Updating the home network

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Freejack

While out running around Sunday (after Christmas sales), I picked up a replacement wireless router. An Apple Express which is 11n capable. We have an Apple Extreme right now that’s been on its way out for the past year having to be unplugged and plugged back in to reset it. We also stopped at Ultimate Electronics, which doesn’t carry network cards. A stop at Best Buy and check of the ‘net found me purchasing a couple of Dynex PCIGB gigabit network cards for the new linux system.

The current linux based firewall is Mandrake Linux (very old) running on a Pentium III 600B with 750 megs of RAM and three 100 megabit network cards. I have a pair of 80 gig IDE drives software mirrored for reliability.

My next system was available for use and was a bit more powerful. It only had the onboard 100 megabit network “card” though. Good enough for Comcast access. I installed Ubuntu and worked on mirroring the two 300 gig SATA drives. The system is a Pentium 4 2 Ghz with 1.5 gigs of RAM. I installed the two gigabit network cards (after writing down the info from the cards and their slot locations. I configured the firewall on the system, configured the new Apple Express and started moving files from the old firewall to the new system.

I had a couple of issues during the build. The mirroring process doesn’t seem to be all that intuitive. I worked on the command line process and read up on the ‘net to make sure I was doing it right but it still refused to mount on boot. Eventually I broke out the Disk Utility GUI and got it set up correctly. Still though it refused to mount on boot and I had to activate it through the GUI. So it’s up and running right now with the files but if it reboots there are a couple of steps that need to be done to get it working again.

I set the Express up incorrectly the first time so had to go back in. I got it going correctly the second time.

I also chased down an iptables masquerade script to get the firewall up correctly. I ran the system against the Gibson system check and there were no open ports.

So the new system is up. I still need to move some processes over for backing up the remote server and the script to push files out but it’s up and running.

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Woodworking

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Freejack

With the new monitors coming I wanted to make a nice stand for them. Layout is monitor one is in the center, two is above it and upside down, three is portrait on the left and four is portrait on the right. Sort of an open cabinet looking thing. I’d planned it this way and ordered a couple of longer DVI cables.

I had to create a couple of stands for the two portrait monitors immediately as the stands don’t permit rotation. I got them set up without too much trouble using the original stands mounted to the the boards and the mounting hardware attached to the board. It’s leaning back with the monitor tilted forward for balance. Even so it’s a little front heavy.

Next up I designed a cabinet based on the desired layout. One of the problems is that the bottoms of the monitors are pointed. 13 5/8″ at the center and 12 7/8″ at either side. So there’ll be some hand cutting with the jigsaw.

First off I needed to create a base. With the monitors in place on the desk I drew out a base. 44″ wide at the front and 23″ at the back with 3″ between the back and where the monitors will be sitting. The first time through I had the marks for the cuts too far to the left so I repenciled them in a couple of inches to the right. Then when I cut, I cut on the wrong lines.

First piece of scrapped wood.

Once I got the base lined out correctly and cut, I cut out the base pieces. Several 2×4 cut down and glued into place. That went well taking a couple of cuts to get the end pieces done right. I also found a nice front piece that I set aside.

Next I got the measurements out for the center piece and measured it out. When I got done cutting it, I found I miss measured it too short.

While I couldn’t use it for the back piece, it was big enough for a side piece so I set it aside.

I didn’t have another piece handy so I checked out the stack of plywood in the back of the garage. It was harder to get to but I found another sheet of 1/2″ plywood and pulled it out. I measured out the back correctly and cut it out. I jigsawed the pointy bit at the top and set it behind the base to check out the measurements. Looking good.

I took the left piece, measured it out and cut it. There was an off angle I needed to cut which turned out to be 28*. It fit against the back board correctly so I cut out a second piece for the right side. I measured out the pointy bit for the left side and put it up to check it out. The more I looked at it, the more I thought the back board, which would be holding two monitors, wasn’t going to be right as a straight cut and decided to cut a new piece.

Another piece of scrap.

I cut a second piece and recut the left and right pieces with a 14* angle. The center piece was cut with a 14* angle on either side which worked out well. The angle pieces would provide additional support for the board. I would be putting a board under the front pieces as well (some 3/4″ oak plywood) for support but it’d be nice if there wasn’t so much weight on the front. I measured out the pointy bit from the bottom and again miss measured and cut the sides too deep.

Another piece of scrap.

