The end of the month was filled with regular activities: golf, pickleball, luncheons, and various appointments. Seemingly, time flies and we’re always busy. And August is going to be another busy month despite the hot, humid weather.

Only a couple of butterflies and one dragonfly presented themselves for photographs on Friday, July 31.

We began Thursday morning with coffee for me and Cappuccino for Kay; but we both opted out of a full breakfast since we were traveling. We drove south and between Ouray and Silverton, we came upon 4 moose browsing nonchalantly beside the highway. We were on the wrong side of the highway, but a short drive and turn-around allowed Kay to snap several photos, and I was able to take a few, shooting through her open window.

Continuing South on the Million Dollar Highway, we drove past Silverton, and then Purgatory Ski Resort to Durango. Plans were to stop and tour Durango, but like other towns in the San Juan Mountains, it was commercialized and crowded. At that point we opted to continue south, bypassing Farmington, New Mexico, headed to the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, a rolling landscape of badlands which offers some of the most unusual scenery found in the Four Corners Region. (I had planned to travel to this area in the fall, but since we were so close, we opted to tour the area on our way home.)

Time and natural elements have etched a fantasy world of strange rock formations made of interbedded sandstone, shale, mudstone, coal, and silt. The weathering of the sandstone forms hoodoos—weathered rock in the form of pinnacles, spires, cap rocks, and other unusual forms. Fossils occur in this sedimentary landform, as well occasional petrified tree elements.

Regretfully, I chose the De-Na-Zin Wilderness Trail to hike rather than more scenic and well-known trails in the wilderness area, such as the Ah-shi-sle-pah Trail. The 2.8-mile out-and-back De-Na-Zin Wilderness Trail near Nageezi, New Mexico, mostly follows dry river beds through a series of rock formations and petrified wood. The first mile of the trail is relatively unremarkable, but as the trail continued, we entered a section with incredible formations and a significant amount of petrified wood.

And the flowers, particularly the Indian Paintbrush, were spectacular. We found the trail to be difficult to navigate at times, but thank goodness for downloading the trail map for assistance. We thought we had enough water, but the route is exposed to the sun with no shade. We hiked almost 4 miles in 100° weather, we ran out of water about a quarter mile from the trail head, and there was one point where Kay didn’t think she could make it out. But we did! 

The detour to the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area cost us about 4 hours time on the journey home. Was it worth it—not sure we’ll ever know! We overnighted in Tucumcari, New Mexico, stopping just before dark.

On Friday, we continued traveling west on Interstate 40 through Amarillo, Texas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, arriving home about 5 PM. After unloading, the new Hyundai, dusty from all the gravel roads we drove, was washed and then cleaned inside. We were glad to be home.

A mix-up with respect too transportation found me alone at the hotel on Sunday, while Kay, Karyn, and the kids toured Garden of the Gods and Pike’s Peak near Colorado Springs. Matt toured the area independently. I spent most of the day processing photographs. Kay posted photos of their trip on Facebook.

We didn’t need much of an excuse to escape the sweltering heat and humidity of Arkansas! And the soccer tournament was just the thing. In that regard we added a few days to the the trip to the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. Our initial plans were to depart Thornton on Monday morning to drive Skyline Drive in Rocky Mountain National Park; however a permit is required because of the crowds and we didn’t have one. Instead, we drove to near Ridgway where reservations at the Double G Ranch had been made. What was supposed to be a relaxing drive took us an extra hour and a half because of a detour caused by a potential bridge failure over the Blue Mesa Reservoir. The detour included a lot of stand still-time on a long gravel road (maybe 15 miles of gravel). We stopped for dinner in Montrose and arrived at the Double G Ranch early in the evening. After unloading luggage and being shown our room, we adjourned to the deck enjoying the mountain views, cool evening, and lots of hummingbirds.

Our only “agenda” item for Tuesday was to visit Telluride and like to the 365-foot Bridal Veil Waterfallsl at the end of the box canyon overlooking Telluride.

The “moderate to difficult” 1.8 mile one-way hike proved to be too dangerous for us, and we aborted after hiking only a short distance, though a few photographs along the trail were made. Following the aborted hike, we drove to the gondola upper parking area and rode the free gondola up the mountain and then down to Telluride. Too many people and too much commercialization resulted in our return to the gondola and back to the parking area.

