On the local front, the election to choose four members to fill the newly expanded board of county commissioners is as an important election as the residents of Sweetwater County have ever been involved in. As a county resident, I am extremely unhappy with the direction that the current commissioners have taken us, and I think it is time to get Sweetwater County back on track. We need commissioners who have leadership skills, decision making abilities, and the real world experience to turn our county around. I believe John Kolb is the right person to do that job. I have known John for over 25 years, and I have faith that he can be both a leader and a voice of reason in our county government. His commitment to focusing on our infrastructure and our county employees sets him apart and makes him the best choice for commissioner.

At the state level, the Republican party has four outstanding candidates running for governor. Any one of the four — Matt Mead, Rita Meyer, Colin Simpson, or Ron Micheli — would make a great governor, and it is a rare opportunity that voters get to choose the best from the best candidates rather than settle for the least worse candidate. One of the greatest challenges that Wyoming will face over the next eight years is the very real threat to our state sovereignty created by a power hungry federal government. Whether it be in the guise of health care reform, cap and trade, or endangered species protection, Washington is doing their best to transform Wyoming into the kind of place we don’t want it to be. Matt Mead’s history as a U.S. Attorney gives him the unique perspective and ability to stand toe to toe with them, and protect Wyoming’s heritage from their progressive agenda. Matt also understands the broader issues that Wyoming faces, including our economic diversity, energy production, agriculture, education, and the financing of local governments and infrastructure. I am confident that he is the right person to lead Wyoming successfully through the next eight years and hope you will support him as our next governor.

Voting is more than a right, it is a responsibility. I hope you will join me on Tuesday, and vote for candidates that will lead us responsibly into the future.

Sincerely,

Island Richards

Needy: Why do you need him? You can have anybody that you want, Jennifer. So why Chip? Just to tick me off? or is it because you’re just really that insecure?

Jennifer: I am not “insecure,” Needy. God! Wh–? That’s a joke! How could I ever be insecure? I was the Snowflake Queen!

Needy: Pffft. Yeah. Two years ago — when you were socially relevant —

Jennifer: I … am … still … socially relevant.

In her editorial, Kathy did little more than cry out to the world, “Don’t ignore us! We are still socially relevant!” But really, are they? The so-called in-depth reporting that the Green River Star provides to their readers is little more than a stenographer service, used to retype and relay the press releases handed out by the candidates. That would be fine, if they even did that right.

A quick look at the front page of the same issue that contained her editorial shows the real cost of depending on the local newspaper as a reliable information source. By misquoting Mr. Burnside, in a bold-faced aside of all places, The Green River Star was able to completely change Mr. Burnside’s message just by leaving out one word. It is no wonder so many candidates turn to alternative media in order to frame their message accurately and without fear of mishandling by an uninterested staff typist.

Kathy makes the claim that 80% of American voters read newspapers, but data from Scarborough Research (2009) shows that only 43% of Americans read a newspaper on any given day, and that readership by every demographic and age group is declining. Blind self importance is part of the reason main stream media outlets all over the country are slowly dying.

I have to question Kathy’s “wonder” about the seriousness of the candidates who haven’t yet responded to the Green River Star’s information request. I have spoken to at least a few candidates who have never been contacted by the Green River Star at all since they filed. Also, I wonder why, if the Green River Star is so intent on being a relevant part of the upcoming elections, they chose not to attend the forum hosted by the White Mountain Library for the four year commission candidates. Newsprint is hardly the media powerhouse that it once was, but the one meaningful foothold they have managed to keep is in local news. Even so, with eleven of the fourteen primary candidates there to answer questions from the public, the Green River Star couldn’t be bothered to attend.

It make one wonder how serious The Green River Star really is about being a relevant news source in Sweetwater County.

Congress ponders privacy of your underwear, immortal soul

By Nate Anderson | Last updated about 21 hours ago

At a Congressional Internet privacy hearing on Tuesday, a group of middle-aged men had some questions about the ‘Net. Why was it such a creepy place? How come replying to spammers doesn’t get one immediately removed from their e-mail lists? And what is this talk we hear about websites gaining the rights to one’s immortal soul?

