Category Archives: Colorado
Shingles Adventure
The night before I was set to go skiing, my arm was sore enough to question whether I could properly use my ski poles. The next morning, my wife immediately diagnosed the rash on my right arm as Shingles. Surprisingly, I was able to see my doctor who confirmed it was Shingles. Within an hour, we had the Famciclovir medication immediately thereafter. The week’s worth of pills, taken 3 times daily, seemed to keep the rash under control, and I never had much scabbing. I used Lidocaine for topical pain relief (this was critical) and ibuprofen offered the best overall pain relief. After about 3 weeks, I felt like the Shingles was receding so that I could return to hiking, but that has turned out to be an entirely different recovery journey.
If you have followed my Adventures, you know that I am going through a major life change which placed me in Indiana for about 18 months, and now my new wife and I are adapting to our final destination of Grand Junction, CO. Backpacking has become a memory stretching back to February of 2022 on the Lost Coast Trail. I did hike many of the Indiana State Parks and I had been aggressively hiking the best of the day hikes around the Grand Valley. I desperately want to get back to backpacking and I do have plans for building up to a bucket list trek of the Four Pass Loop Trail in the Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness next to us. I felt like I was on track for restoring my almost 70 year old body to backpacking shape, but then came this Shingles setback. No I did not get the vaccination, Shingles was not on my radar, plus I probably believed I was invincible. I will get the vaccination soon.
The visible aspects of Shingles was fading away so I began walking in the neighborhood, quickly realizing how out of shape I felt. But it was more then being out of shape, my body was obviously affected by the Shingles (Herpes Zoster) virus which was totally zapping my energy. I could barely walk a mile and if I pushed it further I paid the price with renewed arm pain.
This struggle continued for weeks as the winter ski season was coming to a close, and I had 3 lift passes that I needed to use. By March I was hiking the trails in our new subdivision where our house is being built and the ill effects were acceptable. Plus golf season was beginning and I wanted to join a Senior’s Golf League,so it was time to push the body. I went skiing doing about 7 runs with a few days of recovery. I walked 9 holes of golf a couple of times, barely able to finish. But now at the end of March, I had to get back in the saddle. I used up my lift passes and was satisfied enough to buy a season pass for next year.
I played 18 holes with the Seniors by using a riding cart. I did some aggressive 2+ mile hikes and returned to my Oculus SuperNatural workouts. On most of these outings I would come home and crash, but recovery was acceptable. Of course I made the mistake of believing I could walk 18 holes on my second Senior’s outing. I barely was able to finish, so maybe I better ride for a while longer.
This was not an Adventure I wanted, but one that taught me a lot about aging. I am not invincible and the body is wearing down. My priorities are adjusting, but I’m still gonna push for many more Adventures as I finish up the 4th Quarter of my life. Life is good and The Adventure Continues.
Grand Junction, CO
I plan on riding out my remaining years in Grand Junction, CO, so I thought it would be handy to explain why this place captured my heart. I have gone through a major life change over the last 2 years. Divorce, reconnecting and marrying my high school sweetheart, Pam, and relocating to Grand Junction, CO. We are building our dream home overlooking the Grand Valley which will be my 30th move. So why Grand Junction? There are some logistical reasons such as being half way between our families in the US. Plus I have lived here before working at Union Oil’s Parachute Creek Oil Shale Project and I had lived in Colorado 76-87 so I knew of Grand Junction.
My life started settling down after the chaos of divorce, I then focused on where to land. I loved my previous home in Oregon; the Pacific Northwest was an awesome place to live, especially with the outdoor activities that I was always pursuing. But Colorado is also an awesome place to live, but where could I find that perfect combination of affordability and adventure? Divorce does deal you a significant financial hit, so affordability was a challenge. Cost of housing in Colorado immediately eliminated relocating to a beautiful mountain resort, or the Denver front range. I did want some city amenities but did not want to live in a crowded city. Grand Junction was on my radar, so I did my research and determined the Grand Valley could be an option. Homes starting at $400K are good values. Then I needed to get buy-in from my new wife, who had very little experience with the west, not to mention her family is mostly in Ohio. So I took her on a 5-week trip around the west to show her my life’s path and to expose her to Grand Junction the beautiful low humidity weather of western Colorado. Life Transition Post
It worked, we decided Grand Junction would be a great place to live. A big part of our story is the opportunity we came across to build our own house with an awesome view of the Grand Valley, but initially we were just searching for an affordable house ideally with a view of Mt Garfield (right). I’ll leave the house story (which is incredible) to another post, this story will be about Grand Junction.
Adventure
Grand Junction does not need a post from me to bring it publicity. It is already known as a fabulous place to live in the West. I will just give my review to help validate what is already known, and my followers will better understand what brought me here. For me, the adventure needed to continue, and I knew it had to offer access to wilderness. I guess I equate the exploration of new things, especially in the wilderness, as adventure. Making my final home in Grand Junction is an incredible adventure, and having all that western Colorado offers allows the adventure to continue. The nearby adventure attributes include the Rocky Mountains, Colorado River, Grand Mesa, Colorado National Monument, Uncompahgre Wilderness, and the 5 National Parks near Moab UT. Those adventure opportunities typically take the form of hiking and backpacking for me, but I never knew how much I would appreciate these opportunities year-round. My post “My Goto Hikes Around the Grand Valley” says it all.
Weather
The weather in the Grand Valley area is fabulous which makes all of those adventure opportunities a year-long reality. It really is an awesome climate, definitely a desert semi-arid mix. I would equate it to living in Phoenix, except 20 degrees cooler and far less crowded. It does get hot, maybe 30 days at or slightly above 100, but with 15% humidity, all you need to do is chill in the shade. Winter temperatures can get cold at night but generally get into the 30s & 40s during the day. Those temperatures again are enhanced by the lack of humidity; you can be very comfortable in the sun if the temperature is above freezing. I wouldn’t mind a bit more snow; the average snowfall is only 15″, but it sure is better not having to worry about snow. But of course, if you want to drive through the mountains to Denver, you will have to deal with serious snow.
