Shadows of Resemblance

The Spearhead!! (as cool as it sounds)

There are so many peaks in Colorado, and I would love to bag them all. But there are just so many hours in a day, and so many days in a week, and very few of them do I have off. So until I find a way to make a living while summitting mountains, I have to be picky. While browsing through a list of peaks in Colorado, one name particularly jumped out at me. It wasn't the tallest, heck, it wasn't even a 14'er, of which I said I wouldn't even waste my time on anything under 14,000', but there was just something about this peak that caught my attention. It was called "The Spearhead". My curiosity got the best of me, and I looked into it's stats. Standing at 12,575' above sea level, it's height isn't it's most impressive feature. But the fact that it's shaped like the head of a spear, and it's perched in the middle of this massive glacial couloir, surrounded by 4 massive peaks, 3 being over 13,500' and the fourth a whopping 14,200', it could have easily been called "The Throne".

And one would certainly feel like a king to reach it's summit. It's northeast face is a giant, flat faced triangle with a vertical height of 900+ feet. The spine of rock that connects it to the surrounding wall of mountains is made up of house-sized boulders, that look like giants are about to have a game of Jenga. And the summit is nothing more than a precariously stacked 20-foot high pile of rocks, like a dainty angel on top of a Christmas tree.

The total hike is 13 miles roundtrip, from the Bear Lake trailhead, and sifts through one of the most beautiful glacial valleys I have ever seen.

By far one of the most beautiful places I have yet visited. Top 3 coolest hikes I have ever done. And now if I could just figure out how to make a living doing what I love.

Kings Peak!!

Well I'm not quite sure if my brain is unscrambled yet, and least not enough to write a comprehensible post about this mammoth hike. Uncle Fred, Dave McConnell and I headed out Sunday night to conquer the "top of the world!!" Well Utah's world anyway. Kings Peak is the 7th highest state highpoint at 13,528'. We had foolishly decided to tackle the lengthy monster in one day, despite numerous witnesses to "NOT ATTEMPT KINGS IN ONE DAY". But Grandpa Teichert had done it at the age of 82, so why couldn't a couple spry 50+'ers and a lightweight 29 year old. The total mileage was 27.5 miles. We covered that distance in 13 hours. We gained some 4000+ of elevation. And by the end, none of us could remember being in worse pain. We came, we saw, we deliriously conquered.

More Colorado exploring

I drove to Laramie, Wyoming on Tuesday morning, for a referee camp at the University of Wyoming. Being new to Colorado, I needed to go to this camp, in order to be seen by the big dogs of basketball in Colorado. It went really well, and I made most of the necessary connections that I needed to. On the way home, I had a couple extra hours, and decided to venture out into the Colorado wilderness. I took a scenic route that led me to the right place at the right time.

New England

My June schedule has been very consistent. I have had every Tuesday and Wednesday off. So I've taken advantage of the days off to see some of the parts of the country that I have always wanted to explore, and continue my goal of reaching the top of every state. I started Monday off in Bismarck, North Dakota, as the last overnight of my 4-day work trip. And was the flight attendant for the first flight of the day back to Denver. I got into Denver at 7:10 am and was excited to get an early jump on my New England vacation. And right when I got into Denver, I got a call from SkyWest Crew Support, asking me to do a "turn" to Santa Barbara. So instead of getting off of work, and starting my vacation early, I would now be flying until 6 pm that day. A little hitch in the plans. My friend, Deanna, that was also going to be heading there with me, got called out to fly as well, and wasn't going to be able to fly til after 9 pm. So we booked ourselves for the 11 pm red eye to Boston, putting us there at 5 am on Tuesday.

We rented a car, and headed out to northwest Massachusetts. The plan was to take I-90 towards Adams. Our first turn out of the airport, led us onto a toll bridge. The troll in the booth informed us that this toll we were paying was just for the underground tunnel. Sure enough, as soon as we got to the other side, more tolls. And we learned that we would be charged the entire way if we stayed on the freeway. So we got off, and took the backroads, severely putting us behind schedule. But we saw Fenway Park off the freeway, and also some beautiful scenery and homes.

We reached Mount Greylock, the highpoint of Massachusetts, by 9 am. It was beautiful! A very large hill according to East Coast standards, with small towns surrounding it. And the day was perfect. Small wispy clouds with blue skies all around. And trees everywhere!