The creepiness was best summed up by the Senate Commerce Committee’s Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who in his opening statement compared the Internet to a deeply disturbing shopping mall. In this mall, there’s “a machine recording every store you enter and every product you look at, and every product you buy. You go into a bookstore. The machine records every book you purchase or peruse. Then, you go to the drugstore. The machine is watching you there, meticulously recording every product you pick up—from the shampoo to the allergy medicine to your personal prescription. [READ MORE...]

And on the other, as reported by WIRED, we have the CIA and Google investing in a start up company, Recorded Future, that will develop technology which “scours tens of thousands of websites, blogs and Twitter accounts to find the relationships between people, organizations, actions and incidents.”

Exclusive: Google, CIA Invest in ‘Future’ of Web Monitoring

• By Noah Shachtman

The investment arms of the CIA and Google are both backing a company that monitors the web in real time — and says it uses that information to predict the future.

The company is called Recorded Future, and it scours tens of thousands of websites, blogs and Twitter accounts to find the relationships between people, organizations, actions and incidents — both present and still-to-come. In a white paper, the company says its temporal analytics engine “goes beyond search” by “looking at the ‘invisible links’ between documents that talk about the same, or related, entities and events.”

The idea is to figure out for each incident who was involved, where it happened and when it might go down. Recorded Future then plots that chatter, showing online “momentum” for any given event.

“The cool thing is, you can actually predict the curve, in many cases,” says company CEO Christopher Ahlberg, a former Swedish Army Ranger with a PhD in computer science. [READ MORE...]

Is it just me, or is there some disparity in the messages coming out of Washington?

I’ll start here with the Democratic candidates, but before I do I want to add this one disclaimer. I’m a Republican, and will be voting as a Republican in the primary. In the primary election I don’t have a say about which Democrat will earn their party’s nomination to be the single candidate to represent them in the general election for this office. I’m offering my opinion here merely because giving my opinions is what I like to do, so take it or leave it and do with it what you will.

Brandi Seppie is an absolute newcomer to the world of politics and that in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. A political newcomer can bring great new ideas to the table, and a fresh perspective in dealing with old problems. However, for a newcomer to be effective they have to come to the table with new ideas and a fresh perspective. Or at least an idea about what’s going on in the first place. Brandi didn’t do that during this forum. All she was able to do here was show her unpreparedness, and her lack of understanding of the job she has applied for. When asked a question about what she would do to support veterans in Sweetwater County, the only answer she was able to give was that there are a lot of veterans in her family. Admittedly, this question was nothing more than an attempt at grandstanding by an agenda driven, one issue, four year commission candidate, but she should have been a little more prepared to answer it. When she touched on the discussion about the proposed diversion of water from the Flaming Gorge to Colorado, all she was able to do was attempt to mirror the opinion of the candidate that answered before her. When she discussed how she would balance the needs of the incorporated and the rural populations of the county, her great idea was to “bring people together,” and to support the “joint powers board” that is already working on it. The joint powers board? Which one? The Joint Powers Water Board? The Joint Powers Telecommunications Board? The Joint Travel and Tourism Board? The Airport Board? The proposed Juvenile Justice Board? In fact, that seemed to be the resounding message behind her entire platform. Bring people together. Every time she started talking all I could hear was Captain & Tennille singing the old Sedaka & Greenfield song: “Love….love will keep us together…” If everyone got along so well, we wouldn’t need government. Yeah, sounds cynical. Sue me.

Teresa Weyer is another relative newcomer to the political world, but she appeared to have entered the race with a little more knowledge of what a County Commissioner does. Well, maybe. Her professional background is in nursing, and she pointed out that her experience as a nurse gives her a unique ability to bring people together. Oh, God! Please make that song stop playing in my head! Now Captain and Tennille are being joined by Bob Marley! “Let’s get together and we’ll feel alright…” The most memorable moment in Teresa’s forum participation came when an audience member posed a question about whether she would keep the County CEO and the County CFO that were hired by the sitting administration, yes or no? Her answer? “I can’t answer that yes or no because the people will decide the answer by who they vote for.” Really? Really. Her answer to probably the most contentious topic in this election is that she is going to wait and see who else gets elected and then they can tell her what her opinion will be. Way to make a stand there, Teresa.

