The species in the foreground is rabbitbrush, AKA Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus. Common in our arid Colorado landscape, it’s only a fire hazard when it’s dead. On Saturday Ben and I – along with 30 or so other Roxborough Parks & Trails volunteers including the local cub scout pack – spent the morning clearing dead rabbitbrush from Schmidt Nature Park. We also excavated the stone foundation of an old (circa 1900’s) shed/barn with numerous interesting farm implement finds that were turned over to the Roxborough Historical Society for cataloguing & preservation.
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Afterward, we battled the cub scouts for pizza and beer provided by @RampartsHOABob. Being smaller and nimbler, the scouts won the pizza battle. But the drinks were still icy cold, so that’s something at least.
On this the day that hurricane Milton is set to slam into the gulf coast of Florida, a pair of stories from History.com which support the conclusion that October 9th is a day of disaster. It also leads us to the inevitable rhetorical question, “What are the odds?”
First, from 1992, the curious story of an orange 1980 Chevy Malibu in Peekskill, NY. It met an unusual fate in a young woman’s driveway, here.
On October 9, 1992, 18-year-old Michelle Knapp is watching television in her parents’ living room in Peekskill, New York when she hears a thunderous crash in the driveway. Alarmed, Knapp ran outside to investigate. What she found was startling, to say the least: a sizeable hole in the rear end of her car, an orange 1980 Chevy Malibu; a matching hole in the gravel driveway underneath the car; and in the hole, the culprit: what looked like an ordinary, bowling-ball–sized rock. It was extremely heavy for its size (it weighed about 28 pounds), shaped like a football and warm to the touch….
Second, from 1963, the tragic story of a landslide in Italy that killed thousands, here.
On October 9, 1963, a landslide in Italy leads to the deaths of more than 2,000 people when it causes a sudden and massive wave of water to overwhelm the Diga del Vajont dam. It was built in the Vaiont Gorge to supply hydroelectric power to Northern Italy. Located 10 miles northeast of Belluno, it rose 875 feet above the Piave River below and was a full 75 feet wide at its base. The construction of the dam created a large reservoir, which held more than 300,000 cubic feet of water. While the dam was solidly constructed, its location was a poor choice. The Vaiont Gorge was located in a section of the Alps known for instability. In 1963, the area experienced heavy rains….
We picked Ben up from DIA last night. He was lucky to make it out of Orlando on a United Flight a little earlier than planned after his work conference ended. If you’re into silver linings, the high point in Florida is 345′ above sea level. That makes it unlikely that a landslide will produce the same result there as it did in the Italian Alps 61 years ago. On the downside, it makes the probability of a storm surge in Tampa Bay that much higher. So there’s that.
If you’re stuck in central Florida today, we wish you godspeed. If you happen to own an orange 1980 Chevy Malibu, I guess you’re on your own.
I just love trail runners’ sense of humor. Saw this sign on a 25K/50K course in the high country today. Had to wait for 50+ very fit folks all wearing numbered racing bibs and compression socks to pass me on the Mason Creek trail. Lucky for me I was only doing 16K and I was walking. To each his own I guess. Just one question: “Bigger Engine?”
Not sure if I “suffered better,” but I did OK for a geezer.
Yeah. The fall folliage was aspen-tastic in Staunton State Park today.
The aspens were fantastic, and more easily appreciated at my slower pace. Can’t figure out why so many are red this year. Any ideas?
I pass Vince the Sign Guy’s handiwork for Indian Hills Community Center every time I go up Parmalee Gulch Road on the way to Kittredge and Mt. Falcon. I’ve got to say, he rarely disappoints. Even when he’s feeling judgy.
In the Breaking Bad prequel, lawyer Jimmy McGill, who has a knack for self-promotion, produces a series of ambulance-chasing TV commercials with the tagline “Gimme Jimmy.” See the promo, here. Later, after changing his name, the trademark for his bus-bench ad campaign morphs to the eponymous “Better Call Saul.” And while I do love Bob Odenkirk’s portrayal of the legal scoundrel, today’s birthday shout-out goes to a different Jimmy who is turning 100 years old. The History.com commemoration is here.
