The (Paint On) The Levee Was Dry!

Two more planned stops before getting home to the Gulf Coast.  The first was in the town of Pueblo, Colorado.  They have a levee mural project along the Arkansas River that has a lot of wonderful parts to it.  This project began in the 1978 when students of the local university, calling themselves the Tee Hee Artists, decided to paint over existing grafitti on the walls.  They had to do this in the dark, painting by flashlight, in an effort to try to evade arrest for defacing public property.  Even though they were covering existing grafitti, what they were doing was, in fact, still replacing old defacing marks with new defacing marks.

The first completed panel (called Fish in a Bathtub) was a hit with the community, and the city legalized mural painting on the levee, and many artists donned harnesses and other gear to paint new panels on the slanted levee.  Some fell into the river (some multiple times) and some lamented how cold it is to paint on 45-degree slant on concrete on the river, but almost all of them continued painting.  

In 1996, the Guiness Book of World Records certified the Pueblo Levee Mural Project as the largest continuous mural in the world, officially measuring 178,200 square feet (approximtely 3.5 linear miles/5 km).  Unfortunately, none of the original panels remain.  The levee, built in the 1920s, was growing old and decaying and had to be repaired.  This required jackhammering much of the initial murals in 2016 to repair significant cracks.  As of 2018, a mural in South Korea now holds the title of the largest continuous mural in the world.

But, the artists of the Levee Mural Project , though dejected, were not dissuaded.  They renewed their efforts and began a new effort at reclaiming the title of the longest mural in the world.  Proposed artwork has to be approved by a committee now prior to work begining, and there are some paint suppliers in town that will provide reduced cost or free paint to mural painters.  

It was difficult to find the path to get to them.  We crossed the 4th Street Bridge, where the first completed panel was, and found ourselves opposite the murals, but up above.  It was a sight to behold just this piece of it.

Our first look at the levee from Pearl Street

The park below is where we needed to get.  It took a while circling around to find how to get there!

The water was fairly clear - clear enough that I could get a nice shot of this fish.

The panels are kept in good repair with paint touch-ups completed as required.

Several mallards, Canada geese, and one cormorant were enjoying the murals while we were there.

Looking from the foot bridge to the 4th Street bridge.  Every panel has a mural on it.

There are decorative signs and statuary along the way.  All statuary must also be pre-approved.  Application fees for murals and statues is currently $10.

Bob greeted us while we walked a short distance on the path.  In our family, all praying mantises are called Bob.

The panels under the 4th Street Bridge currently focus on Pueblo's sister cities of (left to right) Weifang, China; Puebla, Mexico; Lucca Secula, Sicily; Chihuahua, Mexico; Maribor, Slovenia; and Bergamo, Italy.

Beginning to get hungry and out of the food I prepared at home for our trip, we made a stop in Trinidad at a Walmart for prepackaged salads and lunch meats, which we ate while taking turns driving down the road.  We stopped just short of Amarillo, Texas for the night.

Fairly bright and early, but being the last guests left in the hotel, we decided to slide by and see the new home of the Slug Bug Ranch.  We enjoyed the Slug Bugs for the first time in 2018, and we added our painting prowess to the already existing conglomeration!  They were just off I-40 in Conway, Texas, at that time.

Last fall, when we were heading to Washington, we were going to stop and see them again, but they were no longer in their spot!  After checking, I found them at the Starlight Ranch in Amarillo, which is owned by The Big Texan restaurant.  When we got there, the caretakers were power washing grafitti off the sidewalks and one of them gave us the history.  Apparently, somebody improperly took the 5 original "slug bugs" off the property in Conway while the owner of the property was trying to sell.  Once the perpetrator was located, they brought the car shells back to the property.  The owner of the Big Texan then offered to buy the original bugs and moved them to the Skyline Ranch, where he added some additional, more recent versions of the iconic cars, some longhorn cadillacs, and some silos for more things to paint.  Instead of just a field with the 5 slug bugs and some abandoned buildings, the new Slug Bug Ranch has signage and caretakers!

There are even signs of the rules which people clearly ignore.  Though it is difficult to see in the picture, it's "NOT OK to spray signs".

This is one of the originals

This is a line of new ones with the caretaker pressuring washing the sidewalk.

The new bugs have tires on them with good tread and they spin easily.

I'm not sure how much I like this new Slug Bug Ranch with more than just the iconic slug bugs.  The five original bugs are in the front, and everything behind them is new.

This was our last stop before getting home in the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.  It's now time for me to get ready for my next adventure, which is coming up soon!

