Working at Fort Lewis College

I started my new job about two weeks ago and tomorrow is the first day of classes. I've been very impressed with Fort Lewis College since I arrived. Everything from the philosophy, the way they treat faculty and staff, the openness and camaraderie between staff, faculty, students, etc. Their vision is to be the best liberal arts school west of the Mississippi and I think they are well on their way. I am glad to be here!

Fort Lewis College sits at the top of a hill above town. Vehicle access to the hill is only from one side. I live at the base of the other side and can walk to work by going up a trail. There is a small little rope tow ski area called Chapman Hill near were the trail is.

Chapman Hill

This photo was taken at the top of Chapman Hill from the edge of campus. I circled the area where my house is. The trail I take goes off the right side of the photo and weaves down. It's a good way to help me get in shape, especially in the mornings hiking up.

View from campus

Another view from campus

Both these two photos I took on my way home from work one day last week. It's a great way to end the day to walk home and see this. The walk is about 15-20 minutes.

View from Hog's Back hike

Yesterday, I went hiking with a new friend Sheryl, another FLC Adventure Education Instructor. We did a town hike, as it's called, since it starts right in town. We climbed up Hog's Back Mountain. It was super cool.

View of Fort Lewis College and Durango taken from Hog's Back Mt.

Sheryl walking/running down Hog's Back

The mountain was pretty steep at the very top and covered in a scree/gravel. Sheryl thought it was easier to just run down, but I'm not quite that sure-footed yet.

We ended the day with a stop at Homeslice Pizza which was very yummy. Classes start tomorrow and next Saturday we do our first 4-day trip with students. Until then...happy trails!

Durango & Silverton Train

Last Saturday Julie and I decided to be real touristy and ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Train. Naturally, it goes from Durango to Silverton along the beautiful Animas River, which is about a 3.5 hour trip each way. Fortunatly, a friend told us not to bother going all the way to Silverton so we were let off in the Weminuche Wilderness at Elk Park, about 15 minutes before Silverton. We hiked for a couple hours then flagged the train down as it came back.

At the Station

We opted for an open car so we could take better photos. The train was built in 1880's and was used to transport gold and silver from the San Juan Mountains. The narrow gauge railroad was finished in only 9 months and because of the terrain that was quite a feet. Shortly after it opened they started transporting passengers too, mostly because people were so interested in the incredibly scenery.

Durango Cows

This one is for our Wisconsin friends. Julie took this shot just a few miles north of downtown. The grass color was really that bright - no color editing on this one. There is more grass and greenery here than I expected, especially as you head north or east of Durango. Durango is considered the gateway to the Southwest, so if you go south or west it's more dessert-like.

The shaded left side of the train

We signed up to ride the train the day before so we didn't have much choice in seats. We wanted to sit on the right side, but only left side seats were left. Because you sit on the same side each way and the train turns around in Silverton you get to see the scenery on both sides. However, the right side is better for photo-taking because of where the sun is in the sky in the morning/afternoon. Unfortunately, we were always on the shady side. I was able to sneak over to the other side a bit for photos though.

Coming 'round the mountain

The trip offered amazing views! It was a lot of fun to ooh and aaah over the scenery.

Moon over mountains (see the little white spec)

San Juan Mountains

One of the great views from our hike in Elk Park.

Goodbye train!

Here's Julie as the train pulled away. It was a little eerie to be left in the middle of nowhere by ourselves, but it was also neat that way.

Julie hiking in Elk Park

Me hiking in Elk Park

The sun is very intense up here. I was wearing long pants, long sleeves, and a bandanna under my hat to cover my neck and ears and of course, sunscreen.

Beautiful Colorado!

Julie sitting at Elk Creek

We made the hike pretty leisurely since we didn't want to get too far in and risk missing hte train (wow, that would have been a bummer!). We ate lunch here at Elk Creek. I love this photos of Julie, it might have to go in my office.

