The PENguin Blog

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, California  The last day of our first road trip in three years carried us back to Lake Tahoe on the afternoon of June 13. Anyone who knows me or has followed the blog knows how much this place means to me going back almost six decades. Family (of origin) vacations, loves and losses, discovery, all happened there. In contrast to two weeks earlier we had enough time to spend a day walking and driving around the lake including Emerald Bay, one of our favorite spots. Images from the Stateline Fire Lookout Trail And from a random beach Emerald Bay, our favorite corner of the Lake The island in the middle of Emerald Bay The "castle" at the peak of the island. There are several stories as to why it was built, from tea house to mausoleum. Waterfall!! Rosa, who was seriously miffed about not getting her moment on Pike's Peak, has another moment in the sun Pine Trees Ma and Pa get their pictures taken by a friendly passerby An attempt at art

 The antepenultimate day of our trip found us on US 6 and US 50 (often dubbed "America's Loneliest Road) between Delta, Utah and Austin, Nevada where shortly after midday we checked into the Cozy Mountain Motel, one of several "quaint" motels (and not much else) there. The drive was relatively short, but covered a variety of terrains from desert to mountain.  Throughout this landscape we have noted the harshness of the desert which has defeated so many settlers The town is an unincorporated city, formerly the seat of Lander County with a population of 167 people and almost as many abandoned buildings. In truth there is not much left there, the stores mostly boarded up with one cafe that served burgers and a couple of sandwiches and a service station that dished up $7.00/gallon gasoline and burgers from a food truck. We opted for the cafe. It was better than we would have thought possible. Several of the extant civic buildings pointed to bygone prosperity, but the res

 So, coming out of Grand Junction on our way to Delta, Utah on Sunday, we decided to take the long way, off the interstates as much as possible. The route took us due north on Colorado 139, US 6 and old US 40 through some lovely roads and interesting and quite varied scenery. For those not familiar with the American West, this is "purple mountains majesty." Along the way we saw open land, traversed an area of ancient native settlements along the West Douglas Creek and through Dinosaur and Vernal Utah and saw any number of active and abandoned ranches, recreational areas, and considerable traffic at times. Still I was able much of the time to drive the temperature, in the upper 90s+. Rosa's moment of glory. She felt that she was given too little credit during the earlier parts of the trip. A good day. Tomorrow, Monday, across Utah to Nevada and more backroads.

 After a delightful visit with our friends in Denver, Saturday we hit the road back home, this time using I-70 as our spine.  Rosa has been most cranky about having gone up Pike's Peak and n to having her picture taken, so we stopped at the Colorado Summit.  Traffic was heavy, but a nice rest stop along the road afforded us a short walk and some pretty pictures. We ended the day in Grand Junction with a superb meal at  TacoParty

 For the past week we have been in Denver visiting long time friends from grad school days. Apart from hanging out and visiting we have done a couple of excursions in the area, a short but, for me, fairly rigorous, hike at nearby Castlewood Canyon on the Lake Gulch Trail. For my friend Howard, a former ultra-marathoner, it was a stroll. But the main excursion came on Thursday to the Garden of the Gods, which everyone else had, at some time, seen--except me. From what we understood, climbers are supposed to be on the lines, but . . . And then there are the kids goofing  Some of these images, like the kissing camels, are terribly familiar, but it was fun trying to get my own perspectives. From the Garden we went to Pikes Peak. I drove their Audi S4, with the promise that I would not have too much fun. There were a few places where I would have gone faster had there not been three other, wiser old folks in the car, but it was still fun (and a challenge) overall. The images are from the su