Chasing the Eclipse

 4/3

We took Abby into the deep snow of Rocky Mountain National Park and hiked up to Nymph, Dream, and Emerald lakes. Lots of snow! And of course the lakes were frozen We then took her to the Stanley Hotel.

4/4

Today we started our journey to search out totality for the total eclipse occuring on April 8th. We originally were going to take Gunther to roadtrip to Texas and back, but then Elisha was named the Employee of the Year for Eleven, and they awarded her (and me) with an all expenses paid trip to Eleven's property in France. So we decided to rent a car one way from Boulder to Houston, then fly to Europe and then fly back to Denver. It turned out being a good idea, bc we drove A LOT and the car we got (Toyota Corolla) got amazing gas mileage (nearly 50 mpg) and had all these fancy technologies to make driving easy (plus it had AC, which Gunther does not!). 

Mom drove us down to the rental car agency in Boulder and then we continued on to Colorado Springs. We showed Abby Pikes Peak and then did a quick tour of the Olympic Training Center. We then drove into New Mexico to Roswell and stayed at a hotel using points.

4/5

We explored downtown Roswell. We visited a few of the curio shops, looking for postcards for Abby, then went to breakfast at McDonald's, which was constructed as a spaceship. We visited the UFO museum to learn all about the Roswell crash as well as other extraterrestrial activity and events. We had to admit, it was pretty convincing. We then visited a really cool black light art alien/space exhibit. 

After spending time in Roswell, we drove over a pass through Ruidoso to White Sands National Park. We hiked out into the pure white dunes made of soft sand. We took several small hikes from the sandy loop road in the park. We then hiked out at sunset for a truly magnificent sunset over the dune field. Beautiful pink and orange clouds, with dark mountains as the backdrop, and then the soft white dunes.

After sunset, we then drove over another pass through Cloudcroft to a town not far from Carlsbad, where we stayed in a cheap hotel.

4/6

We got up really early and drove to Carlsbad Caverns National Park to try to get a last minute guided tour ticket to a part of the cave that the general public is not allowed on their own. But, we had no luck. Since we were there many hours before our time-entry reservation to enter the main cavern, we drove to Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas.  We did a hike in the national park to a cool little cabin. The scenery was really nice, which very steep mountains and deserty flora, but it was crazy windy. While we were driving through Carlsbad Caverns NP, we saw a large herd of non-native Barbary sheep (native to North Africa).

Back at Carlsbad Caverns NP, we did the natural entrance hike to go deep into the bowels of the earth. It was really cool and ket going down and down and down. Eventually we met up with the main loop, which circled around the ENORMOUS main rooms of the cavern. The stalagmites and stalactites were so cool and very ornate. It was just spectacular! To leave the cave, we rode the elevator that most people enter (and leave) the cavern from. The elevator descends 754 feet from the ground level.

We went to a pizza buffet in Carlsbad to get some....salad, believe it or not. We'd been eating so much fast food that we craved a salad, and this cheap pizza buffet also had a salad bar. We then drove to Andrews, Texas where we stayed in a cheap hotel.

4/7  T-minus 1 day until the eclipse! 

We spent the morning in the hotel looking at weather models and trying to figure out where the best place to see the eclipse in a cloudless sky would be. Our original plan had been Southern Texas and then stay with Linnah in Austin or watch it near Dallas and stay with Elisha's friend Hannah. However, weather models indicated that Northern Texas would have a better chance of clear skies, but Arkansas would be the best bet. A giant storm was moving in and the timing was going to be tricky as to when the clouds built compared to when the eclipse happened. So we drove all the way up to DeKalb, Tx. On the waay, we passed through the outskirts of Dallas and saw Hannah and her daughter and boyfriend at a park for quick bit. 

The flowers on the drive in Texas along the highways were magnificent! We got to our campsite in DeKalb that we had pre-booked. It was on a horse training/competition ranch. We met some other eclipsers, then set up our tent and went to bed.

4/8 Eclipse Day!

We did some last minute weather checking and decided to head to Caddo Gap, Arkansas. It was dark and cloudy in DeKalb--but predicted to burn off; however a storm from the gulf was predicted to arrive very close to eclipse time, and we didn't want to risk it. When we got to Caddo Gap, it was clear skies and everyone was in a cheery mood, but updated forecasts made us feel even more comfortable if we drove just a bit more north up to Royal, Arkansas. 

