Maroon Bells in Aspen

I wanted to get in a fall bike ride in Colorado to enjoy the changing colors of the trees.  With a suggestion from Bryan I discovered the Maroon Bells road in Aspen, CO.  Additional research indicated the beginning of October was generally the time the trees change in Aspen.  I was a bit nervous about driving the Independence Pass due to a snow storm that hit a few days before the weekend but figured this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The morning started in the low 20F temperatures with 15 to 20 mph winds.  So I began the cold drive glad that I books a cheap room (for Aspen) instead of camping.  The four hour drive was filled with sweeping patches of colors, vast skylines of mountains, and snow dusted firs.  Descending Independence Pass the aspens could be seen sparkling gold. 

Due to the government shutdown, the road leading to the Maroon Bells lake was completely closed to cars leaving an open road to only hikers and bikers.  Cars were parked on the side of the road near the gate.  With no cars, trees full of color, and the snowy mountain peaks this has been my favorite 10 miles of biking.  The views were like an avalanche of colors down the side of the mountains with only sounds of flowing water in the valley.  With the sun shinning and diminished winds the weather was perfect for the five mile climb up to the Maroon Bells lake.  The five miles back down did not require any pedaling although the cold winds detracted from cruising fast.

I went for a short walk around downtown Aspen before heading to the Snowmass resort to check into my room.  The room had an amazing over look of a small park.  However, with the sunset closing in, I quickly hiked up a muddy ski slope for a decent view.

Sunday I took advantage of the free gondola ride up Aspen Mountain as advertised due to the government shutdown of Maroon Bells road (bonus #2).  After putting a few discs, spending devotional time, and eating lunch on the mountain it was time to head home.  The views were just as grand heading home. 

Back in Colorado Springs safe and sunburned I finished the weekend with some delicious P.F. Changs with Caleb.  Now to start packing for a bunch of moves this weekend.

"31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
32 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
33 Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!"
 -     1 Chronicles 16:31-34

Widefield and the Bizarre

The past two weeks have been somewhere between bizarre and surreal.

While playing disc golf at Widefield Park I met Jeff and Alex.  Jeff explained that he was a pantheist, that everything is god. 

My car gave me (yet another) warning of low tire pressure on my way to the Denver SQL Saturday.  Thankfully I was able to inflate the correct tire for the drive home.

After a few days while getting a new tire pressure gauge for my car I helped out Daniel and Colleen.  Trying to help them trade their car battery at Walmart made the evening extremely bizarre.  From this evening I was extremely tired and came down with a small cold.

Finally, more on the sane side an unfortunate soul, Greg, had his car break down at the top of Independence Pass.  He had been on a road trip for the last month and just arrived in Colorado to climb some mountains.  There was no signal at the top of the pass so I gave him a ride down to Twin Lakes, CO where he could get reception on his cellphone. 

More to come on my trip to Aspen.

Cottonwood Creek in Colorado Springs

My foot has now healed enough to go practice a bit of putting at the Cottonwood Creek Park.  Two people that I have met that you can be praying for are Tim and Justin. 
Tim was a Mormon for 10 years and now believes along the lines of Agnostic atheism.  I hope to see Tim on the course again to continue the conversation.
The brief conversation with Justin seemed a bit more peculiar.  When asked about church he said he did not go and was not interested in anything religious or spiritual in nature.  However, he stated his girlfriend is looking for a church and he would like his daughter to grow up with a background going to church. 

On a side note, check out Armed With Truth, because honestly, what is more important than truth?

Ghost Town - Beware

The last day with Kevin in town we hit up the REI store and the Ghost Town disc golf course tucked away in the mountains on some gold mines near Central City, Colorado. 

 

The Ghost Town course had more OB's then I have ever seen on any course.  Even so, I ended with a score of +10.  I have snagged most of these pictures from Kevin's camera. 

Aside note, my foot is starting to heal and I am able to hobble around without crutches which is a huge blessing.  Many thanks to my uncle, who is podiatrist, for his advice from reviewing my x-ray.  I will be excited when I can get back to outdoor activities with America's mountain at the doorstep!

Denver In A Glance

 

After the stop in Chicago to visit Kevin's grandmother, losing a disc in a lake with dead fish, and resting a night in Omaha with a room were the bathroom door could not close: Kevin and I arrived in Denver.  More specifically, Golden Colorado where we enjoyed a delicious pizza buffet outdoors with the sun fading behind the hills.  Do pray for Bob and his family who we met at the West Lake disc golf course and Terry who we met in a mall in Des Moines.

Sunday for church Kevin and I decided to go to a theme park filled with Corvettes, well more specifically Red Rocks church.  Ate lunch, hiked Mount Galbraith, and finished the day off with dinner.

Monday after I finished work we met up with Kevin's cousin and played an amazing round of disc golf.  Beaver Ranch/Conifer Park plays among the mountains with expansive views and we only encountered one 5-minute hail storm before the weather cleared up again.  To give an idea of the difficulty level, I ended with a +8 on the course with the majority of my drives well placed and my putts in the basket.  The timing was great because unfortunately the road to the course is temporarily closed due to another wildfire at the moment.

