Looking east from the top of the pass over Donner Lake into Nevada. The Donner Party camped on the far end of the lake when over 20 feet of snow made it impossible to climb over the pass. Only half of the group survived the winter.
Over 6000 Chinese laborers bored through solid granite to complete the transcontinental railroad through the mountains.
The location of the hardest tunnel digging on the 1868 first transcontinental rail line. We watched a long westbound freight climb slowly up to the pass.
We had a very good time at the wedding reception and caught this cute picture of our favorite young couple.
At Donner Memorial Park we walked through the early first snow of the season on a nature trail around the site where the Donner Party spent the brutal winter of 1846-47 in three crudely constructed cabins and two tents. Recounting that tragic time: "The 81 members of the Donner Party 25 men, 15 women and 41 children, including six nursing infants were now huddled miserably in two makeshift winter camps. The Breens and their seven children took over an abandoned shack not far from Truckee Lake (now Donner Lake). Peggy Breen did what she could to calm the younger children. Lewis Keseberg built a rough lean-to for his family against one side of the Breen shack. Nearby, the Eddys crowded into a hastily constructed log cabin with the Murphys, the Fosters and the Pikes. A second drafty cabin housed the family of Franklin Graves at one end and Margaret Reed and her four children at the other. Six miles away, on Alder Creek, the two Donner families huddled in tents where the storm had caught them." (PBS film: The Donner Party: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/donner/)
The deep water colors in Lake Tahoe are hard to believe! Squaw Valley ski runs are across the lake.
On takeoff from Austin we flew over our valley; ours is the third house from the left.
Hot Texas weather inspired us to take five days in September to have our yearly mountain 'fix' of cool air and high country inspiration. We discovered that the second week of September is the ideal time for fall colors, as well as finding Aspen almost empty of tourists. Here are pictures of some of our favorite places in and around Aspen.
Some white wine and cheeze in a meadow above the top of the gondola house on Ajax. We took the road down the face of Ajax to our condo in Aspen.
A pair of red-tailed hawks circled overhead atop Richmond Hill Road near the top of Ajax Mountain.
A snow/sleet/rain thunderstorm blew in at Taylor Pass (13,220' elevation) forcing a quick dash to safer lower ground.
The long view south at the top of Taylor Pass between Aspen and Crested Butte just before the storm hit us full force.
Drive up Castle Creek Road past Ashcroft (ghost town), turn off on Pearl Pass (jeep) Road and climb almost to the tree line and turn off to the trail to Montezuma Basin Mine.
Turn left off Montezuma Basin Road to take the 'highway' up over Pearl Pass. We decided to take this route on a clear day.
We hiked in the aspens above Maroon Lake on a beautiful September day.
Our favorite place: the Maroon Bells in the wilderness near Aspen, September 11, 2004. We hiked up to the golden trees in the distance for our lunch. It had snowed the previous night and was clear and cool.
As we picnicked on a glacial moraine above Maroon Lake this brave little 'mini bear' enjoyed Tom's apple core.
Morning coffee overlooking the river in our Aspen condo. Getting ready for a day up in the mountains.
After crossing Haggerman Pass we passed Ivanhoe Lake and Skinner Alpine Corps hut. This is the smallest of three bucks we saw by the roadside.
The trip back from the shore was easy traveling with a 5 knot tide and 22 knot wind at our back. It took an hour to travel the 1.25 miles to Nantucket Sound and 30 minutes to return to the canoe rental landing on the Swan River.
A paraskiier skimmed across the waves at astonishing speed while two boys chased each other on the shore. We enjoyed crackers and wine while resting up for the return trip 'upstream,'
Out first evening on Cape Cod for August 2004 at the Sundancer Restaurant overlooking the Bass River. This is one of our favorite places to eat lobster and watch the sunset over the marsh.
A hot July afternoon produced a Texas-sized thunderstorm roaring through the Hill Country. As it receded to the east we saw this beautiful sight.
The train room at the top of the stairs has been finished out, AC installed, lights in place, carpet laid, and the sky painted (the clouds are photographs I took this week). Now comes the process of planning the track design (with Ethan's help) and the scenery. Tiki loves to sleep curled up in a plastic tub on the shelf.
Our new west side beauty spot with a spring (near bag of mulch), stream (center). pond (center left) and waterfall-in-the-making (lower left corner). Note the boulders and honeycomb rocks rolled in from around the area. The canoe has been relocated and work has begun on a bridge across the new stream where T is standing.
Taking advantage of the new deck, Tom and Lorn discuss adding a codicil to a will and other arcane topics, while Angel (under Tom's chair) spies on a bird down below.
Blackjack is a rescued animal who was born of feral parents in a Dairy Queen dumpster - originally named 'Blizzard.' He is still phobic around strangers, but is very sweet to us and the other cats. He is big (17 lbs.) and quite strong, but has an incredibly high-pitched meow like a little kitten.
Our 1.5 year old Burmese is still kittenish, especially when he spots something interesting.
