A little bit out my 3 cameras. Most pictures were taken with my Nikon Coolpix, which has GPS, full HD video, and is waterproof to 59 feet. Some pictures were taken with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 10MP camera. Both cameras are smarter than I am, but both take (IMHO) excellent pictures. Usually it is user error that causes them to not take fantastic pictures. Finally, I had my work iPhone 4s along so that I could answer important emails, and it takes nice pictures also. None of the photos have been modified - all are raw directly from the camera.
The 3 Stooges. El Palomino Motel
As we walked out of the Grand Junction VA hospital, we were greeted by a ruggedly handsome white haired veteran "Tom" sitting under a tree outside along the sidewalk. He claimed to be a poet and wanted us to listen to what he had to say. We honored his wishes, and he recited his "Love" poem, listed below. He handed me an envelope containing two handwritten poems, 'Love" and "Lost". He has beautiful cursive script handwriting, but I can't positively make out his signature. I think it is "Quisitio", and dated Summer 2014. I will scan them at some point and repost the images of the poems along with his signature. He explained that writing helped him keep from getting high every day. We listened to this aged veteran gratefully, and parted with a handshake and thanks for listening as friends, with Tom's need to be heard and recognized acknowledged.
Thank you for your service to our country, Mr. Quisitio. I am posting your words to honor you.
"Love" by Tom Quisitio, 9/7/14, Grand Junction
What is a measure of one's Love.
It is not the amount of pleasure one can give.
This is the lie.
The measure of one's Love is the amount one is willing to suffer, endure, and sacrifice.
Some for money. Some for sex. Some for power. A few, a very few, for the truth.
What we choose to suffer for is what we Love.
And what we Love is what we Trust.
Explanation
A three-year old knows not a thing of Love
Yet Loves daddy.
Why? Because she trusts daddy.
"Loss" by Tom Quisitio, 9/7/14, Grand Junction
It is not a loss when the learning is done.
And time is a friend.
When looking back is with a smile.
And ahead with a willingness to do all that is needed to be done.
It is not a loss when the tears give way to understanding
That we are all not many, but that we are all one.
It is not a loss.
The Long Road to Crested Butte
We gassed up the car and headed out of Grand Junction on Route 50 South to Delta, then Route 92 to Hotchkiss, Route 133 to Paonia, then Route 12 (dirt road) through the mountains to Crested Butte. It is a seasonal road and closed in the winter time. It was a pretty drive all of the way, transitioning again from mesa and badlands to the back range of the Rockies.
Last view of Grand Mesa
Picture from Stahl's Farm Market, near Paonia
North Fork of the Gunnison River
Native Sunflowers
We stopped for pictures several times before heading down the dirt road on 12. Unfortunately, we didn't get very far before I noticed that the Tire warning light was lit on the dashboard. We stopped and noticed that the back right tire looked low. When we turned off the engine, we could hear air leaking out of it. The jack was in the back left storage area behind the rear seat, where you would expect it to be. We looked for the spare, but couldn't find it. I read the manual, only to find out that it was inconveniently located underneath the car between the two front doors and had to be winched down from somewhere inside the car, but where the lug was to lower it was different based on the vehicle.
We immediately knew that we couldn't make it all the way on the dirt road to Crested Butte with a leaking tire, and we weren't sure how easy it would be to access the spare, so we turned around and headed back toward the closest town, Somerset, a small coal mining town that if you blink you will miss. No gas station.
Tire was getting flatter, so we scurried down the road to Paonia. We were able to find a convenience store with an air pump, so we filled up the nearly flat tire with 44 psi and headed farther down the road to Hotchkiss. Once again, nobody was open on a Sunday afternoon in the rural Colorado backcountry. Growing desperate, we continued back down the long road to Delta. We almost made this long stretch, but I could tell the tire was flat based on the noise and the vibration, so I told Forest to pull over, about 4 miles out of town. The cows in the field below turned around and stared at us.
The tire was completely flat and we were lucky we didn't have a blowout traveling 50-60 miles an hour backtracking almost an hour to Delta. We were able to figure out how to lower the spare and get it out from underneath the van, but what a pain and I say poor engineering! It was very inconvenient and difficult for 4 able bodied men to access. We took turns pumping the jack until we could get the old tire off and put the temporary tire on.
We drove into downtown Delta and started looking for a tire company or full service gas station open on Sunday afternoon - NADA! The tire warning light came back on again, this time for the temporary spare tire.We stopped several places to ask where we might get tire service. Finally, someone told us there was a Walmart in town! Amen! I have never been so happy to see a Walmart in my entire life, and the Tire store was open. The tire had a large cut, so they couldn't plug it, but the tire manager said he thought he could patch it, and felt it would hold for the rest of our trip. So, less than thirty minutes later, with a $10 charge, we had a fixed right rear tire and a fully tested and inflated spare tire, and we were back on the road. I gave the manager a $10 tip for his help.
It took an hour to get back to where we stopped and turned around, almost 3 hours after we discovered the leaky tire, and 5 hours after we left Grand Junction. Back on CO 12, the Kebler Pass Road to Crested Butte! Another amazing drive through the mountains, the aspens, and the lodgepole pine trees that make Colorado so special!
After such a long day, my Coolpix was out of battery, so I switched to my iPhone. On the way up the first hill, we saw a large flock of wild turkey.
Flock of Wild Turkey on the first hill
These pictures were taken with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 on CO12, the Kebler Pass Road to Crested Butte.
Over the pass and on the way down the hill into Crested Butte
These deer stood so still staring at us that I thought they were fake! I don't think they moved for more than a minute, when the buck finally flicked his tail.
First view of Mount Crested Butte
Finally! Arrival at 7PM
View from our Condo of Mt. Whetstone
View from our Condo of Mt. Whetstone
Partial view of Mount Crested Butte from our Condo
I don't think any of us thought we would ever get there! They were just finishing the Bud Lite Whatever USA commercial/party when we arrived, so the main street, Elk Avenue was shut down to traffic and the street was painted blue. We kept seeing the Whatever USA signs all over town but didn't really understand it until we saw the commercial on TV. Apparently Vanilla Ice was driving an ice cream truck and handing out free ice cream and a lot of other celebrities performed as well.
With all of the unwanted excitement of the flat tire and lost time, this was another wonderful day where we saw amazing sights, beautiful countryside, lots of wildlife, and had fun as a family. We unloaded our bags into the condo and then headed downtown for dinner at the Wooden Nickel Restaurant and Bar. We all had the Grilled Trout dinner, and was it ever good! Afterward we walked around downtown and stopped for ice cream before heading back to the condo and an early bedtime.
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