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July 5, 2008 05:55 - This Fourth of July had a Rocky start!
Nawww.... I ain't whinin' again.... I... was up in Rocky! :-) ... or almost... Had a real busy day... ended up bein' another 300 plus, miler. I needed to go meet Heidi at her Agility Trial... and take her some 'possibles' she forgot... Decided I should go to Brighton, by way of Rocky Mountain National Park... again! ... I need little incentive to run up there. So... I climbed on Slick and headed out... about 6am. Hit Thompson Canyon about 6:30 and found that it's a perfect time to roll through there in the middle of the summer... until you hit the rocks of course... Rolled around a bend to find some traffic dead stopped... bunch of rocks in the road... they were waiting for a car from the other direction to pass so they could go around... 
Did anyone climb out and move the rocks? Not a chance... until yours truly... yep... genuine Western Hero! :-) The reason those rocks were there... was a bunch of Bighorn Sheep had come down to the river... and knocked 'em loose climbing back up the bank... a half dozen or so.... only got a pic of this young guy... the others were shy and mostly behind rocks and bushes... 
Like I said, it's a pretty time of day in the Canyon... and little traffic... cool, quiet... more of my 'Shinin' times'! Would of liked to been back here later in the day... it got sizzlin' pretty good down in the 'Valley'. 
Not a bad time to go through Estes Park either... This may be the only time you ever see Estes like this... 
There was hardly another person up and around... just after seven in the morning... The Ranger at the gate kind of gave me a look... when I handed her my 'cripple card' for my entrance... I like my 'Golden Access' card for sure and for certain... but she wondered I think: " A cripple? ... on a motorcycle?" ... she ain't seen me walk! :-) One of the first areas you come to as you head west into that Rocky Mountain Jewel is Horsehoe park... Just around the first bend... entering Horsehoe, a couple of photographers, with lenses a foot and a half long, had their lenses focused on a dirt bank, not more than 30 feet distant... I pulled up to see what the big deal was... ... and found this little demolition expert hard at work... 
There was a second Badger as well... but... he/she seemed more shy... and took off up the mountainside... I only caught a quick... sideways snapshot of that one... This morning... I decided I should also take a short hike... didin't have time, having to get to the Agility Trial... to go far... but any walk in the park is a good one... So I headed up the Bierstadt Lake trail a short ways... The trail starts out switchbacking it's way up the mountain for the first mile or so... I went maybe 3/4 of a mile to capture this view... 
... a view you can't get from the road! Climbing back on the bike... I stowed my helmet and jacket in and on my saddlebags... just too nice a day for that 'stuff'... and goin' easy, in the park... I'll take my chances, without that brain bucket! ... I know... I can hear you... but... sometimes a man has to do.... what just don't make any sense to a lot of people! :-) Climbing higher and higher.. the warming morning was a joy!... Found these girls... some with new calves... and a few 'hangers on' boyfriends after breaking out above Timberline... 
Made my stop in the coffee/gift shop up on top for a cup of coffee... looking out the windows at the always beautiful Alpine view... Sittin' in the shop... enjoyin' the view... I got to evesdroppin' conversations... some folks grousin' about this trivial bit of junk or that... and just started grinnin'! ... folks must of thought: " Look at that goofy old geezer!... just sittin' there grinnin' like an idiot!"... fact was... It hit me what I must sound like when I get to whinin'... and it struck me as funny! To be in - This Place - ... on... -This Day- was... well... it's a gift! Wish I had a button... Just mount it on the back of my hand... an' whenever my day gets cloudy and I start feelin' cruddy... grousin' at my misfortune... I could just give that button a push... and this place would replay in my head... Hmmm... ... I suppose, if I think I'm purty... I could THINK... just as easily... that I had the BUTTON! :-) But... all good things must end... so I started back down to the rest of the world... capturing this view on the way... 
