Everything Outdoors

Conditions experienced at the summit Pikes Peak 6.14.10

My family visited me from Virginia recently, and it was ultimately up to me to plan out what we would see. A visit here, a visit there, and of course, a visit to Americas favorite mountain, Pikes Peak. It was a rather cool morning in Colorado Springs by June standards, mid 60s, but nothing like what was awaiting us at 14,115 feet at the summit of Pikes. By the way, Pikes Peak was recently resurveyed, changing the elevation from 14,110 to now, 14,115 feet. But on this cool Springs day, we chose to take it easy and ride the cog railway to the summit. The cog takes a 9 mile journey from Manitou Springs, elevation 6500’, to the summit. As you ride the cog, you travel through a thick pine and Aspen forest filled with boulders and various wildlife. On this day, clouds were on the low side at about 9,000 feet.  Our thinking was that we would “punch through” these clouds and arrive on an “island in the sky” up above this cloud deck. But this was not so. Overnight, a fresh coating of snow was on the ground and it was starting to snow once again. As the train continued to climb, the cloud deck grew thicker and thicker, and eventually we couldn’t see much of anything. As a weather guy, I thought, I blew it, the only thing my family is going to see is what the inside of a cloud looks like. As we neared the summit, it wasn’t as cloudy, but you still couldn’t see a darn thing. The white haze that graced our view was now an all-out snow storm, with blizzard conditions. Towards the summit, a view so beautiful that the song ‘America the Beautiful’ was written about it, and all we saw was white. The train stopped and the breaks hissed. Hey, it’s time to get off. We got out, only to find ourselves standing in a 24 degree winter wonderland with 40 mph winds and sideways blowing snow. The wind chill on this June midday a gripping 2 below. Quick! Into the visitor’s center we go. We couldn’t get in quick enough. You know, I thought we had left winter back in town months ago, only to take these vacationers right back into winter’s cold white depression. As we were getting ready to leave, I said a little prayer that hey, maybe just for an instant, it would clear up and my family wouldn’t consider this three hour tour as complete waste. Sure enough, as we got back on the train, the snow stopped, the wind calmed, and blues skies opened up to reveal a beautiful landscape that only God could create. This adventure truly lent to the “just wait five minutes” rule that Coloradoans live by.

Located in the middle of the San Isabel National Forest, which is essentially the middle of nowhere, Jim Bishop has transformed his small plot of land along highway 165 just outside of Beulah Colorado, into a 160 foot tall castle built almost entirely from stones he collected from the forest.  On one of Jim’s many signs that he has placed throughout the property he writes “with the help from God this is the country’s biggest one man physical project”.  Bishop has worked year round since 1969 to get the castle to where it is today, and he’s still working.  Jim says he still has big plans for the castle.  When I visited recently Jim put down his shovel to tell me that the small rock wall that I was seeing at the front of the castle was “going 250 feet high” and that it will use several times more rock than 1000 tons of stone already placed to construct the castle.  Along this new front palisade one can see the beginnings of a mote, and Jim says that there will eventually be a draw bridge.    Visitors are free to venture inside the castle, and you can even walk the spiral steal and stone staircases to the top of the castle.  As one emerges from the staircase to the top of the castle suddenly the iron walk ways seem very fragile as you peak out over the forest below.  Admission to Jim’s work of art is free, but donations are accepted. I will go back year after year to see the progress the castle builder makes.

Lake Pueblo state park is quickly becoming known for much more than a dam and a body of water.  The South Shore of Lake Pueblo is home to some of the best single track mountain biking, hiking and horse back riding on the Front Range.  With more than 25 trails ranging in difficulty from a pleasant rolling grade to armor up or you could die, this trail system will certainly offer something for everyone.  By far the most popular traveler of these trails is the mountain biker, many calling this trail system the Fruita of the Front Range.  One can park at the South Shore Marina and follow the rolling South Shore Trail to Pronghorn then onto the Voodoo Loop and have ridden more than 20 miles with different scenery every inch along the way.  One will have the opportunity to view Lake Pueblo from  atop a precipitous from almost every angle possible with over shadowing views of the Wet Mountains and Pikes Peak.  Make sure your clippless pedals aren’t too tight or you may end up in the plant appropriately named the Yucca.  These trails are best ridden in the fall to spring, or early morning on a hot summer day.  In the winter months when every other trail in Colorado is covered in ice and snow, Lake Pueblo’s South Shore may offer the only migration from winter’s residue.

I was jogging on Thanksgiving day, 65 degrees made it more enticing, I saw two neighbors     watering their lawns.  This time of year our grass goes into dormant mode, and certainly isn’t the beautiful green of spring.  That got me thinking is is necessary to water our lawns, plants and trees in the colder months?

