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WELCOME TO THE NEW WORLD of Texas politics. The Republicans have it all now: every statewide office, solid majorities in both houses of the Legislature, and Speaker of the House (although that won't be official until January). Yet that list doesn't come close to capturing the magnitude of the GOP sweep. The Republicans didn't just win; they crushed the Democrats. Not a single statewide race was close. Governor Rick Perry won reelection by eighteen points despite being outspent nearly three to one by Tony Sanchez. Of the 23 swing legislative races, Republicans won 18, most by decisive margins. In the governor's race, Sanchez carried just seven counties north of Interstate 10. Sixteen votes in Fisher County, on the South Plains, prevented Perry from winning every county in the northwest quadrant of the state. A pretty good election analysis could be compressed into eleven words: "There are a heck of a lot of Republicans in Texas."
The rout is all the more impressive because the Democrats mounted an all-out effort to regain their lost glory. They formulated a strategy based on the premise that a normal turnout of Hispanic voters in 1998 would have resulted in the election of two Democrats, John Sharp as lieutenant governor and Paul Hobby as comptroller. The low Hispanic turnout that year (somewhere between 12 percent and 16 percent of the total vote) was blamed on the absence of a prominent Hispanic on the ticket after Attorney General Dan Morales decided not to seek reelection. You know the rest: Sharp persuaded Sanchez to run, and Sanchez agreed to spend whatever it took to win; then, for good measure, Ron Kirk, the African American former mayor of Dallas, won a three-way primary to become the nominee for the U.S. Senate. The piece that completed the puzzle was the Bush factor in reverse: For the first time in three election cycles, George W. was not on the ballot. The game plan was perfect. Why didn't it work? To see where the Democrats did wrong, let's take a look at the numbers.
They alienated the white vote. The problem with any strategy predicated on minority turnout is that almost three fourths of the people who vote in Texas are white. Democrats typically need a little more than a third of the white vote to win, yet Republican tracking polls just before Election Day showed Sanchez getting far less—around 28 percent. Sanchez did aim his TV campaign at white voters, using rising homeowners' insurance rates against Perry and airing a video of Perry, as lieutenant governor, asking a female state trooper to let him "get on down the road" after a traffic stop. But he could never overcome the unfavorable first impression created during the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Faced with an unexpected challenge by Dan Morales, who had superior name identification, Sanchez was forced to fight for the Hispanic vote. Morales, an opponent of affirmative action, accused Sanchez, who favors it, of running for governor of Mexico. Sanchez challenged Morales to a debate in Spanish, hoping to expose Morales' fluency as insufficient. The public spectacle of a battle over who was "more Hispanic" alienated a lot of Anglos. In making race an issue, Morales said things Perry never could have—imagine the chorus of condemnation if Perry had accused Sanchez of running for governor of Mexico—and handed the Republicans an issue they would later capitalize on, defining the "dream team" of Sanchez and Kirk as a quota system.
They overestimated Hispanic solidarity. The governor's race turned on two competing views of Hispanics. The Sanchez campaign viewed them as a monolithic Democratic constituency and expected to get at least 80 percent of their votes. The Perry campaign embraced Karl Rove's view of Hispanics as an increasingly diverse community, some of whose members, because of strong family and religious ties or economic issues, are receptive to a conservative message. The Sanchez view was correct—in one county, that is. Webb, which includes Sanchez's home base of Laredo, gave him a margin of 35,101 to 3,958, or 89 percent of the vote to Perry's 10 percent. Elsewhere, though, the GOP view prevailed. In Nueces County, which includes Corpus Christi, Perry fought Sanchez to a draw. In Cameron County, Perry got 39 percent of the vote. Some of Perry's support came from Anglos, of course, but Republican pollster Mike Baselice estimates that he won at least a third of the Hispanic vote statewide.