Winter Recreation
I will be 70 in a few more months, but I still enjoy recreation other then just hiking. Skiing has always been important to me, but I only need to ski a few times every winter to recharge that battery. Powderhorn Mountain Resort with 1650′ vertical is all that I need. I have skied most of the other big ski mountains, but my body can’t justify those prices anymore. Powderhorn has some great Blue Runs that totally satisfy my needs.
Nordic Skiing has not been in my blood since I was telemark skiing long ago around Steamboat Springs. But I took those 40 year old skis and had a wonderful time cross country skiing up on the Mesa thanks to the Grand Mesa Nordic Council.
The go-to winter recreation options for the Grand Valley typically means going up to the Grand Mesa which is less than an hour drive. However, options such as Aspen, Crested Butte, or Telluride are easily accessible. I’m actually looking forward to taking my grandchildren up to the Mesa for some serious sledding.
Summer Recreation
You can include all forms of warm weather recreation in the Grand Valley, but the most popular options, other than hiking, focus on water sports or the numerous biking trails, especially around the Colorado National Monument. I am looking forward to exploring options like Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUPing) on the Colorado River or trying out some of the easier mountain biking trails. There are 28 miles of paved trails, mostly highlighted by the Riverfront Trail, which we have taken advantage of numerous times already.
Another activity that I am looking forward to returning to is Fishing, and oh boy, those 300 lakes up on the Mesa along with the rivers sure do encourage that.
Community
What kind of community is Grand Junction? It is a regional hub for commerce, serving a very large region of western Colorado and eastern Utah. This means having most of the big box stores and restaurant chains easily accessible. We can confirm the availability of quality health care with a couple of strong hospital systems. Quaint downtown commerce environments are found in downtown Grand Junction, Fruita & Palisade. Traffic is not really apparent, there is a saying that you can get anywhere in 11 minutes, and I tend to agree. Excellent seasonal events are highlighted by the awesome fruit grown in the valley, most known for Peaches. Other telling features are happy people working at the DMV or Post Office. Yes, Grand Junction is a friendly place, but the locals do not want to see their secret discovered. I guess this post doesn’t help with that, but reality does kick in, which means of course Grand Junction is going to grow, but there is plenty of room still available.
This is a short personal review of our Grand Valley that may help others find their perfect home. In the coming years, I am hopeful that I will be putting out more backpacking posts from the surrounding wilderness. However, age is catching up with me, but that may be the greatest value of this area for me. There are so many amazing easy hikes that should allow me to live out my years with nature.
My Goto Hikes around the Grand Valley
This post will highlight hikes around the Grand Valley that I use for training and bliss. This will also serve as my resource to use for introducing my grandson to hiking. I will try to link an AllTrails link for each hike to offer some navigation and directions. I would also recommend looking up these hikes on the gjhikes.com site.
I have set up this list from easy to hard.
- Miracle Rock Trail, 1 mile 200′ vertical
- Devils Kitchen Trail, 1.5 mile 311′ vertical
- Echo Canyon Trail, 2.4 mile 500′ vertical
- Mica Mine Trail, 2.6 mile 290′ vertical
- Palisade Rim Trail, 3.3 miles 616′ vertical
- No Thoroughfare Canyon Trail, to 1st waterfall ~ 3 miles
- Gunny Loop/Connector, 4 miles 480′ vertical
- Gunnison Bluffs, 4.3 miles 305 ‘ vertical
- Flume Canyon, 5 mile 500′ vertical
- Second Thoughts + Twist-N-Shout Trail, 4.9 miles 617′ vertical
- Monument Canyon Loop Trail, 5 miles 750′ vertical
- Devil’s Canyon D1 and D7 Loop, 5.1 miles 670′ vertical
- Pollock Bench Trail, 7 miles 920′ vertical
- Rough Canyon Loop Trail, 4.5 miles 900′ vertical
- Devils Canyon Loop Trail, 7 miles 800′ vertical
Miracle Rock Trail, 1 mile 200′ vertical
Miracle Rock Trail is located in the area of Glade Park just off of 9 & 8/10 Road. Miracle Rock weighs 12,000 tons and stands 85 feet tall, massive boulder, weighing hundreds of tons, that is perched on top of an area that is only 1 foot wide. The Trailhead is a very nice Picnic Area with a pit toilet.
Some interesting history of this site.
The hike up to the Miracle Rock is fairly straightforward of moderate difficulty. The primary views are of the Glade Park area but also some views toward the Little Dolores River valley.
I hiked beyond the Miracle Rock at first. where the trail wraps around a rock wall, but there were some interesting formations and a nice place for a campfire.
Heading back north toward the Miracle Rock began the array of views of this amazing perched rock.
Views up close help to show how precarious this perch really is. You can’t help but wonder when this rock will fall over, hoping it is not when you are under it.
Overall Miracle Rock was an amazing reward for such a simple hike.
Devils Kitchen Trail, 1.5 mile 311′ vertical
The Devils Kitchen Trail located just inside the East portal of the Colorado National Monument is perfect for getting started. I ended up hiking more then the 1.5 mile 311 ft vertical but that was because I was a bit rusty at using my hiking app. But this trail is doable by most anyone who can walk and the beauty offered the inspiration I needed. This hike starts from the Devil’s Kitchen Trailhead which serves the 4 hikes listed on the sign.
Echo Canyon Trail, 2.4 mile 500′ vertical
The Echo Canyon Trail in the Colorado National Monument is a moderately challenging 2.4 mile hike into what is truly an echo canyon. The waterfall is probably dry most of the year but the canyon and water spout is beautiful. This hike starts from the Devil’s Kitchen Trailhead which serves 4 hikes.
