Devil's Backbone

 Happy Fall, Y'all!

First of all, ROCKY TOP - GO BIG ORANGE!  I would like to congratulate my Tennessee Vols, my Alma Mater!  Earlier this year we won the College World Series in baseball, and we now have a fighting chance at the National Championship in football with a current ranking of #4!  

Please see my rendition of Rocky Top on my very underused YouTube channel with my band "The Half Cats."  I'm thinking about vlogging soon and getting a little more traffic on there.  And I've recently purchased a new guitar (a shiny black one), so there may be some more strumming folkish covers in my future.

I've been enjoying a lot of mountain biking this year (after a hip injury), particularly early morning rides or sunset rides when I can beat the heat.  Recently we took a trip to Loveland, Colorado to enjoy a very unique ride called Devil's Backbone Open Space (Devil's Backbone, not to be confused with that spooky stretch of highway in Texas).  As you can see, I wore my patriotic gear in support of Donald Trump!  As Tim Walz clearly stated, "We cannot afford four more years of this."  Right ON, Tampon Timmy!  That's the most logical thing you've said this campaign season!

Anyways, back to Devil's Backbone.  This is a 4.5 mile out and back mountain biking trail with remarkably unusual landscapes.  The area is extremely popular for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding.  This open space was named Devil's Backbone, because the geographical oddity looks as if the devil himself is emerging from the earth's crust with a rigid and someone sinister vertebrae.  There is even a HUGE keyhole in the range that makes for an excellent photo opp and overlooks a gorgous residential community (lucky them!).  Just a heads up!  This ride will get into blacks (similar to ski ratings and black is for professionals), so we had to stop and turn around at one point, because I didn't have body pads on that day and didn't want another injury while healing.  No pain, no gain, they say!

After your ride, be sure to stop into Berthoud Brewing Company.  They have some seriously great pie, as seen in the picture below with Colorado green chiles.  Their suds and merch are also super yummy, and they have a spacious patio to relax after a grueling ride!  I grabbed a tank for future rides!

A shout out to my photog on this ride for the memorable shots, great pizza and beer, and even better company!

Kimmie

Record Homelessness

 Hello! 

I hope you're hanging in there this election year.  What a roller coast ride it's been.  The Democrats ousted Crazy Joe, who supposedly got more votes than Obama (wink, wink).  Then they "promoted" "Side Chick" Kamala Harris, a devout rich Marxist.  Unfortunately for Kamala, the economy seems to be a hot ticket item for voters with the current sky rocketed inflation.  The economy is drastically affected by the border and record illegal immigration.  And Kamala had ONE and job she failed miserably- Border Czar.  Oh, and they also sent her over to negotiate a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, and as a result the war started two days later.  She's a "DEI hire" in every sense of the term, batting 0-2.  And now Kamala is pushing the same old communism since the beginning of time, only now it's referred to as "Equity" or an "Opportunity Economy."  Communism destroys incentive in the workforce, yet it's bundled up each election year with a new shiny red bow and a new campaign slogan.  Remember when they tried to sell it as "Hope and Change?" You can't sell Communism at face value - Orwell referred to this concept as "doublespeak."

This Red Rocks pic is a reminder to focus on the three areas of growth: Mental, physical, and spiritual.

There are states like Colorado with already record high homelessness EVEN BEFORE they started bussing in migrants into the sanctuary city in the middle of the night.  It's like one day we all woke up to see Venezuelans begging for handouts at every street corner in Denver Metro. Colorado, in an attempt to offer free transport and pitiful condemned housing, defunded millions from law enforcement to pay for these freeloaders.  Colorado didn't even need the votes, by the way!  The state of Colorado is already as blue as Kamala's face after sucking on a skin flute, without coming up for air.

Here's a little recap why illegal immigration will never boost the economy.  So, let's say in Kansas they hire US citizens at $15 an hour to operate and slaughter animals in a meat factory.  Suddenly busloads of Haitian illegals are bussed in and will work for $9/hour.  You've now taken native born residents out of the economy who were paying taxes into the system BUT now need assistance.  The new illegal workforce is sending money back home (Outside of the USA) and not paying taxes into the system since they're not on the books.  And, since they have no social security number and are not on the books, they are also standing in line for assistance.  It's not a sustainable model.  It only works in Ivy League Econ classes, but never in real life.

But let's even go back before 2020 before the border was flooded with illegal aliens.  Why is it that some areas of the US get record homelessness while some areas have no problem with it?  Homeless is a huge public policy problem.

The word homelessness is so misleading, for starters.  It has zero to do with a lack of homes.  It's a HUMAN problem, with the two main drivers being: Drug addiction and mental illness.  Despite these issues, the homeless population actually make rational decisions on where to live.  They move in droves to areas that are permissive in public policy, meaning the cities decriminalized tent cities, property crime, and drug consumption.  The homeless will always go where the public policy is MOST permissive.  It's a survival of the fittest migration pattern. 

Why in the world would homeless populations with no stable income migrate to some of the most expensive cost of living areas of the country?  Easy.  Because homeless people operate under an entirely different incentive system than the average citizen.  Homeless incentives include freebies and homeless services, legalized marijuana, and/or decriminalized public/street camping. 

