Fall started yesterday, and up here that meant a good rain and above us, snow on the mountain peaks. The snow was melted by the evening, but I’m sure we’ll have more and longer-lasting snows in the not-too-distant future. As for myself, however, I am going to lands where it never snows. I will leave in just a couple of weeks for a month-long sojurn and I’ll need help with covering the Open Thread.
I will need help for the following:
October 7th, 14th, 28th and November 4th. John in Denver has volunteered to cover the 21st (and 28th? Please?) and Merry Light has volunteered to cover one of the open dates. I will post a short blurb of an Open Thread discussion, but since I don’t know what my Internet access will be, and I will be otherwise occupied trying to stay away from politics, I hope I can get a volunteer or more. October 7th will be particularly tricky as I will take off in the airplane on October 6th and not land until October 8th or something like that.
I did promise you a photo diary, and I’ll get to those after a few news notes from Colorado.
The Boulder King Soopers mass murderer was found competent and guilty for the murder of ten people back in early 2021. His sentence has already been passed — ten life sentences without the possibility of parole, to be served consecutively, plus the other 45 charges add an additional 1340 years to his sentence since they will be served consecutively. For those who may wonder why do they add the additional years — if for any reason the murder convictions are thrown out, the additional 45 counts will still need to be served. He’s not getting out of prison.
Colorado is a non-death-penalty state. I understand a desire that some people, like this man, may deserve a death sentence, but Colorado in its wisdom has chosen to not go through the added expense and effort of a death penalty phase on top of the convictions. I am fine with that. I want to spend the absolute minimum in tax dollars in penalizing people like him, and death penalty cases are expensive and drag on for far more years than the 3 ½ that have passed since that day in 2021. The families can now sleep knowing justice was done and it is final.
This is precisely the kind of mass murder that was never foreseen by the writers of the 2nd Amendment. There is no reason for weapons of mass destruction like assault rifles are able to be purchased, carried and used by people who aren’t well-regulated. The blood from that assault is on the hands of the supporters like the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and the NRA. I wish I could live long enough to see an end to this kind of violence in America.
From the High Country News there was an article on how Native American reservation resources sometimes are owned by private companies and the states. This makes it necessary for the Native Americans to have to pay for accessing their own reservations, which seems all kinds of messed up to me. There are two types of ownership — above and below ground. Above ground means forests, rivers, recreational areas and sacred areas (among other uses). Below ground generally means mining resources, like oil, gas, coal and other minerals.
Below ground resources are given priority over surface uses, so, for example, if your land happens to be above a vein of gold or silver, it sucks to be you — or your tribe. The holder of that mineral right can put in a road and a mine in order to extract that resource and you can’t do much about it. This is often the same as for private landowners in Colorado — the above-ground is yours, but you can be surprised to learn that some other entity has rights to the minerals under your home, and you can’t do much if they say they want to frack on your land or put down a mine shaft. I would think, however, land on a reservation shouldn’t have to be treated the same way.
If the resource is above ground, like a stand of timber, the tribe may not have the right to harvest the trees in the manner they see fit — which in the article is described as usually a natural pattern, taking it tree by tree. A state, for example, could come in and clearcut the land and then replant with a monocrop of one species of trees that will be most valuable the next time the state wants to cut them down. Making this even worse, the article goes into how states will use the money from the timber sales for schools or other projects that aren’t on the reservations and even can be a long distance away, depriving the tribes of money from the resources on what should be their land.
The article includes a graph showing how much above-ground and how much below-ground of the reservations are owned by non-tribal groups in each state. Colorado appears to have no above-ground land owned by someone other than the tribes (the only state like it) but all that means is that the sub-surface grounds are at least partially owned by groups other than the tribes.
Now, tell me how this is fair to the tribes that supposedly own the land. Just continuing injustice, imo, to the tribes. Those who have met me know I have no Native American blood in me, but I hate this miscarriage of the treaties the Native Americans have been forced to sign over the generations.
Low-flying helicopters plan to survey Colorado’s 2-billion-year-old geological history
From the Vail Daily — If you see a helicopter flying low and it seems to have a big stick attached in front of it (you can see a picture of it at the Vail Daily site), there is a project to complete the surveying of Colorado’s “mineral belt” using high tech measures.
Beginning in August, low-level helicopter flights are planned over broad swathes of northern Colorado to image geology using geophysical technology, the news release states. The flights are slated to last up to three months, weather and wildfire restrictions permitting, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Flights will cover portions of Boulder, Chafee, Clear Creek, Eagle, Gilpin, Grand, Jefferson, Lake, Larimer, Park and Summit counties, the release states. Initial flights will reportedly be based out of regional airports in Leadville and Longmont.
…….
The 3D models and maps are important for improved understanding of critical mineral resource potential, water resources, groundwater pathways near legacy mining areas, parameters for infrastructure and land-use planning, and potential risks of naturally-occurring radon, the release states.
I’m hoping this won’t result in more mining that leaves toxic materials behind, but it sounds like a good way of finding out what’s beneath the ground to a depth of over 3000 feet. Maybe it might even be able to pinpoint mines that need cleaning up.
This next article isn’t absolutely Colorado related, but it might be of interest to those who travel internationally.
www.afar.com/… People can now renew their passports online, according to the Biden-Harris Administration and the U.S. State Department.
And on a happier note, I was able to pick up my ballot from the Larimer County Clerk’s office today. It was the first day that they were available and the woman helping the public said that they had been very busy. Our own particular county has 50 different ballots that may need printing, depending upon where exactly you live. For that reason, they wanted my ID, which I didn’t mind handing over, so she could verify which version of the ballot I should receive. The ballot drop boxes won’t open until October 11th, she said, but I can mail it back when I have voted since I won’t be in the state that long. Thank goodness for the “Blue Book”. I will need it for the various initiatives I will be voting upon.
Now for the pictures. These start with my hike last Thursday from the Lumpy Ridge trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park, up to Gem Lake, and then down on the north side of the ridge to finish at the Cow Creek trailhead. For those interested in how things went, know that my quadriceps are still very painful after going up the tall stairs on the beginning part of the hike (about 1000 feet of elevation gain).
Hiking companions in better shape than I am
Fall colors
Estes Valley and Longs Peak from Lumpy Ridge
Along the Gem Lake Trail
Gem Lake
Gem Lake looking back
Cow Creek. There were some small (6”) fish in this pool.
Spotted Tussock Moth caterpillar at Cow Creek
Walking parallel down Cow Creek towards the trailhead. I really fell behind as I took pictures.
Just a couple more pictures of the fall season:
Two more months, my pretties! Turkey and babies
It is sometimes tough to get the brilliant yellow of the aspens
Please help us Coloradoans by signing up to do one of the Open Threads while I’m gone. Just post a note in the comments. Other than that, the floor is yours...
