Off Road Exploring

Today was a beautiful day, although a little chilly, temperatures in the 50's. So it seemed a good day to go exploring the mountain area around Breckenridge . . . as long as we were near the Blazer as the wind could be a little biting. Carole stayed back at the condo to watch some old movies while Ron, Holly and I went "Off Road Exploring".


Several miles South of Breckenridge, we found the McCulloch Gulch Road, which led us up into the mountains in an old gold mining area. The area was beautiful with the bright yellow fall color of aspen leaves contrasting with the dark green of the lodge pole pines.

As you can see in this picture, it was a partly sunny day with blue sky and white fluffy clouds. Pretty as a picture! Even if the wind was a little cool.







Between 10,000 and 11,000 feet elevation, we found an old trail which we followed four-wheeling in the Blazer for a mile or so before it narrowed considerably with brush closing in on us. At that point, Ron and Holly had to go exploring on foot.
















We did find an old mine but were warned by signs of it being a very dangerous place with unstable timbers, poisonous gases, and unexploded explosives. Those signs were enough to cause us to stay clear of the mine shaft, but it was an historic place in the middle of some very pretty scenery.
















When we returned to Breckenridge, we had worked up an appetite so, since Carole loves Chinese, we all went to the Red Onion Chinese restaurant for dinner. It wasn't the best Chinese, but it was the only Chinese restaurant in town. Next time after "Off Road Exploring", we'll settle for hot pizza and a cold beer!

Fishing the Blue

Carole decided to stay at the condo while the three of us went fishing. Ron, Holly and I drove north of Breckenridge to check with a National Forestry Office concerning public access to the river. We also stopped at another fly-fishing store where we picked up a few new flies, a couple of maps and fishing licenses.


We found what looked like a good spot along the Blue River and got our lines wet. If you will click on the picture to the right, you will see me in the orange shirt in the foreground and Ron is further upstream with a white shirt on. It looked like the perfect place to be fly-fishing for trout.

The weather was nice, perhaps 65 degrees and the sun was shining with almost no wind. Nice day for fishing. However, it was not a nice day for catching.







In the pictures below, that's me on the left and Ron on the right. A perfect place to fish!


















Ron was the only one to catch a fish . . . and it was nothing to write home about. In this picture of his catch, he was trying to hold it closer to the camera so it would look larger, but even that didn't help. The baby rainbow trout was returned to the stream.

We later learned from a local resident that this time of year, trout aren't hitting flies as the stream is full of dead insects and the fish are looking for something different. The local resident told us this was the time of year trout bite best on salmon eggs.

Now why didn't either fly-fishing store tell us that? I guess they just wanted to sell flies!

Maybe that's why they call it "Fishing" and not "Catching".

Shopping In Breckenridge

This was another bright sunny morning, so we decided to walk down to Main Street and check out some of the many interesting looking shops. But first Holly had to have her morning Cappuccino, so we stopped at a small coffee shop as our first stop and sat in the sun at an outdoor table on their lawn. That was a nice way to begin our Main Street walk "Shopping in Breckenridge".


Then we proceeded to wander through numerous shops and, of course, pick up a few things along the way. The shops were all very nice with a lot of really nice stuff as well as a lot of touristy junk . . . plus an endless variety of t-shirts with all kinds of printed witty sayings and slogans. Holly bought enough for everyone, so the rest of us just enjoyed the shopping.


















We walked along the River Walk for some distance and appreciated the scenery and fresh air . . . what little there was of it! By the time we got back to the condo, we were all gasping for air!

We enjoyed an early dinner of shrimp salad, then decided to go looking for some spots along the Blue River north of town where we could go fishing tomorrow. While we were shopping, we had stopped by a fly fishing store for hints on where and how to fish. We had enough "Shopping in Breckenridge". Now it was time to locate our fishing spot for tomorrow.

Exploring Breckenridge

We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning with the sun shining on the snow-capped mountains outside our bedroom window. Following a simple breakfast, it was time for "Exploring Breckenridge".

To get my bearings, I thought it best to first drive around town just to see what's here and where everything is. Carole elected to let me first go exploring in the Blazer my myself. So I drove around town and discovered a Main Street with many interesting shops to explore and many interesting places to eat. The Blue River, a fast mountain stream, runs through town following Main Street. They have a very interesting river walk behind the shops on Main and a large plaza type area in the center of town.


















Away from Main Street, I found massive big lodges and resorts, several still under construction. I was also surprised at the large number of fairly new huge homes scattered on the mountainside. Most of the homes appeared unoccupied, so I assume many are only used during ski season or on weekends. Another example of some people just have too much money . . . but it is fun to see how the wealthy people live.

This picture is a single family home, not a lodge or resort. Just a weekend cabin in the mountains!





After getting my bearings, Carole and I then decided on a trip to the grocery we had been told about on the far north end of town, so we decided to do our shopping for the week. While we were at the grocery, my brother, Ron, and his daughter, Holly, called to tell us they were about 5 minutes away (yes, we were expecting them), so we invited them to stop by the grocery on their way into town then follow us to the condo.

It was good to see them both. They will be staying with us for the rest of the week and we expect to have a good time together.

So much for "Exploring Breckenridge" today, but there's lots more we want to see and do in the next few days.