Randy Walker enters this race with the advantage of being a sitting County Commissioner who knows the issues and has dealt with them on a first hand basis over the last two years. He also draws on the experience of being a former member of the Green River City Council. Of the three Democratic candidates, he was obviously the most knowledgeable and the most prepared for the forum. From the start, Randy was on the defense about his decision as part of the sitting commission to hire a County CEO and CFO to manage the day to day operations of the county, saying that the people of Sweetwater County deserved “professional administration,” and not the micromanagement and cronyism that had come before, and that the current system represented “best practices.” Okay, I can understand the need for “best practices,” but calling something “best practices” doesn’t make it “best practices.” “Best practices” isn’t contracting for a County CEO that has no investment in the community, and no vested interest in seeing our county succeed, other than the pay check that he takes home to Colorado at the end of every week. “Best practices” isn’t ignoring the advice of the “professional administration” – that of the County CEO that they hired, and especially that of the real professional administrators who have been heading their individual departments for years. Randy’s most memorable moment came when he was asked about what sixth cent projects he would support. “I support the application of a rubric to choose the best projects.” A rubric? Yeah. This is what happens when teachers become politicians. They bring the tools that they have used so effectively to turn our children into mindless sheep to the table for the rest of us. How about a Rubik’s cube? Or a magic 8-ball? Or, how about we elect people who can take responsibility for their own decisions, and not pass them off on decision making trees and contract help. Yeah, I stole the line about the Rubik’s cube and the magic 8-ball. Sue me again. At least I didn’t hear any bad songs playing in my head while he spoke.

Obviously, I wasn’t overly impressed with any of the Democratic candidates. If I was a Democrat and had to support one in the primary, well, I couldn’t. I’d write someone in. I know they are Democrats, and I know they are all about bringing people together, but I’m looking for leadership and representation, not a Beatles anthem.

I’ll move on now to the Republican candidates. No disclaimers on this one. I’ll likely be casting a vote for one of these two on August 17, and I want to give you an idea of who I’ll be choosing between.

Don Kauppi is yet another relative newcomer to the political landscape, but unlike the other newcomers, he brings some real world executive experience to the table. Don is self employed and runs his own oilfield company, giving him the perspective in this race of someone who deals with employees, budgets, and hard decisions on a daily basis. He comes across as someone who believes in simple straightforward answers to every issue, which is a refreshing stance, if not a little naive, and a bit unrefined. I almost cringed when he said, “I know how to run people.” Great, I guess, unless you are one of the people. Don will have to learn as he expands his political experience that sometimes how you deliver a message is as important as the message itself. I want commissioners who know where they stand, and who will tell me about it without hiding behind nonsense like bringing people together and rubric’s cubes. I also want commissioners who realize that very few of the issues that they deal with have simple answers. Don probably meets both of those criteria, but he doesn’t convey it very well. Don’s most memorable moment was when he entered the discussion on the water diversion plan. “Why are even talking about this?! No! You can’t have our water!” I agree with his sentiment, but I only wish it were that simple.

