Well, Duh!

For some time I have known about the existence of a hiking/mountain bike trail that runs between Ft. Tuthill and highway 89A south of Pine Dell, but have never found it. I knew where the trail entered Ft. Tuthill from the North, but never had the time to follow it from there. I also knew it took off from somewhere near the Pine Mountain Amphitheater. I would usually find myself at Ft. Tuthill only 1-2 times a year, but would take the opportunity to search for it when there. Today was one of those days. As I ventured toward the amphitheater, I noticed small black arrows on small yellow square signs attached to trees. These are type used to mark nordic ski trails. I decided to take a gamble by following the arrows and was soon on a bona fide trail that connected to other bona fide trails. I folowed one till it crossed highway 89A just south of Pine Dell. Exactly as the maps showed (except for showing just where the trail hits the amphitheater) All I had to do was follow the arrows. It just goes to show - I can earn an advanced degree in chemistry, but arrows escape me. The "Pinky and the Brain" theme fills my head. Now the real scary part - I Vote!

Road Trip Recap

So after decompressing for a week I finally decided to recap our trip to visit my parents in Boulder. It was kind of nice being in a population center despite the lower air quality, crowds and traffic. This is partly due to having a 11 year old daughter who is very much into Titanic stuff. Given this fact, we took a trip to downtown Denver to tour the Molly Brown Home, which wound up to be interesting. Another day and another trip to Denver so our daughter could experience some of the worst Mexican food available, but in one of the weirdest restaurants on the planet. Yes, Casa Bonita. Waterfalls, cliff divers, slapstick "gun fights"/archaeologist / pirate shows. Black Bart's hideout and free (and actually good) sopapillas. Again, REALLY REALLY BAD food. I thought it might have improved in the past 30 some years, but no. We also took another trip to downtown Denver to see the Egypt/King Tut exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. This was way cool, awesome, impressive, neat, keen, amazing, inspiring, and exciting. In uncivilized company, I sum it up in two words that can not be repeated here. Even the kids at the museum were into the artifacts.
My brother came in from Reno and we took a hike up Shadow Canyon while my dad and the women folk toured the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory. We also visited nearly every camping/bicycle shop in the area to find a "super visible" bicycle jacket for my bro'.
Overall a great trip even with the drive with an 11 year-old and two dogs. On the trip there we let the dogs determine the breaks and stops so it took over 14 hours. The trip back, the humans ruled - 12 hours 40 minutes. Both ways via Moab.
Did I mention the King Tut exhibit was COOL? Seriously - these artifacts were on display in Denver! Yes, Denver (FINALLY)