Ok, time to stop for the night.

I still needed a stand for the top monitor as it’s arriving Tuesday so with some scrap I whipped up a stand. Some quick jigsawing and of course it’s too short. As it’s a temporary stand I simply glued and screwed a piece on the top which worked out. I moved the left monitor to the top (upside down) and got it in place without too much trouble. It was a tiny bit too short but it worked.

I’ll continue working on the official cabinet this week.

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Track Day Planning

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Freejack

Here are the minimum requirements:

Bike

  1. Coolant drained and replaced with water
  2. Mirrors removed
  3. Lights unplugged and taped over
  4. Good tires
  5. Good brake pads

You:

  1. 1 Piece suit or 2 piece suit that zips together all the way around. Must be all leather (no textiles allowed)
  2. Gloves that extend past the wrist
  3. Boots that cover the ankles
  4. Full face helmet (flip up’s are not acceptable)
  5. Back protector
  6. Have taken an approved track riding course in the last 3 years (and are able to prove it with some kind of certificate)
  7. The right attitude – it’s a fun track day, not a race. There are no points on the line here.
  8. Emergency contact information placed in an obvious location (hope you don’t need it!)

Suggested:

  1. A cooler full of water
  2. snacks
  3. something to provide shade
  4. sunscreen
  5. a chair to sit in when you aren’t on the track
  6. tire pressure gauge

a basic set of tools to work on your bike (hope you don’t need them!)

  1. Metric open end and socket wrenches
  2. Allen wrenches
  3. screwdrivers
  4. pliers in various sizes
  5. duct tape
  6. safety wire (and pliers)
  7. tubing for bleeding brakes
  8. any unique tools required for my bike (axle wrench, chain tension adjuster etc)
  9. tire pressure gauge
  10. extra oil
  11. extra brake fluid
  12. zip ties
  13. stands for both ends of the bike
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Harley-Davidson For Sale

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Freejack

2002 Softail FXSTI

  • 36,800 miles
  • Removable HD Shorty Windshield
  • Stage 1 Kit with Screaming Eagle II slip-ons
  • NessTech 3″ Forward Control extenders
  • HD Heel Rests and Airfoil Footpegs
  • Corbin Tour Saddle with Chrome V-Rail, Small Ovalbac and Large Ovalbac Backrests
  • New Rear tire, recent service
  • Service Manual
  • Oil Filter Wrench
  • Transferable Extended Warranty, ends in May 2006

Additional available items:

  • Corbin Solo Saddle
  • Stock HD Saddle
  • Tour Master Saddle Bags and Pack
  • Motorcycle Cover
  • California Frendship I Sidecar (never attached)

Original owner.

This is not a show bike and has been ridden around the country. Don’t expect lots of chrome, immaculate paint or other accessories found on show bikes. This bike was bought for riding. The accessories were purchased for riding comfort and the ability to easily transform from a touring bike to a cruising bike. All the bugs have been worked out and it’s been a comfortable ride with few problems for all these miles.

I’m selling it because my wife’s back won’t let her tour with me any more. I’m moving to a more touring specific motorcycle to accommodate her back.

I’d prefer to sell everything as a single package but anything not needed will be sold locally or e-bay’d.





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Guitar Lessons II

Posted on December 25, 2010 by Freejack

Thursday I attended my second Guitar lesson. Like the first time I was a bit nervous but also knew what to expect. I picked up a set of new strings for my acoustic Fender and checked out a couple of play books. One of the requirements was to select three songs to be learned. It took some thought but while listening to tunes last week I came upon Jane by Barenaked Ladies. Then while searching the ‘net, I spotted a recommendation for Take Me Home Country Roads by John Denver as an easy song to learn. The third one I selected was El Paso by Marty Robbins. A nice selection of tunes, eh?

The lesson went quick of course. He had me go over the things I was to practice in the past week. Chord changes and the practice scales. The Blues one he wanted me to practice went well too although I’d missed that he wanted me to practice with all four fingers vs jumping with my index up and down the frets.

Next he showed me some tips on improv tunings which is one of my interests. Just being able to jump in and throw some notes down. Zack showed that improv, at least the beginnings were just a few notes repeated and some scales. He had a couple of CDs from Guitar Center for me; Guitarmagedden and Guitarmageddon – King of the Blues. As he played some select tracks from the CD, I could see what he meant. Even the practice one I’d been doing sounded better when there was backing tracks to follow.

