Caldgargan's Place

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:54:00 +0000

A snowy day in Greenland Open Space. Only real Colorado Natives were out playing.

Some sights in Washington DC

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 01:42:00 +0000

I guess Congress is in here but you could not tell>

Someone had this at the memorial.

The Basilica of the National Shrine at Catholic Univeristy.

Had some time today to see some things in Washington DC. First, wanted to see the final touches on the Air Force Memorial. I was fortunate enough to be in the Pentagon Parking lot for the installation ceremony. That was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Then over to the Pentagon Memorial. I worked there for 3 years. Still people working there in 2001 that I knew, I called and talked to them a few days later to see if everyone was okay. Then over to the Basilica of the National Shrine as it is one of the best photo ops you can find in DC.

Caps Game more photos

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 15:16:00 +0000

Was a great game--all you could want: hat trick by a defenseman (#6 Dennis Wideman), Ovechkin was on fire, a few fights, and Toronto played tough. Some more up and close. Seems like every NHL game I go there there is at least one Boston Bruins fan. Here there were 2. What's with that?

Sat by the sticks. This is Vokuoun's. The longest stick belonged to forward Joel Ward--much longer than the rest. Usually defensemen have the long sticks. He changed them often. Not sure why players change one good stick for another. Asked the trainers and they just shrugged. Wonder if these carbon fiber sticks break down after a lot of play and they change them to prevent that?

Got to do a fist bump with #8 Alex Ovechkin!

So this is what it is like if they let a fan sit with the players,, hey I was as close as you could get! I noticed that the trainers always had a towel in their hand and when play went by the bench they would shield their face with the towel. Wondered about that then saw the bruise one trainer had on his face--later told me they get hit all the time with pucks. I started to duck as well--I was right there with them.

Every player made it a point to hit this kid's hand. He was a son of one of the team doctors.

Ovechkin would sit on the side closest to the opponents goal so he could get out faster, rarely sat, sometimes sat on the edge so he could jump in faster.

The defenseman Wideman had a hat trick. He sat on the side closest to the Caps goal.

Was right there for celebrations after goals---cool!

Washington Capitals Hockey 9 Dec

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 04:38:00 +0000

Had great seats for the Caps game. Just off to the left behind the bench. My section did not have glass so I could hear what the players were saying, what the coaches were saying and what the trainers were saying about injuries, sticks, tape, and gloves. I could lean over and nearly touch the players.

Geocaching in the Ramparts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 23:21:00 +0000

Today did a little Geocache hunting. We knew of one that is off one of our favorite trails---Deadman's creek overlook. Here are the pictures... Enjoy

Found it under a tree near a cliff

Contents included a few things. You are welcome to take something, but then you should leave something. If you take something it's customary to put it in another cache.

Even the dogs were searching for this little box.

Zamboni gets distracted and starts looking for squirrels.

Bridie saying "I think its by this rock"

Overlooking the Academy and Dead Man's creek.

In case you are looking, this is the tree...

Greenland Dog Park

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:34:00 +0000

Well finally after all these years, I am the Mayor. Well, its a foursquare Mayor, but nevertheless, I am the Mayor of Greenland Dog Park (fourquare). Here are few recent shots of the Dogs and me.

This is the view looking South from the Northeast corner. You can see why the dogs like it-plenty of running room.

Of course this time of year it is still active with little critters trying to find food for the winter, and my dogs trying to dig to find them.

Bridie Murphy rolling in the grass to get the smell of the land

Zamboni just likes to run, she often does one lap with us, then gets lost digging. When she comes up for air, she runs to where we are. Once she would not come back to leave, so we left her. She did not mind as there was plenty to do. So had to go and drag her back home.

Found something!

Could they get their heads any further down the hole?

Pikes Peak in the background. From this view you can see why Zebulon Pike thought he could just hike up there in one day. The summit is about 25 miles from this point.

A newly refurbished barn sits north of the dog park.

Pikes Peak and Mt Herman

Panorama of the area

Colorado In the Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:03:00 +0000

People know about Pikes Peak, but there is a back side to it. Took a trip up when the Aspens were turning and this is what I found.. Wish the sun was out, but you can still see the Gold.

