OMG! Meteor

 

Allie and I spotted this meteor while driving with headlights on while going down a well-lit road.  It was a nice surprise.  Of course, the meteor was a lot brighter to our eyes and what the camera actually saw.

Trail 10 - Shady on a hot day

This past weekend, Allie and I drove a bit.  The destination was Meyer Ranch Park (backup link)  From the book, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles for Denver and Boulder, this is entry #10. Though the book lists this trail as being in the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains, for all intents and purposes, this is in the Rocky Mountains.  The entire park is west of the Legault Mountain Peak (9045ft).  The drive here is a bit longer than places I would call "Foothills".

Meyer Ranch Park is worth the longer drive.  This is a great place for a hot day.  Most of the Lodge Loop Trail (that forms a full circuit at this park) is shaded under tall trees.  The trail itself is very well maintained.  The uphill portions aren't steep.  Overall, Allie and I really enjoyed this location and will definitely consider coming back.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQWgk9kl4fd/

Though Allie and I originally intended to visit this park earlier in the year, we were unable to get out to this beautiful location until the very last day of Spring (or the first day of Summer by a certain reckoning).  However, this was the perfect day.  With temperatures in the 80's and 90's in Denver, a shady hike in a wind cooled valley exceeded our expectations.  

By my information, a visit to this park comes with a likelihood to see wildlife.  Unfortunately, on this day, we did not catch any glimpses of mountain critters.  

As an unexpected coincidence, we finished our hike at nearly noon.  After our hike, we headed back into Denver Metro for lunch.  We decided on a famous restaurant that we haven't tried yet, Cherry Cricket.  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQWqbafl3KK/

The burgers at Cherry Cricket were good.  I did something that is surely a sin somewhere to someone; I tried the Impossible Burger (veggie) with bacon strips!  Yummy.  Also, while we dined, this sucker visited us in the adjacent fish tank:

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQWp-yulTLn/

Things that aren't happening right now

There's a lot of things not happening right now due to covid-time. For me, I've not seen family in a year.  However, it seems there's many who are actually planning gatherings for Thanksgiving.  I hope many reconsider, especially in light of the recent surge in both COVID-SARS-2 cases and related hospitalizations.

Allie and I were lucky to be able to visit Sydney, Australia late last year.  Even still, the Australian fires, which kicked off this crappy year in late 2019 and early 2020, were already starting to consume large regions.  The fires got much worse after we returned home from our vacation.

Allie did get a chance to visit family in Asia in February.  She was very lucky to get back home before things got covid-crazy.  Since then, we've been keeping mostly to ourselves.  Multiple plans to spend time with friends and family were cancelled.  We have no plan to meet other people until covid-time is over.  

That's not to say we've been hiding indoors as shut-ins.  Face masks and copious amounts of the appropriate hand sanitizer are always ready for our visits to the store and other necessary locations.  I've also been working from home almost 100% of the time, only going into the office (after site approval) a couple of times to access specific stuff on my work desktop computer or paperwork at my desk.

I am weary of the need to keep vigilant against the nasty virus.  However, out of love for my neighbor (and of course, family members), my resolve is not weakened.  

Month	Event
January	Australia fires
February	Africa locust plague begins
March	COVID-SARS-2 explodes
April	Relatively minor events
May	George Floyd's horrific murder
June	Worldwide protests about George Floyd's murder
July	Multiple natural disasters in Asia
August	Beirut explosion
September	Western US fires
October	Terror attacks in France
November	Massive COVID-SARS-2 resurgence
December	Arecibo Observatory collapse
January 2021	Riot on Capitol Hill

Of Wolves and Rocks (Part 4)

Even with the current world crisis, and the lack of things to do regardless of where you might go, it was great being able to stay in the Colorado Springs area to see the wolves at the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center.  It was also great to explore the Garden of the Gods for an afternoon.  That said, our original plans included a bit more.  There are still places to explore.  We'll be back.

Places we missed this time due to covid-time, that we'll try to do next time we are in the area:

• Pikes Peak
• Manitou Incline and other natural trails near Manitou Springs
• Colorado Springs Downtown
• The Broadmoor Seven Falls and restaurant
• Royal Gorge

Series:

Of Wolves and Rocks (Part 1)

Of Wolves and Rocks (Part 2)

Of Wolves and Rocks (Part 3)

Of Wolves and Rocks (Part 4)

Of Wolves and Rocks (Part 3)

Wolves don't really need an excuse to howl.  Strange noises from humans?  Let's do this!

Series:

Of Wolves and Rocks (Part 1)

Of Wolves and Rocks (Part 2)

Of Wolves and Rocks (Part 3)

Of Wolves and Rocks (Part 4)

Garden of the Gods Park - May 8

Stopped in L.A.

While running around L.A. with Allie after SOLIDWORKS World 2017, I was approached twice over the weekend in early February.

We were queued for a ride at an amusement part.  The guy behind Allie and I got my attention and asked, "Are you in a recent movie?  I feel like I've seen you somewhere."  Now, if I had been such a D-list star that someone kinda recognized me but didn't know for sure, I might have been mildly insulted.  But, as it turns how, I am not a star.  I'm just a guy that gets mistaken for other people from time to time.  Instead, I'm mildly amused.  Sorry, no point in getting a photo with me or having my autograph.

The next day, Allie and I were walking along Venice Beach.  We had just spotted Emma Roberts on the walk down to the beach, but she looked busy on the phone as she rushed into a wardrobe trailer.  Anyway, down on Venice Beach, this one guy road up to us on his bike.  He didn't recognize me so much as he recognized the shirt I wore.  It was a t-shirt from SOLIDWORKS World 2017.  He is a SOLIDWORKS user who didn't get to go to the conference this year even though it was in L.A.  The conversation was pleasant, but soon enough, Allie and I were on our way down the beach again.

Of course, as an employee of Dassault Systemes that supports the development of SOLIDWORKS products, I expect to be approached at the SOLIDWORKS World 2017 conference.  However, SOLIDWORKS is well enough known that anyone wearing the company shirts or even t-shirts will be approached from time to time just for that alone.  I actually try to avoid wearing the actual company shirts when travelling or attending any nonwork event.  You'll never know when someone will approach you to talk shop, not that I mind all the much.  It's just nice to keep the universes separate when I'm out with my wife or focused on getting somewhere.

Fall 2016 Trip to Silicon Valley

New to Colorado; today got new auto plates, registered to vote and voted

Today, I'm about as much of a Colorado resident as I can be without getting my driver's license switched over.  The process to get Colorado plates for an out-of-state car is not painful, but it does have an extra step I've never seen before.  You have to get something called a VIN Verification form filled out by either a licenced auto dealer, licenced emissions checker or an officer of the law.  So, Allie and I went to the police station to ask an officer to fill out the form for our cars.  Fortunately, the DMV was in the same property, so we immediately went there from the police station.  In between the police station and the DMV was a voting station.  Apparently today, there just happens to be a ballot measure called BB which asks Coloradans what they want to do with all the extra marijuana tax revenue.  So, after we got out of DMV with our new licence plates, we walked over to the voting station.  We registered to vote.  We then voted.  All this, and there is still plenty of daylight remaining to enjoy the rest of the day.

Dinner with cuzins @ Santana Row

Get together with my cuzins at The Counter in Santana Row.  It was great catching up. Too bad we only got to spend a couple of hours with them in February.  

Here's a bit of trivia.  In the photo above, who's the only person without at least 1/4th Asian descent?  Here's a clue.  It's not nearly as obvious as you might think.