I did the Blues practice and again was complimented. He said that there are two types of adults that come in to learn. One that has a hard time keeping a beat and the second where it seems like second nature. The second type would have less trouble with the lessons and would have more fun playing in the future. He said I was the second type.

Now it sounded sincere in part because while I was playing the Blues practice the first time with the backing tracks, it took a second and I was playing along with the track. So while the cynical side of me says that one of his purposes for compliments is to get me to come back, the human side preens at the compliments 🙂 If nothing else, I’m certainly practicing a lot.

On the way out I snagged the BNL and John Denver play books. I checked out the picks but didn’t get any. I have a bag of them somewhere at home.

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New Monitors!

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Freejack

Got some new hardware for my computer. Tiger Direct has (perhaps had as of now 🙂 ) a sale on 23″ Acer widescreen LCD monitors. I’d already mentioned to Rita that I wanted to pick up a couple of Dell UltraSharp 23″ monitors, then rotate them 90* for better viewing (a 20″ x 20″ monitor essentially) but these were such a great deal that I checked them out further.

There were reviews on NewEgg.com and TigerDirect that said these were nice and quick for gaming purposes (I play StarCraft II as well as a few others) so that’s a plus. Windows 7 lets me rotate monitors so I’m happy with that as well. A couple of other observations were a stuck pixel on some monitors as well as shipping was the original box and not repackaged in a more appropriate shipping container.

I checked with Rita and found she was in fact looking at getting the two Dell’s for Christmas. I told her to hold off, that I’d found a better, more appropriate monitor and went ahead and ordered them and ordered for second day delivery as well (it was $25 more for everything).

So here’s the current setup. That’s my old Sony E500 22″ CRT. It’s big and heavy and likely drawing too much power anyway. I picked up a couple of 17″ Acer LCDs a couple of years ago. At $100 each, it wasn’t a big deal really.

Here’s the new setup. Much better 🙂

I’ve shifted things just a tad from this pic as I get the screens oriented appropriately. These were in just a bit too much.

I replaced the other 22″ CRT I had on the internet gateway we’re using with one of the 17″ panels and put the other one behind my work laptop so I’d have more screen real-estate when working. I have four systems at work with 5 monitors (including the laptop screens) so I like lots of screen real estate.

I’ll be posting the three CRTs I have (yes I have one more for a total of three 22″ CRTs) on Freecycle (for the two that barely work) and Craigslist for my Sony which works just fine.

Next up, I’ll be creating stands so I can rotate the left and right monitor 90*. I’ll update here when done.

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The week in practice

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Freejack

I spent the first week after the guitar lesson practicing. An hour on Friday and Saturday, 30 minutes on Sunday and Monday, 45 minutes on Tuesday, an hour on Wednesday, and 20 minutes prior to Thursday’s lesson.

Fingers were sore the first couple of days but that’s to be expected.

As I progressed, it seems like I got better. I did my practicing of the basic stuff without looking and always standing. The scales weren’t too hard. The alternating picking (EDAGDBGE then back EGBDGADE) was easier going down the strings than going up. Chords were also pretty easy.

One of the reasons for the lessons is the same reason you might go to class. Anyone can read a book and learn from it as well. That’s pretty much how I learn how to do computer stuff. Teachers give you perspective as well as tips and thoughts on how to better do a task for you.

So Chords for instance. While I can learn Am, Em, C, D, and G, I wouldn’t necessarily know that these are the ones I should start with. And I wouldn’t necessarily catch on that there are pivots that help with transition between the chords. Am to Em is lift the index finger and shift the next to one string higher. G to D leaves your ring finger on the B string and shifts your index and middle from EA to DE and lift your pinkie. Am to C is just shift your ring finger down a fret.

It sounds complicated but it isn’t once you start doing it.

So I was ready for my lesson.

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Learning New Stuff

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Freejack

Back in 1998 or so, around when Santana’s Supernatural came out, I got the bug to pick up a guitar. I’d been air guitaring just like everyone else of course but it felt like I was going through the motions accurately. Air plucking, strumming, and really miming as if I were playing. Back when I was a kid, I played Dad’s trumpet (I wonder where that is) and made it to First Chair in the band.

I stopped in at the local used music center (Apple in Fredericksburg I believe) and checked out the offerings. The guy suggested a used Telecaster and practice amp (another Fender). I snagged a few more items; a cable, a handful of picks, and a book of tunes.

