Spaghetti / Thunder Storm Sunset

 

Song:  Zen Serenity

YouTube Channel:  Serene Frequencies

I made an early supper at about five PM...

as I wished to trike to the summit for sunset...

since there were nice clouds out.

As the sun would set at about eight thirty...

I knew I could leave near eight and arrive in plenty of time to see the sun set.

This would allow our food to digest enough by that time.

I felt like eating spaghetti...

...so I laid out the cooking supplies and began.

I use one pound of ground beef.

The clouds looked beautiful...

which just reinforced my desire to trike to the mountain summit later that evening.

In but a few hours time...

the weather would take a drastic turn...

just when I summited the mountain later that evening.

Near the top...

the skies to the East were clear...

with just some scattered clouds.

To the Southwest...

all was clear.

And then directly to the West...

there were some dark clouds gathering.

When I looked behind me...

I saw some dark clouds creeping in.

As I waited for the sun to set...

I saw that it was raining in the distance to the West.

I then saw some lightning flashes...

and I heard the delayed thunder coming from the Northwest.

Behind me...

the dark clouds kept advancing.

The mood was eerily surreal.

I could hear the low frequency rumble of distant thunder...

and I could see rain falling to the West.

I was then in a race for the sun to set...

before the thunderstorm reached me.

However...

I was thinking that the storm moved to the North of me.

And so...

I waited for the sun to completely set.

This was the last photo I took.

Within a few moments...

rain started coming down.

The dark clouds to the North had advanced towards me.

I quickly got on the trike and Bandi and I made our way down the mountain.

However...

within moments of leaving...

the rain picked up strength...

and a short while later...

it began to hail.

At first...

the hail was just pea sized.

But within a minute...

not only did the hail dramatically increase in volume...

but in size...

to the size of ball bearings.

The temperature had also suddenly decreased to near freezing...

a drop of some thirty degrees.

I put my camera inside my light jacket to protect it.

At first...

I had found a tree that had branches which extended out over the road some...

and I had briefly stopped under them for shelter...

but I then saw quick flashes of lightning...

and then heard thunder a few seconds later.

The storm was advancing quickly behind me.

I decided that I would rather get pelted with the hail

than risk getting hit by lightning.

And so...

Bandi and I quickly made our way down the mountain.

Bandi didn't want to rest...

as she didn't like the sound of the thunder.

She just lowered her head some...

and kept running.

I had placed my hood over my head to cushion the blows of the hail...

but I didn't want to stop to put on gloves or my balaclava...

as the storm had increased to such an extent that any delay

might have cost me valuable time to keep the lightning far enough behind me.

And so...

I kept peddling and Bandi kept pace the whole way.

Once we reached home...

my clothes were halfway soaked and I had to shake off the 

pellets of ice which had accumulated on my clothes.

Bandi's outer fur was wet...

but her inner fur was still dry.

Once we got inside...

Bandi went straight to my bed and began rolling around

and rubbing herself on my comforter as she dried herself on it.

I didn't mind...

as I had caused her to get wet in the first place.

I took a long hot shower...

and I then proceeded up to the loft to type up this article.

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Even as I sit up in the loft...

I can see lightning strikes every few seconds to the East as they light up the sky.

I looked up a weather reading before coming up to the loft.

The storm cell looked to be at least forty miles long and ten miles wide...

and it passed right over my location.

At my altitude...

the weather can change suddenly...

especially at the top of the mountain.

As the Northwest is occluded by the mountain...

I will have to ensure there are no storm cells nearby in the future before leaving...

by checking the weather report...

as I don't have direct sight of the Northwestern skies.

My hands are still puffy from my oversight.

--------------

Tomorrow...

near noon...

I will be driving to Woodland Park to get 

a new set of all weather tires (the best)...

an oil change...

all wheel alignment...

and an overall vehicle inspection.

My elder sister and her husband will be arriving in a few days...

and I want the car to be in top shape...

as I will be driving them around to many places.

4th Of July Mountain Sunset

 

Song:  Heaven On Earth

Artist:  Hilary Stagg

Since I always try to stay off the roads on any holiday...

I decided to take Bandi on a run up the mountain (I rode my trike).

The temperature was a perfect mid to high 60s F (18 - 20 C)...

and as always...

there was a gentle mountain breeze blowing.

We were almost to the top here.

I parked my trike on the side of the road and waited for the sun to set.

The Mountain Community Center is near the base of the mountain on the right.

After the sun had completely set...

and the colors began to fade...

I turned on my rear and front lights for our return trip.

You can see my left foot as I was peddling.

It is partially illuminated by my headlight in this photo.

I wear my camera on my chest in a chest harness so I may take photos

while I am on the move on my trike.

I am going up and over a ridge here.

On the other side...

I had to go down some before climbing my ridge line...

and then there is a fairly long descent.

Bandi had a short rest part way down.

And this is part way down my ridge.

As I have to ride the breaks much of the way down...

using both hands...

it was difficult to take any more photos.

Viewing the sunset from the mountain top is always a pleasure.

It is a fairly short ride...

but just long enough to give Bandi and me a nice workout.

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My elder sister and her husband will be arriving for a two week stay...

about the middle of next week.

I will be sure to take them to the top of the mountain.

We will also be going up Pikes Peak.

This will be the first time I will have gone all the way to the top...

as for most of the year I was here...

the highway leading to the top was closed due to snow.