We were up and out the door at 6:45 this morning to meet the crew for our hot air balloon ride! We have seen the balloon in the air almost every morning, and decided there was no reason not to go ahead and ride one!
The take off field was still in shadows as the ground crew started inflating the 75 foot tall balloon. They have to be careful not to rip it on sticks, fence posts or barb wire.
When it had enough hot air to rise up, they turned on the propane burners. We were toasty warm when we got in the gondola.
Ten people were signed up for the first trip, and they had two more trips to take this morning. The wicker gondola is divided into three sections - one for the pilot, one for passengers who climb over the side to enter, and one with a gate for the passengers to enter. Thank goodness I got that one!
There isn't much room to move around, and if anyone got unbalanced, they couldn't go far. The side of the gondola came up higher than my waist, and I felt no acrophobia at all. In fact, when we lifted off the ground, you could hardly feel any motion. When we landed, the next group was ready, and as one of us left, one of them entered, to keep the weight balanced and so the balloon didn't take off right away.
It was great fun to watch our shadow on the ground. At first, it was sharp and crisp, but as we gained altitude it became more fuzzy along the edges.
You get such a different perspective from 1,700 feet in the air. They have to cancel a trip if the wind blows too hard, but today it didn't blow at all. We rose up, turned around a few times, then came down again no more than 1/4 mile from our starting point. I loved seeing the oxbows left by the river and it changed course over the years. The farmers are all cutting hay this week, and the fields reminded me of van Gough's paintings of hay fields in Provence, only green!
We heard about a Great Blue Heron rookery, and found it right by our take off field. As we rose in the air, we could see all the nests. Only one had herons still in it. I don't often get to take photos of the top of a heron flying across the marsh! Sometimes they get to see eagles in flight, but not this trip. We did see one later when walking along the Core Trail.
For the landing we all had to hold onto straps, and bend our knees, just like they do for parachute jumping. And don't straighten up right away, the pilot warned, we may land several times before we stop moving! Well, our landing was cushioned by tall grasses, so we didn't bounce again, but we couldn't get out either. Ground crew to the rescue! The pilot gunned the burners a little so the guys could pull us to a spot where we could debark, while the next trip loaded on. The van took us back to base for champagne toasts and a short history of hot air ballooning. In France, they always took a bottle of champagne along to thank the farmer whose field they had landed in, and the tradition remains! Of course, the pilot knows who will take kindly to a balloon landing in their field, and who will not!
What a wonderful way to start the day. This is truly a Bucket List event!
Tubing on the Yampa River here in Steamboat Springs is a popular activity. Kids, teens, even moms with toddlers can all be found floating down the river by the dozens in big inner tubes. But we decided to take a float trip down the Colorado River. The Bucking Rainbow Outfitters drove us to the Colorado (about an hour away), handled the big rafts, and did all the paddling. All we had to do was not fall out and enjoy our lunch! We told the young bearded river guides about our experiences on the Upper and Lower Gauley River in West Virginia, and they were impressed. But at this stage in our lives, we are allowed to relax a bit, we decided.
Although we didn't expect any big rapids, nothing bigger than class 2, the rule on the river is "Never take anything you can't stand to lose." Well, I couldn't go on the Colorado River without my camera, could I? I got a big plastic bag to put around it when there was a chance of splashing, and off we went. The rock formations are fascinating, and I couldn't resist taking photos of the rocks as we passed.
The birding started well. Before we even got the rafts into the water, a juvenile Bald Eagle flew overhead. Through the rest of the trip, we saw a pair of adults in a tree, and one bird that must have been about four years old with a muddy white head. A nest appeared to be empty, with no adult eagles nearby.
Swallows have been the most common bird we've seen every day on this trip. Barn Swallows, Cliff Swallows, Violet-green Swallows, and maybe some Tree or Rough-winged Swallows - it's hard to tell when they swerve away so fast. A huge colony of Cliff Swallows had built their jug shaped nests of mud under a bridge. Still no American Dippers, although I scanned each rock - they should have been there. :(
Two beavers swam across the river in front of us. The first slapped his tail and dove under when we got too close to suit him.
