MurkTravels

The 37th Annual

This past weekend I checked out the Hot Air Balloon Rodeo in Steamboat Springs. Apparently it's a big deal since all the hotels, resorts, and AirBnb rentals were booked the entire weekend. I ended up driving up there and back in the same day. So if interested in checking this (or other mountain town festivals) in the future, be sure to plan ahead and book early.

Well, I got up to the launch field around 6 am. Initially found a ski ramp on a hill for some pictures of the whole grounds. Then I moved around the lake to get pictures of the pilots doing their splash and dash and some sweet reflection images. I was surprised that it took 10-15 minutes to inflate each of those larger balloons, initially with huge industrial fans, and then from the fire/hot air. There was about 30 overall and one or two would launch every couple minutes over the course of an hour. The smallest one had a single pilot sitting in a chair, and not even a big basket.

For this day, they launched the balloons, floated over town a while, landed and collected them, and then launched a second time. I guess throughout the weekend, they have some competitions and do some glow in the dark night launches.

Pictures

See more of these and pictures from all the events that I attend on the Facebook Murk Travels photos page - Events album.

The balloon launch grounds.

The splash and dash into the lake.

The inflate and launch process.

Balloons floating all over town.

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempted at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

Mt Evans overview

I completed the Mt Evans via Mt Spalding loop hike on July 8th, 2018. It was the 6th 14,000+ foot elevation peak I've done since moving to Colorado. This excursion took me about 2 hours for the 5 mile round trip out and back hike that has about 2,000 feet of elevation gain.

The hike started around 5 am, which was in the dark for about 30 minutes. Most of the hike is along a ridge to Mt Spalding, and then just below the ridge that runs to Mt Evans. There is a road that most people take, where you can drive within 100 feet of the top. So a few people were at the top ahead of me. I finished around 7 am.
This is a popular 14er, but most people drive and don't take the hike, which is a shame because of the extra views you get ... and the potential to cross paths with some mountain goats. The trail however is not very well marked on the backside of Mt Evans. You generally scramble over some rocks and make your own path and watch for cairns (rock piles) that generally show you the direction you should be heading. The entire trail loop is above treeline, so it's pretty much rock and small plants. On the way down it's mostly small loose rock to complete a loop, or you can backtrack the long way via Mt Spalding again. The parking lot was packed when I returned.

Recommend:

• Start early to get a spot in the lot and avoid the crowds
• Make sure to have a local map or study the trail ahead of time
• As always, bring water and snacks with you
• Between Spalding and Evans you can get a great view of the Mt Bierstadt 14er peak

Relive video of the hike

link: watch a video and map tour of my hike

Trip Map

Pictures

See this and all the 14er hike pictures on the Facebook Murk Travels photos page - 14ers album.

Summit Lake at sunrise

Mt Evans peak from the trail

Looking toward Mt Bierstadt

Mountain Goats

Panoramic from Mt Spalding

Elevation shot at the peak, looking towards the parking lot where people can take the easy way up and drive

Previous 14er hikes:

• Democrat, Lincoln, Cameron, Bross
• Quandary

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempted at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

Quandary Peak overview

I completed the Quandary Peak hike on July 7th, 2018. It was the 5th 14,000+ foot elevation peak I've done since moving to Colorado. This excursion took me about 3 hours for the 7 mile round trip out and back hike that has about 3,500 feet of elevation gain.

The hike started around 5 am, which was in the dark for about 30 minutes. But it was worth it since I got to the peak and was the only one up there (after passing about 20 people on the way up). I finished around 8 am, and on the way done there was hundreds of people and the parking lots were extremely overflowing with parking along the surrounding roads. This is one of the most popular 14er climbs. The trail is well marked and besides the switchbacks, is generally straight up the ridge of the mountain to the peak. The trail had a mix of some forest, some open flat area, and ended with a rock pile climb, but with a pretty clear path. The views were fantastic up at the top.

Recommend:

• Start early to get a spot in the lot and avoid the crowds
• Can complete it with minimal planning since the trail is well marked
• As always, bring water and snacks with you
• At the peak, look south and see if you can recognize the Bross, Cameron, Lincoln, and Democrat 14er peaks

Relive video of the hike

link: watch a video and map tour of my hike

Trip Map

Pictures

See this and all the 14er hike pictures on the Facebook Murk Travels photos page - 14ers album.

Sunrise on the hike up

The top rocky push to the peak

The summit and elevation shot

A panoramic of the great view

Previous 14er hikes:

• Democrat, Lincoln, Cameron, Bross

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempted at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

Living Small

This is the 2nd year in a row that I've checked out a tiny homes festival. While the one last year was larger and more impressive, there is always great stories to hear about how people can live with an entire house that is often smaller than a couple rooms in most people's homes.

While it was raining part of the day, I got there just after the thunderstorm passed. However, there were still very long lines at some of the larger and expensive models. There was a range of homes from tiny ~65 square ft trailers to shipping containers to yurts.

Pictures

To see more pictures from this event or other events I've attended, check out the folder : MurkTravels Event pictures

The blue wave / ocean theme trailer

Some tiny and unique living options:

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempted at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

Hot

It was so hot and humid when we were there, you couldn't go outside anywhere without getting drowned in sweat. Our favorite ways to pass time were hang out at the beach, hang out at the condo pool, find shade, drink water, and take naps. Which was a great way to end the vacation after all the activity of Bogota and Medellin.

Highly recommend:

• Old town walled city
• Cafe Del Mar for sunset
• Boat ride to an island beach (or Bocagrande beach)
• Fort San Felipe
• Getsemani neighborhood

Trip Map

Pictures

more at : Colombia album

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempted at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

Modern

Known as the City of Eternal Spring. That was true when we were there, with mostly clear skies and an average of 80 during the day.

The city reinvested whatever confiscated money from the drug cartels and used it to modernize the city and help the poorer communities (comunas). This included the cable car systems and modern metro lines. There is also a number of park, plaza, sports and government buildings built from this.

Highly recommend:

• Guatape day trip
• Escobar or Narco tour
• Parque Arvi
• Esadio sports area
• San Antonio neighborhood in city center
• Graffiti tour

Other sites to check out:

• El Poblado neighborhood
• San Javier neighborhood
• Nutibara hill

Trip Map

Pictures

more at : Colombia album

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempted at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

Elevation

Bogota sits around 8,500 of elevation, and we got up over 10,000 feet with some hiking in the surrounding countryside. Lucky I had some experience with that in Denver and the Rocky Mountains.

Highly recommend:

• Bogota Free Walking Tour
• Botero museum
• Monserrate hike
• Chicaque Natural Park

Other sites to check out:

• Gold museum
• Emerald museum
• Graffiti tour
• Coffee / food tour
• Zipaquirá salt church

Trip Map

Pictures

more at : Colombia album

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempted at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen