Little Bluff cabin cam August 31 - cool and quite delightful at sunrise!

Journal updated August 31st

PRINT OF THE WEEK SPECIALS (above)

Our brand new 2022 ARKANSAS SCENIC WALL CALENDAR is now IN STOCK and SHIPPING! (Order direct from our distributer - the University of Arkansas Press HERE, or check with your local retail shop that stocks our items.)

08/02/21 Wonderful color at dawn ...

08/03/21 43 degrees at dawn and all is well - the monsoons have begun with major storms and rainfall the past several days - sounds like more to come - here is today's weather warning for us from the National Weather Service -

8/3/2021 FLASH FLOOD WATCH FROM NOON THRU THE EVENING

In south central Colorado, Alamosa Vicinity/Central San Luis Valley Below 8500 Feet, Eastern San Juan Mountains Above 10000 Feet, Southern San Luis Valley and Upper Rio Grande Valley/Eastern San Juan Mountains Below 10000 Feet. In southeast Colorado, Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Feet, Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 8500 And 11000 Feet, Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Feet, Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 7500 and 11000 Feet, Trinidad Vicinity/Western Las Animas County Below 7500 Feet, Walsenburg Vicinity/Upper Huerfano River Basin Below 7500 Feet, Wet Mountain Valley Below 8500 Feet, Wet Mountains Above 10000 Feet and Wet Mountains between 6300 and 10000 Feet.

* From Noon MDT today through this evening.

* A weather disturbance moving through the monsoon plume will trigger more widespread showers and thunderstorms across the region capable of producing very heavy rainfall today. With the ground already saturated from recent rainfall, this will lead to a significant chance for flash flooding, especially for areas with saturated soils and in and near steeper terrain.

* Mud flows and rock slides will be possible in and near burn scars and steep terrain. Creeks, streams and normally dry washes may experience rapid flooding with damage to roads possible in and near these drainage ways. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action should Flash Flood Warnings be issued.

8pm update - we didn't get any rain, haha...

08/04/21 I gather a handful of wild raspberries each morning from the forest next to our campsite and add to my breakfast smoothie - DELICIOUS! (water, flax seeds, protein mix, almond milk, vanilla yogurt, spinach, fruit).

080721 The temp was back up to 46 this morning at dawn, but as I slowly hiked to the top of my route for sunrise warmbreezes became the order of the day - probably gonna be in the upper 70's by noon. Since it's the weekend we're sticking close to camp due to crowds of people and motorcycles in the area (350 riders doing an endoro race based in the middle of town, and up through forst service trails around us). My bride is over the hill and out of sight attempting her second pastel of the summer - a really nice scene with bright yellow wildflowers and warm-red rocks, against a cool-blue background of layered ridges. I can't wit to see it! HAPPY WEEKEND TO YOU!

08/08/21 An aster and aspen at our gate today...

08/11/21 We left at 5am this morning and by the time we were crossing the Continental Divide above Lake City the “freeze warning” on Pam’s Subaru dash was lighting up - it was 36 degrees at sunup on top. We were making a run to try and see a moose, something we’ve never seen in Colorado (in modern times) before. Like Arkansas elk, Colorado moose prefer early morning, but really, we weren’t expecting to see any moose, but figured it would be a delightful drive anyway - our last day here (heading back to Arkansas tomorrow).

Then son of a gun, Pam yelled - THERE’S A MOOSE!!! A teenage bull had just crossed the road and stood broadside to us up on the hillside - too far away for a cell phone photo, but we pulled over and were overjoyed at the sight - a MOOSE, we’d finally seen a MOOSE in Colorado! And we had not even reached out target looking location yet (Deer Lakes). We watched in silence for a while as the boy munched colorful wildflowers - not a single vehicle passed. Then we motored on.

No moose at Deer Lakes, but it was a beautiful drive on a rough forest road. Then, just before we reached the highway again, we spotted TWO BIG BULL MOOSE - both munching on bushes within 100 feet of the road! I think these were the largest bull moose I’ve seen in the lower 48 (much larger ones in Alaska back in 1980, but these guys today were impressive!). We sat and watched for 20 minutes, and I took a lot of snapshots.

