I offer my apology for the lack of recent updates. I've had all sorts of computer difficulties this month. The latest update is that my desktop computer has been reformated and upgraded to Windows 7. I have a good feeling the desktop will be okay. However, my laptop has suddenly become problematic. The receiver end of the charging component inside the laptop is not working well. Any day now I will be unable to charge my laptop's battery and it will be finished. (My three year service plan expired in January.) Problems, problems, problems! Ah but my God is so much bigger and stronger than all of these petty problems. :)

I've been hiking and enjoy the mountains a lot. A few pages: Mt. Sniktau, Grays and Torreys Peak, Mt. Evans Hike, Mt. Evans Scenic Byway, Mountain Goats and Guanella Pass. Enjoy!

Oh and lastly, today's photo was taken near Gregg Drive and west of Buena Vista, CO. All day clouds have been concealing the view of Mt. Princeton.

-Steve (July 31, 2010)

Mountain Sunset - Pretty Colors Over Mt. Princeton

This was the view I enjoyed as the sunset's final colors hovered over Mt. Princeton. I also posted a sunset photo that faces Mt. Columbia on my Facebook page, and never have I received more comments and "likes" from a posted link. No doubt, last night's sunset was spectacular, and many Coloradans throughout the state displayed their own photos on Twitter.

The Balloona Vista hot air balloon event is happening this weekend. You can see my 2008 photos here: Balloona Vista.

-Steve (July 24, 2010)

Sunny Summer Morning - Colorado's Mt. Princeton

Today's Mt. Princeton photo was taken while stopped on Chaffee County Road 320. This is located west of Johnson Village. It is not the greatest picture from a scenery standpoint, but I like the hill with homes in the foreground. It gives a realistic perspective of how some people see the mountain on the daily basis.

Yesterday I climbed Grays Peak and Torreys Peak, two 14ers located in the vicinity of Loveland Pass and Interstate 70. On Sunday, I intend to ascend Mt. Sniktau, a 13er that is commonly hiked from the Loveland Pass parking lot. After that, I will meet with Jeff Christlieb in Idaho Springs, where we will then drive together on the Mt. Evans Scenic Highway. It will be a full day! :)

Oh and lastly, my desktop computer is largely inoperable. Don't expect as many updates on my daily photo journal sites such as this one, Colorado Scenery and Cups of Coffee. Also, my webcam is not on. I am hopeful Jeff might be able to entirely reformat it by early August.

-Steve (July 23, 2010)

Johnson Village, Colorado (Photo of Mt. Princeton)

My desktop computer has not been working these past few days. I am hopeful to reformat this week, but in the meantime, my computer and Internet access is somewhat limited. Hence, don't expect as many updates. Today's photo was taken in Johnson Village, Colorado.

On Friday, I climbed Mt. Evans from Guanella Pass. "Mountain fever" is in full swing during our summer season! :)

-Steve (July 19, 2010)

Beautiful Classic Car - 1962 Oldsmobile Starfire

A friend showed me his 1962 Oldsmobile Starfire today. I am enamored with so many facets of this beautiful classic car. Of course, I had to include it in today's Mt. Princeton photo of the day! :)

-Steve (July 12, 2010)

Chaffee County Road 306 - Buena Vista, Colorado

Today's Mt. Princeton photo was taken while driving on Chaffee County Road 306, after I bought my morning coffee in town. I did not think it was a very scenic shot, but then I reminded myself that people from Kansas or Texas would probably "wow" over it.

If all goes well, I hope to do some climbing in the next seven days. I am hopeful!

-Steve (July 11, 2010)

Pretty Colorado Scenery - Photo of Mt. Princeton

Yesterday I hiked to Agnes Vaille Falls with friends visiting from Louisiana. Afterward, we went to St. Elmo and I captured some decent photos of hummingbirds. I have also been busy making other pages as well: 2010 Buena Vista, CO Car Show, Landscape Cacti (Martin's photos) and my cups of coffee.

Today's photo was taken on Gregg Drive west of Buena Vista. It is a pretty morning in the Rocky Mountains!

-Steve (July 9, 2010)

I climbed Horseshoe Mountain (alt. 13,898 feet) in the Mosquito Range on Sunday. Facing south, I captured this scenic mountain shot that includes Mt. Princeton way out there on the right. 13ers Weston Peak, the Buffalo Peaks and Ptarmigan Peak are located on the left, and the grassy valley on the right leads to Weston Pass. It's like a Rocky Mountain wonderland when you're at this elevation! :)

Thanks to the help of Jeff Christlieb, my desktop computer is 80% to 90% working. I still need to work on cleaning my desktop, but I think the worst is over.

-Steve (July 6, 2010)

Today's Mt. Princeton photo was taken from Maxwell View Drive, a residential area south of Buena Vista and west of Johnson Village. As you can see, it is a very pretty morning in Colorado's Rocky Mountains!