We pulled off in a little space where there was one other guy with a fancy photography set-up and a cool app that announced out-loud the difference phases of the eclipse. 

As the eclipse progressed, it got darker and darker. Shortly before totality, these strange waves ran across the ground (I can't remember the name). Then totality hit, and it was pretty dark! We could then take off our eclipse glasses and look straight at the sun. It was surreal. The lit up corona around the moon shone bright like a jewel in the dark sky, and the moon itself was the blackest black. The sky was so dark that stars were out! I could look at it forever! It was just so cool. The totality lasted for 4 minutes. When it was occurring, the birds went quiet and the crickets got louder.

After the eclipse, we had another big decision to make. We needed to get to Houston for our flight to France by the next afternoon. We wanted to go through Dallas so that we could stay with Hannah, but nasty, severe weather was predicted with "damaging winds, softball sized hail, and tornado potential" in a huge part of Texas for 2 days, including Dallas. And of course we had declined the extra insurance on the rental car. Houston was outside of this severe weather zone, so we decided to go straight to Houston. We did drive through a pretty good hail storm, but otherwise it was fine. We stayed at a hotel in the vicinity of the airport.

A great eclipse is in Egypt in 2027. See you there!!

Winter in Crested Butte

 12/18

Arrived to Denver.  Since my mom and dad were still in Tucson due to grandma's health, we rented a car and drove up to windy and cold Estes Park

12/19

Mom and dad arrived to Denver and I drove the rental car down to meet them and drive home with them.

12/20

Elisha left to go back to CB, but I stayed in Estes. 

12/21

Spent most of the day talking to doctors and my insurance trying to figure out how much a rabies treatment would cost. Since I was nipped by that dog in Yunnan, China (which peer-reviewed journal articles indicated has a significant amount of rabies). The IGG that you need can cost around $7,000-10,000, and that's just the shot. But you have to be seen in the emergency room, which of course really increases the cost. Then you have to get 4 rabies vaccines, which also are at the ER. Reading articles online (such as this one: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/7/16851134/rabies-treament-expensive-emergency-room  Titled: "Why a simple, lifesaving rabies shot can cost $10,000 in America"). Because I was just nipped and it only made a small scratch and I was wearing pants, I was stressed trying to figure out if spending $10,000 was worth it.

12/22

Drove with the parents to Crested Butte. Went to the hot tub at my parent's place

12/23

Spent tons more time on the phone with insurance, hospitals, etc. Skied out to Gothic. The rest of the family went part of the way, but I went the whole way because I hadn't been to Gothic, my old stomping grounds, in a long time. We went out to eat at the Thai place. Yum!

12/24 Christmas Eve!

Went to breakfast at my parent's hotel. Then spent the day prepping for people coming over, cleaning up, organizing, and wrapping gifts. Went to Christmas Eve church service with my parents. Then we had cheese fondue dinner at our place and opened gifts since Mary would be working Christmas morning. Played some Code Names as well.

12/25

Elisha and I skied at MT CB for a bit early in the morning. Elisha made a breakfast brunch of cinnamon rolls and Kucha. Then mom, bro, and I spent the day watching Christmas movies, including Home Alone 2. For dinner we had shrimp bisque and artichoke dip and other appetizers and Zach and Mary's. That night we played the game "That's what she said" which was hilarious with my parents. My dad learned what motor boating was. haha

12/26

Spent a ton more time calling hospitals and insurance. What a mess. The insurance says only the hospitals will know the price, the hospitals say I need to call the insurance. No one knows! Pizza dinner at my parents' hotel and then hot tubbing

12/27

Some more calling of hospitals, but then I got lucky. While in Estes I had called the Boulder County Health Services and talked to a very helpful and friendly nurse. She was trying everything she could to figure out how to make it cheaper. She was really knowledgeable and had read up on rabies in Yunnan and such. She told me she would call over to Larimer County Health and have them get a hold of me. Well, Matt, an epidemiologist from Larimer county called. He was also very friendly and super knowledgeable. He told me that since I had received all the vaccines back in April 2009 (when I was bit by the rat in Thailand), that I only needed 2 shots and no IGG, and that he said my PCP should be able to write a script for the 2 shots so that they would at least be outpatient at the ER.

