Rendezvous in the Rockies

First of all let me say, man time flies in graduate school! It has been non-stop studying and reading since August 20th. Well Tuesday offered the chance to both take a break (kind, not really... at least I got out of Fort Collins for the night) and go to Vail for the chance to interview some old-timers in the U.S. Forest Service. Overall, a great, fun, and interesting experience.

I had to opportunity to network with the Chief Historian for the Forest Service, who is one of the three Chiefs in the Forest Service. We also were paid a huge compliment by Patti Limerick, who is one of the foremost western historians in the U.S., who impressed by the work me and my fellow classmates was doing in Vail.

Things I learned from my interviewee's:

1. Vail was developed as a ski town and resort by the Forest Service (I got to interview one of the main dude's in implementing the recreational side of skiing in Colorado)

2. The Forest Service in Alaska is heavily involved with its community.

3. Ask a forester a question and they can talk for at least 30 minutes on one given question!

Below is a picture from my room, sorry for the weird glares, they are because of the case on my phone. Jon and I will have to take a trip there sometime soon that way everyone can see more of the beautiful outdoors!

Lory State Park

Earlier this week, Jon and I went for our first hike in Colorado. After doing a little bit of research on the internet we traveled up to Lory State Park to hike the park's flagship trail, Arthur's Rock. The scenery out here is absolutely beautiful. It's a mixture of desert and prairie, interspersed with bits of greenery of the temperate forrest I'm used to back in North Carolina. The terrain is much more rocky, the trail a mixture of gravel and sand over flagstone, marble, and granite jutting up from the earth.

The hike was described as moderate to difficult, which for us east coaster's not used to the high altitude and the steeper slopes here. The trail started out low in the mountains and slowly winds its way up. As you move up the mountain you encounter a fair number of switchbacks that left me out of breath and wishing I was in better shape. As you get higher up the mountain there are more trees and the trail is much more shaded, which was nice after hiking a mile up the mountain in the hot sun. 

At the top of Arthur's Rock, you have to scale up path of boulders to see the view from the top. That was really cool but also really nerve racking. However, the view from the top is totally worth it. On one side you can see the town of Fort Collins below and behind on the other side of the mountain is a view out into Lory State Park and the Rockies. Climbing and hiking back down is a lot easier than going up and a fairly quick trip down. 

Notes From the Road

 

Hello everyone from Fort Collins, Colorado!

We left one week ago from Raleigh, NC and drove for three days till we reached our destination. Other than stops for food and to occasionally stop to adjust the luggage rack on top of my car or Lucy's litter box strapped to the trunk of Jon's Miata the drive went more smoothly than either of us could have hoped for.We left one week ago from Raleigh, NC and drove for three days till we reached our destination. Other than stops for food and to occasionally stop to adjust the luggage rack on top of my car or Lucy's litter box strapped to the trunk of Jon's Miata the drive went more smoothly than either of us could have hoped for.

I was amazed at the beauty of West Virginia, which was miles and miles of a windy mountain road. Now this is my personal opinion and I'm sure others will disagree with what I say next but I liked driving through these mountains better than the Blue Ridge Parkway. Whenever I've driven on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I have always been scared out of my wits that I am going to fling my vehicle off the side of the mountain. However, in WV it was more like a slow meandering while you got to take in the beautify of the mountains and trees working together.



We didn't get to see much of KY as we drove through the majority of the state in darkness. The second day took us through Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. I have to say this day was the most boring in terms of scenery. Through all three states it was mainly rocky hills that looked like chiseled pancakes stacked on top of each other topped with long grass. The major cities we drove through looked interesting and tempt me into wanting to visit, especially Louisville and St. Louis. Passing the Arch was really cool but also distracting as we went by it in 12 o'clock traffic. The traffic and choosing the right exits was stressful and nerve racking. We ended the second day in Lawrence, KS and stayed with a friend for the night.

From Kansas to Colorado was a lot of rolling prairie land, which was pretty but got old after five or six hours. Towards the end of KS we decided to start cutting north so we could avoid Denver's traffic. This detour took us up through Nebraska which was also stunningly and surprisingly beautiful. High, rolling roads that left you feeling like you were on a roller coaster. Sunflowers dotted the sides of the road. However, our trip through NB was short and soon we were in the prairie lands of Colorado. About two or three hours into the state we could see the line of the Rocky Mountains and we knew we were close.  Finally around seven or eight we rolled in to good old Fo'Co and got a hotel room for the night.

In what seems to be like odd coincidence, Jon and I once again had trouble when it came to renting our apartment. We found the next morning the previous tenant had not yet even begun to move out and were told to wait till noon that day to move in. All in all, we are in our new place and settling in fairly well.

More to come on Fo'Co' and our adventures soon!


xxxo.