From Demons to Gods

Still riding the high of knowing I was good for slow hiking gently uphill at 12,000 feet and having only gotten rain below 10,000 feet, we decided to go by the Stanley Hotel.  We didn't know at the time, but this is the 50th anniversary of when Stephen King stayed there for the inspiration of writing The Shining.  You have to pay to get into the grounds, but they give you a token that you can either keep as a souvenir or trade in for $5 off something in the gift shop.  We kept ours.  I just got some exterior shots.  First, I got a couple of shots of the Lodge.

Then I walked around the hedge maze and met this cute little bunny.  He wasn't at all concerned about me.

Finally, I made my way to the front of the main hotel and got a shot.

On the way out, we saw this bronze statue of a cameraman that we thought was in honor of King and The Shining, but it turns out that it marks an upcoming film area on the hotel grounds.

It was raining, and I was looking forward to meeting up with a friend in Denver, so we scooted on out of Estes Park on our way to Colorado Springs with a long stop in Denver.

Following a night in Colorado Springs, we headed out to the Garden of the Gods, where we had a trolley tour reserved.  The visitor center is pretty nice.  We didn't do the film, but we looked at the gift shop and the signs and views from the second story, wrap-around-ish balcony.

Our trolley driver was late, but it was a pretty good tour.  I loved the rules posted in the front of the trolley.  You have to blow them up to read them.

That building at the top left thatyou can barely see is the Pike's Peak visitor center.

I missed part of what she was saying and pointing out because I was too busy watching and shooting the bighorn sheep!

This is the pregnant woman formation

I don't remember what these were, but they were pretty.

This is the trading post.  The initial postwas just the center part, but it has been added on.

These are the little paintings on either side.  Our driver said the date they were repainted/touched up was at their feet, but I can't find it.

On the left side is a crying woman.  She said when it rains, the water runs down that track from her eye.

I don't remember this, but I like it.

She drove way to fast for me to get some shots.  I wanted to get the mule deer, the formation that looks like Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, and several others, but she just zoomed right on by.  That's okay.  We'll be back and won't be taking the trolley the next time, just self driving and doing some hiking.  Definitely a beautiful park, and the trolley ride is very informative, but do plan to do the self-drive after the trolley.  The visitor center has a QR code on a sign that will give you the highlights so you don't have to memorize what your trolley driver said.  I'm reallly looking forward to going back ad self driving and hiking when I'm more ready for altitude and snow leopards, but for now, we have more things to see, so it is time to head on down the road!

Rocky Mountain High

Up and packed the next morning after a nice breakfast at the hotel.  The freezer packs froze up nicely and kept everything chilled in the cooler.  We'll finish the meals I cooked at home by eating the hamburgers for lunch in the park.  So, off we headed.  I had gotten timed entry reservations for Rocky Mountain National Park's Trail Ridge Road, and we were able to arrive at any time after noon.

As we got closer to the park, I started noticing the changing colors on the trees.  I just love when deciduous trees are scattered among evergreens!

When we got to the visitor's center, I asked about the likelihood of seeing moose and about easy trails at high altitude.  The ranger said that the moose go into the forests and to higher altitude for their rut, so they would not likely be seen.  That was disappointing.  That was one of the main animals I wanted to see in this park.  She said the elk will tend to come out to the meadows for their rut, so many of the meadows are closed to hikers, but we might get to see some elk from the road and parking lots.    As for the hiking trail, she recommended two for beginners - one with lots of stairs and one on a graded incline.  So, with that in mind, we entered the park and started pulling out at the overlooks while climbing in altitude.  Trail Ridge Road, our entry point, is the highest continuous paved through-road in the US, and promised amazing views.  We went west to east, starting at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center in Grand Lake.  We went past some of the trailheads I would have hiked to see moose because I wanted to save my spoons for the altitude hike if the moose aren't likely to be there.

A nice view of the Never Summer Mountains

Poudre Lake at Milner Pass (Continental Divide)

Fall River Pass.  This is where the hike with the stairs was.  It's also where you would find the Alpine Visitor Center and where we had lunch.

Gore Range

The highest point of the road at 12,183 ft.  You would think there would be a marker here, but you would be wrong.

Lava Cliffs.  These were formed from a lava flow from an eruption from the Never Summer Mountains about 28 million years ago.  Receding glaciers then cut open the hillside, revealing the cliffs as we can see them today.  Prairie falcons and American pipits are supposed to nest here, but they apparently weren't home when we came by.  You can see the holes they would nest in and the remnants of their most recent habitation, though.

Rock Cut

Rock Cut and the Tundra Communities on the other side of the road are closed to off-trail hiking because it is in the tundra, where the vegetation is delicate, taking years to develop.  This is where I decided I would take my hike.  The wind was whipping and my altimeter said we were at 12,116 feet (3,693 m).  The brochure said it was 12,110.  I'll take either one.  There was a slope, so they may have measured at a lower spot than I did.  I measured by the car.  It's estimated that the usable oxygen at this altitude is approximately 35% less than at sea level.