The back side of Pikes Peak

Above the Cripple Creek mining area

More of Pikes Peak

An hour in beauty to relax and unwind

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:51:00 +0000

This is San Diego University. I was up there for two reasons; I have seen it from the Highway and always wondered what it was, and a friend working on a project asked for me to take pictures of Churches that had letters he could use in posters. I needed to find letters to spell things like Love, Christ, Catholic, etc. I got a lot of O's. You know how hard it is to find A's or C's? I wish I had traveled up here sooner. It provides a nice view of San Diego. I think I will figure out the shortcut from the Air Port to the Spectrum center so I can spend a few moments here when I arrive.

Hike up Palmer Watershed

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 18:41:00 +0000

Tried out a new hike today over in Monument. It follows the watershed for the town of Palmer Lake and Monument. Its pretty well traveled so you will run into a lot of people, but for this type of hike that is okay. You start off on the edge of a canyon and follow the watershed. You pass two reservoirs and when you finish the second you are about a mile in. Then you have some choices, follow the access road or take any number of small trails up into the hills. Bridie took the hardest one, it was steep, but got us the best view. We ended up on an access road that leads to Rampart Road. This was the first time in a long time that I came across someone in a 4-wheel drive vehicle, an old Range Rover. We were probably 3 miles in now so turned around. Thank God Bridie was paying attention because we came on a very small and hard to see trail. I checked my GPS a few times and Bridie was right on all the turns. She has good hiking sense. I went farther than I wanted, but this has a lot of level hiking areas so it's not a constant grind until you get to the end of the second reservoir, then its steep and does not stop for over a mile. The geology is interesting. Lots of granite I would rate this easy to moderate. However, you can make it challenging by just picking one of the many side trails that seem to be everywhere. Be sure to take your GPS or know where you are going farther in this trail its easy to get lost as the roads wind and intersect all over the place.

New Morning Exercise--Hiking the Ramparts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 02:53:00 +0000

So I decided that since the sun comes up so early every morning, and the dogs need a good walk to leave me alone, and I work well into the night sometimes, I have started a daily hike up Stanley Canyon. I don't go all the way, that is 2 1/2 miles and about a 3 hour trek. I only go up to what I call the twisted tree--that is a huge log that is all twisted. Here are some photos. In the early morning you see more wild life; wild turkeys and deer. The bears are still staying up high, they start coming down in September to gorge... I link this hike because there is a nice stream and the dogs love that! Starting to see the summer amateurs. Entire families not prepared for the day. For the most part they are lucky and they don't have to deal with the weather or poor conditions. Some still wearing sandals on a medium grade hike--unbelievable.

Nice Hike Ruined by Carless Bikers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 22 May 2010 23:08:00 +0000

Today I took the girls up Green Mountain for a hike. I like this hike because few hikers are ever on the trail and the ones that are, are serious and respect the environment. Few know of the trails. Today I found one of the shortcut trails to the top was vandalized by mountain bikers. Trees were cut down, rocks pulled from the trail and moved (you know what that does? It starts new erosion). You could see freshly cut trees, branches and large rocks dug up and moved. There was the tale tale sign of mountain bike trails. This is a path that needs to be gently used, they now created a new potential wash out. This is a National Forest where cutting trees and moving large rocks is forbidden. Sad. Then when I got to the top there were what I call the "Beer Guzzling, Red Neck, Outdoorsmen" on their ATVs tearing up the mountain some more. Again this is an area that is clearly posted "NO MOTORIZED VEHICLES". This was a dad in his 4X4 Ford and his two kids following in their ATVs. From the looks of it they all needed to get out an walk, they all looked like they were pushing 300lbs. Why do people have to tear up the environment for their own selfish enjoyment? I took a few pictures of the area to remind me what it looks like before these idiots ruin it all. With all the rain we had last year, there is a lot of dead vegetation---those hot exhausts will surly set off a fire...

