Snowy NIST
It's been over five months since I last posted on this blog! It seems appropriate that I come back with the counterpoint to the last photo I posted, this time showing the snowy Flatirons fronted by NIST.
Who knows when I'll post next!
more ...Foggy Flatirons & New Commute
Since we have moved to our new house at the other end of town, my ride to campus is a bit different. In some ways I don't like it as much as my old route because it is next to Broadway for most of the way. Broadway is a very busy street, it's noisy and unpleasant. My old route did go for a short while on a busy street, but most of the time it was on roads in quiet neighborhoods or on bike paths.
Note that I wrote "next to Broadway" above. In fact, my new route is almost entirely on grade-separated bike paths/sidewalks (it's legal here for adults to ride on sidewalks some places) or frontage roads next to Broadway, and I actually never ride on Broadway. The big bonus on my new route is that the views are far superior. Above is a photo of the view looking over NIST towards the fog-enshrouded Flatirons. They are not often covered in clouds like this, but it had rained heavily the day before and the air was still humid. Also note that the grass in the foreground is brown. Before our heavy rains we had two weeks of record-setting heat. It's been a feast or famine summer in Boulder.
more ...Some Walker Ranch Pictures
Here are a few pictures from my ride today at Walker Ranch.
Above: Such a lovely trail!
The wildflowers are out in force.
When I was taking pictures, the California Zephyr rolled by on its westward journey to Emeryville. The full-sized image shows the train better than the preview. This is the train that Melissa and I took last Thanksgiving, and I remember seeing the Walker Ranch trail from the train.
more ...Giant Cowboy & Longs Peak
Cowboy Longs Peak
Yes, that's a giant cowboy in front of someone's home, with Longs Peak in the background.
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Snowshoeing Bear Creek Trail
Here are a few photos I took on my snowshoeing hike in the mountains behind NCAR. As always, click to enlarge an image. Unfortunately, I broke one of my nearly brand new snowshoes. Luckily, I was nearly back to the car when it happened. By the way, today's high was -7C (20F).
Above is a panorama of some lesser Flatirons.
The narrowly beaten path between the Aspens.
A snowy view. Gotta love Boulder!
more ...Boulder Creek in February (Again!)
It's presently snowing. We've received around half a foot since last night. This is on top of the 22 inches that fell late last week. Boulder is a very snowy place right now!
This is the thirteenth photo I've posted in this series, and was taken only two days short of a full year after I began the project. I think I will cease taking photos of Boulder Creek every month. However, I will continue to post photos that highlight the natural beauty and change of seasons around Boulder.
more ...Snowy Chautauqua Hike
Here are a few pictures from the hike we just did at Chautauqua. We've hiked there before when it was dry, but it has a special beauty when it's been freshly snowed on.
Chicago in January
I just returned home from a trip to Chicago for the 2012 yt workshop. I didn't organize the meeting, but I did give a few talks. I think overall it was a very productive and useful workshop, and I met quite a few people who I had previously only corresponded with over the internet.
I found the Chicago "L" pretty useful, although it's not quite as nice as the New York Subway. Being overground most of the time, it's possible to view the neighborhoods it goes through (which is one benefit it has over a subway). Chicago, and especially South Chicago, is in a state of decay that I rarely see in western cities. Of course it's been going on for decades: the city has lost nearly 1 million people since 1950, but it's interesting (and sad) to see blocks where only a few buildings are standing, where dozens used to be in a vibrant neighborhood.
more ...My Model Mclaren MP4/5B
For fun, I decided to build a plastic 1/20 model of a F1 Mclaren MP4/5B, which raced in 1990. That year it won the constructor's championship, and Senna won the world championship in it. Here are some pictures of my model. I didn't do the best job on it, but that's OK. It was fun to do!
Melissa helped by painting the "HONDA" on the engine, above. Very tiny letters! As usual, clicking on an image will give you an enlarged version.
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New Year’s Eve Hike
On New Year's Eve, we went on a hike in Arapaho National Forest with our friend Chris and some of his family.
He brought along his dog Leo (the tan Lab-Pit Bull mix), and his aunt brought hers (Hershel, black Lab-Weimaraner).
It was pretty windy at spots which made it feel colder than it actually was. I figured that where we turned around, at the top, it was in the low teens Fahrenheit with the wind chill.
On the way down we were all getting tired and hungry, so to keep the dogs moving at our pace (instead of smelling this, peeing on that, wandering over there), we picked up a big branch and used it as a carrot. Dogs help make things fun!
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Flagstaff Hike
Almost a year ago, we went on a hike on Christmas Eve up to the Flatirons. Last December it was considerably warmer than it has been this year -- there was no snow and temperatures were mild. As you can see above, things are very different this year. Although the snow mostly melts between storms, we've had on the order of four feet of snow so far this Fall and Winter. A storm that came through two days ago dropped over a foot where we live, and more at higher altitudes.
Today we decided to go for a hike up Flagstaff, which, for those familiar to Boulder, is just to the North of the Flatirons. There is a road off of Flagstaff that is closed in the winter, but is somewhat plowed for walkers. We walked up this road to the end, with a few knee-deep excursions off to the sides.
On the hike I came to a realization about snow. Most of the time when I go to "natural" places, they need to be respected and impacted as little as possible. Trails are to be followed, and the surroundings left intact. When I look at an untouched snowy field, it's very pretty, and my first thought is to never go into it, lest I damage the pristine snow. But of course, damaging snow isn't really possible, it's all temporary anyway.
Clearly, Melissa doesn't have the same problem.
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