When you’re headed out of town, looking toward the mountain, there is a purple haze of lupine blanketing the hillsides—it’s really pretty. The Lupine Trail takes you right through some amazingly purple meadows where air is heavy with the sweet aroma of wildflowers. April and May show showers bring amazing June wildflowers!

Looks like it might be one of this guy’s first times on a mountain bike . . . makes you wonder if anything else will ever live up to riding this sweet single track through endless wildflowers . . . poor guy.

Have a groovy day out there and we’ll see you tomorrow.

A new addition for this summer’s Adventure Park activities at Crested Butte Mountain Resort is the Coca-Cola air bag jump! I have to admit that I didn’t necessarily think I’d be interested in “hittin’ the bag” off the four-story tall scaffolding that has been erected next to the bottom of the Silver Queen lift in the base area. There’s even a lower jump point so that it’s more like a ten-footer, if you’d like to hit that first. I’ve hit bigger cliff jumps into water than that (way bigger, come to think of it), so what’s the big deal with a 20 footer into a bag?

For me, my brain is somewhat comfortable hucking into water . . . I mean it’s water, right? It has a known quantity of “give,” depending on your height, entry angle and all that. But when I went skipping off the end of the high deck, my brain was not impressed with my decision . . . the warning lights were flashing with the “solid object coming up at you very quickly—not good!” And with all that going on, by the time you “poof” into the airbag the adrenaline’s hitting like a freight train!

Crazy thing is, the landing’s way softer than water. You feel an initial “tap” is you make contact with the surface of the bag, but the air cushions your landing so much nice than the high-resistance factor of water. The ideal landing spot is somewhere between your bum and you’re your back, but I had no problems with landings that had my feet making contact first.

Some jumpers still plug their noses out of instinct like they are gonna get wet. But what a deal—all the thrill and you get to keep your clothes on!

And wearing a dress isn’t an excuse for not tossing yourself off the top . . . check out Patti from H.R. jumpin’ in! Speaking of doing it in dresses, I wonder how long it’ll be before we get a photo of a bride in her wedding gown “taking the leap”?

Anyway, give it a try on your next trip CB (you can get tickets in the Adventure Center) and get to the bag in the morning while conditions are calm . . . the bag turns into a sail if the winds come up and has to be deflated so that it doesn’t try to fly away.

Enjoy the day out there and we’ll see you tomorrow.

I had a great Father’s Day . . . after getting a fabulous breakfast of banana-walnut-chocolate chip pancakes and way yumbo omlet, the fam and I headed for Taylor Park on our motor bikes for a little fishin’ and pie eating.

That’s my daughter and I in the first shot and my wife in the next shot. The weather was a bit hit & miss, with periodic showers rolling through the area, but we dressed appropriately and even caught a window of sun at Taylor Park.

The Taylor area is still feeling a little quiet, but we know that will change quickly as the camping and off-road recreating crowd rolls in for the summer season. The reservoir level looked good considering the low snow year we’ve just come out of.  We did quite a bit more fishin’ than catchin’, but it was nice to be next to the water, enjoying the day. Then the clouds started moving in again, so we packed it up and headed over to the Nugget Café, next to the Taylor Park Trading Post. About the time we had our late lunch ordered, the skies opened up with interesting mix of thunder and marble-sized hail. The entire restaurant was at the windows, watching the storm blow through. While I’ll probably pack my own sandwich for lunch next time, the pie at the Nugget is definitely worth stopping for—yummy stuff.

We were sprinkled on a few times as we headed back down Taylor Canyon (the next shot is looking across the reservoir as we headed for home) . . . and while the roads were wet as we pulled into CB South, the sun was on our backs. Up-valley, skies were dark gray with lightning strikes glancing off Mt. Emmons, but that storm moved off within the next hour or so.  All in all it was an excellent dad’s day—I hope all you dads out there had a good one, as well.

This morning the Crested Butte area’s enjoying mostly sunny skies, with a twenty-percent chance for showers and a high in the mid seventies as the day progresses. Have you noticed that on Crested Butte’s NOAA page, we’re now getting the weather from a CB weather station, rather than from Gunni? That’s a long-overdue update . . . it’ll be nice to have the official temp get taken from this end of the valley.

Have a really good start to your week out there and we’ll see you tomorrow!

Today’s shot is of my wife enjoying the Lupine Trail’s single track just outside of Crested Butte.  This photo leaves little question about how the trail got its name–nice, huh?  Between the day-glow green of the new aspen leaves and the purples of the lupine, it was almost too much color for my little camera to figure out. 

Today’s next shot is of the sunset over Mt.Emmons . . . we’re continuing to get some stunning, smoldering conclusions to the beautiful days around CB.  It’s a great time of year to be in the Gunnison high country. 

Tomorrow Crested Butte Mountain Resort will kick into full summer operations and activities, with the Silver Queen and Red Lady express lifts opening to take hikers and bikers up the mountain.  The resort’s retail and bike rental outlets, as well as the Woodstone Grill and  Jefe’s will be opening their doors, too.  I’m really looking forward to getting into the Evolution Bike Park to ride what Christian Robertson and his crew have been working on over the past few weeks . . . it should be a hoot.  And have I mentioned that you can huck your meat into the big air bag from four stories up this summer (think bungee jump with no rubber bands attached)?  Yep, it’s part of the thrills and fun that the zip line tour, bungee trampoline, climbing wall, mini golf and more waiting for you and your crew at Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s AdventurePark.  Whether you’re into the gravity trails or miles of amazing single track (or other thrills all tucked away in one of the most beautiful and authentic parts of Colorado), you still can’t beat Crested Butte!