I'm trying to get ready to see snow leopards at some point.  I haven't decided whether to try in India or Mongolia, and my ability to handle hiking at altitude will be the deciding factor.  If I go to Mongolia, I'll be dealing with altitudes of around 8,600 feet (2,600 m), and should be fine with work done on Mt. Rainier (though I would still want to spend some time hiking on Pike's Peak before I go).  If I go to India, I'll need to be sure I can do trails on Pike's Peak with ease.  Pike's Peak is around 14,000 feet (4,267 m).  The altitudes in India can get as high as around 19,000 feet (5,791 m).  With my health problems, including shortness of breath because of heart issues, I will probably do Mongolia, but a girl could hope!  And it certainly won't hurt me to train as if I'm going to India!

The Tundra Communities Trail is considered an easy trail.  It's paved, a little over a mile in-and-out, and has an elevation gain estimated to be 175 feet (53 m).  The wind was whipping and it was cold.  My altimeter said it was 54 degrees Fahrenheit (12 Celcius), so I put on a hoodie and set out.

There were a variety of little signs like this, explaining certain things or putting quotes from different people.  I'm just glad they gave me a chance to pause and take my breath without making it obvious that I was struggling.  I wasn't the only one, though.

This is a "rock stream" described in the sign above.  The rocks get thrust up as the ground repeatedly freezes and thaws.

These are called the "Mushroom Rocks".  They were a side trail that I didn't take.  It wasn't a long trail, but I was quickly running out of spoons.

Different colored lichen grows on the rocks as well as on the ground.  The signs kept telling me there would be pika and marmots in these rock piles, but they weren't home, either, when I came by.

This was the end of the trail.  Some people climbed up on the largest rock, and there were footholds to to get up there.  One of the guys that went up said there were signs and a waypoint up there.  But, I couldn't trust my balance to climb up there.  I was happy that I made it to the end of the trail, though.

My altimeter said I went to 12,303 ft (3,750 m).  The brochure says the trail goes to 12,285 ft.  I beg to differ with them.  I will take the extra 18 feet, thank you very much, for a gain of 187 feet (57 m) at just barely into very high altitude (measured by my altimeter from bottom to top)!

This was a view of Rock Cut from the Tundra Trail.

Various tiny wildflowers in the tundra.  We were all very careful not to touch them.

By the time I got back to the car, Bruce was very concerned.  He said he saw people who left after me coming back before me and he thought he was going to have to send somebody for me.  But, I made it, even with stops.  I might have had an easier time if I had remembered to bring water, but...  

I really didn't have the energy to get out and take pictures on the drive back down the mountain - until we came upon one of those closed meadows where the ranger said we might see elk.  We didn't see elk.  We saw a juvenile moose in one of the Sheep Lakes!  I was so excited, I suddenly had all kinds of energy - and very little common sense.  I grabbed The Baby (the camera with the 150-600 mm lens and the 2x extender (making it an effective 1200 mm lens without even considering my crop-sensor camera attached) and headed to the edge of the meadow!  I didn't even think about grabbing a tripod, and I had two of them in the car!  There were loads of people in the meadow, and this baby didn't seem to mind them at all, but I stopped at the "meadow closed" sign and used it as a stabilizer for that huge lens.  I got some nice shots!  I'll only share a few of the over 500 pictures I took of this one moose!

This was my first view.  Of course, I now have a moose butt to go with many other animal butts I have!

She was going at that water!  You can see the white of her eyes!

She went deep for the drinks, but when she came up with grass, she dropped it instead of eating it.

This is my favorite.  I don't know what sound caught her attention, but she seemed to really like it.

Many spectators who spent lots of time in the park believed this to be this year's calf of a mama moose called "Green Ears" who died earlier this year.  Green Ears was known to stay fairly close to places people would be and tended to be calm around people, even with new calves.  If so, that would explain why this juvenile didn't appear at all concerned about the people crowding the lake she was in, paying no attention to all of the "meadow closed" signs, but probably staying the 25 yards suggested to stay away.  She looks healthy for having lost her mother at such a young age.  I tried to get a video, but without a tripod, it was pretty shaky.

We spent a lot of time making unfair comparisons between Rocky Mountain National Park and Mt. Rainier National Park.  While they are both mountains with alpine areas, they are very different parks.  One has glaciers and one has moose.  Those are very important distinctions!  It was a very nice park, indeed, and we will be coming back!

We saw no elk in the park, but on the way to our hotel, there was a doe and her fawn in the parking lot of a shopping center!

Sorry for the quality of the picture.  Traffic didn't want to stop, and we were tired and wanting to get to our hotel before the rain/snow started falling, as predicted.