Falling Down the Rockies...

Howard to Pueblo

Howard and Crested Butte (high elevation Colorado in general, I suppose) both face a similar threat to compost: bears.  The woman I spoke with told me that she used to compost in her backyard, but the bears were getting to the food in it, so she stopped.  Bear bait is not the goal of compost.  

Howard, CO

In regards to a recycling program, Howard doesn’t provide a collection service, but it has a transfer station where residents can bring their recyclable materials.  

After leaving Howard, I traveled through rolling hills and grassy valleys, upon which I spotted hundreds of cattle feeding.  Grass-fed beef!  

Dave, Austin, and I stopped for lunch in Westcliffe.  After a nice meal in the park, I headed on, through the last mountain pass of the Rockies.  I had been impressed with how well Dave and Austin had been doing with the climbing and descending through the nearly 12,000 foot tall peaks.  Unfortunately, this descent was different.  The road was steep and winding, and as I was driving it, I had to slow from 50 mph down to 20 mph to make a few of the curves.  There were two in particular that were hairpin turns; the road advised me to take them at 25 and 20 mph, respectively.  When Dave and Austin were riding the same descent, they were doing about 30 mph on the first curve.  They tried to slow down more for the second curve, but Austin couldn’t quite make it.  He crashed into the guard rail, slid along it for several feet until a pole caught his jersey and flipped him over the rail.  Two hours, a hitchhiked ride, a hospital trip, and 31 stitches later, he was all patched up.  He’ll be taking a few days off of the bike, but the doctors think he should be okay to ride soon. 

Home on the Road

Gunnison to Howard

Today I realized that I’m homeless, living out of a van, and have been for the past three weeks.  After we got up and packed up the Sprinter, we drove back down to Gunnison, so Dave and Austin could start biking from there.  We filled up the water jugs at a gas station.  I got hot water for my oatmeal at the gas station.  I washed the blueberries on a faucet outside of the gas station.  I ate my oatmeal in the backseat of the Sprinter.  I brushed my teeth in a public restroom.  I washed my oatmeal bowl in a public park.  I haven’t showered since Friday (it is now Tuesday).  

While reading Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild on this trip, there have been several parallels I’ve noticed between his trek and ours.  I thought I’d share this passage:

“McCandles had tried to disguise the fact that he was a drifter living out of a backpack.  [...]  he explained in a letter to Jan Burres:  One morning I was shaving in a restroom when an old man came in, and, observing me, asked me if I was “sleeping out.”  I told him yes," (41).

I guess being homeless is just part of the adventure, but it would be nice to get a shower soon.

Before leaving Gunnison, I went to the tire shop to get the flat tire fixed.  Doug, the mechanic on duty, did a great job finding the hole, patching it, and inflating it.  Some of the machines he used to get the tire off of the wheel were incredible; I had no idea they existed!  It made tire repair seem so fun—or at least more fun than changing tubes on my bike.  Doug did a splendid job, and we chatted while he was working.  I told him about the bike ride and Face Aids.  After he finished, he told me that the tire repair was his donation to the cause.  I love people; I love Colorado.  I gave him a pin to spread the Face Aids message, and thanked him profusely.  

The tire shop in Gunnison

Then we crossed the continental divide and Monarch Pass.  From here on out, the rivers will be flowing towards the east.  Weird.

We then went through Salida, where Rumors (the coffee shop in Crested Butte) sends its compost.  The woman I spoke with in Chamber of Commerce told me that while Salida was a pretty green town (it recycles!), she hadn’t heard of a compost program or facility in town.  Although she had heard of some discussion of implementing a program.  I did some further questioning at City Hall, and discovered that Salida does not have any sort of composting program.  It’s unclear where Rumors actually sends its compost; the closest facility to Salida is in Saguache, approximately 55 miles south of Salida...further digging is clearly required.

We traveled on through Salida to Howard, a tiny town, where we're camping.  For dinner, master chef Dave cooked some beefaroni, the flavor of which was not excellent accentuated by a nice bottle of Chianti.  Red wine and pasta—how positively Italian!  We eat well in the wilderness.