NOTE: My desktop is having significant problems and everything seems to indicate it has been slammed with viruses. In its six year history, I have never seen it this bad. My anti-virus program apparently didn't stop whatever attacked it. Currently I'm working on trying to reformat the computer, but even that seems undoable. Hopefully I will have someone look at this machine in person, but if you don't see as many Mt. Princeton updates or new pages on my ColoradoGuy.com site, you know why. (I am typing this from my fragile laptop, and don't use this for regular use.)

-Steve (July 5, 2010)

Last night I went for a walk to enjoy the summer evening and watch the sunset. So pretty!

This weekend's plan is to visit the Buena Vista, CO car show on Saturday. On Sunday, I intended to climb Horseshoe Mountain (13,898'), located in the Mosquito Range and near Mt. Sherman. Have a great weekend! :)

-Steve (July 2, 2010)

Today's Mt. Princeton photo isn't the greatest, but at least it is something new.

Yesterday I made a new video about how not to quit when biking across America. It is a long video, but so far people have said positive things about it.

The Buena Vista, CO car show happens this weekend on Saturday. I am really looking forward to this! :)

-Steve (July 1, 2010)

This morning I climbed two 13ers, Weston Peak and Ptarmigan Peak, both located near Weston Pass. It was a very enjoyable morning and I really like how the photos and video turned out.

Today's photo was taken as I was driving toward Johnson Village and into the Arkansas River Valley. A nice shot of the mountain and I kind of like the RV and Jeep in front of me. :)

-Steve (June 28, 2010)

My friend Phil Ladden has been vacationing in Colorado this week. He came to Chaffee County on Wednesday and we climbed Mt. Sherman yesterday.

This morning, as he was leaving, I traveled with him to the overlook east of Johnson Village. Not a shabby shot of Phil with Mt. Antero and Mt. Princeton behind!

-Steve (June 25, 2010)

Today's photo was taken on Chaffee County Road 304, which formerly functioned as a railroad grade for the Midland Railroad. Also in the picture is Mt. Antero (left) and Bald Mountain (right).

My friend Phil Ladden will be arriving in Salida, Colorado this afternoon as part of his vacation. I look forward to taking the day off and climbing Mt. Sherman with him tomorrow morning! :)

-Steve (June 23, 2010)

Today's Mt. Princeton photo is a "lazy shot" taken as I drove west on Chaffee County Road 306. Finally, after six months of winter (October 21-April 21) and two months of spring (April 21-June 21), it feels like summer has truly arrived. These next eight weeks of summer (June 21-August 21) are a very special time in Colorado! :)

This morning I inserted a new photo of Buffalo National River on my Arkansas scenery website. I am really hoping, with God's help, that I will have the time and money for an autumn visit to Arkansas this year.

-Steve (June 22, 2010)

Today's Mt. Princeton photo entry was taken while driving on State Highway 291, north of Salida.

Last week we had an amazing sunset, and finally I made a photo gallery: Sunset Scenery. Also last night I made yet another video, this time discussing how to pick a bike across America route. Although I have plenty of work this week, I intend to take Thursday off to climb Mt. Sherman with Phil Ladden. Should be fun! :)

-Steve (June 21, 2010)

Happy Father's Day! I posted a video tribute for my father, who died in November 2008. You are welcome to watch it.

Today's Mt. Princeton photo was taken west of Buena Vista, Colorado. The mountain looks great today!

On Friday, I created a new page that offers 5 tips for biking across America. On Saturday, I hiked with friends in Low Pass Gulch, located east of Granite. As for today, it is a lazy one. I will visit a friend's birthday party this evening and that's about it. :)

-Steve (June 20, 2010)

Today's Mt. Princeton photo was taken from Chaffee County Road 340, west of Buena Vista. Look at all the green!

Yesterday I climbed Quail Mountain, a 13er near Twin Lakes and Granite. After summiting that mountain, I think I have a full case of "mountain fever." I look forward to many more hikes this summer. :)

-Steve (June 17, 2010)

I've titled this photo as a "down to earth" view of Mt. Princeton. Yep, it's just an ordinary view of the mountain as I drove on Chaffee County Road 306 near Buena Vista, Colorado. Notice the layer of white snow above timberline! :)

In the past 24 hours, I have made two videos about bicycling across America. My goal is to reach more people who need encouragement and help with biking across America. They are: Bike Across America Encouragement and Advice For Beginners.

-Steve (June 15, 2010)

Over the past two days, it has snowed in the higher elevations of Colorado. Mt. Princeton received a new layer of snow as seen in the photo above. Also, snowfall has been reported in Leadville, Breckenridge and the I-70 corridor. It looks like much of Colorado received rain, but near 10,000+ feet the precipitation turned to snow. Glorious snow!

