What have we been doing all Summer??

We are amazed to see that we'll only be here for another four weeks. So I thought it would be fun to show off some of the projects that we've complete this summer.

The Alamosa and Monte Vista NWR's both have auto tour loops with large interpretive panels. The panels provide some of the best perching sites for birds in the entire area and as a result they are usually covered with bird droppings, in spite of regular washing.

Red-winged Blackbird on sign.

Woodcock on sign.

Sign with "decorations".

We got with the refuge manager and ordered Nixalite Bird Spikes to mount on the signs.  If you read our blog last summer you may recall that we mounted a similar product under the eaves of the Visitor Center to discourage nesting Cliff Swallows.

There are 23 interpretive panels, and each is mounted in a heavy steel frame. Installation of the mounting hardware requires drilling holes and pressing in special spiral rivets, then cutting them off flush.  Rather than trying to accomplish all of this out in the field, we removed the top frames and performed most of the work back in the shop.

Removing top frame.

Nixalite strip and mounting hardware.

Installing hardware on frame.

Once we got a batch of top frames finished, we took them back out into the field, washed the signs for a final(?) time, and mounted the spikes.

Teri cleaning a sign. Last time!!

Mark installing a spike top rail.

Finished sign.

So far, so good.  The birds have found other perches and the signs remain clean.  Mission accomplished.

Mark

Still the Champion...

We have had a hummingbird feeder up since we arrived here in Colorado and have enjoyed regular visits from Broad-tailed and Rufous Hummingbirds. However, a Rufous HB male recently decided that the feeder belonged only to him.

He spends his days perched in a nearby Cottonwood tree and keeping an eye on his feeder.

Rufous Hummingbird male

Sometimes he sticks his tongue out at me.

He regularly flies down to get a drink from his personal feeder.

Rufous Hummingbird on "his" feeder

But lately, another hummingbird has decided to visit the feeder.  The newcomer may be a Calliope Hummingbird as we had them here last year and this one is tiny.  But I never get to see it for long. 

Intruder, perhaps a Calliope Hummingbird

Just as soon as the newcomer lands, the boss come bombing down out of his tree and the fun begins. 

Leading to this...

I've put up another feeder on the opposite side of the tree, so hopefully there will be enough room for more than one hummingbird.

But for now, this guy is still the champion:

Mark

Gunnison/Crested Butte Colorado

We drove up to Gunnison and Crested Butte for a few days.  Partly to celebrate my birthday and partly so Mark could try out a few new disc golf courses.

Our first stop was the Gunnison Visitor Center where we picked up lots of pamphlets of things to do in the area.  The city park had a number of carvings that took advantage of dead trees.

We took a hike to this formation, called the Dillon Pinnacles. This is a deposit of volcanic rock called West Elk Breccia that has been eroding for 30 million years.

We also hiked along a beautiful creek. This area was lush and green,, and we had plenty of mosquitos to keep us company!

From Crested Butte we took the West Elk Loop drive over Kebler Pass.  The drive took us through the largest Aspen grove in Colorado.  It went on for miles and miles. 

The drive finished alongside Blue Mesa Reservoir. At 20 miles long and with 96 miles of shoreline, it is the largest body of water in the state of Colorado. It was formed by damming the Gunnison River west of Gunnison.

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The National Park Service offers a pontoon boat tour in the upper reaches of the Black Canyon.  The tour runs about 1 1/2 hours, and requires a one mile hike down to the boat dock.  The hike includes 232 steps down (and then back up!). We enjoyed both the hike and the boat trip.  The scenery was amazing. 

  

The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad built a narrow gauge railroad down into the canyon.  The trail to the boat dock followed part of the old railroad track bed. Shortly beyond the boat dock the track bed disappears beneath the waters of Morrow Point lake. 

This is the Curecanti Needle that is on the RR sign.

Mark tried out 2 different disc golf courses, one near Salida and the other in Gunnison:

All in all, a nice part of the world...

Teri

The Monsoon Season Has Started

This area of the San Luis Valley is beginning to get some much needed rain.  Every afternoon we start seeing the clouds forming over the mountains, and we have had a few significant showers.  Not only are the rains helping the plants, but the wildfires in the area are just about contained.

We are also noticeably cooler.  Our high today was only 66°.

Teri

Big Boys and our Toys

I've gotten certified on a bunch of Heavy Equipment while here at Alamosa NWR, but haven't had much opportunity to utilize the certifications.

That changed this week when we started reworking an RV pad in anticipation of another couple arriving at the end of the month. The existing pad is tiny and covered with deep loose gravel. It needs to be expanded and covered with firm road base.

So I got to jump into the backhoe and start on the new pad. After spreading out the old gravel, I began hauling road base from a stockpile several miles away. It will take a few buckets of base to complete the new pad, but we decided it is easier to carry it over in the backhoe bucket than to get a dump truck.

Driving over with a load of base

I loaded up the bucket and "roaded" it over to the RV site on a refuge road. The trip takes about ten minutes each way, but the backhoe has an air conditioner and a radio, so it's not a bad ride.

Once at the site I drop the load in small piles and then spread it evenly. Teri is my spotter and helps me get the base where I need it.

Dropping base

Empty bucket

This is good practice for me and a good project for the refuge. We'll finish it next week.

Mark

GO WITH THE FLOW

Some days just don’t turn out the way we’ve planned. 

We got a call very early this morning from the refuge manager.  She asked Mark what we had planned for today.  While he was giving her a rundown of several things we wanted to finish up and a couple of new projects we wanted to get started on, he realized that what she really was asking was “Are you available right now?”

Turns out, she had no water.  She lives on the refuge in staff housing and her water comes from a well on the property.  We hightailed it over to her place to see what we could do.  Her water pump, of undetermined age, was going to have to be replaced.  After driving to two different plumbing stores, and a couple of trips to the hardware store, we were able to get her up and running.

New pump, fresh out of the box.

The temperature in Alamosa, Colorado typically reaches 30° below 0°.  The well house is inside the garage where it can be heated during the winter months.

There isn’t a lot of room to maneuver inside the well house!

Today was the kind of day that really shows us how much we, as volunteers, are needed.  Not only were we able to quickly respond to the situation, we also saved the refuge quite a bit of money on labor costs.

Teri

Colorado Fires

Well, it seems like our area of Colorado is burning up. We are in no danger, but many of our favorite hiking spots have been destroyed.

If you go back and look at the May 18th and June 1st blogs (THIS is Colorado), you will see the region that is burning in the West Fork fire.  There is a huge amount of beetle-killed timber throughout the area, and once it catches fire there is little that can be done.  The single-digit humidity and relentless winds add to the problem.

This fire has consumed over 30,000 acres, and the town of South Fork was thought to be lost until a wind shift saved it. The entire town has been evacuated and we saw a constant stream of cars and RV's heading out of the area yesterday.

Here is the sunset view from our trailer.  That is not a cloud, it is smoke.

West Fork Fire

We hope that Mother Nature gives the firefighters a much needed break and that this fire is brought under control soon.

Mark