They overestimated Hispanic turnout. Democrats had Republicans worried, no doubt about that. The probability of an explosion of new voters was tiny, but GOP candidates feared the sleeping giant nevertheless. Once again, the Sanchez strategy worked in Webb County, where the total turnout, 42 percent, was higher than in Collin County, a Republican stronghold that includes Plano. Yet the other big Hispanic counties along the Rio Grande—Cameron, Hidalgo, El Paso—all failed to reach 30 percent in total turnout. An even bigger problem for Sanchez was the state's two biggest counties, Harris and Dallas, each of which have more Hispanic residents than the Lower Rio Grande Valley. In Dallas County, two state legislative races in predominantly Hispanic districts had total turnouts of only 13,000 each (the total population of legislative districts is approximately 130,000). But contested legislative races in Republican areas routinely drew in excess of 30,000 voters. In Harris County, it was same song, second verse. "Republican turnout was at or above normal levels," says University of Houston pollster and political analyst Richard Murray. "But in the traditional barrio neighborhoods, it was low. It was better in mixed precincts, like in Pasadena, where upwardly mobile Hispanics have been moving."
They counted on ticket splitters. Sanchez was relying on some conservative business support, from colleagues in the banking and oil-and-gas communities and from constituencies offended by Perry's veto binge after the 2001 legislative session, notably doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers. It never materialized: The most startling development of the 2002 election was the disappearance of the ticket splitter from Texas politics. This didn't affect the outcome of

subset: commoncrawl


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Juventus defender Frederik Sorensen is a target for Wolfsburg.
Wolfsburg are chasing the 19 year-old Dane, who has struggled for first team football under coach Antonio Conte.
Bologna and Lecce are also in contact with Juve over a loan for Sorensen.
Football Is Life
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Air Products and EPRI Working Together on ITM Oxygen Technology for Use in Advanced Clean Power Generation Systems
Ion Transport Membranes Could Help Boost Carbon Capture in Coal-Fired Power Plants
An EPRI electric industry collaborative will help advance Air Products' on-going ITM project with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop this new oxygen production technology, which could significantly increase the efficiency and reduce the costs of advanced coal-fired power plants, both with and without carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage systems. EPRI's global collaborative efforts will focus on power industry-relevant design cases and features, and specific tests to help advance the overall ITM program toward successful deployment in the power industry.
"ITM technology would change the way oxygen is separated and used. EPRI's involvement with this technology is important as EPRI will directly involve the electric utility industry in helping to guide scale-up and integration of ITM technology for clean energy. This collaboration will give the industry a first-hand understanding of the technology," said
ITM technology uses a ceramic material which, under pressure and temperature, ionizes and separates oxygen molecules from air. No external source of electrical power is required in this process. The technology would be an alternative to traditional cryogenic air separation units, the conventional means of producing the large quantities of oxygen required by an IGCC plant and by any oxyfuel combustion power system. ITM technology would typically decrease internal power demand by as much as 30 percent and capital costs by approximately 30 percent in the oxygen supply systems at these power plants.
"By reducing the cost of coal gasification and oxy-fuel combustion, ITM technology will help enable a future generation of coal-fired power plants that will capture and store their CO2 emissions while using less of the world's limited land and water resources," said
The oxygen requirements for the power generation industry could grow substantially in supporting advanced coal-based generation and integrated carbon capture technology. EPRI estimates the current U.S. power generation industry share of the oxygen market is about four percent, but it could become the dominating market driver, accounting for more than 60 percent of the future market, or approximately two million tons-per-day (TPD) of oxygen by 2040.
Air Products and EPRI will examine the scale-up of the process and equipment, and the integration of ITM technology with other operations in advanced coal power systems. This research strengthens the on-going work by Air Products in the DOE cooperative program to develop options to lower the capital and operational costs of IGCC and oxyfuel combustion systems that require large amounts of oxygen. Air Products, which has been developing ITM technology since 1988, and the DOE already are collecting data from the operation of a five TPD oxygen pilot plant unit near
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE: APD) serves customers in industrial, energy, technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940, Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment. Air Products had fiscal 2008 revenues of
About EPRI
The Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (EPRI, www.epri.com) conducts research and development relating to the generation, delivery and use of electricity for the benefit of the public. An independent, nonprofit organization, EPRI brings together its scientists and engineers as well as experts from academia and industry to help address challenges in electricity, including reliability, efficiency, health, safety and the environment. EPRI's members represent more than 90 percent of the electricity generated and delivered in
***NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements. Actual results could vary materially, due to changes in current expectations.
