A couple of times in the last week, I’ve smelled wood smoke at night, smells that get my attention then dissipate. Once I went so far as to call the non-emergency emergency number and they sent a truck by with the big spotlight to check between houses.  Sunday, the smell returned and we heard the big diesel on the next street scouting for smoke.  Last night, it was just the smell of someone toasting garlic bread.There was a story today about some kick ass firefighters who handled a fire up in the foothills west of NCAR  . They hiked in for a mile and contained the fire with water that they carried in.   Amazing!

VIA Joe Murphy from the Denver Post there’s to be a Bring Your Own Squirt Gun fight Tuesday 7/15/2008 @ 3:30pm. Details are below. I would join but working second shift prevents. If you’re in Denver and have the wet weapons…come on down and have some fun.

Denverites: There’s a squirt-gun fight Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at the Civic Center Park fountain on Colfax, between Broadway and Bannock. BYOSG

So…… In the “things you don’t see everyday” column, redux.

Earlier tonight, my wife and I saw about 40-50 folks come into the dirt lot in front of our house. They showed up with cameras and tools, cleared the field (most of it) of the weeds and debris.

Once the area was cleared, they dug three holes and planted three saplings. They also planted a few shrubs and a good dozen or so nice purple flowers.

Once the trees were planted, they gathered up the trash bags into a pile, took each others photos in front of the trees and plants, watered the plants, and left. Yeah that was weird.

It goes on.

We went out and took the above photo. We went back into the house, ate dinner and just after we finished, the truck pulled up again and two of them got out. We got up to see what they were doing, thinking maybe they’d put up a sign or something to explain what had just gone down.

Instead, they pulled up the trees, and shrubs, stomped the flowers into the dirt. To our horror they put the trees into pots (Yeah! we thought they were taking them back to where they got them, or to another place to be planted), and proceeded to hurl them into the back of the truck with force.

They also dumped out about 20% of the bags they’d filled back into the field. So now we had a pile of weeds, and three holes in the ground.

wow, I can’t wait to hear what this display might have been, my money is on a Republican “we’re great and love everyone and nature” campaign. Just my opinion of course ;)

The duo in the truck showed up again about 10 minutes later in the truck, where they proceeded to sweep it out. They also tossed two segments of chain link fence back out of the truck. The last blow was circling around in the field and driving over the flowers and shrubs.

I’ve no idea what was up, but it sure did suck on the karma level.

Two of our own, well Boulderites (inos?) Summitted Mt. Kilimanjaro!

From the Denver Post

“Kaylee and Matt Moniz are 10-year-old twins who will be entering fifth grade at Flatirons Elementary School in the fall. They went to Tanzania with their parents, Dee and Mike Moniz, to climb Africa’s highest mountain, which stands at over 19,300 feet. “

All I can say is wow! I’m working on doing 14′er number 2.

Sounds like their whole family are mtn climbing nuts so congrats to the whole clan!

Having just done a piddly 5.4 mile hike through Gregory Canyon, my appreciation for their skills is immense.

…you get some pretty cool views.  This is looking out from Iliff and University…and it was with my cell phone camera set low.  A nice dusk view that made me pause and enjoy it for a few.

This weekend my wife and I took a mini camping vacation to the Great Sand Dunes. Holy Mother…. What a miraculous series of natural brain farts, that place is. 8,000 feet high, nestled against the Mountains, 30 some odd square miles of desert sand dunes, edged by a river.

Incredible, barely covers it.

We left Friday afternoon around 2:00 and pulled into the camp ground around 7:00 or so. It’s amazing how long it stays light out at night down there. It was 9:00 when we started cooking dinner, and we thought it was barely 8.

We got up early saturday and went into the park, to hike the dunes. We started out a bit over dressed to say the least. Being used to hiking in the mtns, we donned our camel backs, boots, breathable shirts, and pants. Sleeves were rolled up and outer shirts were off by the first 1/3 of the dunes. Pant legs were zipped off by the halfway mark. Once we got to the top it was time for the san filled boots to come off. The sand felt great, and was only a bit hot on the sunward slopes, but everywhere else it was refreshingly cool on my feet.

We went back to camp for a nap and to relax a bit, then headed back to the dunes to put our feet in the river… along with a small city’s worth of people! There were eazy-ups in the middle, people playing football, kids digging holes, it was crazy. It was like a day at California’s beaches. We hung out for a bit, but we had no eazy-up so the sun was kickin’ our butt’s

If you’re looking for a fun vacation that isn’t too far. Definitely check out the Great Sand Dunes, a 5 hours drive from Denver, and worth every mile of it.

It’s great to see city’s adopting free bike rental programs. Back in April, Fort Collins started a bike library. What a great idea! Just leave a credit card and they lend you a bike for free. The city of Denver will have 1000 bicycles available during the DNC, at strategic locations across the city. Would be encouraging to see Obama pedaling the streets of Denver between the convention center and the Pepsi Center.

With over 650 miles of trails (more than any other community across the country) and 300 days of sunshine, we should lead the country in gas free commutes.

