

All in all a great day….shinin times!  Mountain time is good with others but sometimes I need to be alone. It refreshes my soul and spirit. No cathedral built by human hands can compare with His mountain cathedral.  Praise the Lord!  Nikon Z50 II

July 17, 2025

Pretty warm today again. No rain, but there were a few clouds around and more humid. This evening we went up P77. Saw a funky bull elk and several deer. Big Cimarron was slop from the mag and apparently a bit of rain so we turned around after briefly getting on it. Very warm tonight. Nikon Z50 II

 

 July 16, 2025

Very Smokey still this morning. Went to Delta and filled up on their cheap gas. Then up to Paonia and over Kebler Pass. It was quite hazy and very warm up the west side. It got cloudy and cooled off quite a bit on the east side. No critters but one small buck wading in a pond on the side of the road. He was eating that algae/moss like it was a delicacy.  He was entertaining. It was very busy up there and Crested Butte was the usual zoo. We had to drive around several blocks to find a place to park. We walked both sides of Elk Ave and then moved on. We got into quite a nice shower between Crusty and Gunnysack. Then we hit more rain coming down Cerro. Praise the Lord. Surely it must have rained on the Black Canyon fire. This evening we were able to walk in Cimarron Creek…first time this summer. It was cloudy and 74 with a bit of wind. EVERYBODY was outside. So good after all the heat. Most of our smoke is now coming from the Unaweep fire. It’s 14,000 acres.  Nikon Z50 II

 July 15, 2025

Another very hot day. We couldn’t see across town all day due to smoke. Now the fire in Unaweep Canyon is raging…over 4,000 acres. I took off in the afternoon and went up 90 to the upper Buck trail and went for a brief hike. It was perfect for the first half…cool, cloudy, and wind blowing. It even sprinkled a bit of rain. But then the sun came out, the wind stopped and it was then extremely hot to me. I felt like I was in a plastic bag. The Jeep said it was 80. The trail was a couple inches of powder…very dusty. Apparently it rained a bit more down the way as the mag was sloppy. Had to head to the car wash when I got to town. I hate that nasty stuff. Kellen, Rikki, Katelyn and Dylan came for supper. It’s now time for bed and still 79. Come on fall.  Nikon Z50 II

 July 14, 2025

Another scorcher. Our fence thermometer said 102. Went and got a VIN inspection on the Gladiator and then went and got plates. Fire still raging and the wind fired up again when the clouds came over. It was actually a nice break from this relentless heat. Even sprinkled a few drops on me when mowing the lawn. Strong smell of smoke this evening. The Sowbelly fire stirred up again and the fire near Old Lasal Utah is now over 10,000 acres.

 July 13, 2025

Another hot day. Went to Delta to visit the old folks after church.  After we got home the wind fired up big time from the SE. Some lightning. We headed up on Kinnikin again as we knew the fire would be coming over the mountain toward Bostwick. They’ve evacuated all the folks up there. Sure enough it was running up over the top and already well down the hill. There’s not going to be much left up there for trees or brush. Not sure where the elk and deer will go. This morning you could hardly see smoke up there. That all changed.  No photos - only video.

 July 11, 2025

We wanted to escape the heat and smoke so it seemed the only direction was north to Grand Mesa. Went up the Surface Creek Road, then on over to Neversweat and around to Big Meadows. Then we followed the road (on which we’d never been) on around back to the main Cottonwoods road. We stopped at a pretty little lake I’d never heard of…Fred DeCamp Reservoir. There were a few people there. It was extremely dusty and very busy all over up there. Grand Mesa is not much fun anymore due to the crowds. I’m glad I was able to live in a time when you could roam all day up there and not see anyone. Those days are gone there and most everywhere in Colofornia. After supper at home we headed up P77. Only saw one deer. They’re putting mag on the main road so we didn’t venture far on it. Saw Kellen, Rikki, and Katelyn on P77. Afterward we met Garrett and Ryan at Freddie’s for ice cream.  No photos - only shot video.

 July 10, 2025

What a day. Woke up to some Thunder and another scorcher day and a Red Flag warning to boot. Wildfires were sparked all around us. Black Canyon south rim fire 1600 acres…Uncompahgre on Tatum ridge 2000 acres. LaSals fire 4000 acres. Little Cimarron fire 50 acres. 11 fires around. Fortunately only a few have blown up. Very smokey. We drove up on Waterdog to view things. Couldn’t see much with the haze but an crazy sunset.  Nikon Z50 II

 July 9, 2025

Went with Allen up on High Mesa. Walked out to the first meadow from the end of the road. Only saw one deer. Saw a yellow warbler and Allen saw a western tanager down by the river. Couldn’t get photos though. Hot day. Near 100 here and even 80 down in the bottom of Little Cimarron. Multiple fire bans are on. It’s been extremely hot and dry. It was quite green up on top though. No logging up there this year. Yay!