SOURCE Air Products


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FMLY Fest assembles dozens of musicians for DIY weekend
By Emily Eveland
Hollow Boys embrace the dark on third album
By Sarah Stanley-Ayre
10 Thousand Sounds 2014: Behind the bands
By CP Staff
Black Market Brass delivers hip-shaking funk rhythms
By Zach McCormick
For the Love brings hip-hop festivities to Lowertown
By Jack Spencer
Kitty Cat Klub hosts Tourniquet Noise series
By Sarah Stanley-Ayre
Max Gremillion steps into the spotlight
By Rob van Alstyne
The world of Howler's sophomore album
By Zach McCormick
IN THEIR PROGRESSION from arty four-trackers to the most interesting middle-class rock commodity since Steely Dan, Pavement have also somehow self-consciously mutated into the best pop group of the decade (Spice Girls aside). Drunk on the idea of fabricating and fucking with their own rock myth, these pretty boys have authored a cosmology on little more than their honky sex appeal, their lower than low industry in-jokes, and three or four of the best 50 guitar hooks of the century. Even if they're never gonna sell many more records than say, the Replacements, they've been convincing us that they're ready to be the next R.E.M. for more than five years now. Now that we know they never will be only makes their royal scam sweeter. We--the loyal indie rock legions--still want them, and they win again.
Brighten the Corners doesn't continue to unfold Pavement's commercial conceit so much as it ducks into the folds themselves. What's interesting about the album's queerest lyric, a line in "Stereo" about the voice of 362-year-old Rush frontman Getty Lee ("why does he sing so high? / I wonder if he talks like an ordinary guy"), isn't the line itself, but the unironic response: "I know him, and he does." Even cooler is Malkmus's delivery: He's rapping. Well, not rapping rapping. More like a nonchalant Beckian white-boy speak-spiel, as if he woke up one day mimicking "That's The Joint" instead of Silkworm, and decided he liked his voice better that way.
Soundwise, the band's post-Sonic Youth/ R.E.M. melodic platitudes have never been so understated, its streams of hide-and-seek guitar-poetry never so hard to hold on to. At times you almost lose them; it takes a very strong dose of Steve Malkmus's under-triumphant charisma to make the escapism in his sweetest hook line, "the worlds collide/but all that we want is a shady lane," seem not just characteristically arch, but urgent as well. Then you find yourself pulled into the lethargic but inescapable art-rock epic "We Are Underused," get nervous when you find yourself in the shower singing, "the liberals say they don't exist/but I know that they do," and suddenly Brighten the Corners' shady lane--at times familiar, often odd--starts seeming like an electric avenue.
So is this in-joke art-rock or funky neo-pop? You guessed it: neither and both. This brilliant edition might have seemed kind of standard issue in the recently expired epoch in which every white boy from here to Louisville with a B.A. in English and a day job at Kinko's could come up with slick, slack, smart guitar-rock with all the effort it takes to spend their parents' money on Neu reissues. But in the morning after the day the guitar died, Brighten the Corners sounds like ingenious ex post facto rock fan deliverance, coyly gasping for (and winning) recognition alongside (or is that against?) electronica's new day risen. After five records of indie variations, these pretty boys still sound pretty important. It's almost as if the ideal middle-class rock band is becoming a middle-class institution. I wonder if they can give us a balanced budget by the year 2000. I'm sure they think they deserve one.
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Polamatic by Polaroid
iOS Universal Photography
Polamatic, the official app of Polaroid, brings back the instant nostalgia of Polaroid pictures. Featured on TechChrunch, CNET, The Verge, Tuaw and many more. The best Polaroid experience since actual Polaroid film itself.
Capture or import a photo then watch it develop just like a real Polaroid. Then select from 36 Polaroid frames, 36 photo filters, add text, and instantly share your Polaroid! Enjoy new features that make Polamatic one of the most unique photography apps you'll find - with authentic Polaroid frames, advanced photo editing features, and the freedom to write multiple layers of text anywhere on your photo.
BORDERS - 36 authentic Polaroid Classic Border frames. Our frames are true high quality scans of real new, used, and vintage Polaroid picture frames. You can also choose from a colorful palette of borders to give your photos a bit of flare and color.
FILTERS - 36 photo filters with live previews let you customize your photo any way you choose. With this wide variety of effects you will be sure to find the one that you love. From vintage styles to vibrant chroma film, our filters and photo effects give your photos a unique and authentic Polaroid flare.
