Birth of an Island

Fir

First Earth was all rock, debris circling the sun that coalesced into a planet.

Then comets came, bringing water, covering much of the land (all? not sure).

Then volcanoes rose up from the ocean bottoms, creating land.

As plates moved, land masses moved and accreted onto larger landmasses.  Continents were born.

Here's a photo of the birth of an island:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2511115/Volcanic-eruption-Pacific-Ocean-creates-new-island-coast-Japan.html

A not-so hallelujah day...

At 7:20 this morning, 22 men were working at the Revenue-Virginius Mine on Camp Bird Rd. near Mt. Sneffels when a blast occurred.

http://www.ouraynews.com/index.php/ouray/31-ouray-events/1068-ouray-county-blast-at-revenue-virginius-mine-injures-

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24542891/two-miners-trapped-20-others-injured-after-ouray

http://www.watchnewspapers.com/view/full_story/24072039/article-Breaking---Powder-Smoke--Accident-Injures-Miners-Near-Ouray?instance=latest_story

This historic mine was claimed in 1876, operating at its peak in 1880, closed in the 1980s, and reopened in 2012. 

It's near Yankee Boy Basin, on the way to Mt. Sneffels when you start in Ouray and then pass Camp Bird.  

From Telluride, you would go over Tomboy Pass from Telluride, then turn left on Camp Bird Rd. and go about a mile to this mine.

An article in the Telluride Watch last summer:

http://www.watchnewspapers.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Revenue-Virginius+Poised+to+Apply+for+Mining+Permit%20&id=19063922

Early history of the Virginius Mine:

http://ouraynews.com/index.php/ouray/31-ouray-events/796-history-of-the-revenue-mine

The Denver Post provides this summary of recent mining accidents in Colorado and the US:

"Before the Revenue-Virginius disaster, there were 34 fatalities at mines in 2013 in the United States, according to the federal Department of Labor. There have been 15 mining deaths in Colorado in the past decade, according to the department's Mine Safety and Health Administration."

The San Juan Mountains: silver and gold, beauty and danger.

Fireball

Flash--a fireball streaking across the sky toward Los Angeles International Airport.  

I thought it was a plane on fire about to crash, but then it vanished.

A few hours later I found out that a meteor had been sighted from Utah to southern California just before 8 pm.  

I was driving southeast on Sepulveda Blvd. at about 83rd Street when I saw it, wide as a yellow marker pen drawing a line across the black sky.  

Many times I've stayed up at night in the Rocky Mountains or the high desert to watch the Perseid or Leonid meteor shower, counting myself lucky to see a few falling stars.  

This was completely different--a stroke the width of a finger, bright yellow--easily visible while driving down a busy street filled with lights.

The meteor messenger was saying: You are not alone, people of Earth.  You are part of a solar system and galaxy.  

Heads up!

https://vine.co/v/hIeMDwijqUJ

Elk after Sunset

Erev tov!  Good evening.

I passed four herds of elk while driving from Telluride to Trout Lake today after sunset:  

--one among the spruce trees in the valley near Telluride,
--another herd near the entrance to Mountain Village  (lying down and grazing on the grassy hillside to the right of the road),
--another half a mile later, and
--another a little further (just before the road makes a big dip and then ascends toward Meg Whitman's ranch).

Each time I stopped to take photos--that's why a 20-minute drive becomes a two-hour drive.

Stormy patiently sleeps on the floor of the car.

In the backgrounds are Wilson Peak (14, 017 ft.), Dolores Peak, and others.

Who has the right to enter your tent, YHWH, or to live on your holy mountain? --Psalm 15:1
The elk, certainly.

Cold, Cold, Cold

Artic air blew into Colorado about the same time I arrived.

On January 11 the high was 5 degrees, and at night the thermometer went down to -15.  I was trying to remember why I had thought it was such a good idea to drive to Telluride during my winter break.

After several days of snow and blowing wind, however, the sky parted and I remembered.

There's no sight as glorious as mountains covered with snow, gleaming in the sun.

See more photos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/102150538747404124091/2013JanTroutLakeDays37?authkey=Gv1sRgCPzG0LbV4reG2AE#5835324814738911026