The echo canyon is the end of the trail and then you return. There are some minor boulder climbs of about 2 or 3 feet but not too difficult. There is a mining cave in the side wall, but it does not look like it was ever seriously used.
The hike back to the trailhead is just as beautiful. Overall this is a short hike with a lot of scenic value.
Mica Mine Trail, 2.6 mile 290′ vertical
The Mica Mine Trail was a 2.6 mile pleasant surprise for shear beauty. The reviews talk about the incredible rock formations which are totally confirmed. I was snapping photos all the way.
This is an easy hike, however, there are some high stepping in the beginning. You are basically hiking in a small stream canyon with very interesting rock formations, but what impressed me the most were colors & striations of the rock.
Of course the canyon rock formations grab your attention.
The added treat for this hike is the investigation of the old mica and quartz mine.
Palisade Rim Trail, 3.3 miles 616′ vertical
The Palisade Rim Trail gave me a different view of the valley and increased the physical effort to 3+ miles and 600+ vertical. This trail is located on the East end of Palisade up against the canyon wall created by the Colorado River. The distance and vertical were double that of my first hike but just right to create some positive pain in my legs. The fabulous views of the Grand Valley looking west confirmed for me how lucky I was to be living here. The trail is moderately challenging with a loop portion that highlights the view and the back canyon.
I recently returned to the Palisade Rim Trail to checkout the backside Palisade Plunge Trail.
No Thoroughfare Canyon Trail, to 1st waterfall ~ 3 miles
The No Thoroughfare Canyon Trail in the Colorado National Monument was intriguing to me because I wanted to hike the 6 mile version from above, but I needed to hike the popular portion of the trail from the Devils Kitchen Trailhead up to the first 2 waterfalls. I tried to climb above the first waterfall, however, I chickened out so I definitely won’t be doing the longer version of the trail from the upper trailhead. The beginning of the hike offers these amazing fortress views.
You come to a water pool area which is like a small waterfall, the around it is beautiful. You then climb up and over via a fairly nice step climb.
The hike up to the first falls provides more canyon beauty.
The first falls present interesting wall stains from the dry waterfall.
This is where I tried to climb up and over but halfway up I chickened out due to a narrow slanted section that if I slipped up would have been a 50′ fall.
Heading back down to the Trailhead was an easy downhill trek.
Gunny Loop/Connector, 4 mile 480′ vertical
The Gunny Loop combined with the Gunny Loop Connector is one of many trail options in the Lunch Loops Trail area of the Bangs Canyon SRMA. This Gunny Loop reference from AllTrails is pretty close to accurate. This map to the right shows my path. I turned this hike into about a 4 mile 480′ vertical loop with a side link up to a great lookout at 5424′.
This hike is one of many in the area which are designated for foot or bike traffic. I would definitely classify this route a moderate. The trail hiked clockwise offers excellent signage and is well maintained. The first half of the hike offers numerous excellent views of the Grand Valley.
The second half of the trail back to the trailhead provides access to small interesting canyon undulations with views to the South and West.
Gunnison Bluffs, 4.3 miles 305 vertical
The Gunnison Bluffs Trail is a beautiful and easy hike along the bluffs of the Gunnison river just east of Grand Junction outside of Whitewater. This hike is part of the Old Spanish Trail System and is mostly on private land that . The trail travels along the bluffs above the north side of the Gunnison River. The typical semi arid desert terrain of the area is enhanced by bluffs overlooking the green vegetation along the river corridor. I loved the expansive desolate views which offer their own form of beauty. The views of the Gunnison truly reflect how a river brings life to the desert.
The loop identified in Alltrails may only be 4.3 miles, however, you can create whatever length hike you desire. Definitely some nice options for mountain bikers with side trails.
You may also be joined by a train chugging through the little canyon.
This is a great hike to feel the great open space with awesome views of the Gunnison river from the bluffs and the view of the Grand Mesa to the Northeast.
The Flume Canyon, 5 miles 500′ vertical
The Flume Canyon Trail in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area does not get high marks for excitement but that is only based on the trail documented on Alltrails. I would rank the area as exceptional using the actual Flume Canyon Trail as a baseline. You definitely want to do the actual Flume Canyon referred to as the Inner Flume. Plus there is reference to the Flume 1 Trail which confuses what should be the best path. I came to a fork in the trail which I assumed was the Flume Canyon Trail because it took me into a small canyon to the east for the actual trail. The yellow line shows my exploration. I knew I was off the main trail but used a path that took me to a small box canyon. I did end up hiking about 5 miles.
Then it was easy to backtrack a bit and find a real trail that took me to the Devils 1 Trail which merged with the east side of the Flume Trail.
Shortly after rejoining the Flume Trail I came across the end of the canyon from above.
As I travelled back toward the trailhead on the Flume Trail I realized that this canyon was the true Flume Canyon and it looked like it needed to be explored. After about a mile I could tell that the canyon was shrinking enough to allow me to find a trail down into it. If I had stayed on the Flume Trail I would have seen the sign designating the Inner Flume which is basically what I was able to access.
Overall this Flume Canyon area was awesome and definitely calls me back to properly identify a new route. BTW, I met a couple my age who had set out to hike the Devils Canyon Loop but got stuck on the Devils D1 Trail taking them over to Flume. As I was leaving I found this out after I offered them a ride back to the Devils Canyon Trailhead.
Second Thoughts Trail and Twist-N-Shout Trail Loop
The Second Thoughts Twist-N-Shout Trail is another hike from the Lunch Loop Trail System of the Bangs Canyon Recreation Area, BLM. This moderate 4.9 mile 600+ vertical hike provides almost a constant view of the Grand Valley. I started this hike from the Third Flat Trailhead, but it also appears you could park along the Little Park road and start. My first try for this hike was after a rainstorm which cut it short due to the heavy mud. My second try allowed me to complete the entire loop starting with the Second Thoughts route and then finishing with the Twist-N-Shout to complete the loop. The vertical does give you a serious workout. My recent hike with my 7 month old Lab, Gracie, definitely wore her out. I was also surprised by the view of our new house in Spyglass Ridge to the north.
