The area is rich in minerals because, at the end of the Rio Grande rift valley, it has many small faults through which magma intruded, bringing goodies.
The backdrop is Colorado mountain scenery as nice as anywhere. But the foreground is unique. It is pockmarked with the ugly remains of lead carbonate (silver) mines. Rather than detracting from the postcard scenery I think the ugly foreground enhances it, by contrast.
When bicycling the dogs and I function as "saddle-baggers." On this road there appeared to be a saddle ahead. A ride or a hike is more fun when you only start with a vague goal, and then start guessing and making plans based on what you see.
A saddle is my favorite topographic species: flat in two perpendicular directions, convex in one direction, and concave in the other.
There is a madness to an uphill climb that can be compared to religious ekstasis in the original Greek meaning of "standing outside yourself." But it can also be compared to war. Some incomplete notes from my reading of a book by "Thurman" show: "War has another charm for those who are deeply malcontent: it can annihilate the personal at the same time that it sharpens the will to live."
Something like that happens on a hard climb. We do forget about ourselves on one level, and yet paradoxically we are intensely aware of our own breathing, physical state, equipment and senses. Perhaps we could say that the wall breaks down between ourselves and what is around us.
But the Peripatetic Poodle has little use for this philosophical BS. Here is what he thinks of hard climbs. It's as simple as that.
Going over the top feels like watching the beginning of the Sound of Music, with Julie Andrews on the mountain top in the Austrian Alps. I remember when that movie came out. A young blade of eleven years, eager to learn of life, I already preferred brunettes and thought that Angela Cartwright was quite the little hottie. She was my age, back then. She still is, actually.
Back in town there are also strange pairs of opposites. Ramshackle buildings are close to Victorian elegance. I prefer the former.