OK, bull moose in Colorado - CHECK! Then we had to visit our favorite bakery of all, the tiny one in Lake City. We munched on delicious baked goods all the way back up and over the Continental Divide back to our home base camp, just in time for a nap at noon..

08/12/21 The last sunrise in the high country from the top of my hike route - we're headed home this morning via the dust bowl over across western Oklahoma

08/13/21 After a 16-hour drive (spent night at the edge of the dust bowl in the Oklahoma Panhandle) we made it HOME this afternoon! It's kinda warm... LATER, about ten seconds after I took the photo below, that entire white cloud came rushing up and over and engulfed me and the cabin - we'd just had a big thunderstorm, .4/10's inch of rain, and LOTS of THUNDER! (lightning bolt hit nearby and knocked out the phone and internet) - WELCOME BACK TO ARKANSAS!

08/14/21 After a stormy night back home in Arkansas with a giant bolt of lightning that knocked out phone and internet we have calm and cool this morning with a sea of clouds below and beautiful all around...

08/31/21 Better late than never, I guess! August didn’t begin too well for me and by sunup on the 1st I’d already messed up my back. Couldn’t walk for the first day. Was able to walk a little bit over the next couple of days but I was pretty much worthless. Eventually I was able to hike slowly around the lower/short loop near our campsite - that meant my spine was getting better.

Then we took a drive into the high country - to Groundhog Park (north of and a little east of us, high on a distant ridgetop) - which was really nice, and we didn’t see a single person - or groundhog for that matter. We stopped and hike a short distance up a hiking trail through thick forest and oh my the scent of the pines, firs, and spruces was just HEAVENLY! My bride was in charge of Wilson and I crept along with Mia. Pam found some wild strawberries, and then both Mia and I got really excited! I turned Mia loose but kept a close eye on her, and I crawled around on the ground picking a few of the delicious wild berries - there was only a single better per plant, which grew right next to the ground, and they were hidden pretty well - and small, but OH SO SWEET!

Twenty minutes later I made it back down to the car but son of a gun I didn’t have a single wild strawberry left to share.

The next day we decided to make another run into the high country (this time north of Creede), but by the time we’d returned to pavement my ailing back had been shredded by the rough 4WD road (what was I thinking!???). That little trip would cost me another week of pain - no more 4WD drive for me for a while (the moose hunting trip was the only other drive we took, and I managed to survive).

So I spent most of my time back at camp trying to recover (mostly just sitting around sucking in that cool mountain air), but I did manage work back up to a point where I could hike to the top of our road and back without too much additional pain. I know, time to slow down GEEZER!

Some days at camp we were covered up with birds and other wildlife, including a pair of monster mule deer bucks, plus a lonely coyote or two that wandered through the meadow. We had a few days in a row of violent afternoon thunderstorms, but most days were sunny and on the warmish side (upper 70’s), with nighttime lows in the 40’s.

For the first time when we packed up and headed back to Arkansas we left Pam’s car behind at camp - it’s been GREAT having it as our “local” runaround car for a variety of reasons - perhaps getting a little spoiled.

The 16-hour trip home was hot and windy, and my bride found a state wildlife area literally right next to the highway where we were able to pull over and sleep for a few hours overnight.

The first week back home was mostly cool and I was able to get out and hike more and more each day. I’ve got a hiking route literally right out the front door and down the county road that turns out to be the same length and altitude gain as my main daily hike in Colorado - about 2.5 miles and 500’ elevation gain - or I can continue on DOWN the road to make it a 5 mile hike with just over 1,000’ elevation gain.

The second and third weeks back the temp has been warmer, and I generally lose a pound or two of sweat on my hike before breakfast - but oh my the frozen smoothie is SO WONDERFUL at the end!!! (Kind of funny when comparing the same frozen smoothie I have each day when in Colorado when the temp is in the 40’s - I sometimes get a wee bit CHILLED!)

We’ve been home now almost three weeks and I’ve been on the road at least half of those days, so my behind has been in a seat for many long hours and miles. My back has slowly improved and I can hike as much as I like but still have not been doing much of anything else. I did manage a few hours on our tractor mowing some two-foot tall areas of our property.

