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July 3, 2010, a Saturday
Camp Hale, Colorado, USA
— Had lunch in Leadville and photographed wildlife at Camp Hale
We slept in a bit this morning. I did some more file management to archive and backup recent image processing activity while having my usual breakfast. I downselected the images from last night in Capture One (C1) then processed an image for the blog. In Photoshop CS5, after I exported a new File > File Info... template, I could no longer paste items from the clipboard into any of the fields. I had to quit and restart Photoshop so I could paste data. Did I mention that I'm not impressed by Photoshop CS5? I worked up a blog entry, then we packed up our computers and left in the Jeep around 11:35.

We went to Zichittella's Italian Restaurant in Leadville at 12:10. Leadville, at 10,200 ft (3109m), is the highest incorporated city and the second highest incorporated municipality in the United States. I had an Italian Stallion (Sautéed capicolla, salami, pepperoni and melted provolone served on warm ciabatta bread with marinara for dipping) and J had a small salad and a side of garlic bread. The sandwich was very tasty, and I enjoyed the side of pasta salad too.

We went to the Public Library in Leadville at 1:15 to use their free Wi-Fi. The connection was fast, and I quickly uploaded the bog entry and did other things online. I started to search for predictions of when the iPhone is coming to Verizon, and got sidetracked looking at Android-based phones, particularly the Motorola Droid X. It looks like it might be a decent solution for an iPhone-like device that would be able to do everything I need it to do, and it'll be available on July 15th. It doesn't have a slide-out keyboard like the Motorola Droid and I think I'll like the look and feel of it better. It has a larger screen (4.3 in or 10.9cm) than the iPhone (3.7 in or 9.4cm), and the reviewer said that it makes the onscreen keyboard much easier to use because the keys are bigger. So, I'll probably visit a Verizon Wireless Store later this month to try one out. We left around 3:45.

We went to a Kum & Go gas station so I could clean off the windows on the Jeep because they had gotten really dirty while towing it yesterday through the rain.

On the way back to the RV, we went by the "Dome House" that J's sister C used to own.

We returned to Camp Hale and drove around to explore some more.

Then we went to where the Yellow-Bellied Marmots hang out. Two marmots were out on the rocks when we arrived, and they were fairly cooperative. While photographing them, a Richardson Ground Squirrel came out to feed and I got some nice shots of it (far left). The marmots started venturing away from their home base to feed, and they got more and more comfortable with us there. At one point, four marmots were out at one time. Shortly before we left, one of the marmots sat up next to a Bushy Cinquefoil and posed nicely (near left).

On our way back to the RV, J stopped to photograph the shepherd. That's right, a shepherd had been watching a large flock of sheep in Camp Hale.

We returned to the RV around 7:30 and I started to make dinner while downloading the images I took.

We had dinner around 7:55 of Bertolli Tuscan-Style Braised Beef with Gold Potatoes. It's a new flavor, and we loved it — it'll become one of our regular flavors. The glass of Charles Shaw Merlot went well with it too.

I had a second glass of wine while I downselected the images from this evening in iView. Then I downselected them in Capture One (C1). I had a slice of J's blueberry pie before going to bed.

Correction: The ground squirrel we photographed yesterday was a young Richardson Ground Squirrel.