IMAGE SETTINGS - Adjust the following 12 new image settings: exposure, brightness, contrast, saturation, gamma, hue, temperature, tint, shadows, highlights, and sharpness. Fine tune your Polaroid to make something truly unique.
TEXT - Add text to your Polaroid picture, choose from 36 handwritten fonts. Additional customization settings include size, color, and opacity. With a simple tap, you can now also add multiple pieces of text and drag and rotate text anywhere on your photo.
SHARE - Share your Polaroid picture via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or email. You can also save your Polaroid picture directly to your iPhone photo library (high resolution output 2282 x 2771 PX), copy to your clipboard, or open in other apps.
GALLERY - The Polamatic gallery saves all of your Polaroid images with your own personal Polamatic library. Images can be viewed, shared, and edited at any time. Additional gallery features include batch exporting to your camera roll, Facebook, or email.
STORE - The Polamatic Store features new film and border packs. This is a place where you can find new products to enhance your Polamatic experience. We will be updating it monthly with new features.
This product is distributed and sold by Appadana Development. Polaroid, Polaroid & Pixel, Polamatic, Polaroid Classic Border Logo, and Polaroid Color Spectrum are trademarks of PLR IP Holdings, LLC, used under license. PLR IP Holdings, LLC does not sell this product or provide any manufacturer's warranty or support.
Apple, iPhone and iPod are trademarks of Apple Inc.
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Hi Everyone! Just fixing a few bugs that have been affecting iOS 8 users.
Also we realized that it's really annoying to prompt you for a review while you're enjoying the app. So from now on no more pop ups asking you to rate the app. Although we removed this please do not forget how important reviews are to us. If you have a moment let us know how you feel about the app.
Please keep sending us any bug reports or issues you find in the app, we are working to resolve them as we see them. If you find anything that "bugs" you please send us an email: firstname.lastname@example.com
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Awesome: East Of Eden
Inexact title. See the list below. We don't have an article named Awesome/EastOfEden, exactly. We do have:
If you meant one of those, just click and go. If you want to start a Awesome/EastOfEden page, just click the edit button above. Be careful, though, the only things that go in the Main namespace are tropes. Don't put in redirects for shows, books, etc.. Use the right namespace for those.


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As a sales associate at the Sears Hometown Store at Starkville's University Square Shopping Center, Jimmy Glenn would like to set the record straight.
On Dec. 27, Sears Holdings announced the closings of 100 to 120 Sears stores, including the Sears at Columbus' Leigh Mall, as well as Kmarts, which are owned by Sears Holdings. As a result, Glenn said customer after customer has come into his store asking the same question.
"At least every other person, I would say one out of three people, is asking if we're closing too," Glenn said.
His answer is always "no."
The students of Starkville High School have taken to Twitter to remember their friend and classmate.
Shortly after Devin Mitchell's death on New Year's Day, the hashtag "#32forever" — representing the high school football player's number — began appearing on the social networking site.
Mitchell was murdered in the early morning hours of New Year's Day while he was visiting family in West Point. Police officials said Tavaris Collins, 31, of West Point allegedly started shooting into the dark when he heard the sounds of fireworks and thought someone was shooting at him. Collins fired multiple rounds and one struck Mitchell in the head. Mitchell was pronounced dead at North Mississippi Medical Center. Collins was arrested and charged with murder.
Starkville Police Officer Derek Nelson was placed in critical care following an automobile wreck Thursday.
Nelson was injured when his car hit a telephone pole and ran off an embankment, causing the vehicle to roll over and flip, SPD Chief David Lindley said. The accident occurred while Nelson was believed to be attempting a traffic stop, Lindley said.
Lindley first said Thursday he believed Nelson suffered a concussion and no serious injuries, but the police chief said he learned the injuries were worse than expected Friday.
"He has a cracked vertebrae in his neck and a broken wrist," Lindley said. "He also has a cracked orbital bone in his face in addition to the concussion he suffered."
Oktibbeha County Democratic Party Chairman Albert N. Gore Jr. says America's political system is broken and he aims to do something about it.