Over the years, I’ve picked up a few items. A hard case. A couple of tuners. A metronome. Another cable. A wah-wah pedal. A stand. More books of course. And even a few self learning type books. Even Guitar for Dummies (I’m absolutely not a fan of the Dummies books on general principle; I even used a NASA poster to create a book cover for it). I’ve even checked out on line for guitar tabs and screwed around with simple playing.

It’s time to fish or cut bait. Rita’s come back with, “either play or sell”. Rita’s very minimalistic. I’m not 🙂

So I stopped in at the local Guitar Center and signed up for lessons. Specifically I was looking for direction. Rather than finding a tune I like (I like a lot of different things), why not talk to a professional and get some direction. Say I don’t have limber enough hands to play certain chords. Rather than try, be frustrated and bail, why not get that right away?

Zack called me earlier this week to provide the ground rules. He wanted an idea of where I’m coming from so he can craft an appropriate plan around his standard lessons. Tune it to my tastes. He asked for which songs I wanted to learn which I had no idea of due to what I was going for but finally told him more 70’s type guitar such as Boston. I said I like lots of different music but I don’t think Stevie Ray Vaughn or Carlos Santana will be too worried about me 🙂

So last night, very much nervous but toting my guitar and a bag of my books, I headed off to my first lesson. I got there early just in case, put my gear down and wandered around the store. It was pretty amusing to find that everyone else getting lessons are kids. The oldest was probably 14 or 15. Man, I feel old.

Zack came out a few minutes after 6:30 apologizing. First off, the rooms are small so the case stays out. I took the tele out and handed it to him whereupon he complemented me on having a real guitar. He commented that there are lots of knock-offs out so I felt good about having a decent guitar.

We didn’t do much playing which I didn’t really expect. He tuned the guitar first off which you should do before playing anyway; cold, warmth, carrying in a case can all modify the string tension so tune before playing.

He started off listing the four things he was going to be focusing on. How to play, alternate picking. Going up and down vs just down. The list of exercises he wanted me to practice listed on a different sheet. Something else (I’ll update this later). And a list of concepts that I should think about so he can plan the direction of the lessons. Reading Music (learning to read), Improvisation/Jams, Theory, Fingerpicking, and Composition.

As we went through the 30 minutes, he pretty much talked non-stop. He showed me what I needed to do on his guitar. Memorize the string position with my right hand so I can go up and down the six strings without looking and even holding a conversation. Next were chords. First he wanted me to play 2 or 3 chords I knew. While I’d done some strumming before I came to the lesson, I didn’t have anything memorized. He said that he found he was trying to teach chords to folks only to discover they already knew so he does this now to find out what is already known. He then listed out 5 or 6 of the chords he wanted me to practice on.

We went through each of them to show how to pivot from position to position. Rather than picking up the left fingers, you can shift from one chord to the next by lifting one and shifting one set of strings (for example). He also annotated the G and A minor chord I had on my paper with an additional fingering (something new, he said).

At one point he wanted me to try one of the chords and prefaced it with “don’t worry if you can’t get it now, it’s not an easy one to get your fingers doing” but as I did get the chord right, he said that he was happy to see I could do it and that not many adults taking their first lesson were able to achieve this. Happy warm feelings 🙂

Some other fun stuff was tuning. He was asking about tuning and I said I had a couple of tuners but I could also tune it from string to string (fifth fret for the top 4, fourth for the 3rd and fifth again for the second). He wanted me to name the notes for each of the strings top to bottom which I wasn’t able to do.

Overall I thought it was pretty good. I think I surprised Zack with some of existing knowledge but also surprised him that I didn’t know the names for some stuff. At the end, he said he’d taught a lot of adults and he could usually tell with the first lesson who would be moving along and who might have problems and he thought I would be one of the better students.

I think he did pretty well with the compliments. I didn’t feel like he was overwhelming me with false praise. Just a few comments and especially the one surprised look at the chord I was able to strum which made me feel his compliments weren’t false (or at least not 100% false).

He provided a blues set of tabs he wanted me to attempt before next class. So I’ll be doing some practice for the next week. Should be lots of fun.

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Low Speed Crash at Work

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Freejack

Bah, I’m a little PO’d at myself.