Just before I pulled out... a man was walking across the parking lot with his daughter... a tiny lil' thing... maybe two feet tall... 4... maybe 5 years old? She looked at me with kind of a perplexed look on her face: "Daddy... he doesn't have his helmet on!" ( it was tied on my saddlebags)... "Why doesn't he have his helmet on!... Why, doesn't he have his helmet on?!" ... it reeeeeeally bothered her... I leaned over my handle bars... looked her square in the eye and told her: " 'cause he's dumb!" :-) Her Ol' Dad cracked up... it was a 'moment'... :-) Like I said... sometimes a man has to do things that make no sense at all to other folks :-) When I got back down to the plains... they had got hot! Had to roll all the way to my Daughters in Denver to catch up with the Boss Lady... who was already done for the day by the time I got there... my brain cookin' in that Plastic Bucket I'd put back on for 'Busy' ridin'. Then was time to roll home up I-25... racin' traffic at 80+! :-) ... sure is nice not worryin' about fuel consumption ... much... on the bike! Funny... in the truck... I'm pokey Joe!... but... climb on the scooter... and I'm a 19 year old Punk again... "I feel the need... the need for speed!: :-) It's a Good Life! I'm hopin' your Fourth of July was as Shiny... and I'm hopin' you gave some thought to those Serving our Freedom... and ESPECIALLY to those Elite... Who will NEVER come home again... We owe a huge part, of the Joy of our lives... To THEIR Sacrifices. ... but now... on the 5th... I got to go sell some more 'stuff'... and make my Boss richer! :-) Take Good Care
Brian
July 3, 2008 06:57 - Keeping my fingers crossed... while my mind wanders...
A cool, foggy morning... and welcome! It's been kinda warm! ... and me and the weeds have been doin' battle... I'm winnin'... but it's a fight! Brought in some of my Stihl 'Special Forces' yesterday... finally got my old weed whacker runnin' ... and equipped with some new kevlar reenforced cutter line, it and I went to rippin', cuttin' and whackin'! It's a good thing the place looks a LOT better when the wild weeds are tamed some... otherwise I'd not be inclined to train 'em! I'm crossin' my fingers, hopin' to get Slick home today... it'll be a horse race... If he don't make it... I got a hassle... it's comin' up on a weekend and so... of course... Heidi is off to another Agility Trial... With only the truck and the bike... the bike in the shop... and the truck in Denver... I'll be hitchhikin' tryin' to get to work! :-) Yamaha is waitin' on parts that are supposed to be delivered early today... then they're closed tomorrow... How many folks do ya figure will stop for a puss gut, bald headed, bowlegged, grumpy, Ol' buster... thumbin' on the side of the road? :-) ... I better get that Motorcycle home! As you can see., Heidi goes to a LOT of Agility Trials these days... I'll admit... I'm the drivin' force behind us tryin' to go full-time... which hasn't worked out so good... yet! But... she is hard core into doin' her Agility Trials... and since they're not here in the yard... that involves travelin'... hmmm.... convenient ain't it? :-) So... as I conjure up my latest scheme to get on the road... I'm carving out an idea to make it a part time thing... takin' advantage of her lust for Dog Agility Trials. ...If we can't sell this place... all I need do is figger a way to take off on circles when the urge pushes me to need one... which is pretty much every other day. I'm lookin' hard at goin' back to the future... makin' a list of all the sorts of things my Old Leather Shop could produce that would fit into the Agility Market... seems like a good fit... but then... I think I'm purty... so what I think ain't always right on target! :-) ... and then also... I keep thinkin'... to haul an 'Agility Trial Vendor Show' around I need a bigger rig... to haul the EZ Up/Tent for the booth and all the goods... while still keepin' Slick on board... or a Bigger Bike! :-) but then I think... a 'Big Rig' keeps us out of a lot of the little places we like to tuck into... and I start spinnin' in place like a kids toy top... or chasin' my tail like a Beagle! Modify the Truck and Eagle some more? ... a bigger Truck (MDT?)... Diesel Pusher? ... spin - spin - spin! Whooo!... this schemin' can make a fella dizzy!... 'specially when he starts out a mite off center in the first place... Anyhoo... I keep chippin' away at the 'problem'... adding in the ideas that seem to fit and chuckin' the ones that are just too 'grandiose', costly or just don't fit my personality... OK... Knock it off! .... Yes, in fact... I DO have a personality! When it's all said and done... if all we can do is circle out from our home place for a few weeks at a time... that ain't so bad is it? :-) I'm just not willing to sacrifice the years of work we've put into puttin' the place together... 'cause folks looking to buy are really looking to 'steal'... Geeze... sounds like a helicopter around here... got to lookin' around and realized that was the noise of all the wheels spinnin' inside my head. :-) .... ya know... a lot of things can be said about me... one thing for sure and for certain... I may get tired and 'down' once in a while... but give it a lil' time and I'm back at it... comin' up with new ways around whatever's blockin' my road... I can easily claim the title of: "The second most stubborn critter on earth"... I'm married to the first! :-) Take Good Care
Brian
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