Spring is here--well almost

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 11 May 2010 19:25:00 +0000

So this weekend I took the girls out for a 5 mile easy hike in the Spruce Mountain Open Space. This is a nice Sunday afternoon hike, the total elevation rise is around 400 feet so its not too steep. The Douglas County Open Space Program was created in 1994 with the passage of a sixth-of-a-cent sales and use tax. The Open Space keeps a nice separation between Denver and Colorado Springs. The top picture is from the top of Spruce Mountain looking back toward Castle Rock. You could almost film an old western movie out there as it still looks like you should be expecting to see a herd of Buffalo or an Indian Tribe crossing the plains. Spruce Mountain is just west of I-25 prior to Monument "pass". A few days before this hike we were wandering around Green Mountain over by the Academy and I could see the Crocus were just beginning to come out. They were in full bloom at Spruce Mountain. There is this little blue Crocus that comes up here every spring. I transplanted one to my backyard and it bloomed for several years until other plants edged it out. The rules for the open space are pretty strict--dogs are to be on leash--no exceptions. This is the third time I have been on this trail, up until this hike I was the only one leasing the dogs. I usually don't lease Bridie, she stays 10-20 feet from me at all times and comes back when I call her. She stays away from strangers, but I did leash her when people came by. I think the dogs like to get to the top of the mountains. Once we get there they love to stare off into the distance. Zamboni was watching the chipmunks, probably was thinking they would be a good snack.

This is a good hike if your from out of town, just want an easy go of it, don't want to drive too far and don't want to mess with the crowds.

Spruce Mountain Hike

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:57:00 +0000

Tried out a new hike. We hit the open space today. Actually there are several open spaces between Colorado Springs and Denver. This was the hike up Spruce Mountain--small by our normal standards, but the loop is advertised as being 5.5 miles. My GPS came in at 4.6 miles. This is a pretty easy hike, the trails are wide, the incline is pretty small, maybe 500 feet, then you do a loop on top of the mountain that is pretty level. This is a nice hike if you just want to put in miles and not worry about the elevation. You will run into a lot of people. From the looks of it, bikes are allowed as well as horses.

Actually, I would take a horse over a biker any day. Mountain bikers just don't seem to respect anyone else. They think they own the trail. From Spruce mountain you can see Monument hill, Cheyenne Mountain to the south, and North to Castle rock. This was a windy day, but I think it's always windy up there as you can see from the sign that the far west end of Spruce Mountain is called Windy Point. Spruce mountain is a flat top, from the looks of the geology, much older than the Pike National Forest (that is made up of Pikes Peak Granite).

If you like to take pictures, this is the place, I noticed several falcons using the updrafts off of the "mountain" to hover above the green space looking for food. The rock formations are unique, the open views are great for "field of view" shots---it just offers a lot of opportunities for the photographers. I took these with my sony Cyber-shot, because I wanted to hike the trail rather than shoot the trial.

If you like to take along the dogs, note that there are several warnings posted about "Dogs must me on leash at all times---no exception". The fine is $50 if you are caught with your dog off leash. I came across a handfull of dog owners, none of which had their dogs leashed. Only one person (an idiot) had their dog with them (a St Bernard) not on a leash, or even a sign of a leash. I could tell his dog wanted to eat mine for lunch, he could hardly handle his dog.

Hiking Video

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:55:00 +0000

Just a short clip of hiking photos, as we enter the last phase of Winter, some of the best conditions of the year are coming.

Christmas Eve Hike

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:43:00 +0000

On a quiet sunny day in Colorado Springs, just after a fresh snow storm, it makes good hunting for the falcons. This large falcon was sitting quietly waiting for a mouse, rabbit, fox or something tasty to move. Just as we came upon her she swooped down on something, but came up empty. We love hiking this time of year. Its quiet, there are few people out and the air is fresh. Bridie takes the opportunity to take snow baths, I think she learned it from Zamboni. We came across fox and rabbit tracks, no mountain lion this time. She was probably well out of the area by now hunting somewhere else. Its usually slower going in the snow, especially when its deep, but we seem to have more energy than hiking in hot weather. There is a certain pace you set every time you hike, too slow and you get fatigued, too fast and you tire out. Just right, and you can have a nice enjoyable time. Today was just right. Bridie insisted on going through the denser parts of the hike. She must have found the scent of something as she usually stays about 20 feet out and may circle back, but this time she had her nose to the ground and was determined to find whatever it was she was tracking. This was a short hike, 1/2 up Green Mountain. We did not have the time to do the whole thing. We may do that Saturday, test out the GPS that Santa is supposed to bring. Merry Christmas!