The water came out of the bottom of a reservoir upstream and was very cold. Only two brave people got fully immersed until we stopped for lunch at a sand bar. By then, everyone was pretty hot and the water felt pretty good. Tomorrow, we are getting up early to ride in a hot air balloon! Then in the evening we are going to the rodeo!
Colorado's State Parks offer much to both residents and visitors to the state. They are often near Federal areas and link their trails. All the parks we've been to so far have large lakes created for recreation. Camping, boating and fishing are popular, but there isn't much shade around the campgrounds. Unlike Kentucky, there are no lodges, only camping facilities. Dick and I managed to find the only shady picnic table in the park for our lunch yesterday.
My favorite part of the parks, however, is the comparison of areas left in a natural state versus the surrounding ranching areas. The parks are full of wild flowers, every where you look! Pine bark beetles have decimated the lodge pole pines, but the park service leaves most of them standing to be taken care of naturally. The beetles invade the trees, but a fungus they carry actually kills the tree. Cattle grazing leave little plant life. All the ranchers are cutting and baling hay this week to prepare for the long winter's snow.
Lupine
I keep trying to get a photo of a large meadow full of flowers, and can never do justice to the reality. It will take me weeks to identify all the flowers blooming in late July. Some of them are flowers I would expect to see at home during the spring.
Mule Tail Deer
Colorado Chipmunk
The wildlife we've found so far aren't afraid of people at all. This mule deer walked up the path we were on, watching us intently, and when she got close enough bounded past and on her own business. The little chipmunks are fast and hard to catch in photos, running in and out of the shade.
Mountain Bluebird
The battery demon struck again, and when my camera battery started flashing red, my replacement didn't have a full charge, so it too started flashing red before long. This has happened before, and Dick always shakes his head and sighs when it happens. I will now start carrying two charged batteries in my fanny pack instead of just one!
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Despite turning the camera off each time I took a photo, I ended up with a nice collection of birds at the state park.
Belted Kingfisher
White Pelican
Red-shafted Flicker
We still haven't seen or heard any Western Meadowlarks or seen American Dippers, despite the perfect habitat. But we will keep looking.
Northern Harrier
At neighboring Pearl Lake State Park, we watched a group of children and adults learning how to paddle board, standing up on the board, or kayaking across the clear mountain lake. I glanced overhead and found a raptor kiting in the sky, that is, floating without moving as it was held up simply by the wind. This is something different, I said. A light gray body and black along the trailing edges of his wings. A Northern Harrier! We are doing well at finding many raptor species this trip.
Colorado is known for its mineral and hot springs. Steamboat Springs has several springs of both kinds which are enjoyed by tourists and residents alike. Today we drove 2 miles up a steep unpaved road to reach Strawberry Park Hot Springs, high in the mountains. Not really sure what I was expecting to see or smell, but it wasn't this pleasant natural swimming pool.
The hot hot spring pours out of the mountain side, steaming as it hits a basin leading down to the pools. The water percolates through porous rock, then along a fault which retains heat from ancient volcanoes. The pools themselves are lined with local rock, and separate the hot-hot from the hot from the warm from the cool pools. There is a temperature for everyone, and we saw many families with young children and babies enjoying the water as they would in an urban swimming pool. You had to watch for little pipes releasing water into the pool - that was the hot stuff.
As I carefully walked down the stone steps for my first dip, it got hotter the more I descended, and I hesitated a bit, not knowing how bad it would get. A woman said to keep going, it was hotter by the steps than in the deeper water. When fully immersed, it felt like a nice warm bathtub, except for the floating clumps of algae that thrive there! Cool water from the mountain creek tempered the hot to make it bearable, and you could find your comfort zone just by moving around on the sandy bottom. They drain and clean the pools periodically, which is good or people would break their necks on the slippery stone steps. Eventually we entered a pool that seemed cold by comparison, which then flowed into the mountain creek.
Someone does a great job of landscaping, and the flowers were beautiful. There are also a variety of cabins for people who want to stay on the property. The springs are open all year round, and there are warnings to use chains and 4-wheel drive in the winter.
