All Mountain Fork blog posts can be found here. The "Mt Fork Blogs" page lists the five most recent blogs.

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Kalli the Cattle Dog
Kalli the Cattle Dog

I’ve learned to appreciate her evening zoomies as an expression of her love and joy in spending time with us.

The Long Road Home
The Long Road Home
Slow Down, Enjoy the Trail
Slow Down, Enjoy the Trail

John Muir encouraged, “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.”

Silencing The Robin's Song
Silencing The Robin's Song

Awareness Begins in Your Own Backyard

Living Room Wood
Living Room Wood

“Wood warms twice over, once when you chop it and again when you burn it.”

-Thoreau

Secret Canyons
Secret Canyons

A good day of hunting usually follows a good spring rain, and a good rain is one where buckets of rain fall over the right area in a short amount of time. 

Bugle & Mew
Bugle & Mew

“the bulls sound like a strange creature from Lord of the Rings”

Summer Camp Lessons
Summer Camp Lessons

How do we know what we are capable of if we don’t take risks?

Autumn Bikers Club
Autumn Bikers Club

The cycle of the seasons were ever-present in the Monroe family home.

Prayer Flags in Florissant
Prayer Flags in Florissant

The bright colors strung in trees throughout camp, blowing in the breeze, might remind you of Tibetan prayer flags, and they serve a similar purpose.

Camp Life
Camp Life

...camp experience is a pebble that create ripples throughout our communities

My 23 Year Application
My 23 Year Application
Climbing Fern
Climbing Fern

The bolts were shiny and the wall was covered with lichen and moss as if the climbing elves had been there overnight placing them just for us.

You Keep Using That Word
You Keep Using That Word

It's not what you don't know that makes you a fool, it's what your System 1 knows that ain't so.

Two Days on the Ark
Two Days on the Ark

Blackburn has one great asset in town and that is Billie; she makes things happen in town and as far as I can tell, the mayor and all the men in town do her bidding. 

Over the Hill
Over the Hill

Their lungs seemed to find every available molecule of oxygen and their blood pumped it to their leg muscles faster and more efficiently. 

Summits Lost and Found
Summits Lost and Found

I had to let out a laugh but immediately began to worry about my now obvious over-estimation of our family’s ability to reach MY goal of the top of the mountain.

Absarokas
Absarokas

Campsites in the Absarokas look like the backdrops for any John Ford western.  You get all the scenic beauty, fishing and adventure without the crowds.

DIY Big Foot
DIY Big Foot

I like spending money.  I like new things.  Shoot, I like spending money on newer versions of things I already own.

Nurses in the Wild
Nurses in the Wild

After about 45 minutes we stopped at a foot bridge across the river.  The bridge led to a path into the woods and up into Chicago Basin, a mecca for mountain climbers and backpackers.  The train makes one more stop on its way to Silverton; that second stop was our destination.

Beginner Gear Closet
Beginner Gear Closet

An added bonus my wife appreciates is that now when I leave at 4:30 AM on a Friday or Saturday I don’t disturb her by looking through our closet for that last-minute item.  I can head to the guest room closet to find the item with the lights on; and my “knocking around” won’t wake her.

Front Porch
Front Porch

The treehouse might just be the childhood version of the front porch.  Like the porches of old, the treehouse is a way to see and reach out to other kids over the backyard fence. 

Bandelier
Bandelier

Frijole creek, or “bean creek” is a small but reliable source of water.  Many artifacts dating back over 10,000 years have been found in the canyon and along the creek.  Pot shards and stone tools have been found near the creek and on the monument site.

Point 16
Point 16

As with whittling wood, the process of lithic (or rock) reduction results in flakes of material that are the byproduct of stone tool production.  Unlike wood chips however, stone chips last a long time and indicate that stone tool makers were present at some point in the past. 

The Hill
The Hill

My dogs like to smell (if not pee on) everything in the neighborhood and they love to meet new dogs and people, although their interest wains rapidly.  Getting them interested in any activity is as easy as offering my kids ice cream.