Smashed Focus

Heading home for lunch to let the dog out for the afternoon ended in disaster.  An individual failed to yield, turned immediately in front of me and utterly destroyed the front of my vehicle, as well as that of another innocent driver that was simply waiting on a red light.

I had just left another intersection and had accelerated to the speed limit as I approached another intersection.  Another individual launched his car front of me, obviously attempting to squeeze through and smash!    

I had less than a second to react, having only enough time to slam my feet down on the clutch and brakes, while thinking "this is going to hurt."  It was not enough time.  My vehicle slammed into the side of this, throwing his against the over vehicle.

My air bags deployed, and I am pretty sure I lost consciousness for a moment. I could hear someone yelling if I were OK way off in the distance.  I opened my eyes and could hear the hissing of air and steam all around me, along with the fog of air bag dust in the air choking off my oxygen. My car was attempting to dial 911 and I tried to stop it, unsuccessfully.  My brain did a quick assessment and decided nothing was too damaged. I attempted to stop the car from dialing 911 three or four times before finally giving up and just opening the window so I could breathe.

I could still hear a person asking I were OK, but they sound much clearer.  I could see her now and responded, "I think so." I needed to get ahold of someone though, so called my comrade and told her that I was going to need some assistance.

Getting out of my car, I truly wanted to choke the individual in the other car but remained calm and simply asked if one person was the driver of the car I hit.  He confirmed that he was and I only asked if he was OK.  On confirmation, I turned to attempt contact with the insurance folks.  Someone said they had already called the police.

The police eventually arrived to sort things out.  Nobody got a ticket, but it was clearly the fault of the other driver.   He indicated that he thought he had a green light, and I believe that he did.  However, so did I and underneath his green light, a sign read, "Left Turn Yield on Green."

The remainder of the afternoon was spent in the ER, after beginning the trek home and starting to discover all sorts of odd little ailments.  Nearly everything on left side ached in one way or another.  My sight felt unaligned as well, and dizziness came and went. 

The ER checked and found I might have had a mild concussion and sent me home with  instructions on self-care.

Home finally arrived about 1830 hours.  It had not been a pleasant Halloween.

Praise from SB

Todd always takes any wild idea and creates a great process for it. He's always open to working with me and assisting me with anything I might need. Thanks, Todd!

Teams for Two

Recently, a few folks have asked about creating a Microsoft Teams for themselves and one other individual.  They say that they need a Team to share documents and conversations back and forth, exclusively between one another.

There is nothing to do here. 

Quite literally, it is already done! 

Microsoft read your mind.

Using the Chat feature within Microsoft Teams makes this happen.

The moment you begin a chat with another individual, you are creating a Team in which only you and that individual are included.

Obviously, the conversation is only accessible to you and the other individual.

In addition, documents you share in that chat are only accessible to you and the other individual.

Access any of the documents and links you have shared through that chat at any time by clicking the “Shared” link that appears next to “Chat” at the top of the chat with that person.

Upload and collaborate on documents with that individual here too!

Nearly anything that you can do within a Team created for multiple individuals can be done in Chat too, even adding Apps to your chat (just click the “+” next to “Shared” at the top.

But wait, there’s more … You can even have a Team with yourself!  What?  Sure!  Just click your name at the top of the chat and make notes, upload files, or just test out how things work in the chat space.

Crazy, huh?

White Guys Need Not Apply

The top of our leadership came to me today looking to better understand demographic analytics that I recently produced.  It captures a view of our clients and our staff and contrasts them against one another.  It is interactive and one can view a client demographics versus their associated care team, the team versus their supervisors, and those versus their management, etcetera, all the way up the food chain.

In the course of our conversation, she expressed a desire to hire a more diverse group of people that better matched population.  She was concerned about the accuracy of the data, and how it displayed that our clients seemed to be comprised of a lot of white males.  She could see the diversity in the care teams, but as it reached into administration there seemed an overabundance of white people in the organization.  She really wants to change that and impress it upon her leadership team that we should try to avoid simply hiring "white guys" if there is a more ethnically diverse individual that can be hired.

Later that same day, our leader in charge of that realm stopped to talk about the topic as well.  She said that person had tried continually to get her to change her mind about this topic, but she had steadfastly refused, telling her that she would continue to only hire the most qualified.

What is happening here?

Is this legal?

This really seems a bit discriminatory.

What if the shoe were on the other foot?

East of the Canal

A variety of points of interest lay east of the Kansas portion east of J.C. Hopper's Great Interstate Canal.  A slightly different path home offers a new view with every passing.

