Month: July 2020

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The Centennial State Celebrates

The Centennial State celebrates its birthday tomorrow. Usually I’d just provide you with the link and trust you to read it for yourselves. But – at least for those in state – this is too important to let slide. So I’m re-printing an extended excerpt from the DP below.  Remember: Admission to CO State Parks is free on MONDAY, even though the official birth date for the state is SATURDAY, August 1st (1876).

 

Happy 144th, Colorado! 

Happy 144th

 

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The Centennial State celebrates its birthday unlike any other, but 2020 is a little different when it comes to Colorado Day festivities.

History Colorado usually celebrates with a big birthday bash on Aug. 1st, including music, dancing and a petting zoo.  But this year it’s opting for a more subdued day with free admission to the museum and online programming throughout the week. Colorado Parks and Wildlife will also celebrate the 144th anniversary of Colorado’s statehood with free entry to 41 state parks on Monday, Aug. 3rd.  <Go take a hike, Colorado!>

CPW has always celebrated Colorado Day on the first Monday of August, though Colorado actually became a state on Aug. 1, 1876. Bridget Kochel, public information officer at CPW, said State Parks are prepared for plenty of visitors and – as always – rangers will close entrances for one-in, one-out if they reach capacity….

History Colorado is also offering free admission at its downtown location from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 1st, as well as the seven other sites across the state — the Byers-Evans House Museum, the El Pueblo History Museum, the Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center, the Healy House Museum and Dexter Cabin, the Trinidad History Museum and the Ute Indian Museum. All locations require reservations in advance to manage capacity.  And (of course!) guests must wear masks.

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Last Night Over Golden

Last night if you looked to the sky around these parts you saw at least two things. First, see the below shot we took around 8PM here in Roxborough. What a sunset! Then, later on, see the 7-second video here of a meteor breaking up in the sky over Golden.  Just. Wow.

 

Last Night This Happened At Sunset

Moral of the story:  Just. Look. Up.

 

And if yer into astronomer-speak, you can read all about the meteor, here.

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Won’t Be Landing on Wall Street

Today’s DP has this story titled “Frontier Airlines Won’t Be Landing on Wall Street.”  The upshot? Frontier has pulled their IPO which was initially filed – bad timing! – back in March.   My take? As a frequent business traveler to the West Coast, I often opt for Southwest, even at a slightly higher price point. Frontier’s bungled attempt at charging extra for an unoccupied middle seat – no extra charge and standard procedure on Southwest flights until at least September – was an epic marketing fail. So,  bottom line, it’s probably best for all concerned that they shelve the IPO for now. At least until their load factor rises from below 70% to above 90%.  And also until after that guy in the middle seat stops coughing. Ahem.

 

Frontier fogger won't be landing on Wall Street any time soon.

DENVER, CO: Brandon Wilson of AvidJet disinfects a Frontier airplane with a fogger at Denver International Airport on May 6, 2020.   Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/Denver Post.

 

What’s that ya say?

 

Frontier won’t be landing on Wall Street any time soon?

No worries.  At least you’re not sitting in the middle seat!

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Angry Beavers

Continuing with our photo montage series, today’s post features one of my favorite nature photographers, Lars Leber. You can see his fantastic website, here. Below is his latest, with commentary on angry beavers.  Thanks, Lars!

 

Angry Beavers - Lars Leber
Mount Sneffels Milky Way (CO).

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I took this photo back in June. I was pretty tired that evening and the only reason I was still up was due to not finding a good camping spot since it was very busy, so I decided to take a quick stop at this beaver pond to get a shot. As soon as I set up at the edge of the pond, the beavers got angry and started to hit their tails on the water. Constantly too. Quite loud in the middle of the night. I am fine with hiking at night and camping alone, but a few questions went through my mind as I was standing at the edge of the pond unable to turn my headlamp on while taking photos. Do beavers bite? I know they have strong teeth. What disease would they transmit? Would they grab my tripod/camera and drag it into the water? Will my tripod legs be bitten in half? I did not stay too long and eventually found a nice camping spot.
😉

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Below is a shot Kate got recently of a (presumably) non angry beaver in the South Platte just below Marston Dam in Waterton Canyon.

 

Angry Beavers

Thanks, Kate!

 

 

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Photomontage

Today’s WOTD is “photomontage.” You get to guess what it means.

You also get to pick your favorite(s), below:   Happy browsing!

Extra credit for identifying people, places, and/or things.

 <Some good hints are here,>

Ready, set… GO!

 

Photomontage - America's mountainPhotomontage - Roadrunner country Photomontage - Flower shot  Photomontage - raspberry picker Photomontage - redwoods

Photomontage - Vogue goes to Shcnzhen Photomontage - Rock Run, PA Photomontage - Red Rocks

 

We start off easy-peasy with America’s mountain and God’s Garden.

On this open road, you might see a roadrunner.  Meep, meep!

A flower shot.:  Could be anywhere, right?

It’s a beach at sunset…. but which beach?

Deep blue water and very very cold …. where in the Sierras?

The “who” is easy. But the place? Think raspberries….