I also like the view over to the Black Ridge of Colorado National Monument.
Monument Canyon Loop Trail, 5 miles 750′ vertical
The Monument Canyon Loop Trail gives you access to the amazing rock sculptures that you typically take in from the road above through the Colorado National Monument.
The loop is created by combining the trail to Independence Monument and the Unimproved Wedding Canyon Trail. I believe starting the loop counterclockwise with the Wedding Canyon Trail is the most scenic direction. The term “unimproved” is apt, with a few steep sections that slow you down a bit but are not a problem. There are magical views as you approach the Independence Monument section of the loop. This hike takes you below a number of scenic overlooks used by visitors to the National Monument. The photos follow the counterclockwise direction of the loop.
Devil’s Canyon D1 and D7 Loop
The Devil’s Canon D1 to D7 Loop was 5.2 miles and 679′ vertical when I hiked it. It is accessed from the very popular Devil’s Canyon Trailhead in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area. The main hike that I started on was the Devil’s Canyon Trail, but I have come to appreciate all of the D Numbered Trails that are to the west of Devil’s Canyon. In fact, there are various connector trails over to the Pollock Bench Trails.
The D1 trail can take you to the Devil’s Canyon trail or it will take you to a western side overlook of the canyon, which is spectacular. However, the D1 trail climb is all uphill with a final climb up and over a pass that puts you on the D7 trail. There are many unique rock formations and great views of the Fruita end of the Grand Valley along the climb.
The mini pass over to the D7 trail which is a bit steep reminded me of the many passes I have conquered in my backpacking adventures.
This is the high point so it is all downhill from here. The D7 trail provides more valley views along with more unique rock formations as you head back to the trailhead from the west.
Pollock Bench Trail, 7 miles 920′ vertical
The Pollock Bench Trail is a 7 mile loop with 900+ vertical just east of Devils Canyon is accessed from the Pollock Bench Trailhead. This easy hike offers the different perspective of being above the canyons with great views of the Grand Valley. You are more exposed on this hike so ideal to hike this in the Spring or Autumn. The early part of the hike hits you with most of the climb and the best views of the Grand Valley.
The loop portion of the hike walks you around the top of various canyons that offer unique stone sculptures.
The last portion of the loop offer views back toward Devils Canyon.
Rough Canyon Loop Trail, 4.5 miles 900′ vertical
I enjoyed the Mica Mine trail so much I wanted to go back to take on the Rough Canyon Loop from the same trailhead. This 4.5 mile trek is listed as moderately challenging but I would categorize the canyon portion as difficult. You want to do this hike clockwise which means you start out going down the ATV road which is above the canyon to the north. This first half of the hike is easy with good views of the Grand Mesa. This trail also accommodates ATVs until you begin the return up the Rough Canyon.
The Rough Canyon return begins with a shift to a less travelled trail that comes upon a sculpted rock trail and scenery. But then you enter into the canyon which on this day in December had a white coat of snow.
The canyon then presents you with one challenging section after another typically requiring you to select the correct route around blocking boulders. If you choose the wrong way just turn around and try another. Lots of 4-5′ boulder climbs which tends to really wear you out.
As you start to approach about a mile from the end you come upon a a canyon obstruction that can’t be climbed over. Then you see stairs leading off to the left which looks like it means traversing along narrow ledges above the unpassable waterfall type area. It does turn out to look worse then it is, but you need to call on your no fear of heights mentality.
The trail goes back to typical boulder climbing, but it does begin to broaden out as you near the finish.
Slideshow Below
Overall a good hike that does push you physically.
Devils Canyon Loop Trail, 7 miles 800′ vertical
I needed a trail that would push me enough to validate whether I was ready for more serious hikes and backpacking trips in the mountains. The Devil’s Canyon Loop Trail located in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area ended up being 8 miles with about 900′ vertical, which when packaged with approaching storms, gave me just the test I needed. The lower portion of the trail before the loop is a nice hike, but the real magic is found on the upper portion.
I always lose the trail at about the 1.1 mile point where the D1 rejoins the Devils Canyon Trail. You need to drop down to the Devils Canyon Trail. However, you could just stay on the D1 trail and enjoy the great options of the D1, D4, D5, D6 and D7 trails (map right.
I had a close encounter with a hummingbird (photo below), which provided me with numerous amazing photos.
The old shed/cabin signifies the furthest point from the trailhead when I realized that the weather was changing more rapidly than I expected.
I had to rush back to the car, which was actually a perfect way to confirm that I was prepared to resume my old backpacking adventures. The Adventure Continues now.
Life Transition
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Colorado House
This post is for following the construction of our home in Grand Junction, CO
It all started with finding and buying one of the few lots at Spyglass Ridge that has the view I would have wanted. We were able to buy Lot 174 which had been combined with lot 173 to create a new mini subdivision. This turned out to be an incredible headache for the sellers to be allowed to sell it to us. But we did close on our land on June 5th. Our backyard will overlook the Grand Valley with Mt Garfield to the NE.
My goal for finding a house in Grand Junction was always to have a glimpse of Mt Garfield. Ever since I lived in Palisade during my stint with Union Oil during the Oil Shale Boom and Bust of the early eighties I have had a connection with this mountain and the Grand Valley. This opportunity for Pam & I to live out the rest of our lives overlooking and being a part of this valley seems like the icing on the cake for a wonderful life. I believe this move to Grand Junction will be my 29th move.
Construction
Construction Updates, construction began the week of August 28, 2023. Micropiles were completed on 9/14, there are 41 30 ft micropiles. Foundation was poured on Halloween. Framing began on November 29, 2023.