I would just mention that of all the many, many phone calls that I made, the most helpful, patient, understanding, and informative were the County Public Health folks, so a shout out to them. Larimer and Boulder counties were super helpful, and I imagine Gunnison would have been too, but their infectious disease person is on maternity leave so the person covering her, while very nice and understanding, was less knowledgeable. However, she took the time to call Matt the epidemiologist with Larimer to get up to speed. I guess maybe some of this is b/c the insurance companies and hospitals are out for money and profit while the government organizations aren't.

12/28

Saw my PCP to write the rabies vaccine script for me

12/29

Drove to Gunnison to get my first shot.

12/31 New Year's Eve

Watched the ski torch parade and the fireworks

1/1

Went for a ski and also ice skated on Blue Mesa Reservoir at sunset, which was absolutely spectacular. Got my 2nd rabies vaccine.

1/2

Drove to Montrose for a podiatry appointment. Tried to skate at Taylor Reservoir, but there was too much snow, so skated at CB's Big Mine Ice Rink instead

1/4

First day of my job as a mountain lion tech for Colorado Parks and Wildlife

1/5

Started really early in (5am from CB) to look for lion tracks. We split up as a team. One person found some and then we used hounds to track the mountain lion in through the snow and eventually tree her. She was a very big mountain lion! Unfortunately she had a collar on her, so we didn't need to dart her to do any work on her or fit her with a collar

1/6

Skied early morning (and cold) groomers with Bro. Then we heard that despite CB getting less than 1" of snow, the Kebler area had gotten 2 feet! So we snowmobiled up to Kebler pass and did 4 runs up in the Anthracites and the ridge beyond. And it was truly deep and very blower!

1/7

Went out again looking for mountain lions. Found some tracks out towards Lake City area. The hounds picked up the scent, but the cat was able to evade them

1/14

We got a big storm over the holiday weekend totalling 4 feet! I got to ski on Sunday and it was super deep and awesome!

1/15-16

Some challenging snow mobiling for work with all that snow. But starting to get the hang of it, I think.

1/17

A nice day of powder skiing with Elisha. They opened the North Face Lift for the first time this season, and we were one of the first to get to ride it so we got amazing fresh tracks! We did 4 laps up there on mostly untracked snow as hardly anyone was skiing today. We had an apres ski hour at Elisha's work with fancy snacks and a delicious cocktail (coconut margarita). It was free for us because some of the sales team was visiting and it was set up for them.

1/18

Elisha had a really good day skiing the fresh powder. I had a crazy drive in a white-out blizzard to Gunnison in the dark. But it was worth it as we did some cat tracking and were able, with the help of the hounds to tree a beautiful mountain lion!

1/19

We went out searching for lion tracks and found some. We used the hounds and were able to tree the lion. We darted it up in the tree, and then I got to belay it down from the tree. We did the various measurements of it. I had to lift the whole lion up to weight it. 95 pounds. So cool to get to touch a living, breathing mountain lion!

1/20

Another day searching for tracks. Again we found some. This time it was in a cliffy area with few trees. The dogs chased it along the cliff edge, but since the mountain lion felt threatened and couldn't climb a tree it took some good swipes at a couple of the dogs. Eventually it hid in a cave. I was the 1st one up to the cliff cave (besides the houndsman). It was my job to make sure the cat didn't run from the cave, so there I was less than 10 feet from the mountain lion as it stared at me from the cave for about 10 minutes as I awaited reinforcements. We darted this one as well, a young male. I got to help put on the collar and ear tags

1/27-28

Bryan Cheyne and his wife Sunaina are visiting from Denver. I went to school with Bryan at the College of Idaho, and he is now a doctor in Denver.

2/3

Today was the Alley Loop ski race through downtown. I did the 5k skate ski and dressed up as a giraffe. Bro was the king of soul and pulled a sled with a speaker behind him.

2/4-2/9

The Stringfields (Lucas, brother Jordan, and Papa Ken) stayed with us for the week. They were here for the Blister ski demo summit and of course to ski and visit us. Definitely a fun time! We got some decent new snow, shared cooking meals, and went out one night to the secret stash.