Master Chef Dave with his Italian masterpiece

White Water and Rafting and Bears

Gunnison and Crested Butte and white water rafting and I love off days

We woke up early (I think the latest I’ve gotten up on this trip has been 9 am..not quite my typical summer but I’m not complaining) to get to Scenic River Tours.

Our guide, Mark, was well-versed in the art of rafting, and we had a glorious three hours filled with rapids, the river, and rowing.  Matt lives in the area and is a ski patrol in the winter, and a raft guide in the summer.  An outdoor enthusiast, if you will....

...and a backyard composter!  He and his wife have been composting for the past several years, but, unfortunately, they have encountered a compost enemy: bears.  Whenever Mark puts out new food scraps, the bears in the area feast on them.  This makes his method of compost unhealthy for the bears, and could potentially pose a threat to Matt and his neighbors.  

The town where he lives, Crested Butte, has found a bear-proof garbage solution; it requires its residents to purchase a “bear safe” garbage can for a mere $300!  Maybe if Mark spent an additional $300, his compost would also be protected from bears.  

After the rafting, we headed to Mark's hometown, Crested Butte, to follow up on some of his restaurant recommendations.  We found a coffee shop downtown, called Rumor, and sat outside with the New York Time

s (Monday) crossword, our books, and (refillable) cups of coffee.  Needless to say, it was an exceptionally pleasant afternoon.  Rumor had just opened, and one of its goals is to be a green business.  They had recycling bins, cloth towels in the bathroom, and (my personal favorite) a compost bin!!!  Their cups are compostable, as well as their cutlery, napkins, and, of course, food waste.  I asked the owner a little bit about their compost collection, and he told me a little bit about it.  Main points:

1. they send it to a compost facility about 60 miles away in Salida

2. since they’ve only been open for 2 weeks, they haven’t brought it yet

3. they collect all of the compostable materials in the back of the shop

4. a newly implemented compost program is ex-ci-ting!

The Crested Butte dragon

Deflation

Telluride to Gunnison

So Colorado is pretty wonderful, but that doesn’t exempt us from inconveniences.  Namely, those associated with car troubles.  I.e. flat tires.

Yes, on the way from Telluride to Gunnison, the Sprinter got a flat tire.  

Today ended up being a pretty long day—we added 25 miles to the route since Sapinero was such a small, sleepy town.  The sun was beginning to get low on the horizon as the three of us left the convenience store on top of the mountain.  As I marveled at the beauty surrounding me, my mind was far from the well-being of the car.  All of a sudden, a flapping noise met my ears and all of that changed. The tire had deflated.  I pulled over immediately, into a picnic area on the side of the road, where I called Triple A.  Twenty five minutes later, I was promised help would arrive within an hour.  As I was hanging up, Dave and Austin arrived on the scene, and scoffed at the mention of Triple A.  Dave looked at the flat, found the jack, and began changing the tire.  “We can do it, I’ve changed three tires,” he said with confidence. 

Now he’s changed four.

We then traveled on to Gunnison, and got there right as dusk was setting in.  After a quick bite to eat, we headed north to the Taylor River, where we set up our tent in the dark.  Tomorrow we’re going white water rafting..I’m stoked.

Celebrating Good Food, Beautiful Scenery, Recycling, and America's Birthday

Blanding to Dolores to Telluride

New state: Colorado!

"Welcome to Colorful Colorado"

My dad, me, Dave, and Austin on the border.

A typical position for me.

Colorado is as green as Utah is red.  The contrast between the two states is incredible, as it seemed that the red canyons melted away to green fields right at the state border.  Another contrast I noticed was that of environmentalism.  Recycling programs across Utah were sparse, and those that existed were far from all-encompassing, to say the least.  In Blanding, their recycling program consists of a once-every-three-weeks pickup of aluminum cans.  In Milford and Panguitch, residents bring their recyclables to recycling centers—if they’re motivated enough.  In Dolores and Telluride, however, there is curbside pickup for recyclables.  The city of Dolores collects aluminum, cardboard, plastic, and more.  However, there is no organic waste pickup, and the nearest location that recycles organics is in Longmont, CO, over 400 miles away.  