Then we headed south towards Connecticut. The state highpoint of Connecticut is only one of three state highpoints that are not actual summits. It is on the side of Mt. Washington. But since the border of Connecticut and Massachusetts runs along the side of Mt. Washington, and there is no higher summit in all of Connecticut, the highest point in the state is on the Southwest shoulder of this Massachusetts mountain. It was a healthy 2 mile climb to this highpoint. By far the most difficult highpoint I've done to this point, but that's because I haven't done any of the Western states yet.

Then we headed across Connecticut towards Rhode Island. Connecticut was beautiful, in it's backwoods, but as soon as we started to come to the city of Hartford, it became more and more ghetto, until it became one of the dirtiest, and nastiest towns I have ever seen. I don't see any reason to ever go to Hartford, CT, and now I really don't ever wanna go there again. We crossed over the border into Rhode Island, and Jerimoth Hill is just across the border. It is a tiny hill and Rhode Island doesn't even celebrate the significance of this highpoint. Just a tiny concrete stump and a USGS marker. A lot like the uncelebrated highpoint of Mississippi. But I agree with them, there isn't much to celebrate there.

Then we headed into downtown Boston, to try to catch a Red Sox game, but we were just a little late, and there was no place to park. So we'll have to go back to Boston someday for a Red Sox game. And next time, I won't rent a car. The public transportation system downtown is fairly good, and everything is relatively close. Boston is one of my new favorite cities though. There is a huge brazilian influence there, and it feels so safe.

Beale Street

Beale Street was created in 1841 by entrepreneur and developer Robertson Topp. In the 1860s, many black traveling musicians began performing on Beale. The first of these to call Beale Street home were the Young Men's Brass Band, who were formed by Sam Thomas in 1867. In the early 1900s, Beale Street was filled with clubs, restaurants and shops, many of them owned by African-Americans. From the 1920s to the 1940s, Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters, Albert King, Memphis Minnie, B. B. King, Rufus Thomas, Rosco Gordon and other blues and jazz legends played on Beale Street and helped develop the style known as Memphis Blues. As a young man, B.B. King was billed as "the Beale Street Blues Boy". My first time to Beale Street was in February 2010 on a cross country road trip from Virginia to Utah. I was impressed with the culture of the street and the amount of change that it has endured to remain a major cultural center of the state of Tennessee. On the east side of the Mississippi River is a bustling, thriving city of Memphis, and on the west side, is a desolate and empty Arkansas. The contrast was incredible. And without the influence of Beale Street, and it's musical heritage, Memphis very well have been just like it's Arkansan cross-river counterpart. Along with the music that made Beale Street so famous, I had a brush with some other Beale Street performers before I ever got the chance to visit this place. The Beale Street Flippers, a group of 4 street tumblers performed at halftime of a Utah Blaze halftime show. I had the privilege of performing with them. That was the first time I had ever heard of Beale Street.

3 more state highpoints

I had the 25-28th of May off of work, and wanted to have a big adventure. Originally I had planned to go to Hawaii with a friend. But my poor friend had to have surgery, and couldn't go. And then I tried to get on some flights by myself, and didn't put in the greatest amount of effort, but found the flights to be completely full. Kids are starting to get out of school, families are starting to take vacations, weather has been crazy here in the states, so why not go to Hawaii? That's what everybody and their dog mush have been thinking too. And so I'm going to postpone any thoughts of Hawaii until kids are back in school, families are back to the grind, and the weather is again crazy. So I decided to continue a little goal that I've had since I was 12. And that is to reach the highpoint of every state. I have already been to the tops of WV, MD, PA, AL, MS, and AR, and wanted to add some local flavor to the list.

So I took off to the East on Tuesday afternoon around 3 pm towards Kansas. I knew it wasn't going to be a difficult highpoint, but a highpoint is a highpoint, and I have to check it off the list. I didn't really know what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. As I drove east on I-70, I was heading into a huge thunderstorm, but it seemed to run away from me as fast as I could catch it. But the rain livened up the lush, green fields, and made the dirt roads not look so dusty, and the sun was going down in the west. The colors were amazing! The state highpoint of Kansas is on the private land of the Harold family, and they have graciously allowed people to visit. They also have made a very inviting sign, and monument complete with picnic table on the "summit". Thank you Harold family for making this highpoint an enjoyable place to visit.

Then Wednesday night, a friend and I took off to the north, to conquer Harney Peak, the highest point between the Rockies, and the Pyrenees Mountains of Europe. It wasn't a difficult hike, but that description makes it sound so awesome, so I'll put it that way. From the top of Harney Peak, you can see the backside of Mt. Rushmore. There is a big tower on top of the mountain, that was used as a forest fire lookout station, and there is a dam up there that houses the water used to put out any forest fires that may break out.