Foundation
Framing
Plumbing, Gas & HVAC
Exterior
Interior
Finished House
Subdivision
Views from our Lot NW, N, NE, E and South
Hiking Trails
Spyglass Ridge has developed excellent hiking trails around the subdivision. Here are a couple of hikes I have documented from our house.
Overlook & River Ridge Trail
Liberty View – Secret Canyon Trail
The focus of the house is on the back side with the view of the valley.
Our builder was great working with us to utilize large windows and create a large covered patio along with a nice open deck off of the upstairs bedroom.
Start a Family in Steamboat Springs
Historical Posts representing Adventure Continues: Second Quarter
While in Palisade, CO, working for Union Oil, we bought our first house and also decided to start a family. Unfortunately we went through a couple of very painful miscarriages, but life was good. We loved our little house on the Colorado river. Palisade was an adorable little town, but up popped an opportunity to return to our beloved Steamboat. According to a Yampa Indian legend, you will return to the Yampa Valley three times, so it was meant to be. We did hold on to our house in Palisade for many years thinking that we might someday return.
I moved back to Steamboat Springs in early 1984 taking a job as an IT Tech for ACZ, Inc. I was on my own for a while living in John Skubitz’s rental off the back of his house. Connie stayed back in Palisade for while to wrap things up and graduate from Mesa College, now known as Colorado Mesa University. After a few weeks at the new job, my boss the IT Director was laid off, and I inherited the job as the IT Director. I never really wanted to find out about the politics behind that. ACZ was located in a 3 story building in the center of downtown Steamboat where we occupied the second and third floors with our water lab in the basement. The company was prospering with some lucrative mine engineering consulting projects, life was good.
We soon found a great rental opportunity between the golf course and the ski mountain. Our landlord lived in the front and we had a fairly unique apartment off the back. At this time we had no way of knowing that on March 19th our son, Dylan, was born in Korea. Connie happened upon a meeting about foreign adoptions which led us down the path for adoption working with an agency out of Denver known as Friends of Children of Various Nations, FCVN. We made a number of trips to Denver for preparatory training sessions which culminated with a home visit in Steamboat from our case worker.
At the end of the home visit our case worker showed us a photo of our new son. That photo was all that we had for the 3-4 months that we waited for word that he would be arriving in the US. We had about 24 hours notice that our son would be arriving at Stapleton International Airport in Denver on November 2nd. I don’t think you can be more nervous, you are about to become instant parents by picking up your son at the airport.
We have this memory of eating a meal at the McDonalds in Frisco, CO on the way down to Denver. On the way back we ate at the same McDonalds with our 7 month old son. Needless to say, Life changed.
ACZ gave me the opportunity to build my own IT Department supporting the engineering side of the company as well as the lab side. We had a significant amount of Hewlett-Packard computers and lab instrumentation as the micro-computer was just entering the commercial scene. This IT shop soon became the Smith Brothers as Tim Smith (not related) became a full time IT Tech. ACZ was ready to expand so they jumped on an opportunity to be the anchor tenant at a new office complex on Pine Grove Road. With this location we were able to expand our lab into a regional water and soils testing facility along with expanding our engineering operation. ACZ was also a big family led by founder Alan Czarnowsky and Eldon Strid, a family of mining and lab professionals living in paradise.
ACZ did have a unique marketing strategy which involved an annual costume party for the purpose of producing a photo of all employees that would be used for their Christmas Card. The employee only party started around noon on a friday in autumn. After changing into costumes the spirits began to flow with the goal of taking the company photo.
The party progressed to dinner and continued into the night until all had dropped.
Those were the best of times. Dylan was such a joyful child to raise and hangout with so it wasn’t long before we were talking about trying the pregnancy route again to add to our family. We also moved to another great log home high on a hillside between the ski mountain and town. We traded in our VW Jetta for the new water cooled VW Vanagon which opened up better options for exploring the west with Dylan.
Steamboat Springs is a great ski town but it is an even better summer town, or at least it was 30+ years ago. Situated in the Yampa Valley surrounded by various National Forests, it was truly an adventurers paradise.
My wilderness adventures were impacted by family but I did learn to fish and telemark ski. I even put together a few telemark backpacking ski trips.
One of the best trips was with my friend John Fooks over to the Chinese Wall just down from the Devil’s Causeway.
ACZ was always getting involved in recreation opportunities. I still remember how magical it was to look up at the ski mountain when playing softball, realizing how fortunate I was to work and play in such a beautiful place.
We were cautiously optimistic when Connie got pregnant with a Summer of 86 due date. All progressed as expected so no worries about the pregnancy probably because we were happily overwhelmed with raising Dylan.
Pregnancy did go well and Steamboat’s beautiful summer helped with Connie’s comfort.
However, I was the basket case trying to make sure all would be ready for a new baby. The hospital had the Grand Kids Child Care Center attached to it so we were able to leave Dylan there while Connie went through the birth of our daughter, Sidney.
Dylan was able to meet his new sister that afternoon.
I had settled into a my IT career helping ACZ earn a lot of money with our computer capabilities. We provided various types of Environmental Impact Reports for permitting and reclamation but the most interesting were the actual multi-year mine plans. We relied on the HP-1000 mini computer for the money making engineering work, and I had become fairly competent on that computer. This gave me a strong relationship with our HP rep, Allan Grimes, who posed the following question to me in the Spring of 1987. “Greg, have you ever considered coming into the HP fold?“. Well, no I had not, but what a great opportunity in the history of computing to have such an opportunity. The Adventure Continued.
This is a point in time that was significant for understanding my passion. My post about Why I Backpack sheds more light on this.
Next Post: AM San Francisco
Oil Shale – Union Oil
Historical Posts representing Adventure Continues: Second Quarter
Scientific Frontiers was in the process of closing when I found a note left on our door from my Hewlett-Packard rep mentioning that Union Oil was looking for a computer person for their Parachute Creek Oil Shale operation. This was such a turning point, I was now a computer person, maybe it was time to pursue this technology career. So I got the job, not because of experience but because of potential, or maybe because of flexibility. Few believed that this Oil Shale operation would be around much longer since the area was just coming off “Black Sunday” when Exxon shut down their Colony Oil Shale operation causing an economic disaster for the Western Colorado region. For me it was just another adventure.