On Tuesday, Gore qualified to run for incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Wicker's U.S. Senate seat. Wicker, who has yet to qualify, is expected to do so in seeking his first full term as Mississippi's junior senator. Wicker was appointed to Sen. Trent Lott's seat in 2007 when he retired.
Gore, 81, is originally from Webster County and has a bachelor's degree in sociology from Millsaps College and a master's degree in divinity from Duke University. He joined the U.S. Army, served in Vietnam and retired as a colonel in 1988. For his service, Gore received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Gore was wounded by enemy mortar fire in Vietnam on July 4, 1967.
New Oktibbeha County Chief Deputy Chadd Garnett said he feels honored and lucky to serve in his new role.
"I consider it a privilege to be able to serve the citizens of Oktibbeha County," he said. "I want all of them to know everybody at the sheriff's department is out there working hard and making sure their community is a safe place to live and raise their kids."
Garnett is no stranger to Starkville and Oktibbeha County. Before beginning work at his current position this week he served in multiple positions at Starkville Police Department for a decade.
"I'm a Golden Triangle boy," he said. "I was born in Starkville, grew up in West Point, lived in Columbus and now I'm back here."
The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors approved more than $950,000 for second quarter budget allocations to the sheriff's department, county jail and tax collector's office Tuesday.
Each department's budget is divided into four categories: personnel services, contractual services, consumable supplies and capital outlay. County Administrator Don Posey said capital funds are for buying departmental equipment and inventory while consumable supplies include small-ticket items. Personnel services, he said, covers payroll, insurance, retirement and workers compensation, and contractual services pay for a wide range of binding agreements.
A Starkville police officer was involved in an automobile accident Thursday at 12:30 p.m. during what was believed to be a traffic stop on Garrard Road.
Officer Derek Nelson was transported to OCH Regional Hospital for observation after he hit a telephone pole and ran off an embankment, causing the vehicle to roll over and flip.
Starkville Police Chief David Lindley confirmed Nelson suffered a concussion but no other serious injuries, and a neurologist will soon be monitoring him.
At its meeting Tuesday, the Starkville Board of Aldermen approved revisions to the city's drug and alcohol personnel policy.
Starkville Personnel Officer Randy Boyd said he has spent the last year reviewing policies from other municipalities and organizations to revise the policy. He said he wants to keep Starkville's work force drug-free to make services to citizens safe and reliable.
The previous version of the policy limited neutral selection testing to safety-sensitive positions, such as firefighters, law enforcers, medical technicians and city machinery operators. Neutral selection is a random testing policy which not only ensures random selection, but also prevents the employer from waiving the selection.
The driver who hit a local cyclist last May, causing a number of broken bones and a brain injury, is appealing her guilty verdict and $50 fine.
Robbie Norton was found guilty of simple assault with a deadly weapon by the Clay County Justice Court in November for her role in the May 22, 2011 accident that left cyclist Jan Morgan critically injured.
Morgan and her friend Kim Richardson were on a training ride that morning when Norton's car struck Morgan's bicycle from behind, sending her flying. Morgan's body landed on the hood of the car and slid to the ground, landing near the passenger-side tire.
Witnesses testified Norton was panicking when she got back into her car and in an attempt to move the car out of the way, ran Morgan over and stopped with the wheel still on Morgan's head.
A Starkville police officer was involved in an automobile accident today at 12:30 p.m. during what was believed to be a traffic stop on Garrard Road.
Officer Derek Nelson was transported to Oktibbeha County Hospital for observation after his vehicle hit a telephone pole and ran off an embankment causing the vehicle to roll over and flip.
"It couldn't have been a worse place for him to run off the road. He hit a telephone and flipped over the shoulder of the road," Lindley said. "It looks like he is going to be OK, and that's the main concern. There was some discussion that he would either be transported to Jackson or Tupelo; they're doing that as a precaution."