We slept well with the rain sprinkling over the Grain Bin Inn late overnight.  Looking out the next morning, you could see and smell that it had rained.  The air felt fresh and clean, but the earth remained parched from the summer drought this year.

Ellinwood, host of the annual After Harvest Festival, is but one of numerous little towns that dot the prairie.   Many of them cling to life, celebrating the highlights of their past through murals of more prosperous times.

A little further down the road, the Rice County Courthouse stands immediately and exactly in the center of the county, after beginning life in Atlanta.

The final resting place of this 1910 courthouse is Lyons, Some folks discovered Salt in 1887, while drilling for gas.  Not exactly what Vásquez de Coronado and his expedition were looking for in 1540, though it did enable the first major industry in the county.

Efforts by one of the architects of the Kansas capital building stands firmly in McPherson, showcasing his stonework designs leveraging Cottonwood Cotton limestone quarried just down the street in Strong City. Complete with Syrian arch, the then new 1893 courthouse, in this third and newer county seat, would preside over quieter times than its predecessors.

Before turning north, a break from the road found a one room schoolhouse loitering with a Mennonite Settlement Museum. The Kreutziger School formerly lived in a community by the same name near Canada, Kansas. As water filled the Marion Reservoir it formed an attraction with the museum complex located in Hillsboro.

That is the last thing we remember, just before joining the interstate.  When the drone of that became too much, we detoured again towards Lawrence, drifting off course.  We avoided conflict with the town itself, choosing a position to relax just south of there, near the Blue Mound of our ancestors, at Wells Overlook Park.  It is in a peculiar location, though appears well traveled and is the perfect jumping off point for backroads all the way into the city.

End of the Rainbow Grain Bin

A week that seemingly began under adverse terms had been filled with signs of hope on numerous occasions.  We were fortunate enough to have witnessed about six rainbows, which was about six more than we had seen in the previous six months.  One last showing of hope glowed brilliantly on the morning of our departure, doubling and tripling as we watched in awe.

On our way out of state, we stopped in to visit a registered state historic site known as the Koshare Museum & Trading Post, built by the La Junta Boy Scout troop in 1949.  Hosted by Otero College, the structure is, and remains, the largest self-supported log roof in the entire world, baffling many architects.  Artifacts are currently not on display, due to governmental interference, but the kiva is accessible, along with a multitude of original Native American art works.

There is still very little to note beyond that point.  Lamar offers quite a bit, though the side trip to the museum had consumed any extra time we might have had available.  Time-traveling east into future Kansas, we once again realized how beautifully wide-open it is in this part of the country. 

Ness City made an appearance sooner rather than later.  Storms were brewing all around, apparently forming in our rearview mirror without notice.  Our final destination for the day lay just four miles further east.  Thinking it best to wander those dirt roads in appreciation of daylight, prior to seeking sustenance, we did not linger for long.  Sunset was only 20 minutes away.

The Grain Bin Inn turned out much easier to locate, and on much better maintained dirt roads, than had assumed.  There were concerns about coming rain turning the situation to quagmire, but hunger drove us back into town, after we dumped everything inside.  The Cactus Club offered up a fitting meal to end the day, sending us back to our grain bin without assault from the weather.  Safe and snug inside, we enjoyed good quarters and comfortable evening, while the cattle suffered the downpour, we only heard through the tin roof.

Horsing around the Cañon

A rainbow stretched across the horizon, commending our efforts of the day, though the level of exertion really did not warrant such a fantastic display; or, did it?

The agenda for the day included a little shooting, getting some hairs cut, taking some people photos, and enjoying superior company and good food.  At the end of it all, a run into town for the latter to treat our hosts.  The first point on the agenda became somewhat complicated on the third point of our safety poster, however.  Interference lurked on the horizon.

The wind was the perfect sort of calm for our plans, although the weather man suggested it would not remain that way for much longer.  Attempting to wait out those loitering near the line of fire proved in vain. They were entirely too close for comfort though, so we set off on a mini-Safari to address the issue with those we did "not wish to destroy."

Out at the fence line, they were found amicable and cooperative enough, receiving our greeting with gifts with enthusiasm.  The choice became clear for them, in the course of conversations, that it would be preferable to linger in another space.  Snacks were plentiful and the grass just as green in this location as had been in their previous, so they stayed awhile.  Returning to our objective, we now had clearance to raise a little ruckus, further emphasizing the need, and encouraging them, to find an entirely different plain.