Headquarters were in Grand Junction, CO, and the Oil Shale Operation was up the Colorado River on I70 at Parachute, CO. Exxon was in the process of building a city across from Parachute for 50,000 people that was now mostly a ghost town. Some 5000 inhabitants of the area had left so finding a place to live was no problem. We ended up renting a house in Clifton between Palisade and Grand Junction. My job site was in Parachute which required a 40 min drive along a really beautiful section of the Colorado River via Interstate 70.
Union Oil’s computer operations were primarily based on IBM mainframes. We had a IBM mini computer on sight but we primarily relied on our 3270 vintage terminals to connect to corporate mainframes. I didn’t have any real experience with this platform but I quickly learned how the game was played. They had just installed their Foxboro process control computers to run the various components of the oil shale process. The Foxboro computer was mini computer with a real time control BASIC language reacting to live feedback from temperature, pressure and flow sensors.
They sent me to Foxborough, MA, for a couple of weeks to learn how to program the Foxboro Computer. I then created the alarms that would dictate the parameters for which the operators must stay within. I was in technology heaven programming computers in the Parachute Creek canyon.
This was a time of growing up, buy a house, start a family, all of which is part of the Adventure. Grand Junction was adapting to the Oil Shale boom bust roller coaster, but at the core of this western entrance to the Rockies was still agriculture and outdoor recreation.
I am so glad we were able to take advantage of this opportunity to enjoy western Colorado. From the desert to the mountains, there was plenty of Adventure to Continue. The Grand Mesa offered great backcountry skiing with some of the best powder skiing I ever experienced at Powderhorn.
We bought a house almost next to the Colorado River in Palisade from an older couple who taught Connie how to can fruit. Yes Fruit, this area was all about fruit orchards. Palisade was located at the entry to the Colorado River Canyon on the Western slope of the Rocky Mountains. Mt Garfield towered above us in Palisade. It was an awesome experience except for the pain we had to endure from two miscarriages as we tried to start a family.
Pressure was mounting on Union Oil to produce oil from the shale. Our country could not risk a dependance on the middle east so our oil shale operation existed to guarantee fuel for national defense. But would our process work? It was a very ambitious effort to mine shale, heat it in a retort to extract the oil and then move it from the side of the mountain 5 miles down the valley to the upgrade facility before it cooled to paraffin. In the annals of american engineering ingenuity, this was fascinating. I was right in the middle of it on the side of that mountain ready to make adjustments to the Foxboro programming. It didn’t work. It made sense to petroleum engineers, but they should have listened to the mine engineers. The abrasiveness of shale totally defeated the metal screw technology. Once the shale oil is extracted the spent shale expands to be even more abrasive like volcanic pumice. This spent shale was dumped over the side of the mountain after which we discovered that the rain water runoff was extremely carcinogenic and it was flowing to the Colorado River. I spent my remaining time with Union Oil helping to monitor this hazardous runoff that we were trying to capture with many holding ponds all the way down the canyon.
The next adventure would take us back to Steamboat Springs to work for ACZ, Inc.
Next Post: Start a Family in Steamboat Springs
Colorado Ute Chemist
Historical Posts representing Adventure Continues: Second Quarter
I did have a degree in chemistry so I was checking out job opportunities and wouldn’t you know it, I landed a job as a chemist for Colorado UTE Electric Association’s power plant in Craig Colorado. I was probably never thought I would work as a chemist, but then again, this was not serious chemistry. A Chemist for an electric generating station had to perform basic water, coal and emissions testing that really just required some knowledge of chemistry and the aptitude to learn. Plus they did not pay very much so they were definitely looking for novice chemists. But it was a real job, working for a real company, so I had to adapt to this new culture.
When I started work in late 1978 there was one new 400 MW plant in operation and a second 400 MW plant about ready to be started up. Colorado Ute was sort of a conglomerate of rural electric associations based in Montrose providing electricity to the western slope of Colorado. However, the power plants planned in Craig were more about satisfying the electricity needs for California. Plus new environmental concerns were forcing electric utilities to be more responsible about the dangerous emissions that had been polluting our country since the industrial revolution. I had no clue how electricity was produced, but it sure did look exciting. This was all happening in Craig, CO, because of easy access to fairly good coal.
Accepting this job ushered in all sorts of new responsibilities. Where to live? Craig was a boom town now with no available housing so Colorado Ute built a mobile home park on the outskirts of town and that was the only option.
We went to Denver, bought a 14×72′ furnished mobile home for $14K that would be delivered to Craig. For my first week of work we stayed with friends in Steamboat Springs, however, I never made it to work on my first day. It 49 degrees below zero and my car was totally frozen. It was devastating for me to make that call to my new employer telling them that I could not start my car. Our mobile home was delivered at the end of that week, however, utilities would not be hooked up until the following week. Connie and I went to Craig to check out our new home that weekend and decided to actually sleep in the dark cold trailer one night. We were a bit naive thinking we could be warm enough sleeping on our new bed when it was below freezing outside. I swear the trailer felt 10 degrees colder inside. But we were excited about this new life, it was truly going to be an adventure.
Work as a chemist was fairly easy to learn, we were mostly concerned about calcium in the water/steam that could plate out as silica on the turbine blades along with the BTU and sulfur content of the coal we were burning. 
I was rather surprised when I appeared on the cover of the Colorado-Ute magazine highlighting an “article about what life was like in Craig, CO“. The startup of the second generator was exciting as there is great concern and optimism associated with such an engineering feet. Here is an article from the Unit II Dedication about our Environmental Effort that I am mentioned in. Overall I was into this sort of professional life. Connie worked as a bank teller but then doing research for a local Title Company.
