Bout Time

That I produced/put a post up or something like that. My friend Linda told me she was linking to here in her post tomorrow so I just can't have her readers come by and see an old post.

These picture have been sitting around in draft for awhile so I am using them. Not that they are all that good but in recent weeks have been around a bit and they are examples of that and some things seen or done.

Went to NW Colorado specifically outside of Steamboat Springs for several days where I visited old friends and the fact of the matter many of the "friends" I have live there.

This is vehicle central with the camper and grey Element mine and the other is an '05 we drove down to Longmont which is on the Front Range and picked up It was just like new and was driven by a young lady only. It's true.

On the way elsewhere went by the Twenty Mile Mine located between Hayden and Oak Creek which continues to produce mass quantities of coal using German technology with a movable long wall underground.

Went to Dinosaur to see the new visitor center. It opened two weeks after I left the area just about three years ago.

Several interesting panels on the ground just inside the Utah line on the road to Steamboat Rock that starts at the visitor center on the Colorado side of the monument.

It's always pretty out here in the evening.

Sitting on top of Blue Mountain where in the early 80's the world championship for hang gliding took place. I was the only one around but three people drove up and were looking and preparing for anther like event late Aug 2015. They expect 150-175 participants. I think that would be quite a site to see. Here is some info on that @ Rocky Mountain Glider. This is one of the launch sites here.    

Blue Mountain and where the campsite was above the camper.

The main reason for going to Dinosaur was the visitor center and to look for a certain style of petroglyph. This is what I call the "wall of bone" that is in the old visitor center. Wall of bone because that's what it is. Over the years Dinosaur has been noted for this and very likely you have seen it before. This is just huge and is hard to capture. It helps to click on the pictures to see them better. Third picture down has got some nasty teeth in it. This area was know for huge amounts of allosaurus a half size T-Rex.

This panel and others are impressive for sure and have what I'm interested in and that is pinwheels.

This has nothing to do with anything except it's here for some reason. A friend raised some 4000 cloves of organic garlic plus all kinds of other vegetables as well. Never had such good garlic before. 

Moving right along.  Sleeping Ute Mountain. Incredibly important to the Utes to this day.

This is in Hovenweep National Monument. Hovenweep is one of my favorite places and what has held true over the years remained the same in that this place and I cannot emphasize this enough has got to be one of the quietest places anywhere!! I mean that and it's one of the reasons I come. Not all the time but much of it you talk in whispers because normal speech seems too loud and it is.

It had rained and these frogs were out and they don't get to come out very often. There were quite a few of them actually.

If you ever come to what is know as "The Four Corners" area try and visit Hovenweep. There are several outliers that are very impressive as well plus others you may run across if you bush whack a bit. There were many people who lived here over the centuries. It's this area where I really feel at home for what ever reasons perceived or not.  

Make sure you click on this guy a couple times.

One of my favorites and it's within what is known as the "Holly Group" outside of the main park. It's a four mile hike one way from there to here. I recommend taking the car for this.

Doorways and windows generally produce pretty decent pictures.

Sunsets and sky viewing was the best ever. Laying out looking at the cosmos, warm no bugs no nothing but you and the sky. For me it can't get much better.

It's a pretty weed isn't it.

This is a fairly new national monument. It's called "Chimney Rock".  Wanted to see this and did. It was a bit of a bust in that it cost 12 smacks and you were very limited to where you can go.

This is worth seeing for sure and what's important is the ruins at the top are Chacoan in construction. Every archeologist agrees people from Chaco Canyon were involved with this building effort.

Wasn't able to take any decent pictures as you couldn't leave the path let alone go any farther than here in the picture. This guy wants to get out to the end. This is not to far from Mesa Verde.

There was a National Forest campground not far away. 18 smacks no water and marginal open pit units. It was $9 with my senior pass and not worth that but it was quiet as we were the only ones there.  

The summer has just flown by. Relish in the warmth and being able to wear sandals and such from the time you get up till the time you turn in.

Without question Colorado has got to be one of the more diverse and best places in the world. Beauty pass all with something outside for all types of interest.

IF - - - - I only liked that 4th season I would be in Nirvana. Alas I do not. So lucky to be able to do this kinda stuff at this stage of the game I tell you.

The Holly Group And Surronding Area Of Hovenweep

Looking at these pictures while on the road they did not appear to be very good and I'm not saying these are in any way like that. Viewing them on my old laptop is not the same as the big screen here at home but there are several here that have some merit.

What these accomplish in a way is give an idea of what it's like out here if you have never visited. You will see a ruin situated beneath a rock where years of fires have made what was the ceiling black. It doesn't take that much imagination to imagine a fire and the Indians around it.

On another under a rock outcropping you can see too the common hand print seen in many places.

We wonder how often these rock formations actually change or shift. To be there when a massive chunk falls to a canyon floor would be next to amazing I am sure.

What can be said is that if you look closely one of the massive boulders a ruin was built on did shift. So in 800 years a geological shift did happen.

I probably like the 4th one the best just because of soot on what was the ceiling. They're all kind of cool in a way and continue to reinforce to me that all of us are nothing more than piss ants in time.

Hope you enjoy these and if you can go see this area of the United States.

UPDATE

Because of a comment I have added three pictures at the end.  I need to remember what I said - that pictures here are not intended to always be the best but serve also to illustrate or do whatever. In this case because of vehicles or people in them these weren't considered and that was a mistake because this is a cool ruin. These also show the shift better too.

To answer the comment about access-most of these are and other places as well are roped off severely. It was hard to see this ruin as I remember it.  I did cross ropes to take pictures at times but not very far. Chaco Canyon's accessibility changed so much.

Thanks for bringing this up RZ.

Remember you can click on a photo twice to make it bigger each time.

 

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Ravens & Jets @ Hovenweep

Nothing special with these except the ravens are always near and tried to show some jet traffic but most of the time it doesn't do much. I like the first one best.