Show Me the Ka

Chugwater, Wyoming

We drove over Cameron Pass yesterday. My GPS said the summit was 10,300 feet. The surrounding mountains still went up another half mile or so.


We found a campground on a river in the Roosevelt National Forest. It was on the eastern slope of the Rockies about 30 miles from Fort Collins. The river was rushing downhill and swollen from the above average snowfall. The river noise was conducive to sleeping. No electricity there, so we played Scrabble after dinner. I added an “A” to “jar” going down and placed a “K” in front of the “A” on a triple letter score. Mrs. Phred challenged the “ka”, of course, but I was a gentleman and failed to point out that an unsuccessful challenge normally requires a turn forfeit. It’s rare that I win against her. Ka is the part of a person that leaves the body after death, according to the old Egyptians.


Our last day in Steamboat included tennis, a ride on the alpine slide called “The Howler”, a two hour raft trip on the Colorado, a visit to a bookstore and then dinner in Glenwood Springs with Kim and Randy. Mrs. Phred met Kim online. Randy is an architect who wants to build his own RV. Kim just won a weight lifting competition. She was the only one entered in her class, but I’m impressed anyway. Randy is 6’-5”, a former Army Ranger. They were interesting, I’m glad we went.


Dinner was at a microbrewery in Glenwood Springs about 125 miles from Steamboat. I ordered a sampler tray of eight beers.


Mrs. Phred drives home from Glenwood Springs. She tends to run the Toyota about 30 MPH faster over the mountain curves than I do, constantly running up and down though the five-speed manual gearbox. I try to read and clutch the sissy bar at the same time.


You remember that heel pain I was telling you about? I went to WebMD online and came up with a diagnosis of plantar facilitis. That’s a problem with the tendon in the arch attached to the heel. It happens to older people who are a little overweight and who play tennis, jog or walk a lot. They suggest ice packs, stretching exercises and a change in activities. For example, one could substitute bicycling for hiking and Scrabble for tennis.

We are in Wyoming today. We want to go to South Dakota and see the Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore and the Cave of the Winds National Park tomorrow. Maybe I’ll get the bikes down off the back of the RV where they’ve been hanging for the last two months and gathering gravel road dust.

Firecloud Endorses Obama

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

The map below is a county-by-county representation of the 2004 American presidential election. The deep red counties went at least 70% republican and the deep blue were 70% democrat. In between are various shades of purple. The map is adjusted for population which accounts for the strange shape.



The Firecloud Report is endorsing Obama over McCain. I am throwing my financial support to Obama and went online this morning to make my contribution. We are set to receive absentee ballots and have switched from the Green Party to yellow-dog Democrat..

Virginia is normally considered a red state, so Obama's choice to launch his general campaign there is a statement about his strategy and optimism.

While there are parallels between 1968 and 2008 (an unpopular war, an unpopular president), there are also distinct differences (an economy in a deflationary housing death spiral, the dollar a joke, rising unemployment, spiraling energy and food prices and credit and financial markets locked up).

In November, we will be able to say to the world, "Hey, Y'all. Look who we just elected."

You have to give the Republican robber barons credit for persuading the poor and the uneducated to consistently vote against their own self interest by creating phony issues like gay marriage. However, as one notable Republican once observed, "You can't fool all the people, all the time."

You Can Leave Your Hat On

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Katie sent me an e-mail and suggested Dr. Scholl's heel pads for the bone spur in my left heel. Katie and I went though Air Force basic training at the same time in the summer of 63 in south Texas. My father and my mother's three brothers got leave in early 1943. By late 1943 my three cousins and I, including Katie, popped out in Ithaca at about the same time; your classic war babies (not boomers). It's nice to have a support group. I think I'm the youngest by a few days.


We went to the top of Storm Mountain today to check out the extensive ski lifts and gondolas. This is one of the premier Colorado ski destinations, along with Aspen and Vail. The town is surrounded by ski trails and ski jumps. As we take the Gondola up, it suddenly shudders to a stop, leaving us swinging at 300 feet. Eventually the cable starts again. I'm reassured somewhat by the Swiss manufacturer.


This hummingbird was up at the Steamboat Lake State Park. It has been raining the last two days, so we didn't do much yesterday aside from the drive up to the park.


One of the things to see in Steamboat is Fish Creek Falls. We went there early before the downtown shops opened. I'm anxious to see the legendary F.W. Light store. Their Stetson hats range from $4.98 to $500.00. They've been selling hats here for 103 years.


They have a rodeo here every Friday and Saturday, starting next week. The alpine slide next to the rodeo grounds descends 400 feet over a 2,400 foot run. It's open tomorrow. You get a little sled and ride a plastic shute down. If you go to fast, your sled leaves the shute. We had thought to leave in the morning, but if we do, I'll never ride the slide. Mrs. Phred and I discuss this and come to the depressing realization that there are many things we'll never see or do. We want it all. We want it now. So we will pull out about noon after tennis and a few rides on the slide in the morning.