We must have assumed we might stay in Craig because we bought a 5 acre plot of land that we planned on building a log house on someday. Craig, CO, was a unique experience, good people but also a bit rough. I played in a basketball league and a flag football league where I was the quarterback until I got my jaw broken.
I got to ski a fair amount in Steamboat and definitely took advantage of the surrounding wilderness for hiking and fishing. Oh yes, we added another animal to our family. A local rancher, Joni Voloshin, who worked with me offer to give us a beautiful Red Australian Shepard if we agreed to let her have a litter of pups. The local ranchers were trying to increase the population of Aussies so to help prevent them from being stolen.
This job as a chemist was good in that I now believed I could do so much more. Our lab’s new Varian Atomic Absorption machine opened doors for me especially thanks to the HP 85 Computer that controlled it. I discovered that I could program these new micro-computers to do so much more. 
I was becoming restless and believed that I should make more money as a chemist so I applied for other power plant chemist jobs all around the country. I got an offer from NIPSCO, Northern Indiana Public Service, to work at a plant in Gary, IN. I was young and into the Adventure but who in their right mind would move from Colorado to Gary, IN?
Next Post:
NIPSCO – Life Changing Time
I decided to advance my career as a chemist by applying for jobs with more opportunity. Somehow I ended up in Northern Indiana working at NIPSCO’s Mitchell Power Station.
Snow Mountain Ranch
Historical Posts representing Adventure Continues: Second Quarter
I again fell back on my maintenance man experience and landed a job at the Snow Mountain Ranch located between Winter Park and Granby Colorado. I’m not really sure why this option played out, might have had something to do with the foreboding reality that I was probably ready to take on a real career so I needed to make this last random fling worthy. Snow Mountain Ranch, SMR, is a beautiful piece of mountain property under the flag of the YMCA of the Rockies. In August of 1978, summer was winding down and SMR was hoping to improve winter usage by catering to skiers. They gave us a trailer to live in which was a bit rough but all in all this was turning into another great adventure. Connie worked some in the office and I set out to work on the many maintenance projects throughout the property.
Old Barns with view of Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests
Snow Mountain Ranch was the step child to the YMCA camp in Estes Park, but it had some great features, just not as much traffic. They had dorm type lodging geared to youth camps and church retreats. They had cabins available to rent or supplement other large group retreats. They had various outdoor recreation options along with a very nice gymnasium which also doubled as a roller skating rink. I totally appreciated the beauty here, but I did struggle with the lack of connectivity. I think there was only one phone and no TV which presented a problem for following my Denver Broncos.
We were truly embracing the moment realizing how unique this opportunity was while putting off that career commitment pressure. 
However, my resume was being circulated. So for now I fixed more toilets, beds and roofs and Connie took care of office duties. One strong memory that I hold on to reflects back to when I was repairing a roof on a beautiful Autumn day looking out at the west side of the front range mountains thinking that life couldn’t get any better. Steve visited once and we totally scored on catching large trout in a nearby beaver pond. I also created one of the first frisbee golf courses by mapping a course around the ranch sometimes even cutting down a tree and painting the stump red to act as the target pin. Some evenings we would go over to the gym and roller skate or shoot hoops. Our dog, Rusty, was also really enjoying this life, although this is where he learned about, skunks, porcupines and not to jump off a moving truck to chase a deer.
Life was fairly easy but we did have important projects going on. The director of maintenance for the ranch was a man that I quickly came to admire. He was probably in his late 30s with far more expertise than would be needed to be working at a YMCA site like this. What I learned was that he had sacrificed his promising career in engineering to live at Snow Mountain Ranch because he had a special needs child who benefitted from what life at the ranch offered. I was the young buck who was a bit green with respect to some of our jobs, but he let me learn. I totally loved learning how to run a backhoe digging trenches for water lines.
We were also building a few cabins so there was basic construction work going on, however, I wasn’t typically included in those jobs. They got to a point when they needed to pour the foundation for a couple of cabins but they were not able to acquire any cement in the area. However, we could purchase bags of portland cement in Ft Collins, but that would require us to drive over Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park to pick it up. I was expendable and so they asked me to drive our heavy truck over the mountains to pickup the cement. This seemed like a good adventure until it wasn’t. It was the end of the day when I was driving back over Trail Ridge and the weather was starting to deteriorate. 
I knew that the truck had a spare gas tank but when I needed to switch I realized that I did not know how to do this. I was approaching the summit from the east when I ran out of gas, I guess I was hoping it switched automatically. Oh Shit, it was dark and I’m out of gas on a narrow mountain pass with a very large truck full of cement. Another truck finally came along, but the driver also could not determine how to switch over to the spare gas tank. So he offered me the option of following him (coasting) down to Estes Park. I was supposed to stay right on his tail incase my brakes failed. We crept down the mountain with my heart pumping rapidly. Well we made it down to Estes Park where the Estes YMCA Camp came to rescue me. I was educated about the spare tank and refueled but it was late. The folks at YMCA Estes recommended that I wait till morning but I knew I needed to get back partly because Shadow Mountain needed the cement but also because Connie and I were scheduled to go somewhere the next day.
Elevation Profile of Trail Ridge Road
So I headed back out over Trail Ridge with snow flakes coming down, no driver side window and fearful thoughts about how I would descend the other side down into Grand Lake. I then realized why they have runaway truck ramps and there weren’t going to be any for me. I was totally petrified driving about 5 miles an hour down the mountain and arrived back at Snow Mountain Ranch around about about 4 am.
We had adopted Winter Park as our connection to civilization but it was a bit of a drive. I remember getting a speeding ticket while driving there in hopes of watching a Broncos game at a bar. The officer didn’t buy my excuse for how I did not notice how fast I was driving because of how beautiful it was out and how much I was anticipating watching the Broncos. Autumn was turning cold so we were making plans for coping with winter at the Ranch. Connie really stepped out of her comfort zone and landed a job to work as a ski lift operator at Winter Park. I think she had gone through orientation when we found out that I landed a job as a Chemist for Colorado Ute in Craig, CO. They were in the process of running one 400 MW coal fired power plant while building more. The Adventured Continued.