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What's also remarkable about Gondry's work is its technical progression, from the homemade crudeness of his earliest videos for the French band Oui Oui, to the technical wizardry of Kylie Minogue's "Come Into My World," in which the Australian pop star is seamlessly multiplied as she strolls around a busy Parisian intersection; like many of Gondry's videos, it's a stunning "how-did-they-do-that?" work of art, reminiscent of Zbigniew Rybcynski's prize-winning 1982 short "Tango." From the hilarious dreamworld of the Foo Fighters' most popular video "Everlong" to the painstaking pixilation of Gondry's videos for the White Stripes (one made entirely of animated Lego blocks), this DVD is packed with Gondry's tireless pursuit of perfection; he'll do whatever's necessary, no matter how simple or complex, to achieve perfect harmony between song, artist, and visual concept. All the while, he's drawing from a seemingly endless well of inspiration, as evident in the delightful 52-page booklet of stories, drawings, photos, and interviews that chronicle the eternal sunshine of a brilliant mind. --Jeff Shannon
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It's Michel Gondry. I think that is a valid explanation for the great quality music videos. I can watch this DVD over and over again.Published 18 months ago by yohn sutton
It works! (My friend had recently tried purchasing this DVD but ended up with one encoded for Europe DVD players, and unfortunately can't watch hers. Read morePublished 22 months ago by Anne Godzicki
Bought this for my brother. I saw someone had this item at a party. They put it on their TV while people were just milling around and it was a huge hit. Read morePublished on January 17, 2013 by hamp101
I tend to never buy DVD's since most movies or documentaries I tend to watch once. Michel Gondry work is something that simply inspires me and I watch this DVD every time I need to... Read morePublished on December 17, 2012 by Mundotaku
The best of Michel Gondry. All the work here is carefully planned and get even more impressive when you understand what he was trying to accomplish with each one of the videos. Read morePublished on October 15, 2011 by aabraga
A huge fan of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and numerous Bjork videos, I purchased this double-sided disc set after a watching a friend of mine's copy. Read morePublished on April 3, 2011 by travel the world
Gondry has created some great videos, along with with suffocatingly cute unbearably whimsical work. Happily, his early work is the most cloying; he has definitely improved with... Read morePublished on December 26, 2010 by Mr. Apollo
we have more than gotten our money's worth from this dvd. already huge fans of bjork, the white stripes, massive attack, among many other artists featured here, the world created... Read morePublished on August 20, 2010 by koko's mom
I lent my copy of this DVD to someone and never got it back, so I'll have to buy another one. When people come over for dinner, I always want to show them these five videos:... Read morePublished on August 25, 2009 by Amazon Customer


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Honey Buns Does Colorado!
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Studly Adventurer
Joined: Apr 2011
Location: Patooty, Eastern Oklahoma
Oddometer: 586
After raining off and on all yesterday, and most of the night... Thursday dawned crystal clear and colder than a well digger's patootey! There was ice on all the Blazer's windows. As the Blazer warmed up and defrosted its windows, we were packing our lunch and getting pumped all over again about what lay before us today.
We both love the area we were getting ready to experience again: The climb on the old DSP&P grade from Pitkin to Alpine Tunnel.
We had mutually decided to take the Blazer instead of the bikes so we could amble along, do some hiking, take an ice chest (for the shrimp feast, picnic, remember?), drinks, etc. Also, we wanted to be able to interact freely (talk!) as we eased along in the Blazer and mutually grooving to the "Alpine Experience".
Ever since I begin to appreciate Colorado narrow gauge railroading (1990?) and begin to acquire books about same, the DSP&P has been one of my favorite Colorado narrow gauge lines. Honey Buns and I first explored the Alpine Tunnel area in about 1993. We were in our 1992 Buick Century. We drove the road bed as far as we could (stopping and gaping at the sights along the way)... only to be stopped by a snow slide that we could not cross with the Century. So... we got out and hoofed it the remaining 2 miles or so to Alpine Tunnel! It was great!
And here we were again, poised to experience Alpine Tunnel once again. Soon, we were ready to take off and begin our Alpine Tunnel adventure . Ahead would be something like 13 miles of one of the most historic and amazing pieces of railroading and railroad engineering ever accomplished in North America.
I took a TON of pics. Of course, like almost all things Colorado... pictures just cannot EVER do justice to actually standing there and experiencing it for yourself. An online acquaintance summed up seeing Colorado in one of his replies by saying that "it was almost a religious experience". I agree! Although there hasn't been a train over Alpine Pass in over 100 years... it was still a stirring experience to see the area once more and see firsthand what they accomplished to put those small rails over these huge mountains.
So... the Blazer loaded, our jackets on, and camera in hand... it was off for Alpine Tunnel.