So many hats...so little time.


Here's my new hat.

Baby, take off your coat...(real slow)
Baby, take off your shoes...(here, I'll take your shoes)
Baby, take off your dress
Yes, yes, yes
You can leave your hat on
You can leave your hat on
You can leave your hat on
-Randy Newman

Hummingbirds Can Fly at 8,000 Feet

Vega Lake, Colorado

I got up this morning and stepped out to our lakeside campground in the high and remote Vega State Park. My red camera strap was being dive-bombed by dozens of nectar-crazed hummingbirds. I retrieved the camera and held up a pink plastic rose. A stream of hummingbirds flew up to my hand and dipped their beaks into the plastic.


We had intended to camp on top of the 10,000 foot flat-topped Grand Mesa. We dragged the Toyota up the mountain for two hours. When we arrived all the campgrounds were closed and under ten feet of snow. So we went to "Plan B" and spent two nights at 8,000 feet at Vega Lake.


I went for a four-mile hike in the early morning by myself and saw some turkey vultures drying their wings, a Northern Flicker woodpecker and sub-alpine meadows full of wildflowers. Lately, when I hike, my left heel becomes very painful for about 36 hours. It's disturbing. I've read that when you get old, your body starts falling apart. Aside from the results from a few motorcycle crashes, my body has served me well, up to now.


We've driven several hundred miles now in the Colorado Rockies. The state is amazingly green compared to brown Utah, only a few hundred mile to the west. I put it down to the adiabatic process. That is the process by which air drops it's moisture as it is lifted over an elevation as it flows over a mountain range. There are places in Hawaii that get hundreds of inches of annual rainfall as the tropical air get lifted and cooled by flowing over a volcano. I seem to recall that air tends to be two degrees C. cooler for each thousand feet of additional elevation.


We've moved on to Steamboat Springs. There is a lot to do here. Our new GPS sent us down two hours of dusty, washboard, switch-back roads this morning. We made the mistake of asking for the shortest route. Next time, we'll try the quickest.


The rivers and streams are still swollen with snow melt. We saw some kayaks today on the Colorado River who were negotiating some amazing rapids in the canyon on the highway. The kayaks almost disappeared in the huge rapids.

A Philosopy for Retirement

Grand Junction, Colorado

The city of Grand Junction has an interesting Main Street. They have over 150 metal sidewalk sculptures. Some are whimsical. We don't know quite what to make of James Dalton Trumbo in a bathtub. I remind Mrs. Phred of his powerful anti-war novel, "Johnny Got His Gun". It came out sometime in the 30's. The protagonist has lost his arms and legs and is blind, deaf and unable to speak because of war injuries. A nurse establishes communication with him after ten years in the hospital by tapping on his chest.

The shop windows on Saturday night are full of interesting images. I see a Grateful Dead sticker I want for the RV.
We settle on an Italian restaurant for dinner. I order Mrs. Phred a glass of local wine, Plum Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. I have a Ceasar salad and am dismayed to learn another closely guarded secret of the universe: it's only lettuce.

We spent our first day here relaxing and reading. We're trying to slow down and act as if this travel thing is our life, not a long vacation. After almost three years on the road, we need to reassess what it all means.

We took a long drive on a canyon rim and a hike up in the Colorado National Monument today. The geology is still similar to the Utah sandstone 100 miles to the west. We're still 300 miles west of Denver at the beginning of the Rockies.

Maybe it's time to start thinking about a vacation? Here's a link to ten of the world's most forgotten spots of paradise. The Cotswolds in England are right up there with Tristan da Cunha.
I've located a condo that will accommodate two couples on the sparsely
inhabited garden island of Kauai. They have tennis. The cost is $62.50
(about 32 pounds sterling, I think) per night per couple for a condo
overlooking the bay. 2BR, 2bath.
I've been to Hawaii 32 times on my way to or from SE Asia. The weather,
beaches, fruits and ocean are truly paradise. No snakes. Maybe I'll be
able to sell this to Mrs. Phred.

Do you remember the "cruel jokes"?
"Mrs. Jones, can Johnny come out and play baseball with us?"
"Children, you know Johnny doesn't have any arms or legs."
"We know, we want to use him for first base."

The worlds largest flat-top mountain is near here. The top of Grand Mesa is at 10,000 feet. There are over 200 lakes on the mountaintop, all full of big, tasty trout. I still have my hip-waders from the trip to Alaska last summer. I think we may go camping up there for a few days. We have to be back at an electrical source by Friday for the finals of the French Open. So...it's just another job. You have to work at it.