Wally Johnson is, without a doubt, the most experienced of the candidates, and brings both real world, practical, and applicable experience to the table. Wally was a Sweetwater County Commissioner for four years, but lost his spot in a previous election. He hit on several points during his time at the mike that were pretty important, and applicable to the current environment. Wally was clear about is stand against the sitting commissioners hiring a County CEO. He was also clear that in order for a commission to do its job effectively, its members need to have a seat at many tables, whether it be the National Forest Service or lobbying the State Legislature. “The current commission isn’t doing that.” He’s right, by not taking our seat at those tables, we’ve effectively lost our say in a lot of matters that directly affect our lives here is Sweetwater County. Wally was also the first to make a clear stand on water diversion. “If they have a right to the water, fine, but they need to take it from somewhere below the Flaming Gorge.” Finally, Wally took a stand against the wholesale creation of wind farms in Sweetwater County. “Wind energy is not a solution to our problems,” and in dealing with the location of the wind farms, “We need to look very carefully at what effect these wind farms have on our view shed.” Wally was the leader of the pack when it came to where he stood on all of these issues, and the other four on the panel were forced to follow or defend. Wally doesn’t, however, come to this election without baggage. He’s been a commissioner in the past, and his performance then didn’t come without controversy. It seems that there are some people in the county that are unhappy with his record, but I have yet to have someone explain to me what happened during his tenure that spurred the current vitriol.

Ultimately, I’m not 100% sure about who I will support in the primary, but I’m confident that either Wally or Don could do a good job. At this point though, I’m leaning toward Wally. His stands are clear and pretty well aligned with my own. If someone tells me some truly valid reason why they don’t like him that I find I agree with, or if Don refines his message a little more and shows me that he really does understands the intricacies of the job he is applying for, I’m open to changing my mind.

So there it is. My biased opinion. Take it, leave it, or tell me to go to hell. Just get your ass to the polls on August 17 and vote. But please, please, please, no more 60′s or 70′s songs.

“Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me!

“Here come old flattop. He come grooving up slowly
He got ju-ju eyeballs. He’s one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker he just do what he please

“Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me!

“He wear no shoeshine he’s got toe-jam football
He got monkey finger he shoot Coca-Cola
He say “I know you, you know me”
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free
Come together right now over me.

“Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me!

“He buy production he got walrus scumble
He’s got Ono sideboard he’s got spinal cracker
He’s got feet down below his knee
Hold you in his arms till you can feel his disease
Come together right now over me.

“He’s roller-coaster he’s got early warning
He’s got muddy water he’s got mojo filter
He say “One and one and one is three”
Got to be good looking ’cause he’s so hard to see
Come together right now over me.

“Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me!

“Ow!

“Come together! Come together! Come together!”

-The Beatles, 1969

PRESS: MOUNTAIN FLYER MAGAZINE

4/13/10

Mountain Flyer number 16- Check out the Spring 2010 issue of Mountain Flyer for a great ten page article about mountain biking in Green River, Wyoming. Written and photographed by Green River native Mark Woolcot, the article takes you through a history of the mining town, shows off the great trail riding offered in this high desert town and introduces the Green River Bike Park to the masses.

BUILDER WEEKEND SCHEDULED: April 9-11

3/8/10

Volunteer Bike Park Builder Weekend- Hilride is coming to town for the third builder training and volunteers are needed!

Download the flyer for all the details and spread the word.

Download the Volunteer Builder Waiver and bring it with you.

Please come prepared with sturdy shoes (boots preferred) and gloves.

Materials and supplies are still needed. Visit the Donations Page for the complete list.

An email dispatch from the NRA

Concealed Carry Reform Becomes Law in Wyoming!

On Thursday, March 4, Governor Dave Freudenthal (D) signed Senate File 26 into law. The bill is effective immediately.

Sponsored by State Senator Cale Case (R-25) and State Senator Eli Bebout (R-26), SF 26 will reform Wyoming’s concealed weapons permit laws regarding eligibility, reciprocity, and issuance of permits. This bill will limit the Attorney General’s ability to determine reciprocity by taking away his/her power to determine if that state has similar laws authorizing permits.

Please join us in thanking the sponsors of this bill, Senator Case and Senator Bebout, for all of their hard work and support. Also please contact Governor Freudenthal to thank him for signing such important legislation into law. Contact information for the Governor can be found here.

Senator Cale Case (R-25)

ccase@wyoming.com

Senator Eli Bebout (R-26)

senbebout@wyoming.com

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One of the fundamental issues that I have with today’s Republican Party is that we allow ourselves to be defined by liberals and the liberal press rather than defining ourselves. As a former county party chairman, I had to live with county and state by-laws that forbade party officials from endorsing candidates in the primaries. It never happened in my county, but the fact that I might have one day been forced to officially support a liberal candidate always festered in the back of my mind.

