Springtime Summit Stuff ~ IoT, Movies, Old Folks' Event, On The Blue: New Cutthroats, Pizza, & Spring Corn 23Mar26-26Mar26

Kala & I are up in Summit checking the Nest, attending events, and doing some sporting stuff. I first observed the lack of snow, weird year for sure. Then I added a temp sensor to the new boiler when it went over pressure and we didn't have hot water or heating on arrival. Zooz sensor was integrated with alerts on my SmartThings.

We saw Mercy on the NestMT, decent SciFi actually ~ cautionary tale regarding AI.

We went to a Longevity Project panel guided by the Summit Daily editor. It was packed but we got good seats and chatchkis and met some cool people and panelists. It's a good reminder that aging is Summit is really only for the healthy ~ there are precious few services here for the elderly.

I fished the Blue in town on Wed and caught a number of 14" cutthroats (must've been a stocking session) on the red/black PopTop emerger midge in low afternoon flows, but gorgeous weather. I used the Rodfather True Five today but sure didn't need it for landing. Where are all the big cutbows? It was kindof crowded and while I stopped at the "cop hole," it was occupied so I just left.

Closing the day was a nice stop 'out' at our fav pizza spot, Last Chance, and their taphouse spot, Cove & Craft, in Keystone.

Of course I closed the stop in the Rockies with a ski day at Keystone. So barren, so warm, likely so long for this year as closing day is Apr 5th.

Dark Golf; Last Vestiges Of Color; Loud Alert, Tiny Fish ~ Fall In Summit 28Sep24-05Oct24

I was fortunate to catch a quick nine at Kennedy with MLC, though it was black at the end (we stood in headlights to get the pic) ~ we didn't find balls easily those last couple holes. Still, a blast, and then dining on good Indian food before heading out to Silverthorne.

I have to be in Summit for some wrap up duties on the summer season (sails down, spa repair, etc) but LPC was able to grab Kala after her return flight from Raleigh/Savannah. Yeah, she rode out the hurricane in the southeast. All safe but for a nasty cold. I was pleased to catch the last vestiges of aspen color in the 'hood while here though.

While the next attempt to fully fix the spa did not work, I did get a future appointment to try again. I did complete a keen DAC comparison, and all the returns of "losers," for the Nest Desk (full story HERE). Is it wrong to receive "loud environment" alerts from your watch ~ nah, a guy has gotta complete the "tests." While I'll focus on funk for the October MA, I really enjoyed Sierra Hull's full show at Baygrass, and Sarah Jaroz's new LP, Polaroid Lovers. Golly these Nashville ladies on vocals & mandolin (or variants thereof) are awesome.

Between the "duties" I did get on the Blue north of town (I modded plans after discovering Jurassic Pk is flowing 1100cfs to empty Green Mtn rez), fishing was meh with just some tiny fish, but it was a gorgeous afternoon below Rt 9. I'm just glad more cars didn't fly off the road at me.

I liked them so much that I'm gonna build another pair of NanoOnkens... drivers & parts are in the mail but I have prepared all the 15mm Baltic birch parts needed for the fab... kindof of a "duty."

The end of the sailing season is marked when there's dust on the peaks, the colors are gone, the snow stakes have been set, and the sails are down.

Labor Day Weekend Fun With The Kids & Bro Brown ~ Fish, Sail, Hike, And Concerts 30Aug24-03Sep24

The weather in Summit over Labor Day WE was beautiful and we took advantage of that with a visit from Matt & Eline for several days. The kids arrived Fri for dinner and card games. The drive was a bit brutal from Denver on the busiest car travel day of the year. We kicked off outdoor activities on Sat with brief hike into the Eagles Nest Wilderness on Sat AM. Then we hit the Keystone Oktoberfest for a bit. How is it Eline knew the songs from the oompah band? We also saw CB3 at the side stage; they are a decent local  blues band. Sat night, Eline's sister Valerie joined our group and we has a nice dinner of ribs, corn, and burrata/tomato salad.

