whew | Life on a Colorado Farm

Sign

For all of you hikers out there, add this to your 100 trails you must hike before you die list. It is a 10 mile circular trail, traveling over a crest and looping back to the start point.

Through-the-Trees

When I was young, 11, 12, 13, and 14, we lived on Grand Mesa (Colorado) every summer due to my health.

Rock-Side

(It is just an hour away).

Up-the-Craig

Every week for the first two years, Momma, my brother and I would hike this trail.

Up-the-Crest

I don’t remember it being such a hard thing to do, but whew! It is!

Over-the-Top

(Pant, Pant, Wheeze…man the things I do to post on a blog!!! Whew!)

On the crest both sides of the path drop off steeply allowing the hiker to look into Mesa County on the right

Delta-County-Side

See the bookcliffs in the distance?

Land-of-the-Lakes

and Delta County on the left. Grand Mesa has 100’s of lakes.

Down-the-Trail

We gradually get back to tree line.

5-Miles-across

Walking along the lower edge

Around-the-Lake

Until we get back to the cars.

Down-the-Other-Side

There you have it, a top of the world tour from Grand Mesa, Colorado!

The weather is always such an interesting subject. I suppose it is because we all live so close to the land that weather is part and parcel of what we do every day.

We are still having rain. Some days just a down pour or two, some days lots of rain, or just a gentle rain that goes on for days. Anyway it is more rain than normal…. we are also experiencing signs that an early fall and a hard winter are on the way. (Sigh. Double Sigh)

Weirdly the milkweed plants are already setting seed pods, weeds that never show up until late August are blooming wildly right now and there are other signs.

I dread winter!!! I love spring, summer, and fall, but winter drags on me. Just plain drags and to think of one that comes early and lasts long….oh, I don’t even want to go there.

So here is a photo of the down pour three days ago. With an afternoon thunderstorm predicated for today. The sun sure has been nice! And it IS July so I have several months before I have to worry, now don’t I?

Rain-on-Vacation