The problem is that the National Republican Party, together with state and local parties, spend more time, money and effort trying to include everyone in the “big tent” than they do standing by the core conservative values that should be guiding them. I can understand how easy it is to fall into the trap of believing the goal is to elect people with R’s at the end of their names. Obviously, without enough R’s the party loses majority control of government, but this ignores the reality that control by Republicans isn’t the real goal. The real goal is holding our nation true to the conservative principles by which it was created.

Talk Radio personality Andrew Wilkow likes to say, “Individual Patriot first. Conservative second. Republican third.” What he means is that it is our first duty to be individuals who support our country, that we can do that best by living and promoting our conservative principles, and that the Republican Party is the currently the best tool that we have to do it with. If the Republican Party ceases to be the best tool for that job, then we are left with a couple choices. We can throw out the tool and get a new one, or we can refurbish our current tool and make it work how it’s supposed to.

Throwing out the tool would mean abandoning the Republican Party altogether and forming or joining a third party. This is a difficult course to follow, but it isn’t unheard of. There have been several ruling political parties throughout our history including Democrat-Republicans (one party, not the same as todays), Federalists, Whigs, Democrats, Republicans and dozens of smaller parties that exist in smaller numbers around the nation. It might be rare in our national history for a new party to come out of obscurity and take power at the federal level, and it is a difficult proposition, but it’s not impossible.

Refurbishing the current tool is the more likely scenario and would mean bringing the Republican Party back into line with its historical conservative principles. In order to forward those principles, we need to elect conservative Republicans. Not liberal Republicans. Not moderate Republicans. Conservative Republicans. Conservatives must retake control of the Party at all levels — from local precincts, to the statewide parties, to the National Republican Party. To succeed, we will have to make a stand against mediocrity, and so called moderates, and refuse to vote for or fund candidates that don’t truly represent us, regardless of whether or not they registered as Republicans. The first battle we face is to get conservative candidates nominated in the primaries, and only then can we carry those candidates through to victory in the general elections. We have to make our voices be heard loud and clear, and not allow the biased liberal press agencies decide which candidates are going to win our support.

I think that conservatives will benefit most by using third parties to force change in the Republican Party. By selectively abandoning the Republican Party, conservatives can bring about enough pressure on party leaders to force them to rethink which candidates they will endorse and support in the future. By supporting independent and third party candidates that more accurately represent our conservative values and principles, as the people of New York’s 23rd Congressional district have done, we can send the GOP a message about what kind of candidates we will accept. Give us a real conservative candidate to support, and we will. Send us a wishy-washy liberal like Dede Scozzafava? We’re gone. If we do it consistently, each and every time, the Republican Party will figure out that they should only send us candidates that share our values. Anything else will be a waste of our time, their money, and an erosion of their power base.

By regaining control of our party, and only supporting candidates that we want to support, we can define the Republican Party ourselves instead of letting the liberals and the liberal press define it for us. If the Republican Party continues to allow the likes of Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe to carry our endorsement, then there is no reason for us to continue to be Republicans. We can throw our support behind a third party like New York’s State Conservative Party, or start a new one. If the Republican Party can retool, however, and show us that they can send us honest-to-goodness, conservative candidates, then we can continue to be part of the Grand Old Party. If we lose a few races in order to cement that position, then so be it. I would rather have a Democrat in office that we can challenge straight up in the next election than a sponge like Arlen Specter who sucks the party coffers dry, while voting with the Democrats anyway, and keeping the party from endorsing a real conservative candidate.

Conservatives are going to regain control of this country’s future and hold our country true to its conservative roots, regardless of the tools we use. The Republican Party just needs to decide whether it’s going to be the best tool for that job, or just a tool.

Primary school in open air. Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts of Bucharest, around 1842.

