Welcome to Breckenridge

An actual flying saucer! 

Yuh, okay it is an overpass, but do you see any access for cars? It's not a tunnel. It's not for snowmobiles. But is for safety. It is a migration overpass for deer and elk .. and of course for any squirrel that happens by. Many western states have taken aggressive action to keep deer and elk from crossing roads willy nilly. In this photo, you can see a bunch of fence posts along the road and on the overpass. These long continuous strings of fence line the highways and prevent crossings. The fences simply keep the deer and elk off the road and on the grassy plains. If they want to migrate, they cross on these overpasses. Now HOW the deer and elk find the overpasses is another question!  I did not see any signs that say "Deer. Please cross here" or any crossing guards either (but they may only show up during the "big" migration.) Alicia and I have seen these before and they actually are located based upon studies of the dominant migration paths in the ...

We went off on Friday to fish the Colorado River during the salmon fly hatch.. Big huge bugs. The river was a bit dirty, but that is expected during this time of year. (Alicia's note: we traveled down about 3000 feet in elevation ... we actually saw 70 degrees later in the day.) Alicia was doing well, and I was doing okay. But, she was landing then while mine were all getting off. She landed four nice brown trout, of which the last one was by far the largest - around 16-18". Given the circumstances  a photo was not taken, but now we both think that talking about it is one thing, showing it is another. So....  Alicia lands a nice brown trout - 14"?. She hooks up again # 3 # 4 should have gone here! It was SO big!  (Alicia's comment: some day I'll learn the right way to hold the fish ... I just get so anxious to get the thing back in the water!) The big ugly bug - salmon fly.  A bit yukky when they land on your neck! 

Found these at the entry gates to a stone yard. Big scary sentries! With the hair on these guys, these pieces certainly belong in the Shea art portfolio.

It snowed again last night, about 1-2". AM temps about 37F -- we decided to go fishing. The best thing to do is to go over the Hoosier Pass (11,500') and continue south. It is pretty interesting to see how much better the weather is "on the other side". Hoosier Pass is on the Continental Divide. "The other side" is a lot flatter and more open than anything north of Breckenridge, so the views can be to be quite spectacular. This day was a little overcast, but still, it was nice to be fishing for a few hours. (and only 45 minutes from the house) Alicia is focused! Nice form! This is a place called Tomahawk --- a nice place! Along the road

Well, the ski area is closed, so that rules out that idea. Let's head for some sun. That means heading down in altitude, and someplace. The place that we chose was Colorado National Monument, just outside of Grand Junction, a 3-hour drive, and a comfortable 65F. We had never been there before, so it was to be something new. It was something new, as well as being something old. It looked familiar. The Colorado National Monument lies within the Colorado Plateau (  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Plateau   ) which is a geologic formation that spans over 4 states: CO, AZ, UT, and NM. The rock strata of the CNM is the same as that of many other parks: Grand Canyon, Zion, Arches, and many more.  So, when we were looking at its features, we saw a lot that looked like other places that we have been to. So, it was new and it was "old" at the same time. The dominant strata of the CNM were Wingate, Kayenta and Estrada and on the Wingat...

So.... we are leaving the house and a guy is running by, and it seems his dog is right on his heels. Funny looking dog!  Actually, the guy stops, looks back, and Foxy stops. The guy starts running again and off goes Foxy! The guess here is that "she" has a litter and is looking for any food, please any food, after 21" of snow. Foxy Lady  On the way back to the house from the day trip, we were happy to see Missy Moose, just down the street from the house. Hello Missy!  Fancy looking do, --- she must be using "product" and the new high shave popular among moose. Missy Moose

Storm is over, ended up with 21" on the big post on the right. And it was 90+ in New England Have a seat!

What a difference a day makes!! And it is May 18th! Forecast says 1-3 ft, and at 9700' it could be nearer to the top estimate. If (when) the sun comes out it could melt in a day just as fast --- stay tuned. Skiing at A-Basin would be great. Problem is, you can't get there -- town has already put away most of the snow removal equipment.  Friday  Thursday

This year we accepted a house sit, really more a caretaker role, in Breckenridge CO. The sit extends from May 13th to Oct 31st, or at least that is the plan - it could be a bit shorter.  Yes, that is 5 months plus. And there are no pets to take care of! (Though we do enjoy "our" pets.) The house sits up over Breckenridge Town and has a commanding view of the mountains. Plenty of room to get lost in (5 bdrms and quite a large open concept living space). We are living at about 9700'. As a result, we are well aware of the need to acclimatize and to take it easy for at least the first week. We spent 4 weeks in this area 3 years ago and did just fine, so we are not expecting too many problems. Having driven straight to the house, we had limited time to acclimatize. That night, we both found that our heart rates were elevated, but expectations are for that to get back to normal (we hope!) We plan on doing a bunch of hiking and fishing as well as extended travel around t...