They use some sort of sealer on the parking lot at work very similar to the tar used to repair cracks. So the parking lot is one big tar snake. I’m generally pretty conservative when riding though. Yesterday the SV650 felt a bit wobbly coming from the aisle onto the access road. Today I decided to take the corner a little wider and *boom* I’m on the ground.

After stopping, I got out from under the bike and got up. I stepped away and removed my helmet, scarf, and Gerbing gloves. As I was doing that, a guy pulled up and asked if I was ok. I said I was fine and we picked the bike up.

We chatted for a few minutes. He has an R1 but only rides at the track, he asked about my Hayabusa and Rita’s bike. He’s been paying attention. We introduced ourselves, him Darrin. He asked me a few times if I was ok. I said I was fine, not even shaking. More pissed than anything.

I started the bike and found the shifter bent back a little so it was difficult to shift. I Inspected the bike more, we discussed the usefulness of frame sliders and my gear of course.

As I started to get ready to head home, he asked me again if I was ok. I thanked him and believe he stuck around chatting just to make sure I didn’t react badly to the accident or have an injury that didn’t immediately show itself which I appreciated even more.

Certainly not a fast crash but I did leave about a fifteen foot frame slide scrape on the pavement. So I wasn’t doing 10mph either.

Gear was my aerostitch which got a little scraped up. In winter I wear a sweatshirt under and my Joe Rocket liner on the outside so it got a little scraped up down the left arm and shoulder.

Boots are a little scraped. Gloves too. And scraped up face shield.

Still, it was a bit colder than yesterday and the SV, even with stickier Metzler M3 SporTec tires (the Hayabusa has the Pirelli Angels), seems to be a bit lighter so slides a bit easier.

I have Ohlens on the rear, perhaps they need to be refreshed? Maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about?

Pictures and commentary:

This is picked up straight and kickstand down. The rear gouge looks to be the rear slider which was bend a little and if you look, there’s a fainter gouge to the left which I think is the shifter as it bent back.

You can see the slide. I just turned to the left to take this pic. I may stop by today on my way south to get another picture of the approach.

My boot took some scraping damage and it also scuffed up the left side cover. If I’d been wearing tennis shoes, I might have damaged my foot.

This is what I was wearing. The left shoulder of the JR jacket got torn up and some scuffing down the left arm.

As you can see here.

Helmet got a little scraped up. Just a few scratches on the shield (which I have several replacements) and a tiny one on the chin bar and just above the shield, perhaps an impact one?

Jacket on the chair so you can see the holes.

Left arm. Nothing too bad. Certainly still wearable.

The shifter. I tried to straighten it out but it broke off. Time for a new one of those. I do have a spare rearset so I can still ride.

And the rear slider.

Damage to the bike is minimal. Shifter is the worst by far. The two frame sliders and the left side bar end were ground down a little.

I think I’ll be looking in to frame sliders for the ‘busa come spring 🙂

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Backpacking and Camping at Rogers Pass

Posted on September 26, 2010 by Freejack

Rita, Anna and I headed up to Rogers Pass Lake and Rogers Pass this past weekend. My camera was in my backpack on the way up so I only got pics from the campsite on.

The hike was 3.8 miles up to the lake and was up hill (in some cases pretty steep and rocky). We left at around 10am and finally got to the lake at about 2pm. At a couple of spots I stopped and transferred some gear from Rita to my pack. I’ve been working out at the gym since January and it certainly showed with this hike. We tried the same hike as a day hike last year about this time and I wasn’t able to make it more than about half way before back and heels forced a return.

Rita resting at our campsite. We came up the opposite side and hiked around the lake to this site.

I brought my two man bike tent for Rita and me. It’s not horribly heavy but still not light.

Anna setting up her tent. That’s her pack on the left.

I hiked up one of the smaller rises just to explore. Anna was also hiking around the lake getting pics.

This is our campsite from the top of the rise.

I was pushing my way through the brush and spotted a feeder lake to Rogers Lake. And that’s a little snow up behind it.

A better pic up the pass.

I hiked around to the other side of the feeder then followed the hill back around to our campsite.

This is looking up the mountain at the rocks that had been broken off over the years.

And looking back down to Rogers Lake and our campsite.


Anna brought a fly fishing rod out and wanted to give it a try.

Rogers Pass was behind us up a 1.2 mile very steep hike.

I spotted a couple of guys coming down from the pass. You can just see them above the green bit.

