MY STORY

On January 20th 2010 I departed for my Colorado adventure. Final destination is Telluride, CO. My previous employer closed our Boston office on October 31, 2009 and this seemed to be the most opportune time to do something different. My inspirations are two things really. They are both movies. First is "Into the Wild", a movie about a person who leaves his life behind to pursue a life in the Alaskan wilderness and along the way he meets people that shape his life. The second movie is "The Bucket List", a movie about two terminally ill men who escape a cancer ward with a wish list of to-do's before they die. The #1 item on the wish list is "Witness something truly majestic". My adventures are not exactly similar to these movies, but underlying themes and life changing perspectives are. As far as the location, I thank my sister for that. She lived in the beautiful & remote town of Telluride for five years and met Paul there. Their 1997 wedding was in Telluride (Trout Lake). Telluride is nestled in the dramatic Rocky Mountains of Southwest Colorado.

BLOG 101

If you are new to blogs so am I. Here is an intro. The home page http://mycoloradoadventure.blogspot.com/ has all the posts (the write ups) in order and they work so that most recent is at top of the order. i.e. Day 1, my first post/write-up, is on the bottom page of all the posts/write-ups. On the left side of the blog site there is a "Blog Archive" section where you can navigate to pick and choose year, month and then specific daily posts/write-ups. I wanted to share this in the event you are new to blogs.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Day 59 - 3/19/10 - Hot Springs







"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward." ~Spanish Proverb






Today is Friday March 19th 2010. Today will be my first trip to one of the famed Colorado hot springs. Here is Wikpedia's take on a hot spring:

A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heatedgroundwater from the Earth's crust. There are hot springs all over the earth, on every continent and even under the oceans and seas.

The water issuing from a hot spring is heated by geothermal heat, i.e., heat from the Earth's interior. In general, the temperature of rocks within the earth increases with depth. The rate of temperature increase with depth is known as the geothermal gradient. If water percolates deeply enough into the crust, it will be heated as it comes into contact with hot rocks. The water from hot springs in non-volcanic areas is heated in this manner.

In active volcanic zones such as Yellowstone National Park, water may be heated by coming into contact with magma (molten rock). The high temperature gradient near magma may cause water to be heated enough that it boils or becomes superheated. If the water becomes so hot that it builds steampressure and erupts in a jet above the surface of the Earth, it is called a geyser. If the water only reaches the surface in the form of steam, it is called a fumarole. If the water is mixed with mud and clay, it is called a mud pot.

Note that hot springs in volcanic areas are often at or near the boiling point. People have been seriously burned and even killed by accidentally or intentionally entering these springs.

A truthful but unpleasant last thought from Wikpedia. After being on the mountain yesterday (Tanya's first day skiing) we made our way to the popular Ouray hot springs of Colorado. With respect to that last thought by Wikpedia, Ouray is not near any volcanic area so serious injury is generally not a risk. It was snowing heavily all day which made a visit to the hot springs even more adventurous. There are thousands of hot springs throughout the world. In the United States the highest concentration of hot springs are located in the western and mountain states with California and Oregon having the most.

The picture of the day (not taken by me) is that of the Grand Prismatic Spring. This Spring is the largest hot spring in the United States. It is located in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park. When I saw the picture of this Spring I was amazed by all the colors that surrounded the deep blue center. Having researched it the colors are derived from bacteria produced by the differing levels of seasonal heat that the Spring endures. This is not a Spring you would want to relax in as this Spring discharges approximately 560 gallons of 160 degree (Fahrenheit) per minute. To put that into perspective a typical front load washer machine uses approximately 20-25 gallons of water per 30 minute cycle.

And this leads me to a random thought of the day. It relates to the 20-25 gallons used by a front load washer. I'll explain further with some side math:
  • Front load (newer) washers = 20-25 gallons per 30 minute cycle.
  • Top load (more traditional) washers = 40 gallons per 30 minute cycle.
  • Average # cycles per year per household = 400 cycles
  • Gallons saved per year per household (front load vs top load) = 6,000-8,000 gallons
  • Approximate savings - 45% on water......and 30% on energy.
  • My reaction = WOW! Get a front load washer if you do not have one. It probably pays itself (or a matching dryer) off in utility savings over 7-8 years!
That is my random thought for the day. My not-so-random thought is that if you have never been to a hot spring, visit a place that has some. Many places build resorts around hot springs. Domestic is good, but other countries that are renowned for their hot springs are China, Canada, Costa Rica, Iceland, New Zealand, Peru, Taiwan and Japan. Hot springs are naturally soothing. And if you make it to one during a snowstorm then you will be in one place, at one time, with two very different sensations.

Good night from Telluride and hope you are well.



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