Mountain Lion in my hiking area

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:10:00 +0000

This morning we went out for our exercise (walking the dogs through the foothills) on one of our normal trails and it was obvious that we were the only ones to be out on this trail for days. The snow as fresh and undisturbed. About half way up our trail we came across some fresh tracks that I normally have not seen in this area. They were very fresh (probably early morning) and the paw prints were larger than Bridie's, my golden retriever, whom has huge paws for a dog. The tracks came down an access road and went off into the "forbidden area" (the academy shooting range). They went one way. The dogs picked up the scent and we followed the tracks up the road until they went off west, were they came through some heavy scrub oak. Further up the trail we followed some deer tracks and once again came across these tracks once again.

We followed them up the side of a hill and along a narrow trail I never knew was there. We finally had to stop following them as they once again came out of very thick scrub oak. I knew right off they were not bear tracks, I have seen enough of them to know, and they definitely were not dog tracks. They were mountain lion tracks. You can see the comparison from the picture and the prints. We were hiking between the posted hunting times at the Academy (5-7 Dec and 11-13 Dec). This is a time when they allow hunters to come in and weed out the herds. Funny thing is we usually see deer tracks, deer droppings, elk, you name it, and usually in abundance. We came across only two sets of deer tracks. It could be the cat was keeping them away, or that these "hunters" scare off the herds. This cat was probably larger than my dog Bridie based on the size of her tracks. They were one way tracks and we could not follow them into the shooting range area. In this picture below you can see where we first came across them. The cat was following the road and went off to the right into the brush. We looked for signs of snagged fur or something other than the tracks, but this cat seemed to navigate well through the brush as there were no branches broke off or twigs snapped. Unlike the bear we came across this fall where entire branches were snapped off and you could clearly see the path through the brush. Finally this is the area where the cat went. Probably plenty of rabbits or smaller game to chase. We stay out of here even though the range is miles off on the other side of a ridge, we don't want to loose our hiking privileges. That is one thing we worry about as access to the Academy is basically open; some idiot wandering off into restricted areas prompting the Academy to close off entire areas.

Best Time of the year

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:19:00 +0000

So here it is, December. Rapidly approaching Christmas and New Years. I have not done the Christmas cards, tree is still in the crawl space, but I do have lights outside, even though I forget to turn them on. Ttis is the time of year that the government decides to drop RFPs (Requests for Proposals) so they can relax while us contractors work like mad to keep our jobs. What am I thinking about? What would be a good winter hike. I like winter hikes because 1. There are less amatures out there to deal with 2. The dogs love it 3. I have to carry less water 3.The silence is great 4. The snow So I have some time Saturday Morning. Thinking of which trail to take. Two weeks ago we went to the Microwave towers above the Academy, that was a 7 mile trip. The dogs are ready. But me? I have been sitting working hard on profiles the past 2 weeks. I need a lateral easy hike, they need a hard driving 5 hour hike. Sometimes I envy the dogs.

Hockey in California

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:35:00 +0000

I was lucky enough to get to see the Hockey battle of LA: The Aneheim Ducks take on the LA Kings. Having been in both the Staples center and the Duck Pond (Now call Honda Center), I prefer the Duck Pond. They set the seats steeply tiered so you are closer to the players. This time I decided I wanted to be up close so I paid a little more to be one row back from glass, but since I was on a corner, I was essentially on the glass. The action at that level is intense. The corner is where you dump the puck and race in to dig it out. There was plenty of on the glass checking. This was actually a pretty intense game. I was a little dissapointed in that Ryan Smith (94) of the Kings was out for an injury, but they did not need him, they beat the Ducks 4 to 3. It nearly went overtime. The Ducks were trailing 2 to 3 coming into the 3rd period and they put up some intensive play to score with about 4 min left. However, the Kings drove back with about a minute left in the game to pull ahead by one. There was actually a shot at the last second that I thought was going in to take us to overtime, but Johanthan Quick, the Kings goalie was hot--he stopped it.