In other news, I captured a photo of my coffee at church today. I also continue to work on my book. I made a website that will serve as my provisional online headquarters for my (hopeful) writing career: www.SteveGarufi.net.

-Steve (June 13, 2010)

Beautiful Colorado Scenery - Chaffee County, Colorado

Today's photo was taken from Chaffee County Road 319, south of Buena Vista. It is good to see the grass and trees green in the foreground.

This morning I snapped a photo of my morning coffee. I dare to say it was a perfect cup of coffee. :)

-Steve (June 10, 2010)

Tonight's Colorado sunset had some color above Mt. Princeton. Very pretty! If all goes well, I hope to do some cycling in Salida, Colorado on Friday afternoon.

In other news, this week I created yet another "photo of the day" type of site. This one is a fun and whimsical page that displays my daily coffee photos: Steve's Coffee Cups. :)

-Steve (June 9, 2010)

I swung by the Collegiate Peaks Golf Course in Buena Vista this morning. In all my years of photographing this scenic mountain, never have I included our town's 9-hole golf course. As you can see in the picture, golfers have a grand view of Mt. Princeton on at least one hole. :)

In other news, I have working on two new websites that have a similar "photo of the day" style. One is dedicated to Arkansas scenery; the other Colorado scenery. It is tougher to update them as regularly as this one, but I'm doing my best. :)

-Steve (June 8, 2010)

On Sunday morning, I played hookey on church and hiked Triad Ridge, located southeast of Johnson Village and Buena Vista. Hardly anyone climbs this ridge and there is no trail. However, the mountain is quite noticeable as one drives on Highway 24 & 285 between Johnson Village and Trout Creek Pass. Above is a photo near the summit. Colorado 14ers Mt. Shavano, Tabegauche Peak and Mt. Antero are all visible to the left (if you're acquainted with how they look) and of course, Mt. Princeton stands as a beacon of mountain beauty to the right. :)

So did you see my Arkansas Razorbacks apparel video? What do you think? I welcome your comments on my fan page on Facebook. Additionally, on Friday evening I made a photo gallery of remaining snow in the forest near Cottonwood Pass. Check it out!

Have a great week, friends. Summer is in full swing and Buena Vista has been buzzing with visitors!

-Steve (June 7, 2010)

I snapped a photo of Mt. Princeton this morning as I traveled west on Chaffee County Road 306 toward Cottonwood Pass. This particular spot is located approximately three miles west of the center of Buena Vista, Colorado.

On Tuesday, I had an Arkansas Razorbacks Fashion Show on an isolated dirt road. You really ought to check it out! ;)

-Steve (June 4, 2010)

This morning I visited the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Buena Vista, Colorado. A large crowd was gathered near the entrance for some kind of Memorial Day observance. I dedicate today's Mt. Princeton photo entry to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this great country.

When I consider the meaning of today's holiday, it makes yesterday's Colorado Jeep Trail adventure seem so trivia ... and yet I'm profoundly grateful to have a life full of blessings.

-Steve (May 31, 2010)

The above photo of Mt. Princeton was taken as I cruised on Chaffee County Road 321 southwest of Buena Vista, Colorado. I rolled down the passenger side window and snapped shots while moving. :)

On Thursday, I visited Cottonwood Pass for the first time in 2010. As you can see, plenty of snow remains above timberline. However, less snow exists in the mountains this year compared to others. Additionally, the pink clouds in the sky last evening were very pretty!

-Steve (May 29, 2010)

Today's Mt. Princeton photo was taken from Chaffee County Road 361 as I drove home from a full day of work.

This week things have been noticeably busier in Buena Vista, CO, as whitewater rafting guides, kayakers, vehicles with canoes & boats and RV's have come into town. Memorial Day kicks off the de facto summer season, and I want to welcome all visitors to Chaffee County.

As for me, I don't have much planned this weekend. I intend to work on my book on Saturday, and perhaps I will pay a visit to Taylor Park Reservoir on Monday. I suppose I should get in a hike sometime too. :)

-Steve (May 28, 2010)

Today's Mt. Princeton photo was taken on a friend's front lawn on Chaffee County Road 306, approximately 2.5 miles west of Buena Vista.

This morning I learned an article was written about my Chaffee County Walk in yesterday's edition of The Mountain Mail. You can read the article here: Local walks 61 mile vertical length of Chaffee County. The story encouraged me and put a large smile on my face ... so much that I made some progress in editing a chapter about my 2008 bike across America trip.

This morning I visited Bongo Billy's Cafe in Salida, a place with a nice ambiance, to take on my writing. At one point, I wandered outside to snap a photo of a kayaker on the Arkansas River.

-Steve (May 26, 2010)