If the goal is to make life as the chronically homeless super attractive, then the trend will only continue to grow, and we will persist in dodging human-feces covered sidewalks like I saw in Seattle earlier this year.  So GROSS!  

Thanks for stopping in!

Colorado Kimmie

The Crossing

Hey Pals!

I’ve done it again.  I’m bringing you news ain’t nobody else touching due to heavy nature of the topic.

But I’m not scared…

This is the site of The Crossing.  It was a wee bit hard to find as it’s out in the middle of nowhere and only one John Deere tractor 🚜 passed me as I was parked on the side of the road near the tracks.  Lone sunflowers can be found lining this country dirt road.  You’re surrounded by cornfields and pastures and the smell of cow manure.

 In 1961, Colorado experienced its worst traffic accident ever at this exact spot.  It was a frigid morning with a cold drizzle of rain.  The accident occurred when a high-speed Union Pacific passenger train from Chicago collided with a school bus right outside of Greeley, Colorado in Weld County.  By the way, I’m partial to Weld County because it was one of the few areas of Colorado that didn’t act like complete idiots during Covid.  They didn’t force masks on people. 

The collision immediately split the school bus in two pieces, killing the 20 children seated in the area where the train slashed through this rural crossing.  Over 16 children survived but were badly injured.

The school bus driver, Duane Harms was never the same.  He stood trial for involuntary manslaughter, even though the Union Pacific train was speeding at over 80 miles per hour.  There were no crossings to notify the driver the train was barreling down the tracks.  

I found the exact place it happened and the memorial resurrected for the 20 children who lost their lives that day.

Thanks for stopping in!

Kimmie

Up On Cripple Creek…

Hey friends!

I hope you’re enjoying this lovely Fall weather.  It’s my favorite time of year.  

Here’s a tune to theme up this blog drop:

https://youtu.be/EisXJSsULGM?si=ib6AQtOKKDNq0fOj

I took a road trip to Cripple Creek, a small mountain casino town known for its gold mining!

Alll Aboard!  I rode a marvelous coal powered train ride around town and learned some interesting history.  For example, everyone wants to talk about San Francisco and the gold rush in California.  But, Cripple Creek, Colorado yielded way more gold than any part of California dreamed of.  There is one corporation who has been mining gold since the 90s; however to date m, this corporation still has not yielded the gold found in Cripple Creek during the Gold Rush of the 1800s!

I keep hearing about the ice castles in Cripple Creek during the winter time, but I really wanted to see Rita!  Nestled right next door to Cripple Creek in Viktor, Colorado, you’ll find “Rita the Rock Planter,” created by world renowned artist Thomas Dambo.  Rita is a massive and towering playful troll crafted entirely from recycled reclaimed wood.  Her clothes are made from wood shingles.  As you take the trail with free range cattle all around, you can see Rita as she kneels on the ground carefully tending to the earth.  

Dambo was inspired by the historic mining landscape of Cripple Creek and Viktor as Rita is seen patching up the ground where minors from the 1800s may have carelessly left large gaping holes behind.  Rita serves as a jovial giant and a symbol to really admire and treasure the the natural beauty around us.  Right behind Rita is a jaw dropping panoramic view of the Continental Divide.  

Kimmie

An old brothel in town.  The Madam had quite a story.  You can hear all about it in the train ride.  They had a parade for her funeral.   It was quite the fanfare.  

These are examples of the man made corporation gold digging mountains…

Catch Me Outside, How Bout Dat?

 Hello,

If you live in Denver and ride a bike (which is pretty much all of us), I’m sure you’ve enjoyed the rides on the Ralston Creek Trail.  This trail, 13.9 miles point to point, goes from Denver all the way west towards the mountains where you can catch a lovely sunset ride.  It takes 4.5 hours to complete!

I’ve biked this trail with other mountain bikers and with one road biker.  The trail offered dirt trails for me and paved roads for my boyfriend where we met up for some snacks and drinks at Colorado Tap House!

My only criticism is that the trails could use more signage.  There are several detours now due to construction, so be sure to have your phone charged for the GPS backup!

My favorite part is the water park where you can park your bike and run through a sprinkler water park to cool off.  Also there is a guy by the frisbee golf course selling hotdogs and hamburgers almost daily. 

Below are some of the delicious food truck snacks I’ve tried on my rides!  My fave was a refreshing watermelon tomato salad with pistaccios, cotija cheese and basil!🌿 

I want to leave you with a cover I just heard of my favorite Stones tune.  It pretty much sums me up in one sentence - Don’t Play With Me Because You’re Playing With Fire 🔥 

https://youtu.be/IGEmz29yFEI?si=x1-E7iIv2pLWy7g1

Kimmie

My fave is the wine slushy swirl…

You’re sure to find something to wet your whistle…

This is their bar menu, but they have lots of food truck options outside…

Colorado Tap House, right off the Ralston Creek Trail…

Fish tacos…

Relaxing from the balcony…

Gorgeous view of Arvada water tower and mountains…