Check out my photo stream:

Anaheim Ducks vs LA Kings

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:29:00 +0000

Was in LA for a day of business and took a detour to catch a cross town battle between the Anaheim Ducks and LA Kings. This was a Ducks home game, so it was in Anaheim at the pond. It was a 30 mile drive and getting tickets the day of the game was no easy trick as this is a pretty well attended game. There were just as many Kings fans as Ducks. I got seats one row back from the glass in the corner. That was a great perspective. You really feel the speed and intensity of the game when someone gets crashed into the boards 3 feet from you. I posted a small story on Whrrr with some pictures. When I get back home I will process the rest on the beast and post here... Was a very good game, came down to the last minute of play. Kings won 4 to 3.

Hike up to the Microwave towers.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:50:00 +0000

&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyhike.com/hike/united-states/co/air-force-academy/926125945573284025"&amp;gt;11/28/2009 Stanley Hike to the Microwave Towers&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyhike.com/find-hike/united-states/co/air-force-academy"&amp;gt;Find more Hikes in Air Force Academy, Colorado&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

Winter Hike In Stanley Canyon

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:38:00 +0000

Winter Hikes are my favorite. We took a hike up Stanley Canyon, then once there took the access road that leads another 2 miles up to a set of microwave towers that serve the city of Colorado Springs. In the winter the dogs seem to have much more stamina and energy, I don't have to carry as much water, and normally it keeps the amateurs at home. I don't mind other people on the trail, I just mind the ones that try to do a hike like this in sandals while carrying a lap dog (that really happened). For the most part today was a great day. Met one family from Alaska, they were loving the hike and were well prepared. There was one guy that was hiking with his pit bull---really, that dog has no business on a hike. It was obviously struggling, was sliding all over the place and my biggest problem--it was not leashed, nor did it have on a collar or any harness. We got by it okay, but I made a mental note that I might want to take a tazer on these public areas. People don't think, they do things that just don't make sense, hence, I like the hikes were only experienced people will go.

This was a great day for the hike. Clear weather, temperatures varied from 50 degrees in the sun to about 30 in the shade. You have to be prepared for all conditions. I came across one group ascending around 1:30 pm in sweat shirts. Winter hikes need to be done early in the day when the sun is high. There were portions of the trail where I had to take off my sunglasses because the sun was way below the horizon and the tall pine trees made it very dark.
I came across some of the tallest Aspen trees I have ever seen. I am a Colorado Native, so I thought I have seen it all here in Colorado, but these had nearly every other grove beat--even in the Aspen/Vail area. These trees were huge! Mental Note: Get back here next fall.....

So here is one reason why I like the winter hikes: the dogs love them. Bridie is seen here taking a snow bath on the top of the mountain were we hiked.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:07:00 +0000

On our hike today we decided to crash through the woods and follow the bear trails. Usually, by this time the bears are dormant, so the chances of us running into one is slim. We went way past where we normally do and found plenty of signs of bears; scat, footprints, splinttered logs and we found this (see picture). This tree obviouslly had some good insects in it the bear stripped the whole bottom of the tree down to where it was about to fall. This was no small tree either. I could probably just get my arms around the trunk and it was at least 75 feet tall. One kick and I think that thing would have crashed down. I did not do it, I would have had to tie up the dogs somewhere and you never know where a tree would fall. There were clear signs everywhere that this is bear territory. After about 1/4 mile (past some trees cut and wrapped in plastic) there were no longer any signs of "people trails". We followed a narrow gulley that goes all the way to the top of the Ramparts. I estimate we were about 1/2 up the gully. However, it started getting steeper and thicker--not impassible, but I do think we could easily find our way to the top and to the trail between Eagle Peak and Green Mountain. Someday we will do that. We will have to go light because of the brush we would have to crash through, and definately pick a time when the bears are asleep. A good winter timer crashing hike. I think 2 hours to the top would be sufficient.