Next Post: Colorado-Ute Chemist
I got a job as a chemist for Colorado-Ute’s Power Plants in Craig, CO. This was the beginning of my various professional careers but this was also out on the frontier a bit.
Boulder Colorado
Historical Posts representing Adventure Continues: Second Quarter
Boulder, Colorado, was and is a very cool city. Sure it is a college town in a beautiful setting next to the Flatiron foothills, but in the summer of 77 it had its own post Vietnam era independent vibe. Outdoor recreation was a growth industry. Frank Shorter helped to promote Boulder as a Mecca for long distant runners. Celestial Seasonings was evolving as a Tea provider supporting a very popular Red Zinger Classic Bike Race. 
Pearl Street was the place to be. And this is where we ended up soon after marriage. We started out living in an apartment at Lake Tantra but soon ended up as the managers for Hill House Apartments at 10th and Marine. We also got our first pet when we got to Boulder, a cat we named Barney. Steve showed up occasionally and we were spending a lot of time playing frisbee, enough that we decided to enter the Colorado State Frisbee Championships that was held at the cU camp in Boulder. Our specialty was acrobatic throws and catches, which impressed the crowds but we did not have all the other disciplines down well enough to be a contender.
Sometime that summer as I was phasing out of Colorado International and preparing to attend Colorado University, I hooked up with Mock Realty Property Management under Ken Mock, which led to our opportunity to manage Hill House Apartments. This deal gave us an apartment and a small stipend for managing the apartments. The better deal though was working for the contractor who was responsible for reconditioning all of Mock Realty properties when their tenants moved out. 
I got paid a lot of money for throwing on a new coat of paint in these properties. Connie was working at the Penny’s Auto Center and doing some books for our apartments which all translated into a good enough financial situation to enjoy Boulder. Pearl Street was just a short walk, the Walrus became our favorite restaurant and we spent many a night on the Hill typically at Tulagi’s.
Studying with Barney’s help
Of course the reason for being in Boulder was to advance our intellectual and artistic endeavors. I did take the 2 courses I needed to graduate from Indiana University along with a few other very interesting Chemical Engineering classes. It was Igor Gamov’s course on chemical flow dynamics that actually got me interested in computers. The course allocated a nice chunk of computer time in the CU Computer Center to work on some flow dynamics programs. I think I spent 90% of my time focusing on that small component of the course. I even resorted to begging for more computer time even though I had completed all assignments. However, the seed was planted especially when I overheard a grad student talking about accessing the computer from his apartment via a terminal. That same course also offered some great field trips to experience chemical processing. The visit to the Climax Molybdenum Mine in Leadville was way cool and the tour of the Coors Brewery in Golden ending with an extensive tasting session was a fitting way to end my college time at CU.
Connie was pursuing a degree in Theater at Indiana U. but pulled out with a year and a half to go. However, she utilized this Boulder opportunity to study with Samuel Avital at “Le Centre du Silence” mime school and took acting with Robert Benedetti at University of Colorado in association with the Shakespeare Festival. I guess we both participated a few times in the script created for watching the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” at the Boulder Theater. We also did a lot of hiking in and around the Boulder front range and continued to ski as much as possible. We had a few great nights skiing at Eldora Ski Mountain. Overall there always seemed to be plenty going on in Boulder.
Barney the cat was working out for us, so we decided it was time to get a dog. We went to the Boulder Animal Shelter in hopes of finding the right dog in need of adoption. As we walked through the kennel there was a Black/Gold/White Shepard type dog that was sitting in silence amongst a kennel full of barking dogs.
We knew this dog was meant for us, however, he was not available for adoption for at least another week. Connie reminds me that I went back to the kennel everyday to sit with our hopeful new pet. When adoption was finally granted we named our new dog “Rusty”. The animal shelter required that we get him fixed but I felt like he needed to experience his libido so we got him a vasectomy. A few years later after too many runoffs for the smell of a female in heat we decided to get Rusty neutered. Rusty and sometimes Barney joined our walks down to the Boulder Creek parkway.
Falls up Boulder Canyon
I still had a connection to my Christian Ministry roots so when I came across an opportunity for a paid Youth Leadership position at Mt Hope Lutheran Church I talked Connie into the commitment and we were sort of put in charge of the Senior High Youth Group. Maybe this was the initial stimulus which led to Connie becoming a Chaplain in later life. The experience was pretty cool culminating with a major effort to take the group to a youth conference in New Mexico. This was definitely a test for us to be grown-ups and I think we did OK. As the school year was winding down I landed a job at Arapahoe Chemical working as a plant operator. They were not hiring just for a student summer job so I failed to let them know that I was a student. This was also when I bought a Honda 550 motorcycle from a friend with plans to ride to Steamboat Springs for a short get-away. I was not an experienced rider so when I hit loose gravel on a turn coming back from Steamboat Lake, off the road and over the handlebars I went. This was one of those times when I believe God must have been looking over me since I was not wearing a helmet and I could have easily hit my head on the many large rocks in the field where I came to rest. I did, however, rupture a kidney which required a hospital visit and many days of recovery in Steamboat.
Crazy Snow storm in May of 78
Well, Boulder had been great but that Adventure spirit was rising again. We even considered riding that Honda around the country which is what we told the church as the reason for our resignation. But of course a new adventure always presented itself. This time we were headed to Snow Mountain Ranch a YMCA property near Winter Park.
Next Post: Snow Mountain Ranch
Ended up as a maintenance man again at the YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch near Winter Park, CO. This was a brief Adventure in very beautiful part of the Rockies as I was considering how my career needed to get started.
The Adventure Continues 