Walking the tracks to the trail

The train stop

This was taken as we hiked back to the tracks. The golden yellow comes from a plant that actually looks a bit like corn. The leaves were turning yellow brown and created this golden field.

Playing in the Animas River

As we waited for the train we played in the Animas River. The water was so cold (about 35 degrees F) it took your breath away, even just sticking your feet in. Well, at least that was my experience, but then again I am a Floridian.

The L.L. Bean pose

Julie was taking photos and made me do an L.L. Bean pose. Of course, I was making fun of her for that, but then the photo actually turned out pretty good. What do I know!

Engine 481

The train slowing down to pick us up at Elk Park. To flag down the train you have to wave your hands across your knees. That way they don't think you're just waving to say hi.

Train smoke along the Animas

The train uses 6 tons of coal a day and we got a good portion of it on us. At the end of the day our clothes and belongings were all covered in a layer of soot. When we blew our nose it came out black! I don't know how those guys that work on the train can do it.

The Animas River

I really want to raft this in the spring. It's so beautiful. A friend of mine who lives here kayaked it this year and said it's really fast with non-stop rapids. Makes for a tiring day, especially in a kayak!

Julie leaning out

There were spots were you had to be careful about leaning out. A couple times the train was only a few inches from a rock wall. One of the train guys told us that about a month ago someone was leaning out with a long telescope camera lens and he didn't see a wall coming up. The camera hit the wall and the big lens was smashed to pieces.

Just north of Durango

Riding the train made for a great day, but a long one too. We left around 8am and got back about 6pm. It's one of those things you should do at least once in Durango. I am so glad for the opportunity to live here. It's awesome!

Arriving in Durango and Four Mile Trail

Julie and I left Madison on August 16 for a long, 1300 mile drive to Durango, CO. We left a little later than we hoped which meant we arrived in Durango around 10:30pm on Sunday the 17th. The good part of the late arrival was that we got to see this super cool rainbow, somewhere east of Wolf Creek Pass.

Colorado rainbow

Colorado is like Florida in that it often rains while being sunny, which leads to rainbows and other neat things.

I had faculty orientation starting Monday at 8:30am. That was a little tough, to get up so early after the long two-day drive, but it was ok.

Later in the week Julie and I drove over to Pagosa Springs and hiked the Four Mile Trail which had this beautiful 300 foot waterfall along it. The guidebook clearly explained the waterfall, but I didn't read the three numbers "300" in front of it so I was thinking a little 25 foot cascade or something. What a treat when we stumbled upon this!

Lower Falls on Four Mile Trail

A close-up shot

The rocks at the base of the falls were this turquoisy-blue color. I think it's some sort of algae. It made the falls even more gorgeous. We played around at the base for a while taking photos and being awed.

Turquoisy rocks

Humongous dandelion-like flower (about 4" in diameter)

grasshoppers were jumping everywhere

Julie took this photo along the trail. I liked the angle. It's one of my favorites of hers.

Four Mile Trail by Julie

During the hike we were definitely feeling out of shape! It was about 6.5 miles round trip and took us about 4.5 hours. There are some good hills out here! They sure make for some gorgeous scenery.

The next day we did the tourist thing and took the Durango-Silverton train. Check out the next post for more.

Movin' out west

That's right, I am picking up my boots and heading out west - to Durango, CO that is. I am very excited to be starting a new job in mid-August as an Adventure Education Faculty member at Fort Lewis College. I get to work with some wonderful folks, including a good friend Lee Frazer. I think the position will be a great fit for me and I certainly hope I do a good job teaching for them.

I interviewed for the position back in April and here are a few photos from my trip.

downtown Durango

downtown Durango

just outside of Durango - taken from my car while I was traveling around

the view from Fort Lewis campus just before a storm

I get summers off in my new position so it is likely that I'll be back in Madison next summer. Hopefully, I will do some art fairs around Madison.

Friends - come out and visit! yee-haw!