I salute our Troops

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:19:00 +0000

I have decided to break the theme here (hiking and hockey) to address something more important--our troops. When I say that I mean our soldiers, sailors, airman and marines that fight for our freedom every day. I attended a luncheon yesterday that the National Homeland Defense Foundation (www.nhdf.org) and the Chamber of Commerce in Colorado Springs sponsored. They started inviting returning commanders from Iraq to come and brief the community on their activity in Iraq--usually 12-18 month tours. Yesterday, Col Col Henry Kievenarr III briefed us on the 2nd BCT/4ID activities in Iraq. When we started this war, we had conventional ideas--we were trained to beat the Russians. As time went by we somehow learned that these are people, just like us that want to live their lives to their fullest. The military evolved. We became friends with the people in Iraq. We became involved in their well being, so much that when we rotated out of there---people cried-both Americans and Iraqis because they became life long friends. We found that to win this war, we needed to win over the people--show them that there is a better way to live. We cleaned up their streets, fixed their sewers, water supplies, electrical grids, and we built them schools. Our soldiers became foster parents to their children. We became their friends. We did what everyone said could not be done in a thousand years--stop the war in this region. Why? Because we did it with love. We learned to love these people as if they were us--our friends our relatives. Is everything fixed? No there are still problems, but we learned a valuable lesson. People cherish their freedoms. They want to be able to live, learn, thrive, and multiply in a secure environment. That's how we became a great nation. We have differences, but one thing we share is a Constitution that allows for everyone the right to seek their goals without impediments. I can see now that there are some in Washington that want to take that away. I used to be worried. Then I met the soldiers of the 4th ID. I attended AUSA, the largest military symposium on the planet and met the young solders that learned first hand what freedom means. Go ahead Obama, fill your czar positions with communists. Get your far left Congressional members to pass bills that take away our fundamental rights. While your were sleeping we were building American patriots that sacrificed their lives, limbs and who knows what to help oppressed people. Don't think for one minute that you have us fooled. We now have our own greatest generation that see that freedom is not free. That open free markets are what build a society-they teach the Iraqis how to build their economy on free market principals. They see it working. Tax the hell out of us and you know what you will get? Millions of Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, and their families, friends and associations telling you to go back to Chicago--because they know that does not work. They see that in just 9 months your have quadrupled the national debt. You have driven the unemployment rate from 5 percent to 10 and then you have lied saying the depression is over, but we need to spend more money. 75% of the American people are against you now. By this time next year, unless you change drastically and start following the Constitution,,, 90% will be asking for your removal. We are tired of Acorn. We are tired of the Apollo Alliance. We have seen through them and realize they are the same type of people that backed Hitler. Parties mean nothing, principals are what rule. Principals brought us from cave dwelling status to the most powerful nation on earth---and your protege, the idiot Van Johnson had the gall to ask "how is that capitalism working for you?" Quite well thank you now go back to Siberia and work in the Salt mines where your belong. I have used to be very pessimistic on our future. Then I met and talked to these soldiers, and I ask myself "Where did they come from?" They have more courage and fundamental understanding of our freedoms than anyone I have ever met. They are are the future, and you know what Obama? They don't particularly like you. You have yet to make a decision on Afghanistan. You have not served a day and you are lecturing people that have fought, lost life, limb and family over how to fight this war. I am embarrassed that we even considered you eligible for election. Where were you born anyway? Lets see the certificate and get on with it. You don't have it do you? Another lie. Well one thing for sure, the tide is turning and people are waking up to the lies from you and the corrupt politicians in Congress, both Democratic and Republican. Your days are numbered. Now is the time for the second rising of the Americas as our Founding Fathers envisioned and time to throw you and your communist friends out in the cold.

