Data!

While the winds died down somewhat last night and early this morning, the Beaufort 7 strength winds (with gusting to 8) have returned.  We did manage to take another hike this morning, Boulder Run to Blackmer to Cougar Shadow trails and back.  Cheyenne Mountain State Park has a system of interconnecting trails ranging from the lower shrublands to the montane forestlands strewn with large boulders of granite and even the occasional prickly pear with its cold-shriveled pads tucked into warmer creases of the landscape.  

The trails are exceptionally well marked and maintained, complete with color coding, written name and GPS coordinates.  At each trail junction there is a signpost with map.  Someone with "constructive" OCD was responsible for the labeling of the trail system.  

Spring is just beginning ... the most prevalent wildflower out now is the lowly dandelion, but other flowers are beginning to make a showing, however modestly.  Perhaps a new principle of camping should be to not come out to camp until the wildflowers make a showing ... And,we saw some local wildlife who were quite unconcerned about us ...

And, I have to love a man who brings the data ...

City Lights of Colorado Springs

Night lights of Colorado Springs from our campsite (and a reminder to be that I need how to use my camera better in night light conditions ... at least I remembered to use a tripod for stability). The lights of the city are reflecting in the clouds above.

Beaufort 7!

In 1805, British Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort developed an empirical measurement scale for the effects of wind over water and on land known as the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.  I was guilty of exaggeration when I stated that we were experiencing "near hurricane" force winds.  In reality, we've been experiencing near gale force winds, or Beaufort 7, gusting to 8.  The winds stayed throughout the night and all day today.  Cheyenne Mountain State Park is nestled along the rising mountain side of Cheyenne Mountain, overlooking Colorado Springs in a transition zone between high grasslands and montane forest with ponderosa pines and granite slopes.  The wind is buffeting all, although we were able to hike (Blackmer Loop - 3.52 miles) and stayed somewhat protected from the winds in the creases along the mountainside and tucked under the ponderosa pines.  We definitely hoping for less wind in the days ahead.

See www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/beaufort.html for more information on the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.

Cheyenne Mountain State Park - Colorado Springs, CO

We arrived at Cheyenne Mountain State Park and tucked ourselves into Space #7 on Raptor's Glen Loop of the campground, a site that we had pre-selected in October of last year for its scenic overview of Colorado Springs, intimate view of Cheyenne Mountain, and privacy (relatively speaking for a campground) from other campers.  The winds feel near hurricane strength and night time temperatures promise to hover at freezing, but we're snug in our airtight Airstream (and grateful for the full hook-up which permits the luxury of electric, sewer and water connection ... just like home with a well-functioning heater).   

And, after all of Paul's work ... a well-deserved rest ... time for a cold beer and beef jerky!

Happy Boy!

Paul was delighted to see that everything was as we left it when we left Bambi at Jerry's in October of last year ...

Paul successfully created the "handshake" between Bambi and Fritz ...

And we left Jerry's for Cheyenne Mountain State Park ...

Reunited!

How does one start a blog except by starting .. however uneven or unskilled ... a beginning is a beginning.   We were reunited with Bambi this morning.  He (yes, Bambi is male, perhaps a bit androgynous, but a male nonetheless) wintered over at Jerry's RV & Boat Storage in Fountain, CO (just outside of Colorado Springs and former "home" for Trudy's Sprinter RV ... at $7 per linear foot of length for heated, interior storage, it seemed like a "no-brainer" to leave Bambi with Jerry for the winter).  Such joy to see our boy waiting for us ...