It is surprising how quickly time can pass when you are having fun.  The day seemed to evaporate as quickly as it had started.  Heading into town, I have to admit that I was a little perplexed at why our hosts would want no better dining experience than Doritos.  It seemed like an awfully light meal; at minimum, it seemed not a very diverse opportunity.  Tuning in to the language in use a bit more, Di Rito's turned out a rather pleasant experience in the end.  

Back at the ranch, we speculated as to whether the clouds would accommodate another viewing of Comet Tsuchinshan–Atlas.  Patience finally paid off and we were able to see the celestial body streaking towards the sun again for a few minutes before clouds finally enveloped the entire scene in that direction.  In the opposite corner of the sky, the moon came out loud and clear, shining almost as much light as had encompassed the day hours.  It had been a great day with good peoples.

Up High with Gold and Trolls

Midway through adventuring about Colorado, our hosts surprised us with a different sort of experience, leading to a familiar destination at 4,300 meters above sea level.

A journey to the summit of Pike's Peak by way of the Cog Railway is quite possibly the most interesting method of topping the behemoth named for explorer Zebulon Pike, who just happened to have wandered about the area, though never actually set foot on the mountain.  There is no need for concern about driving off the side or wearing out a perfectly good pair of boots in an effort to reach the top, following this path.

Whilst enjoying amazing views from safely inside the transport, the conductor presented an interesting history of the mountain, the explorer, and the railway.  The entire ordeal only consumed about an hour on this perfectly clear day.  We found things very breezy and the temperature a crips 0 °C on top, discouraging too much lingering outdoors.  Add in another hour to get back down from those heights and then we were on our way to see what sort of sustenance we could discover, among other things.

The plan for the day was really not much different than the previous, excepting one particular destination lying in the vicinity of Cripple Creek and Victor.  Wildlife in these parts can be quite curious, both as an adjective and adverb, often looking at us, looking at them, looking at us, looking at them, etc.

Passing through without incident, we arrived in the golden valley and immediately went in search of the previously mentioned desire.  We literally picked the first thing presented to us, which happened to be The Creek.  It turned out to be an excellent choice.  A Slopper Burger with Red Elk Chili hit the spot perfectly, vanquishing most other desires in that category.

The next thing not on the agenda enabled the opportunity to check up on a local investment.  With an adequate viewing platform properly installed, review of operations came easily, and our noting their continued stability.

That led to a visit with Victor, who seemed to be sporting a fresh coat of paint at every turn.  Construction that had appeared nearly ready to topple at the slightest breath on the last visit, felt renewed and emboldened on this occasion.

One of our crew had read about the existence of a certain Scandanavian entity that had taken on a project near the mines.  Gathering our bearings again, we got closer to another of the intended destinations for the day and made the trek into the nearby hills, where we found her.

Rita the Rock Planter had apparently been napping for quite a long time and upon waking, had gone about setting things straight around her.  Suddenly and unexpectedly, some unknown force turned her entirely to wood and left her frozen in state.

The Marines were called in to consider rescuing the situation but fell short when an I-beam suddenly thrust through their helicopter.  Locked in place at the Mt. Pisgah cemetery, no further efforts were resolved to remedy their circumstances and so they remained.

We departed not wanting to suffer similar fates and escaped mostly unscathed.  We did find it necessary to pause to permit braking to return to full capacity, discovering we had picked up some unwanted materials on those systems.  It all worked out and we arrived back at base camp without issue to enjoy another quiet evening on the eastern Colorado prairie.  The only disappointment for the day, an inability to again admire Comet Tsuchinshan–Atlas crashing towards the sun.

Landmarks and a Comet

The girls were off doing their thing in the Pueblo sector, and we were left to our own to do as we may. After removing the doors and then the top from our transport, wandering about discovering various oddities in the surrounding desert seemed the best course of action for the day.  

Just north of Penrose, we found things mostly abandoned and lacking any sort of road maintenance.  We came nearly full circle on the road without locating the lake my comrade felt certain should be there.  Referencing our map found we were decidedly in the wrong part of town.

We missed the turn for Brush Hollow.  There had only been one sign from the beginning, pointing in the general direction of the site, but no follow up instructions about accessing the lake. With a little help from the map, we got there, though found a lake mostly giving up on its only task.  Mud flats encircled most of it, a sign of the long-standing drought in the neighborhood.

Pressing west from there, we stumbled upon a gated landmark offering some insight into the past.  Alone at side Phantom Canyon Road, it pays respect to efforts by the Works Progress Administration.  While not entirely certain, it is likely the solitary monument is immediately related to the nearby roadway; that is, unless there is something special about the particular field in which stands.