A cut little chipmunk hopped on the table to ask for a share of our lunch, but we told him no and he ran off. As we left, vans full of children arrived for an outing, and we thought it was a good time to go. We'll need to put sunburn lotion on tonight, I think.
Today's adventure in Colorado began with a tour of the mineral springs found downtown and a short history of Steamboat Springs. I always thought it was a town catering to the rich who arrived by rail to take the "waters" for their health, like Saratoga Springs in New York, or French Lick in Indiana. To my surprise, that was not so. In 1910, the population was about 1,200, mostly miners and cattle ranchers. By 1960, it was only up to 1,800, and up to about 2,300 by 1970. Then the ski resorts were developed, and now the permanent residents exceed 12,000. Of course, the population doubles during the season. The bubbling is not from heat, but hydrogen sulfide, the
chemical compound which is a colorless gas with the
characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs; it is heavier than air, very
poisonous, corrosive, flammable, and explosive. And it bubbles up in the water to make it look like the water is boiling.
Black-billed Magpies
I've seen Magpies several places out West, but there seem to be more of these members of the Corvid family here than anywhere else. You can recognize them in flight with their extra long tails, and the bright flash of white in their wings. I did not realize that their wings and tails have a blue sheen in the sun, rather like their cousins the Blue Jay. We just saw large flocks landing in nearby trees to roost for the night.
Fish Creek Falls
Several reservoirs at the top of the mountain, damming up Fish Creek, provide the water supply for the city, but the water still feeds a beautiful 280-ft tall waterfall. Imagine the water that must roar over it in the spring when 15 feet of snow pack melts!
The city's advertising describes it as "clear and fresh high alpine water," and I would agree. We climbed down into the creek bed and took our shoes off to cool our feet, and it felt like they would freeze at first!
Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel
Cheeky little Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels aren't shy around the hikers or waders at Fish Creek at all. They begged hand-outs from anyone with food, and munched on seeds otherwise, or chased each other around the rocks. We noticed more brightly colored butterflies in the creek bed than we have seen anywhere else so far. I wonder if they use these valleys as highways.
Hummingbird Female and Nest
A bright green female Hummingbird worked her way along the shoreline too, eventually ducking into some low hanging branches. Using binoculars, I found her at a nest on a small branch, not far above the cascading water. She stood on the side of the nest for a bit, then settled down on top of it, but not for long. Two of those brash ground squirrels got too close to suit her, and she chased them around the rocks until they went away. What a brave little Hummingbird!
This morning we followed the suggestion of a birder we met at the Botanic Park, and drove down the road to Stagecoach State Park. You will see some basalt cliffs down by the dam, he said, and there is a Prairie Falcon nest there. We pulled into a parking lot by the dam, and sure enough there were the big basalt cliffs, and the peeping call of falcon chicks! Even without a spotting scope, we found an obvious splash of whitewash.
Prairie Falcon Soaring
A little later, we moved to the river at the base of the dam, and saw at least three adult falcons soaring over the cliffs. I could swear I heard more peeping at this end of the cliff. Could there possibly be two nests of young? The falcons were joined by Red-tail Hawks and we heard the faint call of a Bald Eagle, which they rangers say lives at the park as well.
I'm one of the few people who takes photos of interesting rock formations. This one twists and turns as if painted by an artist.
Lazuli Bunting
Below the dam, the Yampa River is a popular fishing spot among anglers. We just managed to get the last spot in the parking lot. The state is restoring the banks of the river with native grasses and wildflowers, separating this area from the angler paths with wooden railed fences. Some Lazuli Buntings chowed down on the seeds.
This little brown sparrow hopped around, and I cannot find him in the field guide. With those pink legs, I'd almost think it's a Field Sparrow, but it didn't sing to confirm its identity, so we'll have to keep looking. (Thanks Dave, for identifying this female Cassin's Finch for me.)
Along the wetlands end of the lake, we found gulls, ducks, geese and of course, Red-winged Blackbirds. There should have been another wetlands area with trails, but we couldn't find it. We managed to avoid hitting a cow ambling slowly down the road.
Last evening we rode the gondola to the top of the ski mountain for sunset and happy hour - a very enjoyable time!