Once the sun dropped behind the pass, it got darker of course but it also got cold pretty quickly. We hung out chatting and trying to stay warm until finally giving up at 7:30 or 8pm and hitting the tent. While the site looked flat, we found out during the night that without a sleeping pad, every little hill and bump was uncomfortable.

I spent the night rolling over trying to find a comfortable spot. Eventually when the sun started rising I found myself curled up in a ball at the bottom of the tent. It wasn’t perfect but it was better than laying on a bump.

We got up and decided we were going to head up to Rogers Pass to check out the Continental Divide. We left our gear behind and went up with just cameras and water.

Rita up and moving. I put the cover on the tent Saturday night to keep the heat in. It worked pretty well but the wind kept moving it about and waking me up. That’s Anna’s tent to the left.

Anna’s up and getting ready to head up. Rita and I left then Anna a bit later. You can just see the sun hitting the peak there.

The sun was rising fast. This is about when we started heading up.

Looking down on the lake from higher up. This is the first climb up to a flatter place.

Coming up the rise I can see Heart Lake.

Looking down to Rogers Pass Lake. That’s Rita coming up the trail.

More Rita. This a couple of switchbacks up. I can see Rita and she’s not far but she still has to come up two switchbacks to get to where I am.

Looking down on Rogers Pass Lake and our campsite.

Heart Lake. Looking at the trail heading to the lake, Anna is right at the edge of the green area on the left on the trail. Pretty tiny from up here.

That’s where our cars are way down the pass there (the little white bits).

Finally at the top. This is the Rogers Pass sign, Elevation 11,680 feet.

Another look back at the cars and Moffet Tunnel.

Looks like the remnants of a shelter of some sort.

Continental Divide posts and way off just a bit to the left is the Winter Park ski resort and Winter Park to the right of the post.

I wandered around a bit and then came back to get Rita.

She’s just making it up the last stretch.

She wasn’t sure she was going to make it.

Looking off to the right and I see a couple of mountain goats. One is laying down, the other one is grazing.

Rita wanted a Continental Divide pic of course. 🙂

And one of me. The sun’s pretty bright I must say.

It’s Winter Park! I didn’t think so at the time but Rita confirmed it when we got home.

Looking down on the snow (recall the earlier pics looking up at the snow 🙂 ).

Following along the Continental Divide trail.

I have to say it was a long fricking way down on this trail. Anna had decided to go get a closer look at the goats and I followed along for a little bit but she scared them off and never got closer than the pics I took.

Anna heading back from her excursion and then we started back down. Rita had already left.

Rita’s way down there at the bottom. See where the trail just touches the edge of the mountain in the pic. The little dot is Rita.

Anna and I headed down at the same time but she was a bit more cautious. You can just see her between the two closer green patches and look a little farther up the mountain. The little red bit.

From here we packed up the site and headed on back down to the car. At the far end of the lake I got a pic of the hike up the mountain and our site.

Rita at the edge of the lake.

And here I am.

And Anna with her gear.

This was the start of our descent back to the parking lot. Pictures are of the hike down and interesting spots. Just before we left, Rita asked if I wanted a caffeine tablet or two. While I don’t drink as much Diet Coke as I used to, I still drink enough to be affected by withdrawal. Initially I said no, I’ll tough it out but I changed my mind before we left and had two of the red pills.

Just below the first lake (there are three in a row that feed each other).

I thought this was a cool looking bole.

Waterfall through the trees. It never looks as good as when you’re standing there looking at it as there’s water running and reflecting light and all. You’re just getting a snap of a moment in time.

Following the ladies down. I started off following but couldn’t stay behind very long. I kept running up on their heels. They were a lot more cautious than I.

One of the bigger rocks off the trail.

Rita and Anna. They put up with so much. I’d hike down hill and then wait periodically and snap their pics as they came into view.

This part of the trail wasn’t as rocky as others but still somewhat steep.

An old building of some sort. Collapsed in on itself.

I think she’s getting tired of all the pictures 😀

See, some of the trail was this rocky and steep.

Almost back to the car. This is the top of Moffet Tunnel. The trains go here to pass through the Rockies. There are gigantic fans to blow smoke out of the tunnel when a train goes through. We were able to hear the fans all the way up to the lake.

Here they come.

Parking Lot ahead and we’re done.

When we got home I was still wired from the “reds”. I zipped over to Home Depot to pick up some wood for my project, then over to Chipotle’s and Five Guys for dinner. I did the laundry and a little work on my project.

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