In Dolores, we sat in the river, cooling off after our bike ride (Dave and Austin) and run (me). For dinner, we went to the Dolores River Brewery—the most California-esque restaurant we’ve been to this entire trip.  They had delicious salads, pizzas, and sandwiches, in addition to their own beer that they brew at the restaurant.   

Yesterday morning, four of us set out on the road to Telluride.  My dad and I, however, turned back after 15 miles and headed back to Dolores.  Then my parents and I parted ways, and I took off to meet Dave and Austin at Lizard Head Pass, elevation 10,222 feet.  We then continued on to Telluride, where we met up with our couch surfing host, Brian.  We missed the parade down main street, but we got there in time to see Brian's float, the parade winner, and the hordes of people following the portable party.  

Last night, we watched the fireworks up a hill from the valley.  It was one of the more spectacular fireworks shows I’ve seen; the colored fire illuminating the rock cliffs and waterfalls is a hard sight to beat.  I think I could happily live in Colorado.  Nice people, good food, beautiful scenery, and recycling.  Happy Independence Day.

Two-Upping Mandy Moore

Hite to Blanding

Since Hite was so remote, the water levels so low (Cadillac Desert is now on my reading list), and the flies so numerous, we decided to head to Blanding a day early for our rest day.  To our displeasure (though it wasn’t exactly a surprise), the activities in Blanding are sparse as well.  Luckily, it’s a mere 60 miles from Four Corners, so we made the trek out there yesterday.  Driving two hours to pay $3 to see an elevated platform, take a picture, and buy a postcard was totally worth it.  Being in four places at once (New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah) is priceless, AND doubles Mandy Moore's character's goal in A Walk to Remember.  Hopefully everybody's seen that movie and gets the reference...unlikely.

Last night, we met up with my parents for dinner.  My dad had business in Albequerque, New Mexico (a three hour drive from Blanding), and so my mom flew out and met him.  We went to “the nicest restaurant in town,” the Homestead Steak House.  A tripadviser reviewer praised the restaurant for their large portions; however, large portions often lead to excess food (not in our case, however, thanks to Dave and Austin once again) and waste.  Food waste at the restaurant, however, is not thrown away, says Jamie, an employee there.  Instead, they save uneaten food scraps and potato peels and collect it in a bucket for a local who raises pigs.  He collects the buckets from the restaurant almost daily and feeds the scraps to his pigs.  Feeding restaurant waste to animals wasn’t necessarily a trend that I expected to see, but so far it’s been relatively common—maybe I’ll write an article on that form of nutrient recycling.

The Middle of Nowhere

Hanksville to Hite

Caineville

We camped in Hanksville last night, after the town in which we had planned to camp, Caineville, didn’t seem to exist (I just googled Caineville and “ghost town” came up...hmm).  In Hanksville, we were attacked by horseflies, but that negativity was balanced out by the presence of showers, which, to us, is a VERY precious commodity (and getting more precious as they get more rare).  

In the morning, after seeing the closed sign in the town information building, I wandered into Blondie’s Eatery for a cup of coffee.  John, the man I spoke with there, is a composter!!!  The first real person I’ve met on this trip who composts!  Even though Hanksville is lacking both a citywide recycling and compost program, John makes me think of Utah as a little bit (but not much) more green than I initially thought.

We then headed to Hite Recreation Center, which is on Lake Powell.  According to http://www.americansouthwest.net, “There is little more to Hite besides a ranger station, gas station and a very useful general store.”  That is a very true statement, so we did little besides swim and bask in the sun.  And by “bask in the sun,” I actually mean “stay in the sun for too long without sunscreen and get burned.”  But I did enjoy the swim in the mid-desert water, which remains clean due to a program called Trash Tracker.

Lake Powell

The swim area "parking lot"

Trash Tracker is a volunteer program in which people spend 5-7 days aboard a houseboat, traveling along the shoreline picking up trash.  Yaaaayyyy waste management!  Although I’m guessing the food waste gets eaten by fish before it can be collected...