From Telluride, we drove to Ouray, a lovely old western mining town. It too is drawing large crowds, and we opted to drive the streets rather than maneuver the sidewalk traffic. With time on our hands, we drove the Million Dollar Highway to Silverton, another lovely old western mining town that is also too crowded. These towns reminded us of Red Lodge, Montana, which was absolutely delightful in the 1980s, but has now been taken over by commercial development and crowds.

The drive along the switchbacked portion of the Million Dollar Highway was well worth the time and effort with beautiful scenery virtually everywhere. Most conspicuous was Red Mountain.

We also say a young male moose between Silverton and Ouray on our return to the Double G Ranch.

The couple who own and operate the Double G Ranch are German expats. We opted to have dinner at the ranch, and it was good—bratwurst, masked potatoes, and sauerkraut, followed by a delicious dessert with a homemade berry sauce poured over ice cream. After dinner we enjoyed the deck and the buzzing of Rufous and Red-throated Hummingbirds.

We extended another night at the Double G Ranch as our plans were to spend another four or five days in Colorado. However, after seeing Telluride, Ouray, and Silverton yesterday, we were wearing thin on crowds. Consequently, we spent Wednesday chasing wildflowers and animals in the San Juan Mountains, driving a well-maintained gravel road through the Uncompahgre National Forest, cresting Owl Creek Pass at 10,114 feet, turning around at the Silver Jack Reservoir. .John Wayne loved this country, as both How the West Was Won and True Grit were filmed along this magnificent route winding through national forest and river basin country. The stunning peaks of Chimney Rock and Courthouse Mountain pierced the blue Colorado sky as we journeyed along this 1885 cattle-drive trail.

Tall white-barked aspen trees, spruce and fir, rivers, reservoirs, and seas of wildflowers were nestled among towering peaks. It was indeed a spectacular drive.

After returning to the Double G Ranch, we dined on grass-fed steaks cooked in a German specialty sauce, with German noodles. And of course, dessert followed.

Kay and I departed Tuesday morning at about 8:30 am driving to McPherson, Kansas, on the way to Thornton, Colorado, northeast of Denver.. This is the first road trip for the new Hyundai, and we’re anxious to see if it is as comfortable as the Honda Pilot. The purpose of the trip is to attend grandson #2’s super regional soccer tournament Commerce City, Colorado—his team is representing Arkansas 

The day’s drive was without incident, but the roads in Oklahoma, including the toll roads, were in pretty rough condition. This has not changed since we last traveled through the state some 10+ years ago. The roads in Kansas, on the other hand, were some of the best we’ve driven. Of note was that Kay drove most of the way.

For reasons unknown, I was sleepy most of the day, and slept a good p portion of the drive. Perhaps it was stress or the previous day’s work on the irrigation system, but it knocked me for a loop. We arrived in McPherson about 4:30 pm, had dinner at a local eatery, and then drove to the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge northeast of town. Regretfully, we didn’t see any of the 200 bison or 60 elk present at the refuge. It was an early evening for the both of us.

On Wednesday morning, I awoke fresh and feeling 100 percent. After a continental breakfast at the hotel, I drove most of the remaining way to Thornton, Colorado; Kay drove the last couple of hours. The first pronghorn was spotted about 60 miles east of Denver where we say a couple of small groups grazing. As we neared Denver, traffic was at a near standstill, and it was stop and go for most of the way to the motel. We arrived shortly before 4:00 pm and unloaded the car onto a luggage cart, completely filling it.  In all fairness, most of the stuff was mine, including photographic equipment and a portable refrigerator. Kay checked us in, and we enjoyed a brief rest after the drive. Five Guys provided our carryout dinner.

To open the month, we played golf and pickleball whenever conditions permitted. I ventured out on Monday, July 1, to make a few photos in the back yard.

We celebrated Independence Day holiday with a get together at the Seitz’ dock to watch the Balboa Lake boat parade on Wednesday, July 3, and held the “former educators” traditional July 4 (Thursday) get together at our house, featuring hot dogs and fixin’s, and Pam’s apple pie and ice cream. 

On Saturday, July 6, flowers, wasps, and butterflies were the subject of a few photos. 

Wrapping up the first two weeks in July, a few more photos were made on Wednesday, July 10, and on Thursday, July 11, while Kay attended the July “The Book Club” meeting. The bottom photo is of a Variegated Fritillary, the 19th observed species in our yard this season.