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Escape from New York
(to Colorado)
Summer 2009

20 miles outside Bailey

Part of a spine we found while out on a hike

A hike we took.

Our trusty tent... The big rock formation behind us was HUGE; pictures don't do it justice.

A lovely thistle! Aaron tried to eat one. It was not good.

Aaron's moss goatee.

Aaron with a mustache made of moss. A mosstache.

A chipmunk!

One of our raven buddies atop a tree...

Nathrop

A dry river bed near Buena Vista.

A casual Aaron in the river.

A river.

Aaron in one of his battles.

Me at the top of Cottonwood Pass - almost 14,000 feet high!

Aaron also on Cottonwood Pass.

Aaron contemplating. Or peeing. Possibly both on Cottonwood Pass.

Lovely lake on top of the mountain...

Aaron in the Collegiate Peaks.

Me in the Collegiate Peaks.

I set up our camera on a rock and took a self-timed picture...

Aaron finds, and then eats a bush of wild raspberries.

Aaron chopping wood for the night.

Westcliffe

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Bruce's back yard.

Bruce's garden.

True free-range cows. They go anywhere they want...

A bird's nest on Bruce's house.

Sunset from Bruce's back yard (that may be a hummingbird in the sky.)

Same scene during the day.

Bishops Castle

Some crazy old mountain man has been building this by himself since 1969. It's in the middle of the Wet Mountain range.

A blue Jay in front.

Closer look at the base - he lifted all these rocks with his own pulley system.

You can get a sense of how HUGE this is by looking at the size of the spiral stairs on the left tower. Horrifying. And Aaron went up there.

I was satisfied to draw the interior.

Bruce telling me what's what in this game of life...

Ceiling/glass windows of the inside.

Ceiling.

The spiral staircase leading up. Horrifying.

Much higher than the trees...

A close look at the old mountain man craftsmanship. Horrifying.

The dragon. He has seen better days.

Cool cloud-breathing dragon.

The tallest tower.

A <shudder> ladder tied to the tower with rope for an alternate path to the top. Horrifying.

Crazy mountain man sculpture on one of the towers.

View from the highest tower. Aaron is my hero for taking this picture.

Music Pass in the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains

On the way up - started at about 9,000 feet...

Aaron...

Lovely flowers almost all the way up...

Almost there...

Here's the summit! I pieced together a bunch of photos I took at the top...

Feeling quite pleased with ourselves at the top... Self-timed picture balanced on a rock.

Bruce pleased,

me pleased,

Aaron pleased.

The walk down...

The Res in Westcliffe

Aaron identifying plants...

A black bird we saw.

Pelicans were on the lake as Aaron slept in the tent...

Victor

Most, say 80%, of Victor is boarded up. Only the main street is paved.

It's like some ancient ruin...

A door collage made of old mining tools.

From our hotel window - the hotel and that bar are the only things not boarded up.