Leadville 100 MTB

A bunch of us went up to Leadville yesterday to watch TJ finish the race.  Scattered thunderstorms are a near daily occurrence here in August, but the cyclists lucked out with great weather this year.

The finish line at 6th and Harrison in Leadville.

The last 3 blocks are lined with people who cheer, clap and ring cowbells as the riders pass by.

Approaching the finish line.

The cyclists are well spread out after 8+ hours.

About 30 riders finished in the 45 minutes we were there.

Right to left: Linda and Tom, TJ's parents; Thomas, his son; TJ.

TJ's father-in-law, Terry, is the proud owner of the protruding beer belly on the far left.  As beer bellies go, it's not that impressive but hey, it's a work in progress!  Terry works diligently, following a strict daily regimen of beer belly enhancement - which is only natural, it being his only significant physical attribute.

TJ's time was 8:24, some 35 minutes less than his 2011 time - a huge improvement!  I fully expected TJ to hit the sack the minute he returned to the house.  He'd been up since zero dark thirty and spent 8.5 hours going full out balls to the wall on his bike.  Nope: he still had plenty of energy left and was still up and about when I sacked out at 9 PM.  You duh man, TJ!

13 Dogs

That's right, there will be 13 dogs here today.  Our hosts, Terry and Lisa, have 3; the other couples each have 2.  Don't know the sizes or breeds of the 2 that will arrive today but so far Ranger is the largest, the rest about Artie's size.  Where is here?  Terry and Lisa's home in Buena Vista, CO.  T and L are LHC friends who visited us in Santa Fe and accompanied us to Puerto Penasco, Mexico.

The Sleeping Indian.

This picture and those below were taken from Terry and Lisa's yard.

With the exception of Trish and I, the dog owners are all family members, here to attend Gold Rush Days and to offer moral and watering hole support to TJ.  Oh yes, also to eat, drink, hang out, have some laughs and just plain enjoy each other's company.  TJ is married to Sarah, T and L's daughter (1 of 3); TJ will participate in the Leadville Trail 100 MTB mountain bike race today.

It's a grueling 100 mile race at elevations of 9,200' to 12,424'.  The race is limited to a mere 3,000 cyclists and they come from all over the world.  Last year's winning time was 6:16; TJ expects to finish around 8:30, a very respectable time for a non-professional.  Lance Armstrong won it in 2009, placed 2nd in 2008.  I suspect Lance won't be there today, given his doping disgrace.

One of these 3 peaks is Mt Antero, 14,269' elevation.

Much of the footage of the reality TV series, The Prospectors, is filmed there.

Many semi-precious gemstones have been found on the mountain.

Most people think MTB is an acronym for mountain trail bike.  Most people are wrong.  The T actually stands for Taint, a part of human anatomy.  Some readers will recognize the term as being a small stretch of territory in the nether region, know medically as the perineum.  Said territory often becomes sore and swollen in mountain bikers due to the rough terrain.  Since this blog is unofficially rated PG13, I'll not go any further with this: if you haven't figured it out, look it up.

The home is set in a broad, flat valley, surrounded by mountains; gorgeous views!

Folks gather on the porch at cocktail hour.

So, I was thinking about those MTB racers - thinking those guys and gals are masochistic nut cases. But then, I think back to my mountain climbing days, climbing mountains exceeding 14,000', with a heavy backpack of gear and emergency supplies, sometimes in temperatures well below freezing.  Okay, I get it.  It's the challenge, the sense of accomplishment, and yes, gotta admit it: the bragging rights. 

Rocky 2

Alluvial Fan with Bridge Goddess in lower left.

Bridge Goddess close up.

She charms the trolls that live under most bridges.

Our last day trip from our RMNP Moraine Campground was a clockwise loop on route 36, with stops at the Alluvial Fan, the Fall River Visitor Center and the Estes Park Safeway.  The Alluvial Fan was the sight of a roaring downhill flood 30 years ago.  The flood ripped out all existing vegetation so now the area has all new growth. 

Fall River Visitor Center.

I love the construction design and materials used in most national park/monument visitor centers and lodges.  The massive peeled logs, the natural stone, the soaring ceilings and huge view windows are awesome.  Fall River Visitor Center is typical, albeit not even close to the most impressive of the breed.  

Which one is the most impressive?  I’d have to think long and hard on that question, but the old lodge on the north rim of the Grand Canyon would be one of the finalists.  Many ski lodges have similar designs and materials; Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood in Oregon is one such. 

Rocky

The park, not the movie: Rocky Mt Nat’l Park.  We planned to stop here 3 years ago but got weathered out.  It was mid June, too early for nice weather in elevations of 8-12,000’.  August is fine, has frequent thunderstorms but they don’t last long.

We've seen this group of 5 buck mule deer came browsing through camp twice.  They're not at all fussed about being surrounded by people.  One was 25' away from me this AM when I stepped out of the trailer.  

Bear Lake is a 15 minute drive from our campground, not counting road construction delays.

Above and below are vistas along route 34, the main drag through the Park.

We had to stop for a few minutes on our route 34 drive to let the sheep cross the road.