Then we saw one of the nation's treasures; Mt. Rushmore! Indescribable.

From Mt. Rushmore, we headed south towards Nebraska. We drove and drove and drove through field after field after field. We did pass through a cool little town, called Hot Springs, South Dakota, that was full of natural springs, and waterfalls, and delicious water. And Chadron State Park in Nebraska was pretty cool. But seriously, field after field after field. And finally arrived at Panorama Point, Nebraska, the state's highpoint. It was much less impressive than Kansas' highpoint, although it was just as flat. This picture is me contemplating on the incredible it took the reach that point. ha ha. There were buffalo roaming the plains, and a tractor out in the field. But that's about it. So there you have it, 3 new state highpoints, bringing my total up to 9. Only 41 more to go.

Sepia :)

Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon, is a 607 foot tall double cataract waterfall. In the winter, you can see many frozen waterfalls and climbers making attempts to scale these ice cascades. An aerial tramway that serviced the top of the falls was built in 1967. The tram was heralded as the world's steepest aerial tram, and led to a restaurant and dance hall. An avalanche destroyed the tram in 1996, and a fire in July 2008 devoured the corroding skeleton of the restaurant. Just a reminder that it is easier to destroy than build.

Physical death is the separation of the spirit from the mortal body. The Fall of Adam brought physical death into the world. Because of the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, all mankind will be resurrected and redeemed from physical death. Death is an essential part of Heavenly Father's plan of salvation. When the physical body dies, the spirit continue to live. In the spirit world, the spirits of the righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow. Although we are left missing those that have passed, we all will be resurrected and see again, those that we knew and loved here.

All of us are born with a purpose. It is our duty to find out what that might be. A horse named Chase, who's older brother is affectionately named Chevy, has survived 22 good years and borne 3 colts. She was somewhat forgotten and overshadowed by her owner's love of her older brother. But quietly, and stubbornly lived a great life.

Lone Peak is one of the most prominent peaks in the Wasatch Mountains, that run north and south, and are an industrial backbone for the state of Utah. Although it is not the tallest point in the area, it is a monarch. The rugged summit is visible from North Salt Lake to Payson. It is made up of a circle of near vertical granite walls, and is easily one of the toughest hikes along the Wasatch Front, for it's elevation gain and mileage to sit atop it's summit at 11,253'. But with proper preparation, and steady dedication, one can enjoy the incredible vistas that this monumental mountain offers.

The Oklahoma City bombing was a bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995 by Timothy McVeigh, an American militia movement sympathizer who detonated an explosive-filled truck parked in front of the building. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until 9/11. The blast claimed 168 lives, including 19 children under the age of 6, and injured more than 680 people. It destroyed or damaged 324 buildings w/in a 16 block radius. The park commemorating these events has 2 gates, one with 9:01 on it, and the other with 9:03 on it. The bomb went off at 9:02.

Exploring Colorado - My new state

I had the first couple of days of this week off, so I decided to head out into the vast Colorado wilderness and see what it has to offer. Being situated near, in and around the Rocky Mountains, there is an inexhaustible amount of area to discover. I headed south to Colorado Springs on Monday. Stopped by the Air Force Academy on the way. The chapel was unbelievably gorgeous. It is the last picture in this post. How would you like to go to church there?

Then I stopped in Garden of the Gods, which is a little public park, with winding walkways, through red rock fins. There were a plethera of rock climbers scaling the spines of rock. I caught a great pic of a climber resting near the top of her ascent. From the Garden, I headed up a dirt road, called Rampart Ridge, into the Rockies. I was across the canyon from Pike's Peak and caught a couple great pics in the breaking clouds.

Tuesday, my friend and I headed to Estes Park, The Gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, and did a bit of hiking to a small lake, Gem Lake. We got caught in a rain storm on the way back, but the clouds and light provided for some breathtaking views.

My First Post - Chicago

May 10th, I had the day off, so I decided to visit the legendary, Wrigley Field in Chicago. It was built in 1914, and has been the home of the Cubs since 1916. I've been to a few ballparks around the country, and found this one to be one of the most enjoyable, for it's traditions, and heritage, and functionality. It cost just $250,000 to construct, and offers one of the most enjoyable spectator experiences. It's longevity and culture is a tribute to the windy city. Our seats were pretty good, and with my zoom lens on, I was able to capture this photo of Alfonso Soriano ripping an RBI double into left field. One of the only highlights for the Cubs that night in their 4-2 loss to the Marlins.