PAWNEE BUTTES

This is an unusual sunset from Fort Morgan.  Pretty.

From 08312013

We took a day trip to the Pawnee Buttes. We drove past acres and acres of sunflowers.

From 08312013

Allan got up close and personal with one.

From 08312013

Of course, as you can tell by all of our pictures on this post, we are in an agricultural area. We saw a number of these tire walls and decided they were for the cattle to provide protection from the wind and snow.

From 08312013

We did see several wind mills working.

From 08312013

We saw several babies with their mamas. Cute.

From 08312013

At several points we could see wind generators for miles.

From 08312013

These are a few of the Pawnee Butts. They were not too impressive for the long drive it took to get here, but we did enjoy seeing the farm land. We even ran across a cowboy repairing his fences.

From 08312013

This is the type of road we traveled. We went through many cattle crossings. You can see rain in the distance.

From 08312013

GATHERING OF THE COUSINS

From 2013-09-06

Allan basically finished the project in La Salle. There was still a little painting left to do, but the pastor was going to take care of that. We returned to Fort Morgan, Co to find the contractors busy erecting the new frame structure. While they were setting the trusses, Allan cleaned up more of the lumber that was removed following the collapse of the previous structure. Allan and I met some of Allan's cousins for lunch in Fort Morgan at Elaine Greek Restaurant which is located at the country club. One of his cousins had driven from Scottsbluff, Ne and the other three came from the Denver area. Since the restaurant was not crowded, we were able to stay several hours and catch up on family current events and past recollections. We had a delightful time.

MOUNT EVANS

After we returned to the La Salle project, we took a day trip to Mount Evans which is west of Denver.
It was 15 miles from the entrance of the park to the summit.  Although it was paved, it was a narrow, two-lane road filled with pot holes, frost heaves, edges breaking off with no shoulders in most areas and hair pin curves.

From 2013-08-24

From 2013-08-24

From 2013-08-24

Unfortunately it was a cloudy day.  Half way to the top we experienced a short burst of heavy sleet.  The temperature was 42 degrees so the sleet melted rather quickly.  At 11,540 feet there have been 160 acres set aside for research and protection of the bristlecone pine tree which grows twisted for a stronger foundation against extreme winds.

From 2013-08-24

From the top at 14,130 feet we could look out over the surrounding mountain ranges and could even make out Denver in the distance.

From 2013-08-24

When you arrive at the parking area on top, you can hike another quarter of a mile on a very rocky and uneven trail.

From 2013-08-24

We had planned to do the hike, but after walking a portion of the way Allan felt it was too dangerous for me as I might fall and land on my bionic knee.  The wind was blowing rather strongly which made it feel much cooler.  In 1979 a fire destroyed the Crest House  restaurant which was not rebuilt, but some of the rock walls remain standing.

From 2013-08-24

The picture shows the rain clouds around us.  It looks like we are at the same level as the clouds.

From 2013-08-24

In this alpine tundra the weather is harsh with a cold and dry environment it experiences intense sunlight and high winds.

The only animal we sighted was a marmot who stood up and posed for us.

From 2013-08-24

  While we were on the trail Allan got a picture of this flower.  You wonder how it could thrive in this harsh weather.

From 2013-08-24

After leaving Mount Evans we stopped at a McDonalds in Idaho Springs for a drink and potty break.  On returning to our Jeep we found a problem.  The car would not start.  We were able to get a jump start from a wrecker service so our next stop was Wal-Mart for a new battery.  Praise the Lord it was an easy fix.  .

SECOND TRIP TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

Allan took a picture of a beautiful sunset while we were still in Fort Morgan. 

From 2013-08-24

I got a picture of a storm building in the clouds.  Most of the nights we could look out our window and watch storms off in the distance producing a lightning show.

From 2013-08-24

They have so many trains here and long ones I might add.  I could not get the effect of the length so got a picture of two engines that were pulling the long train.

From 2013-08-24

Since we had to wait on the church to be reframed, we moved back to La Salle to work on that project.  It continued to be very hot.

On one weekend we decided to go back to Rocky Mountain National Park and drive the dirt road (Fall Rivers Road) up to the top. 

From 2013-08-24

This is not as picturesque as the main road, but we are glad we took this road.  It had a totally different look.  A stream followed the road most of the way. 

From 2013-08-24

We did see one bull elk.   

From 2013-08-24

From 2013-08-24

We usually just go to Estes Park, drive to the top of the mountain to the visitor center and then return back to Estes Park. While at the top we decided to take the road down the other side of the mountain. It is not as pretty to me, but it has a different look, too.  There are quite a few lakes in the area. 

From 2013-08-24

We saw a large crowd stopping in an area which usually means wildlife.  Sure enough, it was a mama and baby moose taking a rest under the trees.  I am not sure how much rest they were getting with all those people around.  This time people were using their brains and not getting too close. 

From 2013-08-24

We drove back to the top of the mountain and saw several large herds of elk and big horn sheep.

From 2013-08-24

From 2013-08-24

We drove back to Estes Park and found, not an unusual sight, of several elk roaming in neighborhoods.  If you notice one has a tag with a radio.  They must be tracking her.

From 2013-08-24

And in the same neighborhood I noticed this horse.  Just had to take a picture.

From 2013-08-24

CANINE POLICE DOGS

We arrived in Fort Morgan, Co. at The Sanctuary church on August 1st.  We had difficulty getting on the road due to two problems though.  We were not able to pull in one of the slides.  After trying to find the reason for the malfunction, we were able to alleviate the culprit.  The service man that came out to work on our a/c and door awning last week had left his drill on top of the slide but under the awning.  That was an easy fix.  But then the next problem surfaced. When we tried to retract the jacks one jack would not come up.  About an hour later after much sweating and covered in grease Allan was able to manually retract the jack using a drill motor.  It was good that Fort Morgan was only an hour away.  Here is where we are parked.

From 2013-08-04

 On Saturday policemen from numerous counties came to the property here at the church.  They were having trials for the drug sniffing police dogs.  This was quite interesting to watch.

From 2013-08-04

This is the building we will be working on.

From 2013-08-04

The contractor had the framing of the building almost finished,but on Saturday the weather turned bad with tornado warnings. We pulled in the slides of the RV to lessen the effects of the wind. There is an existing house on the property which has a basement that Allan, Katie and I used twice that day as a storm shelter. After the last warning was lifted, we returned to our MH. Everything was intact. But within 5 minutes we heard a loud noise and knew immediately what had happened. Allan ran out to see the church structure laying on the ground. It was not long and the church staff and many members were there to see the damage. Everyone was thankful that no one was hurt.

From 2013-08-04

Sunday we attended church outside. Even though it has been very hot here on the east side of the Rockies it was cool under the trees. This is where they have their services on good weather days.

From 2013-08-04

We stayed on the property a few more days helping to cut and remove the damaged structure. It will be several more weeks before the building will be back up so we returned to La Salle to hopefully finish the job at Lighthouse Community Church.