Have an excellent weekend and we’ll see you next week.

Thursday’s shot is taking in the East RiverValley and the almost pastel-appearing snow fields on Bellview.  Looks like there’s a bit of snow that needs to liquefy and head down valley before we’ll be enjoying the good stuff on #401 . . . I bet it’s still deep in the shady dark timber, as well.  But there’s plenty of classic Crested Butte single track that’s ready to go (Doctor Park & Deer Creek, for instance) and with our daily highs in the upper seventies and low eighties, more will be ready soon.  Get out there and ride it up!   

Tuesday was sunny and pleasant, but good kite flying weather on the Gunnison Country . . . makes me wonder if it’s true that it will stay windy until the snow is out of the high country? I’ve heard that’s what the old timers say.

Today’s shot is of a diminutive glacier lily, one of the first flowers of the season popping up, out of the ground around Crested Butte. The lupine are coming on strong, as well, “purpling” up the hillsides and looking lush and healthy after the Gunnison Country’s wet spring. We’re definitely on track for a better crop of wildflowers than we’ve seen the past couple of years—should be cool.

Have a really good “hump” day and we’ll see you tomorrow.

Today’s first shot is looking out over the Coal Creek as it tests a local beaver’s engineering and build work. Looking at local streamflow data, we’re hitting our peak runoff right now . . . you can almost notice the difference in snow coverage on the surrounding peaks on a daily basis—it’s going quickly. Today’s next shot is looking up at the 12,162’ peak of Crested Butte Mountain, framed by the freshly leafed-out aspens. The leaves almost seem to glow with new greenness at this time of year—it’s eye candy for sure.

We’re looking forward to another sunny day with temps in the upper seventies and a good bit of breeziness. Have a really good day out there and enjoy!

Friday’s shots are from mountain biking the relatively new Lupine Trail in Crested Butte. The trail starts in the Saddle Ridge development in Mt. CB and ends up at the winter trailhead near Peanut Lake on Slate River Road. A buddy of mine dropped our little posse off at the beginning of the trail, parked down on Slate River Road and then hustled back up and caught us on the first descent. Today’s first shot is of the crew pedaling along the upper section of trail.

While Lupine is a bit beyond what you would want to take your grom’s out on for their first mountain biking experience, once they’re comfortable keeping it on the single track and can stand pedaling some uphill, it’s a ride to consider. If you’re looking for an easier starting point for you and the family, the Lower Loop or the Evolution Bike Park at Crested Butte Mountain Resort would be good places to ride to get everyone’s comfort and confidence levels up. The resort’s even going to offer bike riding lessons this summer. This is the crew on one of the climbing sections.

Stopping in the middle of the climb for a little snack break, with the Oh Be Joyful “neighborhood” in the background.

And this is my former “tricycle motor,” now “bicycle motor,” enjoying the downhill single track on a gorgeous spring day. Come to think of it, today’s her last day of being a second grader, as the Crested Butte Community school adjourns for the summer at around noon today. Have a great summer, kiddo!

Besure and have a great weekend out there—we’ll see you next week!

Thursday’s shots are from last week, but show the weather and project progress at and around Crested Butte Mountain Resort. Today’s first two shots are a before and after of the slopeside sidewalk at the Treasury Building. Turned out pretty nice. And yes, that’s snow in the before shot . . . I’m thinking we haven’t had a snow-free week since mid March.

Our next shot is of the trail crew working on the section of beginner trail coming into the base area. With it’s friendly berms, fun “hippo bumps” and wide, easy switchbacks, the trail’s going to ride great and be fun for riders of all abilities.

And today’s last shot is just a bonus view of the Butte from last week.

Why not have an excellent day out there and we’ll see you to wrap up the week tomorrow.

Wednesday’s is of the shock and horror from Tuesday morning along Elk Avenue in Crested Butte! White lines?!? What abomination is this? Our picturesque little mountain hamlet that prides itself on a lack of progress (unless the trust-funders like it—then they won’t go grass-roots organizing on your world) is seeing yet more modernization? What’s next, turn lanes? Ha, and everyone knows (especially the guilty and idle looking town worker in the day glow vest) that this must just be prep work for (dare I say it? no, I must whisper it) the Elk Avenue four way STOP LIGHT! Ooops, I yelled it. And LOOK at the way the thick, probably toxic white paint is smothering and choking out Elk Avenue’s pristine pavement and pebbles. Guilty, indeed! Where are the Friends of Elk Avenue when you need them?

Naw, just kidding. .   Paint it all. 

Tuesday was another nice, late spring day in Crested Butte. Just a touch too cool and breezy to be called summer, the day’s increasing clouds even managed to produce a late-day rain shower. We’ve also been seeing our first wildfire-smoke-induced haze in the valley . . . I was hoping we would get further into the summer before seeing that. While I don’t know of anything burning in Colorado, it looks like both New Mexico and California have hot spots that could be contributing to our hazy skies.

Anyway, we’re on tap for a sunny, pleasant day, with a forecasted high of 71 degrees. Have a good one out there and we’ll see you tomorrow.