Grouse Hollow Journal for August 28, 2014 by Greg Koelker

mountain flowers in Mayflower Gulch

Mark and Whitney at Mayflower Gulch

Avon Lake Kiosk

the view from our condo

Ellen and Whitney on paddle boards

Mark and Ellen on paddle boards

photo from dinner together: Mark, Whitney, Ellen, Me, Christine, Ben

Mayflower Gulch

Abandon miner's cabin in Mayflower Gulch

Grouse Hollow Journal for August 28, 2014 by Greg Koelker



Colorado 2014 continued . . . on Sunday evening, we had dinner with the kids and their friends, Joe and Stacie Otremba along with their boys 5-year old Nico and no-years old Micah. Joe and Mark have been best friends ever since Mark moved to Colorado over ten years ago. Nico has “Uncle Mark and Ben” and “Aunt Whitney” wrapped around his collective little fingers I think. I think he's a keeper too. Last week one morning, Joe and Stacie woke to find that Nico had pulled his snowboard out of a closet and put on his snowboarding boots and was hopping around the living room all ready to hit the slopes - like father, like son. There is a steep slope behind the kids' condos (Ben lives just a few doors down from Mark and Whitney) and Nico tried to get me to climb it with him. “Nothin' doing little dude,” I told him, “even if you do call me Papa.” In the end he scrambled up the sage brush and sand and rocks with his dad trailing along behind. When they were half-a-hundred yards up the hill, Nico started waving to me and calling “Hi Papa!” Ya gotta love it. Later, Mark and Ben and Joe were taking turns pulling Nico around on a real snowboard next to the condo. We had a great dinner and got to hear the kids' take on the new marijuana laws in Colorado. According to them, nothing has much changed except that there are millions and millions of dollars of tax revenue coming in to support Colorado's schools. Smoking of tobacco is pretty much banned everywhere in public in Colorado, so smoking of cannabis is too. While we saw a few people drinking, we did not see or smell anyone smoking pot while we were in the state.



After fly fishing for trout on Sunday, Ellen got to try something new on Monday too. The morning was clear and cool, in the upper forties when we took our coffee out on the patio. There were some high clouds wandering lazily eastward from time to time, but mostly it was perfect. Mark and Whitney joined us and then the girls rented stand-up paddle boards on Nottingham Lake. I got out my camera and did the paparazzi thing while they paddled around the lake near the condo. Mark swapped out with Whitney and paddled about with his mom. Whitney and Mark went together on one board for a bit too. Whitney showed us how she does yoga on a paddle board and even did several head stands! Ellen had never done this before and she did great, not tipping or slipping into the drink even once. I prefer sturdy aluminum under my feet while on the water, and I knew I'd never make it ten yards without a cold swim, so I did what I do best - took pictures and shouted encouragement. That evening we hosted dinner at our condo. I grilled steaks, pork chops, and chicken breasts. Ellen made salad and green beans from her Wisco garden and peach crisp with Colorado peaches. We got to meet Ben's friend Christine. Christine is an animal chiropractor who has a practice working with several veterinarians, adjusting mostly dogs. She has worked on race horses and other creatures in her career. She makes some of the world's best baklava! It is very rich and I ate way too much - as usual. She loves the mountains, skiing, camping and hiking, (she did a mountain triathlon on Sunday, oh, and did I mention her baklava?). Like Ellen and I, Christine loves a good read, so we discussed that too. Best thing though, she gave me the leftover baklava!



Besides his photography and music, Ben installs and does maintenance on irrigation systems, and you can't do that just any old time of the year, so on Tuesday morning, while Ben had to work, Mark and Whitney came over for a breakfast brunch. Mark helped fry things up. Things like Ellen's scrambled eggs with veggies and Woodhouse breakfast sausages. After we had adjusted a bit to that, the kids drove us up the valley to see Mayflower Gulch and Clinton Gulch. Their new Jeep Wrangler had no trouble with the rough rocky road as we climbed up into Mayflower Gulch. After a short walk - always up hill - we came to a high spot where we could see the long abandoned miner's cabins and the surround of jagged peaks and snowy ridge lines. Mark really wanted us to see the wildflowers that blanketed the hillsides. There were reds, yellows, blues, and shades of all colors and all sizes scattering around the rocks and low scrub brush. The flowers were fantastic, but Mark apologized saying that they were even better the week before. There was snow just above us, left from a cornice caused by wind. Mark pointed out mountain tops they have climbed and “lines” that they have snowboarded and skied down. It was a remarkable spot and made one wonder how hard life must have been for the people who built these cabins and mined these mountain sides. The hillsides have numerous mine tailing piles spreading out from holes in the walls, all too high for me to consider climbing up for sure. The Clinton Gulch reservoir was beautiful with mountains, sky and clouds reflecting in the nearly glass like waters. While Ellen, Mark, and Whitney went for a short hike along the lake, I took pictures near the parking lot. I visited with a young couple, the man had a British accent and said he worked for the BBC; his friend said she was from Colorado but now lived in Washington, DC and worked as a producer for NPR. “I have been to La Crosse for Oktoberfest,” she told me, “My sister went to school in Wisconsin.” Small world. That night we joined some of the kids' friends at the Ford Amphitheater in Vail for a free concert. While we were surrounded by a circus of little children chasing about, picnickers, and a steady stream of friends, Lucas Nelson, one of Willie's kids, and his trio performed some original rock, some blues, classic rock covers, and a couple of his dad's songs. Lucas' voice sounds just like his more famous father's. That night we played euchre until after midnight with Mark and Whitney.



Until next time, get out - while they say the river is producing fish, I have to admit to getting skunked on two outings last week with Ellen and Vince, one at Goose Island and the other near Mud Lake out of Genoa. It has to get better, or I have to take up golf. More Colorado next time . . . Enjoy.