Tall trees, tall trees, tall trees….

Who are those beachcombers? And what are they holding?

What’s with the big family celebration?

Yeah, it’s a lighthouse – but which lighthouse?

Sure, it’s a Vogue model, but which Asian city is she in?

Yeah, it’s a trout stream, but …. well, you know.

A smiling tow-head, a couple of concert-goers, some dune-grasses….

This completes our photomontage for today.

Got guesses, anyone?

 

About your score:

 0-5 right: As a fictional high-school chemistry-teacher turned meth-manufacturer might say:  APPLY YOURSELF!

6-10 right:  Middle of the road, not too shabby, you too can be POTUS.

11-15 right:  Maybe you cheated, or maybe you’ve been sleeping with the photographer. Either way: Shame on you.

 

In any case:  Thanks for playing!

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Ten Thousand Boxes of Cigars and a Stack of Fifties

Time today for a good old-fashioned This Day In History segment. On this day in 1885, former POTUS (and Civil War general) U. S. Grant died of throat cancer.  And little wonder, too, what with his recurrent binge drinking and incessant cigar smoking. Legend has it that he received gifts of over ten thousand boxes of cigars after one particularly bloody Civil War campaign.

But hey, at least his widow was able to “scrape by” on revenue generated by sales of his memoirs which were completed just prior to his death. That’s something, at least, right? Full story of the up-and-down career of the hard-charging man pictured on the U. S. fifty dollar bill is here at History.com .

 

Ten Thousand Boxes of Cigars and a stack of fifties

 

To generate your own stack of fifties I guess you’ll just have to write your memoirs. (Trust me, you’ll never get rich blogging – this I know for a fact.)  But as for ten thousand boxes of cigars? I guess you’ll have to capture two forts in Tennessee.  And if you don’t get that obscure Civil War reference, then I guess you’ll just have to click the link and read the story. Otherwise you’ll likely die a penniless pauper with no stack of fifties for your grieving widow. Hey, buddy, you been warned. Better get cracking on the memoir. And lay off the cigars!

 

 

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Returned

I returned to hike Mt. Falcon Park this morning.

That means at least 3 things….

 

  1. The Walker estate is still there. It hasn’t changed much since it burned down following a lightning strike in 1918.

 

Returned - Walker estate

 

 

2. I drove past the famous Indian Hills Community Center sign. It changes all the time. For previous offerings, see here.   Current cheesy pizza pun, below.

 

Returned - Indian Hills

 

3.  Last but not least, I got in 5 good hiking miles before temps heated up beyond my melting point.  This morning’s route included: Parmalee Trail to Meadow Trail to Old Ute Trail to Castle Trail, then returned to Parmalee.

 

 

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Bonus old movie reference: Why is “Old Ute” an oxymoron? For answer, check out clip from “My Cousin Vinny,” here. Gotta love Joe Pesci and Fred Gwynn. And let’s not forget the incomparable Marissa Tomei, here. They just don’t make ’em like this any more!

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Wile E Coyote

Today a classic cartoon with a twist from our old pal Wile E Coyote.

 

Wile E. Coyote

 

Happy Friday everybody.

And remember:

Don’t mess with science.

<meep, meep>

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Because I’m Feeling Generous

Today, just because I’m feeling generous, you get a double whammy. Not only do you get a reprise of one of my very first posts ever – a This Day in History from July 1945,  here – but you also get two WOTDs. How lucky can one person be, eh?

FYI, when I first started out on this little enterprise, I just copied all the text from History.com for whatever day it was and – BOOM – called it good without any attribution. Now I try to write at least a bit of my own copy and provide a link – like the one here – in case you care to read the original source document. The fact that few of you actually click the link is no excuse for plagiarism, so I don’t do it that way any more. Live and learn.

 

Anyway, today’s WOTD from Merriam Webster is “callous.,” meaning:

1) being hardened and thickened,

2) feeling no emotion, or

3) showing no sympathy for others :   hard-hearted.

 

And your bonus word  for today is “ossify.” Be sure to click the link for the full scoop on this stone cold word before you turn into bone. Or maybe just become too callous to care much.  While I’m still feeling generous.  Ahem.

 

Because I'm feeling generous - KABOOM!
Mushroom cloud seconds after detonation of the Gadget in the Trinity Test in Alamogordo, NM on July 16, 1945.
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Time For Taxes

If it’s July, it must be time for… taxes? Yep, last year’s tax post  came right on schedule in mid-April. But this year… well, you know. According to those in the know, there’s gonna be a big backlog if you waited until the last minute to file, especially if you filed a paper return.  On the bright side, the IRS’ budget for enforcement is way down again this year, so the time has never been riper for “creative accounting.” You can read all about that, here.  Bottom line, by doing our taxes at the last minute, we once again successfully avoided divorce – but only by a whisker.  Any way you slice it, that’s cause for great rejoicing – even if the paperwork did run to a ridiculous 58 pages this time.

 

Time for Taxes - Benjamins

 

When it comes time for taxes, thank God for TaxAct and TurboTax.

And for a humorous look at Al Capone’s tax returns, click here.