Into Thin Air

As we continued our trip, I couldn't help but think of the people who complain that Kansas is so flat and boring. Yet Eastern Colorado between the state line and Denver is even flatter than Western Kansas . . . and there's nothing there . . . not even wheat fields. All you see is dry grass and a few head of cattle.

But as we passed through Denver and headed into the Rocky Mountains, the scenery changed dramatically. I am awestruck every time I get into the Rocky Mountains, the scenery is truly breath taking. The Interstate climbed to the Continental Divide through the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel, then dropped slightly in elevation to our exit. We then drove South through the valley which parallels the Ten Mile Range into Breckenridge. We had driven through a light rain much of the way, but the scenery was still awesome.

We checked into our assigned condo unit which is a two bedroom, two bath unit. Both bedrooms and both bathrooms are on the second floor. The living, dining and kitchen is on the first floor. But the best thing about our unit is the view from our balcony as seen below.

















We immediately felt the effects of the altitude of 9,600 feet. We walked one block to a grocery store and returned to the condo gasping for air. I opened the mustard bottle we had brought with us from Kansas and it literally exploded all over my shirt because the Kansas air pressure was so much higher than the lower air pressure in Breckenridge.

Gasping for air, we turned on the TV and sat down to rest. We realized we had driven "Into Thin Air"! We'll look around Breckenridge tomorrow after we catch our breath.

On the Road Again . . . Allegro-Less

We had the opportunity to exchange a timeshare week for a condo in Breckenridge, Colorado, and thought it was time to get out-of-town. We have the condo for a week, so this morning we got "On the Road Again . . . Allegro-less". That is, we left our motor home, the Allegro Bus, setting in the driveway at home and headed for Colorado in the Blazer . . . a new experience for us as all of our travels for the past several years have been in "The Bus".


We passed through hilly Eastern Kansas covered with corn, soy beans, and pasture; the large rolling hills of Central Kansas, covered with mostly grazing lands and the tall grass prairie; into flat Western Kansas, where you can see for miles and the wheat fields stretch to the horizon, as pictured here.

The weather was bright and sunny with temperatures in the 80's the whole day . . . a boring but quite pleasant drive . . . a day of listening to the radio and CD's . . . with an occasional glimpse of an antelope herd.





We stopped for the night about 55 miles short of the Colorado state line at Colby, Kansas, where we checked into the Quality Inn. We were so surprised at the cleanliness of this motel, the very nice facilities, the extremely pleasant "American" staff, and the elaborate free morning breakfast. It was certainly a very nice experience.

So our first experience overnight "Allegro-less" was very pleasant. Tomorrow morning, we will be back "On the Road Again . . . Allegro-Less" for the remainder of our trip to Breckenridge.

Kyle's 17th Birthday

My grandson, Cindy's oldest boy, Kyle, turned seventeen years old today . . . and what a fine boy he is (of course, he gets that from his grandfather). The family gathered at John and Becky's home for barbecue and birthday cake. Rachel Adams, Cindy's long time Nanny was also there to celebrate with Kyle.

The barbecue was from Oklahoma Joe's and the ice cream birthday cake was from Baskin-Robbins . . . with seventeen tall candles.

Happy Birthday, Kyle!

Greg Returns to Guam

I guess it's true that as they say "all good things must come to and end". I drove Greg to the KC airport this morning for his return to Guam. However, we have been blessed with his second visit home this summer.

We played golf, ate steak, went shopping, talked a lot, and thoroughly enjoyed each other for the few days we had together. We didn't have time to go fishing, so we'll have to plan that for next time.

Have a safe flight, Greg. We are already looking forward to your next trip home.

The Big Screen

The Kansas City Chiefs home opener was today. John and Becky invited Carole, Greg, and I over to watch the game on the big-screen HD TV in their lower level family room. We couldn't turn that down, especially since it was the season opener at home, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and against the hated Oakland Raiders.



That's Sam and John on the floor, Greg and Luke on the couch. What a comfortable setting to watch football on "The Big Screen", especially with the snacks and cold beer John provided.

However, the Chiefs lost again! This is the second week in a row they were leading late in the game, but still found a way to lose.

Sam, the Football Player

John and Becky's 12 year old boy, Sam, decided to play football this fall instead of soccer. He signed up on the sixth grade team in the Blue Valley League. His team, the Eagles, is sponsored by the Ascension Catholic Church and they have all the necessary equipment for games and practices, as much equipment as a high school.

I went to a game they played on a local middle school field and was amazed at how good those sixth graders are. Most of the kids executed their assignments quite well. The quarterbacks were pretty good at passing, the receivers caught most passes, and the kids were reasonably good at tackling.

Of course, they committed a few infractions, for which they were penalized, such as off-sides, illegal use of hands, and blocking from behind. But all in all, they were surprisingly good.


In this picture, Sam's team, the Eagles, are in green. Some of the boys on the opposing team looked pretty big for the sixth grade, but maybe they're repeating the sixth grade for the second time around.

"Sam, the Football Player" is playing at left tackle, number 48.

The Eagles lost the game, but I thought they played well anyway.








Here's "Sam, the Football Player" after the game standing between my son, Greg, and I. Sam was tired and I'm sure he will be sore tomorrow. But that's the life of a football player.

That's my daughter and Sam's Mother, Becky, in the pink top coming up behind us.

Nice game, Sam!