 

 

 

Tuesday I took the day off work to hike Mount Evans/Chicago Lakes with Kevin.  We started at Echo Lake Park and followed the trail all the way to the two Chicago Lakes.  The mile immediately after the lakes is like a wall (my guess is around a 60-70% grade incline) and after a cold, windy, and low oxygen altitude climb we arrived at Summit Lake.  A storm was brewing and the final section to the peak is fairly exposed leaving the decision to hitchhike back down a wise decision.  Daniel, Eddy, and Annika were gracious enough to give us a lift in the back of their SUV.  Many thanks as this saved us 9 miles of walking down the road!

That evening we spent walking downtown Denver.  Kevin purchased some Bacon Soda.  And for dinner we met up with Ryan at Mellow Mushroom for some more delicious pizza.  I should also mention that the new light rail W line was very a convenient way to access downtown.

Well, Wednesday our time ended in Denver and we headed down to Colorado Springs where I will be renting a room and using it as a base for the next part of the adventure.  So stay tuned, more to come - like pictures of the Mount Evans hike!

Charlotte and the Billy Graham Library

To finish up my stay in Charlotte I had to stop by the Fort Mill Gun Shop to visit a friend, Chris.

In addition, the weather stayed on the cooler side although not as rainy as I anticipated so over the week so I played two more disc golf courses: Robert L Smith Park and Nevin Park.  Very few people were out on the Robert L Smith park and I only talked with a guy name Loats on the walk back to my car.  He was recovering from a hip surgery and we talked about the grace of God.  There was one other guy at Nevin park that I only saw briefly halfway through my round.

Lastly, since I was in the area I had to stop by the Billy Graham Library.  If you visit there - talk with the volunteers because most have a story of why they are there.  The tour gave a good reflection on various aspects of ministries.   

This past Sunday I made my way to Lynchburg, VA and brought with me the snow - good number of inches too.

Columbia and Charlotte

Psalm 8

Farewell to Florida for now.  Many thanks goes to Lamar.

 

The drive North included meeting a JW - Brandon, seeing a F-15, and getting passed by a Ferrari 365.

A stop in Columbia SC included Southeast Park and Owens Field Park.  Oh and how could I forget the Piggly Wiggly!  Ben was the only guy who I briefly spoke with at the Southeast Park because everyone started showing up to play when I was near the end.  At Owens Field I was the only one playing the course. 

After arriving in Charlotte NC, I played three courses to complete the weekend.  The Scrapyard I started out playing with Bill and Tom.  However after starting to inquire about their beliefs Bill found a reason to head to the car and let me play on.  I joined up with another guy who was playing alone, Carl, who is a believer and was able to talk with during the last few holes.  Over to Elon Park I played Angry Beaver and a few holes of Eager Beaver.

With the weather sunny Tuesday and the forecast for the upcoming weekend being cold and rainy, I went to play Renaissance Park.  Ryan, and Logan invited me to join their group along with Dan, Doug, and Paul.  This course was intense with some huge ravines and a couple 1000ft holes and the course was fairly muddy in parts.  Great course, however it was hard to get in a rhythm with my throws and conversation.

Leaving Florida via the A1A

Cocoa, FL

Good news.  After supporting the local Palm Coast Ford dealer, my car is working again.

Time in Florida is coming to an end.  For the last weekend I finished up the last section of the Lehigh trail.  At the end of the trail, for no particular reason I just kept on going.  I ran clear to the ocean.  And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going.  The weather was great for a 10 mile run.  The view from the bridge overlooking the ocean was absolutely astounding.

Sunday, destination Cocoa, F. Burton Smith Park.  I played a round with Ron, who coincidentally had a son named Robert.  Ron is Catholic, involved in serving God/family/community, and overall a very amiable guy.  That and he has played pro disc golf in the past, so to say the least he was good.  Also, we were able to talk and share a little bit about our beliefs.

Now for the drive home.  I was hoping to come up with a creative way to state the following fact, but about all I can say is: I ran over a nail.

I will miss the tacos in Palm Coast.  The next stop is North Carolina.

From St. Augustine to Heteroscedasticity

Here come the variety post of my life in the past week or so...


Randomly drove Nathan to Walmart.   This past week was "cold" for Florida, and a bit rainy too so it seemed like the right thing to do.

Saturday I went for a drive north towards St. Augustine.  The wind was so strong it made the photos blurry.  Either that or the slightly collected dust amidst the edges of the lens in addition to an unsteady hand was the culprit of the blur.  Relax with the following images or visit a history lesson on the area.

 

Saturday was followed by an early morning drive to First Baptist Orlando.  Sunday was a blessing with the opportunity to see a friendly smiling face from home, Matt W!  Alas, afternoon came and time to head to the disc golf course.  This time there was no tournament at the Gordon Barnett Park. David and Matt were my guides through the course and had some good tips.  David's personality reminded me of Ken back in Schoolcraft.  His views on life is that it is out there.  It's all around, to be enjoyed, experienced, and so on.  As to what David meant, I am still in part perplexed.  After a long 14 hour day and numb fingers a drive back to Palm Coast was in order.

I have also added a few new vocab terms thanks to the data analysis course I am auditing.  Namely: curvilinear and heteroscedasticity.  The course lectures do make great use of various xkcd comics as well keeping the course interesting.  It is always good to know that green jelly beans are linked to acne.  Anyone see the news on more laws linked to reduced violent deaths? Yeah...the research did not show that, but I'm sure it sold the ads.


To continue on with the variety, here are some pictures from the Clearwater/Dunedin area from the other week.

Lastly, my lunch break:

Here comes bike week...