Motoring Across America

With James "Alex" Alexander

with James "Alex" Alexander



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Blog 198: Stormy Weather

Late one afternoon the temperature dropped, the wind raised, and the thunderboomers came rolling in like the barbarians sacking Rome. Wow! Colorado is gorgeous!

Stormy Weather 1

Stormy Weather 2

Stormy Weather 3

Stormy Weather 4

Stormy Weather 5

Odds and Ends
Here is a shot of a spiderwort taken on a walk through a nearby meadow, and another hummer pic taken outside our front door.

Spiderwort

Hummer

Jan’s Old Signs
Here are a couple of old signs from Colorado.

Old Sign 1

Old Sign 2

Old Trucks
Here are three old trucks.

Old Truck 1

Old Truck 2

Old Trucks: The Allstate Brothers

See you next week.

Blog 197: Top Gun Wannabe

Morning Walks
Our campground has numerous trails to walk and wander. Here is a rock formation, lupine, and a cactus in early bloom.

Campground View

Lupine

Early Blooms

Hummer
We have a Russian Olive right outside our front door, and our feeder attracts hummingbirds all the day. The speed and maneuverability of these aerodynamic critters would make a Top Gun jealous. Here is a shot of one female fueling up.

Hummer

Jan’s Old Signs
Here are a couple of old signs from Colorado.

Old Sign 1

Old Sign 2

Old Trucks
Here are three old trucks from recent trips.

Old Truck 1

Old Truck 2

Old Truck 3

See you next week.

Blog 196: Quick Trip to NASA

Quick Trip to NASA
I had a great two-day session with some professionals from NASA in Houston. As you’d expect, they were as smart as “rocket scientists” and quickly grasped the business concepts and skills and honed them to their environment.

As a youngster I was a huge fan of science fiction, devouring most of the works of Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, and others. So I was especially delighted that my friends at NASA were kind enough to arrange a private VIP tour for me. I toured the original Apollo Mission Control, the active Space Station Mission Control Center, and two exact replicas used for astronaut training, the Space Station as well as the now retired Shuttle. They shared with me lots of stories (I shan’t share) and invigorated me to anticipate the Orion spacecraft and (hopefully) a mission to Mars in the next few years.

Alex in the Space Station

Apollo Mission Control

In the Shuttle Commander's Seat

Shuttle Control Panel

Space Station Mission Control

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
Jan and I and the Kids took a day trip out and around Florissant and Cripple Creek. At the Florissant Fossil Beds we walked a trail and learned about the fossilization of giant redwood trees and other insects, birds, and animals. Very interesting place.

Fossilized Redwood Stump

Old Homestead

From there we worked our way down to Cripple Creek, home of big-time gold mining and lots of casinos.

Cripple Creek

On the way home we decided to take a shortcut and work our way through the Pike National Forest. Lots of fun as the narrow forest roads became skinnier, rockier, and crooked-er…sure glad for clearance and 4WD.

National Forest Trail

No Shooting Sign

No Motor Vehicles Sign

More Baseball
Here are a couple of pics from the baseball tournament.

I Got It

Jan and Pups at BB Game

Bathroom Break

Jan’s Old Signs
We ran into a number of great old and newer signs at Cripple Creek and other stops along our day trip.

Blue Front Grocery Sign

Thunderbird Inn Sign

At Large Sign

Old Trucks
Here are three old trucks.

Old Truck 1

Old Truck 2

Old Truck 3

See you next week.

Blog 195: Nature Girl Meets War Hound

After a quick trip to Irvine for business, time was spent on walks, at playgrounds, and at baseball diamonds--it is playoff season you know! Here are five shots from the past week.

Baseball Boys at Play

Sliding Nattie

Spring Rose

War Hound

Nattie Loves Nature

BTW, Nature Girl doesn’t really meet the War Hound--I just thought it made a good title for the blog. ☺

Old Trucks
Here are three old trucks.

Old Truck 1

Old Truck 2

Old Truck 3

See you next week.

Blog 194: Back to the Trails

Spruce Mountain Trail
Finally, Jan and I are back hiking! We worked our way around the meadow through blooming wildflowers, then up the mountain through groves of pines, and then down the switchback trails, with vistas all along the way. Here are three pics from the five-and-a-half-mile Spruce Mountain hike. We will do it again.

Spruce Mt. View 1

Spruce Mt. View 2

Spruce Mt. View 3

Nattie
Here is a shot of granddaughter, Nattie, at play.

Nattie at Play

Old Sign
Here is one old sign we ran across while shooting old trucks.

Old Sign

Old Trucks
Here are three old trucks from this past week.

Old Truck 1

Old Truck 2

Old Truck 3

See you next week.