Early summer in Boulder. The sun is shining and I’m wearing sunscreen. The geese are with gosling, the cranes are fishing, the prairie dogs are pupping, and the bull snakes are hunting. The smell of the cottonwood blooming along East Boulder’s waterways makes it clear that the poetic phrase, “air like wine,” is no hyperbole.

The following pictures were all taken along the Boulder Creek Bike Path between the Valmont Bridge and the underpass at Pearl Street (Google Maps satellite view). I thought I’d never make it home, what with all the photo ops materializing on my route. Luckily I ran out of space on the SD card.

The crane was just standing there in the pond between Valmont and the back of the Flatirons Business Park, waiting for fish. It started wading away as I approached the shore.

The geese were in the usual nesting area along the shore, traveling west, just after the 55th Street underpass. If you’re lucky, you can sometimes pick up some great quill-caliber wing feathers in this spot. There’s always prairie dogs peeping away at you as you pass here. It’s a good time of year to watch the itty bitty tiny pups waddling around.

And this here’s a bull snake. I saw a small knot of youngsters crowded at the side of the path, and I slowed down to check out whatever they were staring at. I was just in time to nearly get knocked over as the snake made it perfectly clear that it did not appreciate being manhandled for the camera. Everyone jumped back as it whipped its considerable bulk around in a powerful lunge that translated clearly to “Hands off!”

The kid’s sneaker is included for perspective, but it’s not really enough to demonstrate the size of this critter. I’d say it was at least four feet long, maybe five, and thick as a stout tree branch.

Here it is again, winding away down the path beside my bookbag. You can almost make out the way its rattlesnake-like coloring on the body gives way to dramatic black and yellow stripes at the tail.

I can’t help wishing that I’d tried to pick it up too.

The American College of Sports Medicine released a study last week listing the 16 fittest cities in America, with San Francisco, Seattle, and Boston rounding out the top three. Not to put too much stock in lists of this kind (I used to live in the second dumbest city in America, according to a list Men’s Health Magazine put out a few years ago), but I was surprised that the Denver/Boulder area did not make the cut, when places like Houston and Riverside, CA did.

I moved here about six months ago from Washington, DC (ranking at number 4). Shortly after my arrival, I had dinner with a couple from Boulder who also used to live in DC and they joked that while the question in DC is “Where do you work?” the question here is “What’s your sport?” I met someone else who moved here from New York City (number 9 on the list) and she said that people thought she was a professional athlete for making it to the gym more than three times a year. I’ve moved around a fair amount and Denver feels like one of the fittest, most active places I’ve ever lived. It’s hard for me to even drive by Wash Park on a nice day without wanting to pull over and start jogging or join in a Volleyball game.

Oh, well. I guess we’ll just have to start training twice as hard and maybe we’ll make the list next year.

We like to travel around Colorado during the summer months, and over the past week I’ve been mapping our family’s summer plans. This weekend there are quite a few reasons to “get out of town” including:

Teva Mountain Games in Vail runs from June 5th to the 8th. This is “The country’s largest celebration of mountain sport, soul and culture.”

The 28th Breckenridge Festival of Film runs from June 5th to the 8th. “There is no Festival like Breckenridge. A large Indie presence, Colorado Premiers of Feature Films, up-close and personal with the stars but with a warmth and intimacy all its own… even if it snows in June!!! We’ve been doing this for 27 years. We’re Good At It”. Jeffrey Lyons

Boats, Blues & Bar-B-Que in Pueblo runs from June 6th to the 7th. “The highlight of the event is a full fledged Kansas City BBQ Society sanctioned cook-off competition that is sure to please the seasoned BBQ connoisseur and first time taste tester alike!”

The Snowmass Chili Pepper & Brew Fest runs from June 6th to the 8th. “The International Chili Society holds its two chili competitions and tastings in Snowmass, while microbrewers face off in a prestigious summer ale competition with two brew sampling sessions for festival-goers, featuring 30 plus breweries. Fanny Hill rocks with hot music all weekend.”

The Telluride Jazz Festival runs from June 5th to the 8th. “Since 1977 Telluride’s majestic perch - high in the spectacular San Juan Mountains in Southwestern Colorado — has been the site of an annual cultural event produced by the Telluride Society for Jazz combining the finest of nature and art that ranks among the world’s most memorable music festivals.”

A Colorado Wines Festival in Manitou Springs is on June 7th (This is where we’ll be this weekend). “Twenty-two Colorado wineries will be pouring samples of the wines they produce. Live entertainment will be performed throughout the afternoon.”

If you can’t get out of town, don’t forget the People’s Fair is this weekend. Or check out the Denver Broncos Fan Fair at INVESCO. And on Sunday, June 8th, Hazel Miller is appearing at Hudson Gardens and Fiesta Aurora is at the Fletcher Plaza. If you’re looking for a fundraiser you can enjoy with the family, try Bring Out the Bags at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.

Gosh, I know there’s so much more out there to do that I’ve mssed! Let us know…