All along the way, there are these facinating little "mini-scenes".... maybe a rock outcropping (as pictured below) or a histroical area (typically now with signs/makers interpreting the area)... the entire area is just steeped in history and "atmosphere".
We hadn't been motoring very far when a scene would open up that illstrated how FAST altitude was being gained. A 4% grade on a railroad will do that!
The aroma of the aspens and spruce were WONDERFUL as we slowly moved along. We savored the trip, the sights, the smells... all of it... every foot of the way.
A look back at a fill. There was a neat burbling brook tumbling down the mountainside here. In fact, most times when you stopped... you would hear the sound of rushing/tumbling water. That's cool, too!
And here's the tumbling water we were enjoying!
Just pick a direction, take a gander that way, and it was gorgeous... without fail!
Looking upgrade not far from the Woodstock town site. See that distant peak on up ahead? We'll be up there on the roadbed soon!
We were so fortunate to time our vacation time just right so we could enjoy the aspens in fall foliage again. We've only timed it this way once before. It was spectacular almost everywhere there were aspens!
More ruggedness from near the Woodstock town site. See that rock face up above?
If you look REALLY close (up top and on the right)... you'll see one of the palisades (rock retaining walls) that were used to hold the grade in place on the rugged mountain side. On the DSP&P, that area was referred to as "The Palisades".
One of the neatest things about the Pitkin to Alpine Tunnel grade is that history preservationists are doing their best to stabilize, and in some cases restore, the historic artifacts that remain. Here is the Williams Gulch water tank. It used to be at the townsite of Woodstock, until that terrible avalance wiped out the entire town. More on that in a bit.
Looking over the rugged granduer that comprises much of the climb to Alpine Tunnel. Again, if you look close, you'll see two levels of roadbed: The one we're on (it's in the foreground to the right)... and the one way up above! (You sort of have to know where it's at.)
This is the site of the old town of Woodstock. Woodstock was an interesting place in the early 1880's. It was extremely remote and living there was very rugged. The little narrow gauge DSP&P railroad was the only means of contact with the outside world. The boarding house at Woodstock was run by an Irish widow that had six children: Mrs. Marcella Doyle. The DSP&P Telegrapher there was J.S. Brown.
Sadly, a catostrophic avalance took place here during the winter of 1884. I will quote from Mallory Hope Ferrell's book "The South Park Line":
"The South Park's worst disaster occurred at Woodstock about 6:00 PM on March 10, 1884. A huge avalance roared down the steep mountainside above Missouri Gulch, completely burying the town and killing thirteen people. Included among the dead were telegrapher Brown, and all six of the Doyle children, who ranged in age from 10 to 23 years of age. Also killed were saloon keeper Joseph Royegno, Jasper Caswell, James Tracy, George Alexander, Michael Shea and Joseph Gerazo. Mrs. Doyle and three others were buried under the snow and not resuced for almost twelve hours... only to then learn of the horrible tragedy that had befallen the others."
The disaster wiped out the town of Woodstock, and it never regained its former size.
So sad. Life was tough in Colorado in the 1880's. The townsite with its memorial marker:
Looking upgrade from the Woodstock townsite...
Now we come to Woodstock Loop, later called Sherrod Loop. The rails of the DSP&P had to make almost a complete loop in order to make its final assault to reach Alpine Tunnel.
If you'll look closely... you'll see some rails have been relaid to help aid the historical significance of the area!
Here's a closer look at those rails...
In this shot, Honey Buns and I have walked out onto the fill that comprised Woodstock Loop. This is a majestic area!
In this view, I've turned 180 degrees to show you where we were...
See the rails over on the left? And, if you look real close over past the rails... you'll see our trusty ol' Blazer!
This is a classic shot that almost every South Park trekker has taken. I am no exception!
I thought this pic aptly illustrates just how much the restoration is adding to the "feel" of the Alpine Tunnel route experience. It's not too hard to imagine it's the early 1880's again, is it?
We've now left the Woodstock Loop area, and have proceeded upgrade further on the roadbed. In this angle, you're looking down near the Woodstock townsite. That road below is the roadbed that we were on.