A meandering straight line from there into Cañon City led us to consider pausing for reflection at the Abbey and deeper examination of why we were unable to turn off overhead lights.  They had been illuminating daylight for the entire morning and every instruction indicated we should have them off.  Going through every fuse, we finally discovered and interim solution, bidding nuns in attendance a fond farewell, leaving them to their TikTok antics.

While it is nearly impossible to visit this region and completely ignore the primary tourist attraction site, we have accomplished that task a few times.  It is interesting to return every few years and see what has changed.  The last time we were out to the Royal Gorge a few years ago, or on this visit, we noticed they no longer permitted traffic across the bridge.  We only wandered out to the middle and back on this occasion, walking and talking about whatever came to mind.

Our departure route found us doubling back, after not finding an overlook that we thought had been left at the campground.  We ended up skipping along the edge of another overlook closer to the entrance of the park but are not entirely certain that it was the intended location.

  

The view is amazing as any other, in all directions, and afforded us an opportunity to view the status of the ranch in the distance.  We could tell that the girls were on their way home, so decided we would begin to make our way back.

The travels of the day had been good and satisfying.  These times are some of the best. It never ceases to amaze me at how many oddities one can uncover, when there is no timetable or plan.

My chauffer for the day decided we needed to make one last stop on the way back.  Skyline Drive is another of those unique experiences on can never quite get enough of.  However, winding along that ridgeback, with no top or doors could make some change their mind.

Our day complete, catching up with the girls back at the ranch, we remembered that C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan Atlas was scheduled to fall from the sky for the next several nights.  Turning our attention to Venus, we set about preparing to capture the phenomenon.  We enjoyed good conversation as clouds frustrated attempts early on.  A little patience paid off though, and the atmospheric disturbance eventually broke up enough to offer a relatively unobscured view this ancient Oort Cloud comet making its way through the solar system, never to be seen by anyone currently on the planet again.

Dunes, Aliens, Eggplant and Rainbows

The dunes appeared just as we had left them the night before.  Indeed, they seemed much the same as the last visit 20 years ago, give or take a few million grains of sand in one direction or the other. 

Making our way down to Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, we dropped by the visitor center for a closer examination of the situation.  It had been closed on previous visits, so it was good to take some time to become more familiar with the lay of the land and the forces at play.

Visits in the past focused on accessing the dune directly, so this abbreviated adventure for the day would overlook it all.  The 1.5 km trip to the terminus of the Dunes Overlook Trail provided the perfect opportunity to gradually move up the relative alluvial desert, through fading Aspens surrounding dry creek beds, finally arriving atop a ridge with an expansive view of the formation.  

Along the way, there were plenty of opportunities to pause enjoy the view of the nearby dunes, or simply relish the unique feeling of prickle pear piercing the skin.  The top of the ridge is most ideal though.  A wooden bench enables solitude between invasions from other explorers, but we departed before any had the chance. The delay from the day before created a bit of a time crunch and we still had to make it back to the other side of the Sangre de Cristos.

We paused only briefly a few times on our way north from the dunes. The first instance occurred just north of Hooper, in order to investigate the mention of alien life forms.  They were begging for money though, and it hardly seemed fitting to encourage that sort of thing in the middle of what is mostly desert.

On the second stop we paused along the road to admire Mount Shavano and the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains, lurking below partly clear skies at Poncha Pass.  This was followed almost immediately by the third stop near Mass Junction.  Nearly a mile of traffic backed up in both directions as workers meticulously rewired Poncha Springs or some other destination needing a resupply of electricity. 

The ordeal did not create too much of a delay and we slid into Salida just in time for a late lunch.  The Boathouse Cantina had been recommended for its riverside seating, but something compelled us to Pizza Rio, just next door.  It also offered outdoor seating with a view of the Arkansas river, refreshing beverages and the most delicious Eggplant Parmesan.  The stairs were something navigate, a dire warning to continuously monitor intake levels, lest them become unmanageable.

Satisfied, we explored the riverwalk below that we had been observing throughout our dining experience above.  Up and down the river, the leaves had begun to change and free themselves from the bonds that held them through out summer. The mid-20s °C of the day enabled children to run amuck in the nearby park and in some cases, splash around in the chilly waters.  While we were unable to completely fulfill of our desires on this particular date, we did enjoy the brief walk about, prior to heading back to the semi-arid high plains near Florence.

Heading towards our destination and base camp of origin for the trip, we encountered another unexpected traffic jam on US-50.  The delay was not too awful and enabled optimal viewing of rainbow offering some hope of better times to come.  This was more than welcome, considering how the trip had begun.  We had just traversed an addition 500 km without another glitch.