On Sunday we each did a little work while the spa repair guys worked to fix a popped line. Our hot tub is in a great spot for soaking and viewing but it's a tight fit to work on it. They repaired the 2.5" line that was popped but I have to wait several days to let the motors dry before really testing the repair. Soon enough they were done and we headed over to Dillon Rez for a sailing outing. After a fun but none too wild sail (wind was pretty light and inconsistent) we stopped at ORB for a beer. We got home in time to change before hitting Bistro North for dinner. We also had a good, but kind of long, game of "Oh Shit" to close the evening... Matt somehow crushed us.

On Monday we saw Bruno & Val off to the Front Range, then had a tasty breakfast at Mtn Lion before heading over to Breck to hike along Spruce Ck up to the Mohawk Lks on Labor Day. Kala did great hiking with an injured knee ~ she rested at lake #4 a smidge while we went up a bit further to get a peak at the top cirques and the Pacific Crest of the 10 Mile Range. We did about 5 miles and 1700 ft of elevation gain. Kaes loved the hike and the water stops. It was a great hike all around and it wasn't as crowded as I'd expected it'd be, but there were folks out with us. Eline was somewhat impressed with the Crusher Too on the 4WD road and saw the need for bit more off-road worthy, 4WD capable SUV: "whoa, I'm doin' Colorado with some Coloradans." On the way home we stopped at Broken Compass for some ColoRADbros and Helter Selzter.

Monday night was a free concert at the Dillon Amp! We picked up bro Brown and saw Shaky Hands String Band first and then Blue River Grass. Both bands were good and the sound was stellar and well-mixed. Kala & I have seen these local bands on other occasions and it was awesome to see them in a bigger venue with great amphitheater sound. Matt & I did enjoy some local Steep IPAs in a can at the show ~ who knew?

Steve & I got out fishing again on Tuesday ~ we went to the Blue River below Green Mtn Rez. Our weather luck continue and we fished all morning in all sunshine. I caught quite a few 14"-18" browns while long line nymphing with Perdigon (mayfly), Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear (drake nymph), and other fall BWO nymphs.

It was a stellar long weekend all around with friends and family... the kids had a nice vacation from work, the boys got to do some fishing, and we got to hang with Eline some more.

More One Weight Fun On The Upper Blue ~ Crowded On Possible Finale To Small Waters Week 17Aug24

Small waters fly fishing continued as I headed to N Breckenridge to fish the upper Blue River there. I parked on the N side of the last bridge north of Breck over the Blue and walked to the river. I "tried" to fish hiking up river from the bridge but I encountered two guides with 2 folks each and several other fishermen. Yikes... this small water had been thrashed and it's not that great to begin with. So, pushed on past all the parties into clear water, but also entering the more developed section. I fished all the way to two larger pond areas near the apartments. I caught browns on the chubby and the droppers but the fish were small and none too plentiful. As described after my last outing here, I think the heavy development and stream modifications have taken a toll, for now. I was really surprised at the crowds, but it is the weekend. I tossed my bugs again with my RFSB1, at least that was a hoot. I hooked one "big" fish on the chubby, probably 17", but he broke me off in a seriously undercut bank ~ he knew what he was doing.

After cleaning the Nest, I headed over to the Mtn Music Festival in Keystone. They really lowered expenses on this fest from prior years, no national acts anymore and fewer tasting booths. This also kept down the attendance though. I skipped the first band, The Freddy Jones Band, but was there for Runaway Grooms from the get go. Hailing for Eagle Co, they were very good. They were strong jammers and opened with a "Truckin'-While My Guitar Gently Weeps" medley and then broke in to a funkier original. The lead guitar/vocalist and the keyboardist/vocals were awesome dueling leads. Keyboard guy brought a Rolland ePiano, a Hammond organ (can you say heavy to tote?), and a Moog synth - he was very good. All the musicians were tight to the tune. Fun but hot in the sun... soon enough I was off for the Front Range.