Now you're looking further upgrade toward the Alpine Tunnel area. Look closely... you'll see the faint trace that marks the roadbed coming up from the Pitkin area. (Look on the distant mountainsides about 1/3 up the mountains.) Looking up ahead, that closest deep "V" is the pass area where Alpine Tunnel is located. See the upper roadbed just ahead as well as off in the distance where it rounds the curve to enter the Alpine Tunnel area?
The Palisades! Doubt there's a more fabled area than the Palisades! The rock formations here are incredible. Plus, the picture just doesn't convey the precarious way the roadbed clung tenaciously to the mountainside on a narrow shelf.
A closer look, and perhaps one that illustrates the height of the roadbed a bit better?
Now you're looking across a gulch at the roadbed we'll be on in a few more minutes.
Excuse the poor morning lighting, but this is a look back at the Palisade illustrated above. Trust me, these pictures don't even come CLOSE to the actual ruggedness of the area! We are WAAAAY up there in elevation in these pics on a narrow shelf of a roadbed!
Continuing our upward trek, this time toward the gulch I mentioned just above.
What a view! (And we're not at the highest point, yet!) You're looking back down the gulch toward Pitkin. See the trace of the roadbed on the mountainsides?
We keep on climbing higher... and we're still not there yet!
At last, after about 12-13 miles of climbing since leaving Pitkin, we arrive at the Alpine Tunnel area.
During the early years at Alpine Tunnel, there was a 150' long rock engine house that contained a 50' turntable (used to turn the steam engines around), a water tank, and a coaling platform... all of this INSIDE the engine house! There was also a small combination telegraph/train station, a rock boarding house, and other essentials.
The winters were so harsh on Alpine Pass, that typically the DSP&P line over it would be closed for weeks and sometimes months. Horrific snows were common.
Below you'll see a picture of the stabilized portions of the engine house. The preservationists have actually excavated the floor of the house and now the entire turntable pit is visible! The remains of the tank are still there, too.
Here's the restored small station... complete with the train order board!
Here's a replica of the coaling platform that was built after the engine house burned in 1906...
The preservationists have also relaid track using the original rails and tie plates and such in their original location. That's a stub switch you're looking at! All of their efforts REALLY help to add to the atmosphere! In this pic, you're looking toward the tunnel area.
They're even restoring the turntable that was installed after the loss of the enginehouse!
Now you're looking toward the actual Alpine Tunnel entrance...
And then, the actual tunnel portal rocks that have been excavated. Note you're looking at the TOP of the tunnel rockwork. The roadbed has been intentionally raised here to use as fill-in to close off the tunnel mouth. Otherwise, people will try (have tried) to enter the actual tunnel. Last time that was done and published (late 50's/early 60's?)... the timber lining was still intact, and the rails and ties were still there!
By the way... you can use old photographs to actually identify the individual rocks in the tunnel portal!
While eating our lunch, up came a couple of dual sport riders. It was a father and son team from Kansas. They come out to Colorado and ride together every year. Silly me, I didn't think to take a pic of them until too late. Oh well.
After spending some time at Alpine Tunnel, and eating our delicious lunch, it was time to start the descent back to Pitkin, load up the bikes, and head for Crested Butte.
I will be closing with a few more pics of The Palisade area.
Trust me, there are a LOT more pics... but I've already posted a TON of Alpine Tunnel/Pass pictures!!
The granduer and ruggedness is simply fascinating...
That's it for this segment.
In the next and last installment, we'll take our last dual sport ride of the vacation. It turned out to be a very pleasant surprise!
See' ya!
To Be Continued.
1969 - 2012: 43 Years Of Riding And Still Counting!
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Lincoln hosts Grant on Friday, with the one and only playoff spot in their district on the line.
Over the summer, the Cardinals and Generals were taken out of the PIL, and placed in a Special Distict along with Redmond. In what is by far the smallest league in the OSAA, only one team makes the playoffs.
Lincoln and Grant are both 1-0 in district play, so the winner of this regular season finale, will move on to the postseason.
Its been a rough year for both teams.
Grant (4-3) has lost games that would normally have won in the past, falling to 5A Jefferson, and Heritage of Vancouver.
Lincoln (4-4) has fallen victim to a tough non-conference schedule, playing teams like Aloha, David Douglas, and Skyview of Vancouver.


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