2/14

For Valentine's day, we went to the Butterfly (Monarch mountain), where we'd never skied before and then afterwards went to Waunita Hot Springs near Gunnison. It's a cool hot springs on a ranch back in the woods, with lots of cats running the place (and coming to get pet while you're soaking). Then we went to Sherpa Cafe for dinner in Gunnison

2/17

Jack Snow (a friend from my winter in Gothic) came to visit and to race the around Gothic Mountain race, so we hung out with him for a bit before going to see a Brett Dennen acoustic show. It was a very small and intimate show where he took lots of requests. He also played barefoot, while drinking tea, and sucking on some sort of hard candy. He also poked fun of rich people in the audience who owned weekend ski condos

2/18

Jack crashed out of the around Gothic race with a broken collarbone

2/20-22

We did a 10th mountain division hut trip to Jackal Hut outside of Camp Hale (near Leadville). We skiined up in the late afternoon in a snowstorm and arrived just after sunset but before it was dark. There were 8 other people at the hut: 2 brothers from Steamboat, a couple from Vail, and a group of 4 friends from Carbondale, Evergreen, and Boulder.

The 2nd day, we did a couple runs off of Pearl Peak, then came back to the hut for lunch and board games (The wikipedia game). Then I went back out for a couple more runs off of the ridge that the hut is on. Then we played some bananagrams at night. For dinners we had freeze-dried backpacker meals that Sue had made in her new freeze drier. This night, it was only us and the group of 4 friends. We enjoyed listening to them talk that evening as they all have had interesting lives with big adventures, and they are all very well read. One of the guys, Jon Waterman, was especially interesting. He used to live in Crested Butte, but now lives in Carbondale. But he is a writer and photographer for National Geographic as well as an author (he said his favorite book he wrote was In The Shadow of Denali). A lot of his work has come in the Arctic where he has had some some big adventures. But he was also a rescue ranger on Denali. (https://jonathanwaterman.com/bio/)

The view from the cabin was really great. You could see several 14ers including Mount Massive, Mount Elbert, Mount of the Holy Cross, and I think some more. 

One the last day we did a quick run off the north side of the hut ridge and then skied back down to Camp Hale before heading to Leadville so that Elisha could go to Melanzana. 

2/23-2/25

Mom came out to visit to watch Zach and Mary dance in Move the Butte. She stayed with us, and we had fun doing some cross country skiing and going out to the Thai place as well as Move the Butte of Course

2/25-2/26

Drove with mom back to Estes for the night to pick up my car. On the drive to Estes we stopped at Taco Bell (mom's favorite). The next day we had pizza at Costco (my mom's 2nd favorite).

3/6

Date night! I took Elisha on a snowmobile ride to check on some camera's for work and then we went out to authentic tacos in Gunnison

3/12

Skiing has been good, but I had a bad crash and tore my left calf muscle. Had to ride down the toboggan with ski patrol. It didn't stop Elisha and I from enjoying a $2 PBR happy hour

3/13-3/15

Linnah who lives near Taos came and visited. She is a good friend from Antarctica. We all were 1st time Antarcticans together in shuttles and then we all moved to the Crary Lab together. I was gimpy so she xc skied and downhill skied with Elisha as the snow continued to fall. She took us out to a yummy Nepalese meal at the Eldo.

3/22

Last day at work with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Because of my calf injury, I was mostly doing data entry and camera trap photo sorting the last couple of weeks.

3/25-4/1

Packing up and cleaning and moving out of our place. Our landlords will be coming back to Crested Butte to live in their house this fall, but they didn't like that we were looking for other places before then, so they changed our month to month lease, so we had to move out. We're moving into a room in Zach and Mary's for now and also putting a bunch of our stuff in a storage unit in CB.

Also, during this week Flab Abby arrive. It is a Flat Stanley version of Conrad's daughter Abby. It is kind of like the travelmate that I did in 5th grade. Our task was to take Flat Abby on adventures with us and send photos of her doing cool things. And also send postcards to the class. Little did Conrad and Abby know, but we had BIG plans for the spring, so she was going to get a lot of adventure!

3/26

First day back on the slopes after the calf injury. But took it slow and tentatively. But it was a powder day, so I was excited to get out.

4/2

We skied our last day at Mount Crested Butte, before hopping in our van Gunther to drive to Estes Park.