Before we do anything, we as parents must step back and take stock of the fact that it is our individual responsibility to provide a quality education to our children, not the responsibility of the government. School districts were formed as tools to allow communities to pool their resources in order to assist parents in meeting that responsibility. The current system, which is governed by federal regulations and union contracts, has perverted that original purpose and replaced it with a behemoth of a machine whose goals have more to do with societization than education. The very school systems that we created to assist us have now usurped us, and dictate to us how our children should be taught instead of the other way around. The education of our children is our own individual responsibility. It easy to ignore that fact, but until we face it again as a people our education system is doomed.

What do we do about it? Simple. We take it back.

First of all, the U.S. Department of Education as it exists today needs to be abandoned. The federal government has no place in our public education system, and the very existence of this bloated, rotting bureaucracy is a slap in the face of every student, parent, teacher, administrator and locally elected school board member in America. Our school boards are elected by us to manage a school system that is owned by us, and they need to act that way. When the federal government decides that they are in charge, the elected members of our school boards have to stand resolute and do what they were elected to do. Represent us. If they won’t, they must be replaced. The U.S. Department of Education won’t go away on its own, but if communities across the nation turn their backs on them, and ignore them, they will become functionally impotent, with no more hold on our schools.

Part of the reason the U.S. Department of Education has gained such a stranglehold on our failing school system is that we became lazy. It’s too easy to sit at home, complaining that the system is a mess, and wondering when the government is going to fix it. As parents we have to hold our schools accountable again, and not to some federal agency, to us. We entrust our children to the school system because we believe that the specially trained teachers employed there are better able to teach our children, but how do we know? What do these people actually teach our kids? Reading? Writing? Math? Arguable considering the trending test results. Volunteerism? Activism? Socialism? Those seem to be common themes, but again, how do we know?

It is time that we demand an accurate accounting of everything that our educators are teaching our children. Every teacher must be required to inform every parent of what they intend to teach our children in their classrooms. Their syllabuses and talking points should be posted publicly, and be subject to parental review. If a teacher plans to spend their hour teaching my child how to solve simple algebraic equations, then the pre-class report will be nice and simple. A copy of the worksheet can be posted online on that class’s web page. If a teacher plans to explain to my child why a single payer health care system is preferable to a free market system, then they can post those talking points to the website as well. If the teacher plans to spend their hour teaching the proper construction of a functional irrigation system and instead the conversation turns to the effects of federal endangered species regulations on the local economy, that can be posted to the online class notes, too. These online class notes can be preserved year to year and be a tool for parents to decide what kind of a person they want teaching their kids. If we read them and find that a particular teacher manages to turn daily discussions of Shakespearean literature into daily discussions about the benefits of strong labor unions, we will be able to make educated decisions as parents as to whether or not this is the kind of person we want educating our children.

I know…you teachers out there are reading this and are up-in-arms right now screaming at me that we have no right to hold your occupation under a microscope. Too bad. You chose a profession where your actions will have a profound effect on the direction of the lives of our children. My children. And I want a say in how that education is provided. If putting your occupation under a microscope is the only way to do that, then so be it.

These are simple but important things that we can do to return our education system to its greater glory. Take back control of our childrens’ education from the federal government. Require adequate representation from the school board members that we elect to steward our schools. Demand accountability and transparency from our teachers. Not so tough, right?

Remember, your child’s education is your responsibility, and the school system is nothing more than a tool to help you provide your child the best education that you can. We can sharpen that tool, we can throw the tool out and get a new one, or we can throw the tool out for good and teach our kids at home. In the end, it’s our call. Either way, arbitrarily lengthening school days and school years on a national basis is just face makeup and yet another ploy to keep the power out of our hands and keep it in the hands of government.  That’s what got us into this educational conundrum in the first place.

Day two went a little better. Coming from the North side of the mountains you get to Turkey Flats by going through the Colorado National Monument and through Glade Park. From the Glade Park Store you head South on 16 1/2 Road for 10 miles to the trailhead, which is really pretty easy to find if you start out on the right side of the mountain.

