Midland Hikers

Here's George's latest photo poem... Can you figure out where this was taken? Yesterday's photo poem was from Four Mile, somewhere...you'll have to ask George for the specific location!!

Wendell and Mary say: We have always wanted to go to Love Wildlife Refuge in the early evening to watch the wildlife walking through the meadow. We spent most of our time watching the comical Gunnison Prairie Dogs chasing each other and popping out of their holes. But also there were a fair amount of birds flying around.  Here are some of my photos:

Here's the message from Janie, with a couple of photos: "I was working on a project and planning on cutting the ends until I looked and realized what looked like three crosses. Did not have any fabric so used liner from my sleeping bag.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  Happy Easter everyone!

Message from Bill and Pam: Hello hikers and "Artists with a group hiking problem": The art show on this blog was fantastic. We can’t wait for the "real" show but waiting seems to be the name of game right now. Bill wanted to shout out about a couple things that it’s still legal and safe to do. Hunting and Fishing: Colorado Parks and Wildlife is not going to suspend these privileges, and it’s never felt more like a privilege! Turkey season starts Saturday 🦃 and I’m going! Here's the link to the CPW website:  https://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/TurkeyDatesFees.aspx You get to wear camouflage, carry a shotgun and use a box call to try to call a turkey in. The call makes the sound of a hen Turkey. Then the Toms respond with a big gobble gobble and, in theory, come running towards you.  This season you can only shoot the Tom. You have make a head shot with b-b's because their feathers are so thick. It’s fun...Bus...

Wendell took this amazing photograph of the full moon: He and Mary also walked around the Chalk Creek Fish Hatchery...excellent bird watching!

George sends along his latest artistic and literary effort. I particularly like the phrase in this one: "Forming stronger bonds with dynamic force." May we come out of this pandemic crisis with stronger friendships and a dynamic community. Yesterday's photo poem was located up on the Salt Creek Trail, with a view out over Antero Reservoir.

Mary and Wendell headed over to Russell Lakes Park in Saguache last week.  In the parking lot, they saw this Great Horn owl sleeping in a Cottonwood tree. Right when Wendell took the photo, he opened one eye and gave him a look of annoyance. Wendell thinks the  sound of the shutter was disturbing his sleep! In other news, there's a Stage 2 Fire Ban for much of Colorado, so no outdoors fires for awhile. Be good, be safe, be healthy!

I don't know how many of you are reading and seeing George's beautiful photo poems, but I hope they bring a moment of serenity to your life. Here is his latest: Yesterday's photo was taken at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse!! What a great event that was...and really, not very long before the coronavirus made its presence known in a big way...

Jacy included this excellent profile of one of our local experts, courtesy of GARNA. Enjoy! https://www.facebook.com/75589713866/posts/10157424819163867/?d=n

Deb and I headed off for a short hike (3.5 miles RT, 400' vert) to the Trout Creek Chert Quarry. This quarry is an important archaeological site, so if you visit, please treat the area with respect.  Here are a few pictures: I know, hard to read...sorry about that! Chert--especially from the Trout Creek quarry--was traded widely among native peoples as the source material for an array of stone tools including arrowheads. Above, Deb is holding "worked flakes" that were chipped off larger blocks to make tools.  Just FYI:  chert is  a hard, opaque rock composed of silica with an amorphous or microscopically fine-grained texture. At this quarry, it occurs in a fairly large deposit, but in other places, chert most often shows up as nodules of flint or jasper. Here, the chert is a tan-to-red color; in other places, chert can be almost any color from white to black. Here's how to get to the quarry: Drive east up Trout Creek Pass and turn right on CR 307. ...