Bears--Hikers beware?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:30:00 +0000

For the past several years I have been hiking the Ramparts behind the Air Force Academy. I like it there because its close, generally I can to the base of each trail in 5 min, and because these trails are less traveled by others. I like to discover new routes, new trails new places to explore. A year ago my "girls" (my two dogs) took me up a new trail behind an area the Cadets do their Global Engagement exercise. There were signs that they were doing war games and camping out. We found one trail and started to follow it--who knows maybe we would run into another cadet built outpost or tree house. We went quite a ways, then I started to notice that the logs were splintered (were cadets chopping them up for some reason?). After stepping over one I found my answer--there was bear scat. It was filled with tin foil, bits and pieces of paper--probably paper plates. We were on a bear trail. My "girls" were more than happy to pick up the sent and continue--I was not so enthusiastic as the scat was fresh. Heading back we found this bears main food source--a large trash container outside the fenced compound. The grounds were littered with food items, wrappers, foil, cans--you name it. This was a bear feasting ground. Fast forward a year later. Same trail, only this time we pulled off and walked up a ridge and looped back. Same trash container--only this time it was locked down. The bear was not getting his dinner from that anymore. Just before the end of our good weather this September, I was walking the "girls" on a short hike down behind the firing range on an access road. We came across several fresh scats, some broken branches and some fresh trails through the high grass that had grown this summer with all the rain. I heard the thrashing of a tree off about 20 yards. We stopped. I then spied a bear about 7 feet tall stripping the limbs off of some tree (Male Black Bears can get up to 7 feet on their hind legs). We backed away. I was curious the next day, so headed back up the trail only to get some of these shots that our bear was no little Boo Boo or Yogi for that matter, He or She was huge. This was the imprint that was not there the day before. You can clearly see the claws on this sucker. This was about the size of my foot. We did some more scouting and hunting in the days and weeks to follow and found more evidence that our favorite trail is also the stomping grounds of a bear--or two--or three. We have been seeing fresh signs of scat, trails through the tall grass, and trees stripped of bark by claws. I included one such tree here that was pretty fresh. I have been seeing trees stripped or clawed like this for 2 years on this trail and wondered why bears do that. Well I finally looked it up in Harper's "The Complete Guide to North American Wildlife". I was curious if black bears could get so big (yes) and if this could be a Grizzly--in which case I would probably not use that trail anymore. Black bears claw trees to mark their territory from other bears, so we have been hiking in the middle of marked territory. Grizzles don't do this. There are Grissly bears in Colorado--but few and mostly up in the high country. So what are they eating and when they run out will we look like food? Well If you look at the scat you can see its is full of seeds. I did some more poking around and found some type of small black berries stripped off of their shrub--I think that's what they are eating. With the rain we have had this year the eating was good. They could not get into the trash can so went back to the basics. In the Spring and Fall we get out the bear bells and I now carry bear mace--but looking a the size of that bear and that claw, I am wondering if that is enough. So far I think they have been more scared of us than we have been of him--or her or they. We make a lot of noise on purpose. I find it encouraging that in Wikipedia it says "Like many animals, they seldom attack unless cornered, threatened, or wounded. It will also attack to protect its young. They are less likely to attack humans than grizzly bears and typically flee for cover as soon as they identify a human visitor. Deaths by black bear, though, are most often predatory, while the more numerous grizzly fatalities on humans are often defensive." Okay will have to remember that. In the mean time I know the signs now. Scat, clawed trees, fallen branches with berries, and now I know why we have been seeing so many "trails" through the tall grass--bears. You can just make out one of the trails in this last picture. I am thinking they are creatures of habit. Once they find some food source they like, they take the same path--why not? That's what I would do.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:18:00 +0000

So this morning we decided to go 1/2 way up Stanley Canyon for traning, It is actually the hardest part because its the uphill part. Once you clear the steep areas, it flattens out into what I call the swamp aspen forest and it becomes a very nice walk in the woods. The turn around point for us is what I call the twisted log. As you can see it's an old hollowed out tree that looks twisted. This is a nice 45 min training hike if you don't have much time. Here are a few shots I took: