bkibu

With the memories already a month old I figured I should get an entry about our Telluride to Moab bike adventure, not that I will soon forget. It was an awesome trip with incredible views, challenging miles, and fun times with great friends.

We began our trip at the Casa de Kiburz in Westminster We tried to get 8 people's stuff, bikes, a week of food and bodies into two 4Runners. The evening before, as I began packing the food, I was concerned that we weren't going to pull it off and started thinking about what we didn't need to bring. Out went the table, some of the extra food. But in the end with Derek's excellent packing skills (ask him about the diagram), it all fit in and we were on our way to Telluride.
The eight of us included Derek, Jill, Max, Mary, Mika, Todd, Kris and I

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We spent the first night camping at Ridgeway State park. It is a nice campground with running water, but we felt out of place with our tents and lack of Satellite dish.

The next morning we rose to wonderful blue sky and drove to the Telluride Airport to begin our ascent on the first day. See a map of our route here. It was a grind, but we all made it up to be able to take in the breath taking view of the first camp. (and not only because it was at 10700 feet)


The next day was a long 60 mile day with a fair amount of climbing. Our route would take us out of the high mountains, through rolling pastures filled with sheep, cows, and collapsing old farm houses and barns. Beautiful San Juans!
Our camp that second night of riding was Columbine Campground that previous times had a water pump at it. We arrived to find a complete lack of water, so Kris and I drove to the small town of Nucla to find water for the day.


The next day was no easier, but shorter than yesterday. We arrived at the Divide Forks camp to realize that the spring that used to be there had been capped off as well. Todd drove the the ranger work station to refill our water jugs. The cows serenaded us to sleep from the pasture nearby.

Our next day involved the first real single track of the trip and included a 4000 foot decent into the head of Gateway, Colorado where a resort awaited us with showers and pools. We awoke relatively early to begin the descent knowing it would take us a while. What we didn't know is we would have another traveler in our party. Shortly before leaving a fellow camper came up to us at camp with a dog asking if he was our dog. We said he wasn't, but he rode off and the dog stuck around. We packed up and headed out hoping to shake him from us, but to no avail. Crank as he became known was an incredibly sweet tempered pit mix that refused to give up. He followed us most of the way down the hill, doggedly keeping up. In the end, the heat was too much for him, and we had to drive one of the 4runners up to pick him up a few miles from Gateway. We called the animal Control for mesa County (Grand Junction) and they came down and with loving care picked him up. We will all have fond memories of crank and are sure that he will find a good home.

We were able to enjoy some of the Gateway Canyon's resort that evening and the opportunity to grab a soda. Oh, and the view wasn't bad either even if it was hot.
We rose early the next morning to beat the heat as we headed up John Brown Canyon and onto the plateau to the west, to edge around the north side of the LaSal Mountains and into Moab.
After 30+ miles of climbing and rolling hills, we descended to the colorado river and the overwhelming heat of Moab. (100+) A few of us decided to try to ride the last 18 miles into Moab on the River road. Two made it, and at a cost that we would feel for a while. 100 degree heat is not to be taken lightly!
We finished up the trip with an extra day in Moab riding up at 10,000 feet in the la sal mountains on the south side. An experience we don't normally get to do as we are there to early in the spring or late in the fall.
It was an excellent trip and one that I personally will never forget. Thanks to everyone for making it so special!

The last two weeks away from work have been restful and strenuous at the same time. It began with the Kiburz Family Reunion in Winter Park, Colorado. Kris and I went up early and managed to finally summit Byers Peak. It is a beautiful hike and well worth doing again. The weather held and we returned to the vehicle with nothing but pictures, and a few sore feet.

It was great to see everyone at the reunion, and we missed those of you that were not able to make it. The reunion cabins were perfect places to be able to catch up and learn all that has been going on in everyone’s life since the last time we talked. It was great to meet those of you that I hadn’t met before and I hope that we can continue the dialogues and ideas that were spawned at the reunion. Thanks to all that made it so memorable with all of your hard work and ideas.

The second week was dedicated to The Telluride to Moab bike trip with family and friends. More about that in a later post.

This blogging thing is hard, or rather remembering to do so. It seems like time goes by way too fast. I am trying to make this a travel blog by putting trip reports up, but I can’t seem to make it in any timely fashion. Thanks for sticking with me and reading the blog. I will do better! (Can a resolution be made in June?)
For Christmas, the family trip was to Hawaii and another cruise! I felt doubly blessed, not only was I returning to Hawaii for a second time in my life, I was also taking a cruise for the second time in my life. We flew straight to Oahu from Denver. It was awesome to not have any layovers.

After spending a wonderful few days in Oahu in a rented house with the immediate family we boarded the Pride of Hawaii on December 24th. We spent the next 7 days traveling the islands, stopping at Hilo, Kona, Maui(Kahului), Kauai and back to Oahu.
The highlight of the whole trip would have to be our Ocean Kayak and Snorkel with the immediate family. While kayaking out to our destination we saw a pod of spinner dolphins. Kris dove right in and tried to swim over to them, but they were much too maneuverable. Still it was an incredible experience. We then proceeded to go to the "end of the world" cliff jump. After We jumped off, we went to our snorkel spot to view the underwater realm. We rescued another member in our groups stuff off the bottom of the ocean. On the way back the guide was talking to Kris and asked if she wanted a job. Kris laughed, and the guide said, no seriously, we are looking for another guide and you would be great! It was a great highlight to a great day. Kona would have to be our favorite town!
The whole trip was great and I feel blessed to be able to do it. Thanks Grandma for another wonderful trip!

How is it already December!? I have been remiss in posting blogs. We have been busy as usual, having fun. In August we went to Banff, Canada with Jason and Kim, and Derek and Jill, as an anniversary trip. We have a timeshare that is in the area, making for relatively cheap lodging.

Our days included hiking, biking, canoing, and sightseeing around beautiful Banff National Park. Mt. Lady McDonald peak was a challenge on our first full day in the country, climbing 1.5km in almost as much distance. The top had a partially finished old teahouse that was fun to climb around on. The trip down was less enjoyable, as it was steep! We spent the next day recovering including a hot spring trip and a tour around the town of Banff. We spent some time one day on a trip to and the ink pots beyond them, a natural spring, that precipitates minerals of different colors, leading to beautiful hues of blue and green. The waterfalls were not bad either! :)
We spent a good day exploring the Lake Louise area. It is incredible that water can have that blue hue from the glacial flour, even miles away. A great hike beyond lake Louise up to the teahouse, gave us a great view of the area as well as Inukshuk . One day Derek, Jill, Kris and I rented bikes from a local shop, and after a few major fixes on all of them, we able to get a few good trails in around Canmore where we were staying. It was different having to ride while singing or talking to make sure the “dangerous” wildlife aware of us before we came upon them.
We spent our last evening on the Bow River, canoing while it sprinkled and watching a beautiful Sunset.
Our last stop was to the Calgary Olympic park, a current training area and home of the 1988 Olympic games.
It was a great trip with some very special people. Thanks to everyone for a fun time!


As Always, more pictures can be found at http://trips.kiburz.com

The Garden is full! It amazes me that something as little as a seed can grow to be a large plant and produce vegies. A side by side comparison of June 2nd and August 4th show the difference.



We have been enjoying most of our vegies. The Lettuce, Carrots, Green beans have been going strong for a while. We have had a few Peppers and Tomatoes and many, many more are on the way. We had a purple pepper the other day.


The peppers were from a carnival pack that is supposed to include other colors. We have only seen purple and green. The tomatoes have taken over! They have yet to produce much ripe fruit, but would be 7' high if support was there. There are tons of green tomatoes, so someday we will have tomatoes, hopefully.
Our Broccoli is going to be big! They are just starting to get crowns, I imagine it will be a few weeks before we can expect some.



We have started to harvest some of our herbs as well. Kris froze them to use later, and it appears to work well!


I hope all is well in your neck of the woods, and you are enjoying the dog days of summer.

Last weekend (July 7-8) we spent more time on a bike than anything else, including sleep! The 2007 edition of the MS150. It was as always a challenge! This year the route started at the Broomfield Events Center, and traveled to CSU and Ft. Collins for an overnight stay before heading back the next day. We challenged ourselves by choosing the century route. It is very satisfying to have traveled all that way entirely under your own power. Hunter Douglas hosted a team this year, so there were 15 of us riding, though we all rode at our own speed.
It was wild to see the "Fort" and CSU again after almost 10 years. It felt like it was from another lifetime, surreal almost.

I managed to ride the century both days. It was tough, but worth it.
Thanks for reading,
- Barton

As always, pictures can be found at http://trips.kiburz.com

It is raining here again, everything is green! At times I feel like we are in a different state. The benefit is all the plants are green, including our new endeavor, our garden. We have spent the last few months preparing, planning and finally, growing our garden.
We have rabbit proofed the area. Kris found information on the web that is supposed to prevent against intrusions. A 3' wire mesh fence, 2' above and a foot below.
Hopefully we will have Green peppers, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Lettuce, Green beans, and carrots. Time will tell. Right now things are growing! It is fun to see them grow.
We have also put in a compost system, allowing us to use leaves, grass, and scraps to have good compost. Kris came in ecstatic tonight, because even in the cool rainy evening, our compost has heat, a sign that it is working!
We also have planted a few trees. One evergreen Arborvitae to replace one that didn't survive, and an autumn purple ash for our west side, hopefully to shade the AC and house someday.

Hopefully things are growing in your neck of the woods!

I spent the last week in March taking the Scouts on a trip to Paria Canyon near Page, AZ. Paria Canyon is a legendary trip in the Troop, but alas, I have never been. For those that don't know, it is a multi day canyon backpack trip. ~40 miles following the Paria River through some intense walls of Entrada Sandstone, among others. We spent a day and a half driving there, watching the scenery become more and more surreal. In the middle of nowhere, we suddenly come upon Page, Az. A bustling metropolis built up because of the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam.

We checked in with the ranger station before entering the canyon, to check weather, get wag bags, and check on the status of the canyon. Unfortunately the weather forcast didn't look good. A serious cold front was coming through, and after deliberation, the Crews decided that safe was better than sorry, as we were going to be walking through knee deep water that was already cold every day on the trail.
The crew decided that the newbies, should get to experience at least a little bit of the canyon and backpack in a day, and then day pack the the confluence, downriver 8 miles. Our crew quickly grabbed a few of our meals, repacked our packs for one night instead of 5, and headed downriver. It is an awesome experience to be walking down the middle of a river with boots on, and watching the canyon walls start to grow around you.

We were able to get to the confluence the next day, and see what some say is the most spectacular part of the canyon.

We hiked to the confluence, leaving our camp intact, and then back to camp, pack up and back to the White House trailhead we had left just a day before.
Our decision to bag the canyon turned out to be a good decision, the next few days were windy, cold and rainy at times. The group decided that we could head up towards some other areas of Utah that might have better weather conditions. After touring the dam, seeing the Toadstool rocks, we headed up to Kodachrome State Park hoping for better weather and the numerous smaller slot canyons in the area.
Kodachrome, it turned out is higher than Paria, and was experiencing the same storm, except it was snow! It was a cool evening, but all the Scouts did great. We awoke to an inch or two of snow on the tents!
After exploring the area for a day with its spires of grey and red clay/mudstone, (hence the name Kodachrome, named after a Kodak slide film that took great red saturated pictures.), and a few great slot canyons, We drove up to Escalante Utah to the visitors center to see what options were available to us given the cooler, wetter weather. We found that many of the usual slot canyons in the area were chest deep in cold water, not something we wanted to pursue. We spent the day requisitioning supplies, and an excellent drive and Hike through the Escalante area, camping at a campground past Boulder, Utah.
The next day we awoke to frost on our sleeping bags, but a clear sky and hope for a beautiful day. The plan today was to drive to Green river Utah, to get showers, and prepare for our journey home. We drove across the waterpocket fold, a beautiful Monocline in Capital Reef National Park. Definitely an area that deserves more exploration.
Green river, brought us to the reality of Civilization, some good and some not. Showers: good, RV's with generators: not good, Dinner at a restaurant: good.
The next morning we woke early to be able to spend a few hours at Glenwood Hot springs on the way home, arriving in Boulder mid afternoon. A great trip with a great bunch of Scouts. An area I have high on my list to visit again.

More pictures at http://trips.kiburz.com

I am starting the foray into blogging.  I am not quite sure how I am going to use this.  Maybe to post trip reports, photo links, and other happenings.  I really have enjoyed the other blogs of friends and family that I have been following, and am trying to decide if this format will work for me.  Comments and suggestions welcome.