The trail route that we took started at the Turkey Flats trail head and followed varied single track for about 3 miles where it intersected a fire road. Most of this is a steady climb, with a few spring crossings, and some rocks and roots. The only real bad part of this section of trail is where it is worn down 8-10 inches below grade with only a 8-12 inch wide path which made pedaling all but impossible. At about 1 1/2 miles, the trail forks in Haypress Meadow. We stayed left here, and returned on the right hand spur. At about three miles we intersected with the fire road. A right turn and a mile of climbing on the fire road took us to a reservoir that is currently being rebuilt and the Glory trail head. This is where this trail gets nasty. Can you say hike-a-bike? These next couple of miles were basically a grueling hike up the side of a mountain.

Climb. Climb. Then more climbing for two miles. I have to give Teresa credit — she never cussed at me one time, and she didn’t call me one nasty name. One time, she came around a bend and saw yet another climb and said, “You have got to be kidding me,” but she never resorted to violence. At the top (finally) the trail intersected with an ATV road that meandered for about a mile before intersecting with the Haypress trail head. From here it is 1 1/2 miles of screaming downhill to the Turkey flats fork in Haypress meadow, and then another 1 1/2 miles of downhill back along the Turkey Flats trail to the trail head for a total ride of about 10 miles.

Overall this was a fun trail, but it is a long grueling climb for the short payoff. Technically, I would call this an intermediate level trail, but you better be in pretty good shape if you want to enjoy it, because this is anything but a leisurely ride through the woods. Also keep in mind that you will be in the wilderness, and far from civilization. Supply yourself accordingly. I’d recommend a flashlight, a two-way radio, a hand held GPS and a space blanket, because you don’t want to be caught out here unprepared.

On the upside, this place is absolutely beautiful. The trail took us through miles of aspen groves in full fall color, along with gorgeous meadows and dark pine forests. While we didn’t see much wildlife on the trail, we did see deer, wild turkey, and big horn sheep in the surrounding area, and the drive in and out through the Monument is also enjoyable.

[Download]

Turkey Flats Trail These pics are from Turkey Flats Trail and the surrounding area.