Gimme Jimmy. Carter, that is.
Before his 1976 election to the highest office in the land, Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer, not a lawyer. And after his term was up, he gained further notoriety as a spokesperson for Habitat for Humanity, not meth manufacture. Now in hospice care at his Plains, GA home, his earthly days are dwindling fast. But his legacy of solid citizenship lives on. So, no matter your current affiliation, let’s all join together in a rousing bipartisan 100th birthday chorus for POTUS39: Gimme Jimmy! (“Because moxie is in such short supply these days.”)
Erasmus of Rotterdam was a 16th century satirist whose attacks on clerical abuse laid some of the foundations for the Protestant Reformation. His best known work, In Praise of Folly, has never been out of print since its initial publication in 1509. And while that’s an impressive literary track record – and while I’m all for attacking clerical abuses where possible – I’m borrowing his title for an entirely different purpose.
To wit: The 2024 Chicago White Sox have just concluded a baseball season in which they lost a MLB-record-shattering 121 games. The full story is here. An excerpt is below. And Erasmus, I’m pretty sure, is rolling over in his grave.
How bad were the 2024 White Sox? Up in the press box, reporters traded terrible stats like kids trading scary stories around a campfire. Chicago started the year 3-22, and in a recent stretch of home games they went 1-28. They slumped through separate losing streaks of 21 games, 14 games, and 12 games. Over the course of the season, the White Sox have been outscored by more than 300 runs. After a while, the numbers feel less like statistics than like some sort of numerical insult comedy.
Best quote? The tweet from Kevin Brown accompanying this clip. “Oh my goodness. The White Sox have just gone full White Sox.” At that point, the Boys from Chicago’s South Side were only on their way to losing game #109. Go figure.
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Believe me, as a casual follower of a home-town Rockies team who finished 33 games behind the first-place Dodgers in the NL West, I know from futility. Still, there’s something almost magical about a team this bad. And sometimes ya just gotta give a shout-out In Praise of Folly: Go Rox. Go Sox. Go Erasmus of Rotterdam.
At least the ownership group in both the latter instances saved a little on player payroll this season compared with the Dodgers’ league-leading total of $352,849,147 – for comparison purposes, please note:
Rockies – $159,327,868
White Sox – $156,089,177
For those of you keeping score at home that’s 18th and 20th out of a total of 30 teams in the league. Any guesses on who #30 is? Here’s a hint: They only spent $80 mil on player salaries in 2024, and they’re moving to a new stadium soon….
Ah well, only 135 days or so until Spring Training. See the Countdown Clock, here. For the record? Erasmus and I can hardly wait.
The 2024 White Sox were historically bad. How bad? Worst team in MLB since the Protestant Reformation, bar none.
The hour right before sunset is known to photographers as “The Golden Hour.” That seems about right to me.
Like I said: Golden Hour.
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The one way trek from the Alpine Visitor’s Center to Milner Pass is 4 miles and it’s all downhill. That makes it perfect for those who want an easy 90-minute hike. Forest Canyon Pass sits at the halfway point, both in terms of distance and elevation. Tree line is about 12,000′ so the terrain is all open alpine tundra above, and all mixed pine-spruce-fir forest below. As I’ve said before, this is my favorite hike in all the world.
A lovely couple who run a head shop in Arkansas – they were on a week’s sojourn to the Rockies – took our picture. And we took theirs. His white beard was very striking (think: Mr. Natural), but I had on my red Cardinal’s cap, so there’s that. All in all, I got in over 21k steps yesterday, and surprisingly I don’t feel too bad this morning. So…. I guess I better get out there and hit it again. Another month and this place will be under a deep blanket of snow, so time’s a-wastin’.
See on FB, here. AVW leafpeep pix on Insta are here.
