Utah, Colorado in the Fall

It's a nice time of year, late September; they say the heat was brutal in the summer.

Coming out of Nevada into Utah is like going from one planet to another. Scruffy, rough, bare-bones Nevada slowly turns into green fields, dairies, farms — all made possible by WATER — and genteel homes.

This hot springs by side of road. Water comes into the ponds pretty hot, so you can pick your water temp. Friendly place. One lean, tanned 60-ish-looking guy said he been camped here for 39 days.

Looks like combo root cellar/greenhouse…

Driving along, I’m hunting. Things of interest, like the beautiful barn above. Someimes I can hardly get anywhere, so rich is the countryside. But especially barns, for which I have a fondness. They exemplify the architecture of simplicity, practicality, experience — and therefore— beauty. One of these years I’m going to do a book on barns.

I mean, get a car!

Spent a night in Aspen (boy is that a town of affluence!) Great breakfast at Hickory House Ribs, then on to tackle Independence Pass (12,000 ft.), being really glad I didn’t try it at night.

Down out of the mountains (phew!) to Twin Lakes and a cool little community anchored by Bob Dalzell’s Perkolated Peaks coffee bus/cafe.

Parked behind Bob was Brittney Lillegard, who was selling her totally equipped Dodge Promaster van and moving to a pickup truck camper. Info on van: brittany.lillegard@gmail.com

Brittany’s adventures on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breathworkcaravan/

Brittany clued me in to a (relatively) quiet place to casmp at Burning Man.

Also in town was this bad boy. Owner left before I could talk to him.

I got a latte from Bob and told him I was gonna jump in the lake and he told me that a guy had drowned — fell off his standup board, it scooted away and he died of hyperthermia. I waded out and ducked under — pretty cold, maybe high 40s. But the colder you tolerate, the greater the boost in energy and chi.

Lastly, some architecture in Colorado

Nice! It’s like a bunch of tiny houses attached to each other.

Vertical and horizontal logs, nice proportions.

I like this tiny-home-on-wheels. The dormer corrects the claustrophobia factor in tiny gable-roofed homes with sleeping lofts. Simple dormer with flat roof. Nice metal roofing. I would wrap windows around it so you orient to the outside instead of the uneasy feeling I get in small spaces without adequate fenestration.

On to Crestone…