The following are tips from Colorado State University

by J.E. Klett and C. Wilson¹ (7/08)

Quick Facts…

• Water trees, shrubs, lawns, and perennials during prolonged dry fall and winter periods to prevent root damage that affects the health of the entire plant.
• Water only when air and soil temperatures are above 40 degrees F with no snow cover.
• Established large trees have a root spread equal to or greater than the height of the tree. Apply water to the most critical part of the root zone within the dripline.

Dry air, low precipitation, little soil moisture, and fluctuating temperatures are characteristics of fall and winter in many areas of Colorado. There often can be little or no snow cover to provide soil moisture, particularly from October through March. Trees, shrubs, perennials and lawns can be damaged if they do not receive supplemental water.

The result of long, dry periods during fall and winter is injury or death to parts of plant root systems. Affected plants may appear perfectly normal and resume growth in the spring using stored food energy. Plants may be weakened and all or parts may die in late spring or summer when temperatures rise. Weakened plants also may be subject to insect and disease problems.

Plants Sensitive to Drought Injury

Woody plants with shallow root systems require supplemental watering during extended dry fall and winter periods. These include European white and paper birches; Norway, silver, red, Rocky Mountain, and hybrid maples; lindens, alder, hornbeams, dogwood, willows, and mountain ash. Evergreen plants that benefit include spruce, fir, arborvitae, yew, Oregon grape-holly, boxwood, and Manhattan euonymus. Woody plants benefit from mulch to conserve soil moisture.

Herbaceous perennials and ground covers in exposed sites are more subject to winter freezing and thawing. This opens cracks in soil that expose roots to cold and drying. Winter watering combined with mulching can prevent damage.

Lawns also are prone to winter damage. Newly established lawns, whether seed or sod, are especially susceptible to damage. Susceptibility increases for lawns with south or west exposures.

Watering Guidelines

Water only when air temperatures are above 40 degrees F. Apply water at mid-day so it will have time to soak in before possible freezing at night. A solid layer (persisting for more than a month) of ice on lawns can cause suffocation or result in matting of the grass.

Plants receiving reflected heat from buildings, walls and fences are more subject to damage. The low angle of winter sun makes this more likely in south or west exposures. Windy sites result in faster drying of sod and plants and require additional water. Lawns in warm exposures are prone to late winter mite damage. Water is the best treatment to prevent turf injury.

Monitor weather conditions and water during extended dry periods without snow cover—one to two times per month.

When a weathercaster says tonight’s low will be 25 degrees, when does that low typically occur?  You might think it would be sometime in the middle of the night, right?  Well, the answer is 10-20 minutes after sunrise.

Shortly after sunrise solar radiation is at a minimum.  The Earth has spent the whole night emitting long wave solar radiation which cools us off, even though starting at sunrise the Earth once again begins to warm do to absorbing solar radiation, the sun angle at sunrise is still very low. At this angle the Earth continues to emit more radiation than it absorbs.  When the amount of long wave radiation is at a minimum you will have the low temperature of the day.  Of course, shortly after sunrise the higher angle of the sun is more than sufficient enough to quickly warm temperatures.

This low temperature only considers radiation effects, and this occurs on most nights without the presence of cloud cover, wind and fronts.  With some of these other variables thrown in the mix, the low can occur at anytime.

For about a hundred bucks you can purchase a power meter that will tell you exactly how much electricity your home is using.  As inconsicuous as small electric clock, an in home power monitor is a powerful real-time direct feedback display device that measures home electricity usage. It tells at a glance, in real-time, how much electricity your home is using in dollars and cents and in kW. Domestic energy usage studies have demonstrated that real-time feedback yields energy savings anywhere between 10 and 20 percent.  While different versions exist the most common has a clamp that attaches to your electricity meteor’s glass surface.  This clamp transmits wirelessly back to the clock looking unit in the home telling you exactly how much energy you are currently consuming.

As you turn off an unplug items in your home, you will be able to visualize just how much energy and money electronic devices consume, and how much phantom power various appliances use when they are not being used.

To find out more on How to Trim Your Energy Bills visit How to trim your utility bills

I know what I want for Christmas.

October left many of us wondering if spring is almost here.  If you found October of 2009 to be cold, well, you would be right.  In fact it was the coldest on record in Pueblo with an average temperature (all daytime highs and nighttime lows averaged) of 46.1° that breaks the old record of 46.9° set back 74 years ago (1925)

Colorado Springs had it’s 3rd coldest October on record at 42.7° with the coldest being 41.5° followed by 42.4°.

It was also the 3rd coldest October across the nation http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20091110_octoberstats.html

Now 14 days into November we are running 8-9 degrees above average.  That will change as much colder air has now moved in.