This guy is having a really baaaaaad hair day.

Why is this roof inside out?

 Maybe to keep the 100 mph winter winds from blowing it away?

It gets down to -50 degrees here in winter, wonder what the wind chill is.

The store and cafe near the Alpine Visitor Center at 11,796' elevation.

We brought a picnic lunch so didn't eat here.

These elk stags hang out across the road and uphill from a herd of about 60 more elk.

Was the larger group all does?  Couldn't stop on the road long enough to find out because the park ranger was waving everybody along, trying to keep the traffic flowing.

Don't Mess with Bill

Don’t Mess with Bill was a single gold record hit song by the Marvelettes in 1966.  It was also darn good advice in Abilene in the mid 1800s when Wild Bill Hickock was the Marshal.  Bill killed 36 men in gunfights.  He was a crack shot and the first person that actually fought a ‘quick draw’ duel.  Bill was a little too quick: while breaking up an unruly mob, his deputy (and close friend) came running up behind him to lend a hand.  Bill, thinking one of the mob was going to jump him from behind, whirled and accidentally shot him dead.  The incident haunted Bill for the rest of his life and led to his being fired from his Marshal's job 2 months later.

This bronze likeness of Bill stands over his Boot Hill grave.

Naturally, Bill made a few enemies along the way, one of which wanted to hire John Wesley Hardin to kill him.  John, following the Marvelette’s advice, declined, with the comment, ‘If Bill needs killing why don’t you kill him yourself?’

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Hickock was an army scout for Sherman and Custer in his early years.  He tried stage acting briefly but was lousy.  In his later years, he became a professional gambler and that’s what brought him to Deadwood in the gold rush days.  Jack McCall shot Bill in the back of the head while he was playing poker, holding the now-famous ‘dead man’s hand’ of aces and eights.  It’s not clear why Jack did the dastardly deed.  He claimed Bill killed his brother but that was a lie: he didn't have a brother.  McCall was hanged for the killing, thereby achieving the dubious honor of being the the last person to ignore the advice, ‘Don’t mess with Bill.’

An expanded view of Boot Hill, which is indeed a hill.

Deadwood was twice destroyed by fire and once by flood.  But it's still there, full of hotels, casinos, saloons, Harleys and tourists - but no brothels: US marshals closed down the last one in 1980.  We did the city tour yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Local actors perform a reenactment of the capture and trial of McCall

 during the tourist season.

I gotta say this to Jack’s ghost, on behalf of Bill’s ghost, “Okay, so you just had to kill me.  Why, I don’t know.  But, couldn’t you have waited until I had a losing hand?  I had 2 pair, aces over, probably the winning hand, and you, you sumbitch, shoot me!  That’s what makes your crime so heinous and that’s why I’m gonna haunt you forever, you cowardly back-shooting little prick!”

Crazy Horse

We’re camped 25 miles south of Deadwood for 3 nights.  Elevation is 5060’, so nights are chilly, down to 39 degrees the first night.  Sturgis is nearby and the annual Harley rally is next week so there’s a constant stream of bikers going by, heading to and from Mt Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument, which we toured today. 

Scale model on left, real thing on right.

The face is done, current work is on the hand and horse head, outlined in white on the mountain.

When/if completed, the monument will be many times larger than Mt Rushmore: the head alone is larger than the 4 Mt Rushmore figures.  It was started in 1948.  Based on progress so far, I expect it will take another 150 years to complete.  Funding is all private, from donations and the $10/person entry fee.  The fee gives you access to the large museum, sculptor's home and workshop, and an excellent introductory film.

The most eye-catching item in the Museum.

The annual Days of 76 Parade was held in Deadwood the same day we visited Mr Horse.

This drum and fife corps group, complete with little drummer boy, was probably in the parade before performing at the Monument.  A light rain was falling so the audience is small.

 

Wilder

The Wilder family lived in this house.

Above and below, the school attended by the Wilder kids.

Artie and Ranger are waiting to welcome the students.

Heading southeast from Watertown, we had to detour through DeSmet, SD, The Little Town on the Prairie.  Laura Ingalls Wilder’s book, Little House on the Prairie was set here, as was By the Shores of Silver Lake.  It was lunchtime when we hit town so we decided to stop and visit the Wilder’s.  They weren’t home and their house was all locked up.  The house is a work in progress, was moved to its current site just a few years ago, and has yet to be restored inside.

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Coincidentally, en route to the Twin Cities, we drove through another small town where the Wilders lived: Pepin, WI.  Little House in the Woods was set there.  We didn’t stop, were in a hurry to get to our campground and commence deskunkification.  Probably wouldn’t have stopped anyway, too many points of interest, too little time.  Back in my whippersnapper days, I read all of Laura’s books and enjoyed them, as did Trish.

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We stopped in Watertown to visit LHC friends Jim and Joan, who have a lovely home on a nearby lake.  Jim loves to hunt and fish; J/J had us over for a delicious dinner of walleye pike Jim caught.

Bird's the word!

Our next stop was Huron, to see Bill, Trish’s work colleague from years past.  Huron is the home of The World’s Largest Pheasant.  Wowsers!  Can it get any better than this?