– 27-Sep-2009 11:23SAMSUNG SCH-i910, 2.8, 4.507mm, 0.00255102 sec, ISO 50	– 25-Sep-2009 04:243.5, 6.18mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 80	– 25-Sep-2009 04:254.5, 6.18mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 80
– 25-Sep-2009 04:254.5, 6.18mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 80	– 25-Sep-2009 04:265.6, 6.18mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 80	– 25-Sep-2009 04:284.5, 11.75mm, 0.0015625 sec, ISO 100
– 25-Sep-2009 04:354.5, 6.18mm, 0.003125 sec, ISO 80	– 25-Sep-2009 04:405.6, 6.18mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 80	– 25-Sep-2009 04:415.6, 24.7mm, 0.003125 sec, ISO 80
– 25-Sep-2009 06:264.5, 11.75mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 80	– 25-Sep-2009 06:263.5, 6.18mm, 0.0015625 sec, ISO 80	– 25-Sep-2009 06:273.5, 6.18mm, 0.0125 sec, ISO 80
– 25-Sep-2009 06:273.5, 6.18mm, 0.0125 sec, ISO 80	– 25-Sep-2009 07:144.5, 6.18mm, 0.0015625 sec, ISO 100	– 25-Sep-2009 07:154.5, 6.18mm, 0.003125 sec, ISO 80
– 25-Sep-2009 07:153.5, 6.18mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 125	– 25-Sep-2009 07:155.6, 11.38mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 160	– 25-Sep-2009 08:224.5, 6.18mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 80
– 25-Sep-2009 08:224.5, 6.18mm, 0.003125 sec, ISO 80	– 25-Sep-2009 08:225.6, 6.18mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 80	– 25-Sep-2009 08:234.5, 6.18mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 80
– 26-Sep-2009 07:445.6, 6.18mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 07:445.6, 6.18mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 07:447.1, 6.18mm, 0.0015625 sec, ISO 80
– 26-Sep-2009 08:343.5, 6.18mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 08:343.5, 6.18mm, 0.01666666 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 08:354.6, 24.7mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 125
– 26-Sep-2009 08:484.5, 6.18mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 08:493.5, 6.18mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 08:494.5, 6.18mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 80
– 26-Sep-2009 09:145.6, 24.7mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 09:145.6, 24.7mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 09:155.6, 24.7mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 80
– 26-Sep-2009 09:544.5, 6.18mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 09:544.5, 6.18mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 09:554.5, 6.18mm, 0.0025 sec, ISO 80
– 26-Sep-2009 10:023.5, 6.18mm, 0.0125 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 10:024.5, 6.18mm, 0.003125 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 10:034, 15.01mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 100
– 26-Sep-2009 10:034.6, 24.7mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 200	– 26-Sep-2009 10:144.6, 24.7mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 400	– 26-Sep-2009 10:144.6, 24.7mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 400
– 26-Sep-2009 10:163.5, 6.18mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 160	– 26-Sep-2009 10:174.6, 24.7mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 400	– 26-Sep-2009 10:174.6, 24.7mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 200
– 26-Sep-2009 10:184.6, 24.7mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 200	– 26-Sep-2009 10:274.6, 24.7mm, 0.01666666 sec, ISO 400	– 26-Sep-2009 11:165.6, 24.7mm, 0.003125 sec, ISO 80
– 26-Sep-2009 11:184.5, 8.43mm, 0.0015625 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 11:194.5, 6.18mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 11:214.5, 18.61mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 80
– 26-Sep-2009 11:214.5, 13.14mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 12:594.6, 24.7mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 200	– 26-Sep-2009 12:594.6, 24.7mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 160
– 26-Sep-2009 13:004.6, 24.7mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 100	– 26-Sep-2009 13:004.6, 24.7mm, 0.01666666 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 13:014.6, 24.7mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 200
– 26-Sep-2009 13:014.6, 24.7mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 160	– 26-Sep-2009 13:014.6, 24.7mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 320	– 26-Sep-2009 13:063.5, 6.18mm, 0.0015625 sec, ISO 80
– 26-Sep-2009 13:074.5, 6.18mm, 0.0015625 sec, ISO 100	– 26-Sep-2009 13:094, 17.83mm, 0.0015625 sec, ISO 125	– 26-Sep-2009 13:105.6, 24.7mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 80
– 26-Sep-2009 13:104, 11.75mm, 0.0015625 sec, ISO 125	– 26-Sep-2009 13:115.6, 24.7mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 80	– 26-Sep-2009 13:115.6, 23.07mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 80
– 26-Sep-2009 13:304.5, 20.33mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 200	– 26-Sep-2009 13:314.6, 24.7mm, 0.00625 sec, ISO 320	– 26-Sep-2009 13:344, 11.03mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 200
– 26-Sep-2009 13:343.5, 6.18mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 160	– 26-Sep-2009 13:343.5, 10.07mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 160	– 26-Sep-2009 13:353.5, 6.18mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 80
– 26-Sep-2009 13:354.6, 24.7mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 400	– 26-Sep-2009 13:363.5, 6.18mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 160	– 26-Sep-2009 13:393.5, 6.18mm, 0.003125 sec, ISO 160
– 26-Sep-2009 13:404, 13.3mm, 0.0125 sec, ISO 250	– 26-Sep-2009 13:414, 10.49mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 200	– 26-Sep-2009 13:513.5, 6.18mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 160
– 26-Sep-2009 13:513.5, 6.18mm, 0.01666666 sec, ISO 160	– 26-Sep-2009 13:514.6, 24.7mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 400	– 26-Sep-2009 13:524.6, 24.7mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 400

Volunteer Bike Park Builder Weekend- Hilride is coming back to town to offer a second bike park builder training. Volunteers are needed! Download the flyer for all the details and spread the word!!

Download the Volunteer Builder Waiver and bring it with you.

Please come prepared with sturdy shoes (boots preferred) and gloves.

Materials and supplies are still needed. Visit the Donations Page for the complete list.