Celebrations and Distractions

What? You're still there waiting for me to post more pictures? I thought by now everybody would have given up. Last Saturday, Karen, Mary, Stephen and I drove up to Dallas for the December luncheon, which did double duty as Uncle Bob's 90th birthday party. Our ride north did double duty too, as the Parker Express delivered Great Aunt Camille's rocking chair to our niece, Cat. We celebrated the Longhorns' football prowess on the drive up, then switched over at halftime to celebrate Uncle Bob's 90th.

Stephen handled game updates for us through the 2nd half as the wheels fell off our improbable Big XII Championship drive. That 2nd half was when Bob's celebration took on all the attributes of a necessary distraction - we really thought we were going to beat the Sooners twice this year. So after the birthday party wound down in Dallas the somewhat drawn out Parker Express delivery of Cat's baby rocker to Arlington took over distraction duty, and did a fine job.

Our timing was perfect. Catlynn had just gotten up from her nap when we arrived. Stephen documented the passing of ownership with the rocking chair's delivery to Cat and I started clicking away with my Canon at my newest model.

The chair came with documentation of its own. Mary handed over two framed pictures of the chair, tended in the first by the young Camille, and in the second by a young Nicolette.

The significance of the pictures seems lost for a few moments on young Catlynn, But I'm sure she'll come around in time.

Here, Aunt Angela  is studying the pictures. Perhaps she'll pass on to the baby just what the pictures have to do with anything.

The final piece of documentation is a snapshot of the family tree showing how Cat and Catlynn are related to Camille Winder, the original owner of the subject chair.

I think the kitten is quite taken with the 100+ year old rocking chair. "What do you think about it, Daddy?"

No time like the present to go over this family history stuff again.

The history lesson over, now's a good chance to practice delayed gratification. "I'll ignore the chair for now and push my walker forward just far enough to make it talk."

"Any of y'all think I can get onto this rocker by myself? Anybody who doesn't think I can?"

"Mama, I really like that chair."

Day Nine - Spanish Peaks and the Cuchara Valley

Okay, the final post for my 2018 California Roadtrip. Home tomorrow. I'll be glad for a break. In planning for the trip, I knew it was going to take a day and a half to get home from the Sand Dunes, so I chose my detour route down CO-12 just to see the area around Cuchara, where Michael and Kay had for years taken their family on vacation when the kids were young. Just hearing about it made me think I'd like to see it - it's just taken 40 years or so. But choosing the highway was the only prep I'd conducted.

These are the Spanish Peaks viewed from Co Rd 450 just S of US-160, NW of La Veta. They're impressive, right? So impressive, I decided West Spanish Peak was probably Pike's Peak.

And that was fine the closer I got (it kept getting more impressive) but eventually, after I passed through La Veta with no references there at all to Pike's Peak, I decided it had to be some other mountain. I've since looked up Pike's Peak and if I'm ever in the area (the right area) I will probably check out the real Pike's Peak.

This view of the mountain reminded me of my last trip to Big Bend (in spite of all the greenery). Remember in my Big Bend post I told you about magmatic dikes? Those igneous intrusions into the earth's crust that were left when layers of other, softer rock eroded? That's what got my attention when I saw this view. West Spanish Peak is, of course, the mountain center stage. And, between us are a 7920 ft ridge hiding the mountain's lower reaches, then the Cucharas River, and finally CO-12, winding south in Rilling Canyon.

A few miles down the road I came upon The Devil's Stairsteps. I thought, "cool, they're all over the place." And that was satisfactory - until I googled said Stairsteps. The Colorado Geological Survey made things a little more complicated - well, suggested it was a little more complicated than I had thought. I think I understand what they're telling me, but the explanation doesn't quite make sense (to me), so I'll leave it at that for now. Maybe I'll get back to this somewhere down the pike, but it's too much to take on just now.

This is a farm/ranch alongside the highway in Cottonwood Canyon, two and a half miles north of the town of Cuchara. Nice.

This is the view looking west (and uphill), south of Cuchara still on CO-12, just a mile SE of Boyd Mt (which is out of frame to the right). That's all, I just liked the clouds.

And, finally, the view looking west across North Lake. Thus far I'd been well pleased with my chosen route through Cuchara. But this lake is North Lake and you'd expect the next similar size lake just a mile and a half south down the road to be South Lake, Right? Wrong! That lake is Monument Lake.

First the dikes, then Monument Lake - I'm too tired for this. My vacation is over - now I'm just driving home. Get some sleep in Dalhart tonight, have brunch with my cousin Rachel in Amarillo tomorrow, drive back to Austin and sleep for a week. Oh, yeah - then write the blog posts. Done!

Day Nine - Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

Great Sand Dunes NP and Preserve hasn't got an awful lot of infrastructure to take care of - a Visitor Center, Campsites, parking areas, and privies - and yeah, a huge sand box. A satellite view shows a semicircle of sand 7.5 mi north to south embraced by two creeks, Medano on the east and Sand on the northwest. The creeks - at least Medano Creek seems to come and go of its own volition as far as I can tell, but I haven't found a very good written description, though there are plenty of pictures of families playing in the cool, clear, shallow creek.

I didn't stick around very long - got my pictures and got out - but that should not be taken as a poor recommendation on either the park or dunes, which are impressive. It's not the greatest thing you'll ever see but, if you're ever close, take the time to let the amazement wash over you. There's really not a lot left to say, so I'll cease and desist and let you consider the dune photographs on your own.

This dearth of commentary is really humiliating and I find it inexplicable. The exigencies of finishing these last couple posts, I suppose. There will be one more post tomorrow to close out my 2018 California Roadtrip.  Enjoy the pics.