One chore that does not agree with my back either here or in Colorado is what I’m doing right now - typing. For whatever reason I just can’t do much of it without some serious back pain. When in Colorado the only position I could type for even a few minutes was standing up outside under the gazebo. Back here in my office Pam has fitted my chair with a special contoured pad that allows me to sit back and type a little easier, but I still can’t do much, or for very long. With several book projects in the works that I’ve got to get finished I’m gonna haul that pad with us when we return to Colorado.

The other day as I drove away at dawn there was a band of 13 wild hogs in the road (outside of our fence) - ALL BLACK - and one of them I swore was as large calf he was so big! Pam looked out the window the other morning and saw two GIANT whitetail deer bucks staring back in at her - we’ve seen them a couple of times on one of the security cameras and oh my they are the largest we’ve seen here in a long while.

With the exception of the extreme temp differences between our home in Arkansas at 2,000’ and our summer hideout in Colorado at 9,000’ is the noise level - or the lack of it. We are more than two miles away and almost 1,000’ higher than the highway in Colorado and most of the time there is absolutely no noise - it is SILENT. But when we turn on one of the security cameras back at home the noise of summer birds and bugs and frogs is REALLY LOUD! And, or course, being here in person on a hot August day in the Arkansas it is really loud too. We LOVE them both, and can’t wait for fall color to start creeping in (already has here at home - brilliant RED black gums and some bright YELLOW sassafras trees). It’s gonna be a spectacular fall color season this year!

OK, I’m done for August - bring on SEPTEMBER!

One late note. Theresa Beshara-Cox reportedly headed into the woods Monday morning at 5:30am (on the trail to Hawksbill Crag) and has not been seen nor heard from since. She is a very experienced hiker and noted photographer and has spent a great deal of time off trail in difficult terrain over the years. The search and rescue efforts are ongoing and hopes are high she will be found...

UPDATE - THERESA HAS BEEN FOUND AND IS IN GOOD SHAPE - YIPPIE COYOTE!

Journal Archives - previous months

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 2016 Journal • May 2016 Journal Part B • May 2016 Journal Part A • April 2016 Journal

March 2016 Journal • February 2016 Journal • January 2016 Journal • December 2015 Journal • November 2015 Journal

October 2015 Journal • September 2015 Journal • August 2015 Journal B • August 2015 Journal A

July 2015 Journal • June 2015 Journal • May 2015 Journal • April 2015 Journal • March 2015 Journal

February 2015 Journal • January 2015 Journal • December 2014 Journal • November 2014 Journal

October 2014 Journal • September 2014Journal • August 2014 Journal • July 2014 Journal Part B

July 2014 Journal Part A • June 2014 Journal Part B • June 2014 Journal Part A • May 2014 Journal

April 2014 Journal • March 2043 Journal Part B • March 2043 Journal Part A • February 2014 Journal

January 2014 Journal • December 2013 Journal • November 2013 Journal • October 2013 Journal

September 2013 Journal • August 2013 Journal • July 2013 Journal • June 2013 Journal B • June 2013 Journal A

May 2013 Journal B • May 2013 Journal A • April 2013 Journal • March 2013 Journal

February 2013 Journal • January 2013 Journal B • January 2013 Journal A • December 2012 Journal • November 2012 Journal

October 2012 Journal B • October 2012 Journal A • September 2012 Journal B • September 2012 Journal A

August 2012 Journal • July 2012 Journal • June 2012 Journal

May 2012 Journal B • May 2012 Journal A • April 2012 Journal B • April 2012 Journal A

March 2012 Journal B • March 2012 Journal A • February 2012 Journal • January 2012 Journal B • January 2012 Journal A

December 2011 Journal • November 2011 Journal • October 2011 Journal • September 2011 Journal • August 2011 Journal

July 2011 Journal • June 2011 Journal

September 1998 Journal • August 1998 Journal • July 1998 Journal • June 1998 Journal • May 1998 Journal

Older Journal Archives