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 | 440.Mount Elbert HikeOn Thursday 6 August, 2015, Ray, Dave F, and I continued the Summer 2015 14er Series by attempting to summit the highest peak in Colorado, Mount Elbert, which rises to 14,439’ in elevation and is located approximately 20 miles southwest of Leadville. Trailhead access was by 4 wheel drive only, and Ray’s truck tackled it with gusto. As you will soon see in the photographs, the dirt road to that trailhead took us through a “Dr. Seuss-like” aspen grove.
With temperatures in the 40’s and 50’s at elevation, and a strong northwesterly wind, the weather was a little chillier that last week, but still quite nice. Best of all, and most importantly, there was yet again no risk of afternoon storms.
This was a pretty challenging hike, as it was at a moderate to steep grade for the duration of the trek, with really only one flat spot (Where the trail map image notes “Camp”). The 4WD accessible trailhead sits at just above 10,000’ with a total ascent of 4,389’ over 3.8 miles to the summit. Though tremendously demanding and requiring hard work and endurance to reach our goal, the day was enjoyed by all, and I am thrilled to have summited Mount Elbert with my Buddies Ray and Dave.
As always, I hope you enjoy the pictures, and I would love to hear some of your thoughts via the guestbook or photograph comments! Thanks! | |
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 | 442.Natomas RookeryThese are photos taken at a rookery in Sacramento, CA. The rookery is at an apartment complex in Natomas off of Truxel, near I80. I've spoken to several people, including tenants and wildlife experts, about the situation but I still have a lot of questions. It seems the birds were nesting there before the apartment complex was built, 20+ years ago. Last year was the worst as far as the number of nesting pairs and babies falling out of the nests and dying. It's normal for babies to fall out of the nests but the nests are usually in an area where people aren't around. The parents can continue to care for some of the babies who fall but this area is dangerous with all of the cars, people, and domestic animals around. I know of 3 kinds of birds here, Black-Crowned Night Heron, Snowy Egret, and Cattle Egret...
A group of volunteers go out each morning and afternoon to rescue any fallen babies. We box them up and take them to Wildlife Care Association.
If you have any info about the species or the situation at this apartment complex, please comment on a photo or sign the guest book.
Some of these photos are taken with a camera and some are cell phone shots. I use "him", "he" and "his" when talking about the birds but I don't know any of their genders... | |
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 | 445.Texas Wildflowers, 2015Recent updates:
4/25 - Stormscapes, whitetail deer, zebras and wildflowers in the Hill Country
5/6 - Wildflowers on the prairie
5/12 - Williamson County wildflowers | |
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 | 446.Yard StuffRecent pictures from the yard and the lakefront | |
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