Lake Minatare Cleanup

This evening Noelle was working, helping to lead a group of folks cleaning up part of Lake Minatare by kayak. Here are a few photos of the evenings adventure:

Medicine Bow National Forest: Medicine Bow Peak from Dipper Lake

 I finally got out for the first adventure since my trip to New Jersey. Last night I drove to the Vedauwoo area and camped in a dispersed campsite off of the Vedauwoo Glen Road.

This morning, I packed up camp and headed through Laramie and into the Snowy Range. After passing Lake Marie and the most dramatic scenery, I turned off onto a rough dirt road, forded a surprisingly deep stream and parked alongside a small lake. 

My ascent of Medicine Bow Peak would begin with a road walk.

Luckily, there were few vehicles and lots of wildflowers to look at alongside the road.

Soon enough I made it to Dipper Lake,

and the trail portion of my ascent.

The trail curved along the banks of the lake, then started to climb steeply to the ridge of the Snowy Range. I took a rest break on the ridge,

and started to make my way through talus (and pikas) towards the summit.

After a short while, I found myself on the summit and had it to myself for a while.

Then, it was time to head down the route I had come. Lots of great views off to the west and Elk Mountain.

I even found a little snow to walk through 

before descending back down to the road which was now crawling with four wheelers making the air thick with dust. Once back to the car, I tore the skid plate off the bottom crossing the creek. Otherwise, the car was in fine shape. It was a long drive back home to Gering.

A week at the Jersey Shore

Sierra and I have spent about a week with my family at the Jersey Shore, in and around Cape May and the Villas. Here are some images from our time here:

Philadelphia Phillies vs Oakland A's from Citizen's Bank Park

After our visit to Reading Terminal Market and the Rail Park, Sierra, Dad and I drove down to John's Roast Pork for some delicious roast pork sandwiches.

We also got some John's Water Ice and some beer at Yard's. Then we headed down to the Sports Complex and Citizen's Bank Park. It would be Sierra's second MLB game (we saw the Twins at Target Field in 2019). 

We got into the stadium and had a look around.

Then, we found our seats. They were pretty high up, but behind home plate, and so offered pretty good views.

Our team lost, but we still had an enjoyable time!

Philadelphia's Rail Park

 Yesterday, Sierra and I flew from Alliance, Nebraska to Denver and from Denver to Philadelphia.

We stayed with my sister for the night and this morning we drove into the city to do a little exploring. We checked out Reading Terminal Market for a bit and then Sierra and I headed over to the Rail Park. 

I had never been there before and have been itching to check it out for some time now. With drizzle falling from the sky, we pretty much had the place to ourselves (other than the two men arguing loudly).

My impression: it's way shorter than I had realized. I knew that the first phase of construction was just a small portion of the overall plans for the abandoned rail line. However, the opened portion is only about three blocks long. Highlights included the native plantings,

and the artwork seen along the way, especially Stamp of Incarceration by Shepard Fairey.

I look forward to returning to the Rail Park in the future when a longer section of the old rail line is officially open to the public!

Medicine Bow National Forest: Harris Park Trail

This morning we ate breakfast, packed up camp, and then drove the rough road between Esterbrook and Harris Park. At the scout camp, we turned into the camp and passed through on our way to the Harris Park Trailhead. Unfortunately, the road was too rough to make it all the way to the trail, so we ended up parking in a grassy area off to the side of the road and walking the road to the trailhead.

Even from the road, the views of the surrounding forest and peaks was pretty nice.

After about a quarter mile, we found the sign for the Harris Park Trail and started out on the path.

With the name Harris Park I expected to be walking through grassy meadows for our hike. While there was some of that,

much of the trail followed the bottom of a riparian area or areas of thick aspen growth. In these somewhat shady areas we found lots of lilies in bloom.

The trail climbed to the top of a ridge 

and then gently descended through an aspen stand to a flat bench with awesome views of the surrounding peaks.

Here we found an area that was somewhat sheltered from the wind and ate a snack. Then, we retraced our steps back towards the car.

We drove out of the forest on the El Rancho Road, passing through a bison ranch 

before arriving at Interstate 25 for the drive back home.