Painting Volunteers Make A Huge Difference

In the Last 3 Weeks This Has Happened At The Mountain Park Environmental Center

At the Horseshoe Lodge we have:

- Painted about 10,000 sq feet of walls and ceilings x 3 coats
all by volunteers
-Tongue in groove ceiling is almost completely installed
-Bathrooms are primed for completion and will feature Clivus Multrum foam flush composting toilets
-Electrical finish work is near completion
-Floors are being repaired where needed and old baseboard removed last winter are being sanded and restored by a volunteer and will be installed in the next week or two
-New phone systems are ready to be installed
-New Interior doors will arrive August 6th

We plan to move from our overcrowded MPEC headquarters to the new Horseshoe Lodge on Saturday August 23. We are rallying volunteers to help us move that day and celebrate this huge grassroots effort. We need helpers at every level including people to cook and bring food to feed our moving troops. email us at I WILL HELP MPEC MOVE

Don Richmond's Show on the Porch of the Horseshoe Lodge was a special evening !

Rain graced Don Richmond's solo concert last night which was divine and sooo needed as the summer temps in Beulah have been hot and dry . Our first concert on the porch of the Horseshoe Lodge was magical indeed and the 60+ music lovers who came out for the show were smiling ear to ear...as the Lodge itself seemed to be doing. When darkness came there was a deep quiet between songs amidst the " stately pines" as Don refered to them. There was no visible moon due to the clouds but some deer showed up in the horseshoe circle and someone commented to me that it was like being in a national geographic park..with the animals emerging from the woods.

More details soon on the total raised for this event underscored by the matching grant that will double every dollar earned by a generous donor from Colorado Springs. Don donated a portion of the concert fee as well as Michael and Becky Poisson from Westcliffe covering Don's balance. This all made for a strong evening that will further Phase 2 goals of the HSL renovation.

If you don't know the music of Don Richmond we recommend you visit his site and get one of his great cd's. No Man's Land is a collection of fine folk music inspired by the San Luis Valley and Don's connection to Nature. Our favorite song from this cd is Wide Open.

Backpacking, hiking, and Horseshoe Lodge!

June has been a busy month at MPEC! Here are some photos showing a bit of what's been happening: backpack camp in the Greenhorn Wilderness for middle school age kids (after a dayhike to the peak, they were treated to a lovely sunset over the Sangre de Cristos back at camp) and a guided hike from Hwy 165 back into Pueblo Mountain Park along the South Creek Trail (in collaboration with Wild Connections and the local Sierra Club chapter). The wildflowers were terrific, including several columbines. The Lodge photo shows that the insulation is in, hanging drywall is about complete for the upstairs (taping begins this week, as does downstairs drywall hanging), and the project is in full swing. We are looking for volunteers who would like to help out with painting, which we will be getting to in the next couple of weeks. If you're interested, please call me at 485-4444. Thanks, Ranger Dave

Mountain Park Alive with Nature!

This past Saturday, I was out along the park's trails doing some trail maintenance, and couldn't help but notice that the flowers are probably at their peak for the park, easily 3 or 4 weeks later than usual. Pictured in this blog are senecio, yucca, stonecrop, dwarf penstemon (p. virens), and mountain harebell, a few of the many wildflowers blooming right now. And at yesterday's birding hike, we saw several western bluebirds and at least a couple of western tanagers, two of the more colorful avian species found in the park at this time. It's a great time to take a leisurely hike in Pueblo Mountain Park to enjoy Nature's loveliness.