Alone again

Sunday, July 12

Beautiful sunny morning again, and a great way to wake up. Mom and dad are going to start toward home. Shelly and I are going to wash clothes, so they followed us into Santa Fe. We stopped at Walmart and exchanged some clothes, and decided to check emails at Lowes. We stopped on the side of Lowes and noticed an urgent care right in front of us. Shelly's  finger had started getting infected from a pine cone splinter, and we didn't want it to get worse, especially Boondocking in the middle of nowhere. We checked emails while waiting to be seen at the clinic, and the doctor prescribed antibiotics after seeing her finger. Mom called while we were waiting in the clinic, and said they were at the rest stop near Santa Rosa. She said everything was good, and they were doing fine. We decided to eat at the Mexican restaurant we like, and split a fajita dinner. A mariachi band was playing loud in the restaurant, so we didn't hear the phone. We walked next door to goodwill, and soon got a phone call from Erica, saying mom had been in an accident. They were all right, but said the Airstream was totaled. They were going to stay in Santa Rosa for the night, and said there was no reason for us to go there tonight. We washed clothes, and posted on Airforum that we would be a day late getting to Gila forest. We'll go early tomorrow to Santa Rosa to check on mom and dad. 

Monday, July 13

We left camp about 6:30, and got on I25, but missed our turnoff to 285. By the time I figured out I missed it, we had to stay on the interstate about 10 more miles to the next exit. We rechecked the gps, and this time it said to stay on I25 to hwy 84. It turned our to be a much more scenic drive, and not much further. We met mom and dad at McDonalds, and then drove to the Silver Moon wrecker service.

We scavenged what we could out of the Airstream, but realized it is totaled. We said our goodbyes, and drove back to Santa Fe. We talked with Nancy Eklund,  and they were waiting to decide if they were going to the original destination, or try a different camp since they had gotten so much rain here. We decided to stay one more night here in Black Canyon. I hiked up to the top again, and talked with Ann Pustejovsky back in camp. She had just gotten back from a western tour of the U.S.. Another Airstream was parked in site #34, and I visited with them for an hour. Rich is the manager for Bishop's lodge, and was escaping to relax from the renovations going on at the Lodge. He invited us to see the lodge when we get back. 

Tuesday, July 14

Shelly is getting tired of getting up early, but we did it again. We drove through Albuquerque and Socorro on our way to Quemado. We saw the "very large array" , and had to agree that it is very large. Nancy had left a message telling us they had changed camps to Piñon campground on Quemado Lake. We made it there around 1, and were alone for the first few hours. They had gone rock hunting, but all came to say hello when they got back. We visited for a while, and then went hiking and looking for rocks and stuff until dark. We met Jan and Ed from California,  

Chris and Carla, from Taos, but formerly from Austin, Maggie from Normal, Illinois, Glen and Estrella from Florida,  Brent and Connie from Buffalo, Wyoming, and Ray and Nancy. We built a fire, and visited until about 10. 

Wednesday, July 15

We drove to our original destination about 30 minutes south of lake Quemado, and down a dirt road about a mile. We hiked up a small hill, and started finding chalcedony. (Pronounced kal sed' uh nee.) I was planning on picking up only a few pieces, but between Shelly and I, we ended up with a gallon bag full of them. It was addicting, but fun. After we had been hunting for several hours, it started raining lightly. We all started back toward the trucks, and by the time everyone got to the trucks, it was a steady rain. The road was turning to mud. Ray stopped to check on a path around a mud hole, and when he said to come on, I didn't slow down until I got to the gravel road. After waiting on the others for a few minutes, we started walking back to check on them. We only got a short distance, before they got to us. Glen almost got stuck, but was able to rock the truck to get out. We got back to camp, and washed the chalcedony off to see what everyone found.

Ray said the previous rains had washed out the rocks, and was the best hunting he had ever seen. We visited with everyone until dark. 

Maggie, Nancy, Ray, Connie, Glen, and Jan

Thursday, July 16

Jan and Ed, and Brent and Connie left this morning, and we said goodbye. We drove toward slaughter Mesa, off of hwy 32, and then on to forest road 4000g. We walked from there about a mile to a private cabin. We were checking for signs of Anasazi, because Ray had said they were everywhere around here. We had found signs all along the road in, when Ray told us he had found several pit houses toward the mountain. I saw an elk antler across a ravine, and claimed it. It was a nice 6 point, and searched in vain to find the other one. We hiked about a quarter mile up the hill to the pit houses, and were amazed how the Anasazi lived. There were several pit houses in the area, and one of them had four sections to it. They were all along the edge of the ravine, which is dry now, but in wetter times, it probably had running water in it. The day was warm, until it clouded up, and was threatening rain. Estrella had been missing for a while, so Glen went to look for her. We were almost back to the truck, before Glen's honking found Estrella. She said she was never lost, but just waiting for us to return. Ray, Glen, Chris, and their wives took the gravel road back to the camp, while Shelly and I went toward Quemado. I had seen the sign for Fox mountain lookout several times, and decided to find out what was there. The road went on for about five miles, and got steeper, rockier, and narrower as we went, until Shelly's nerves told me to turn around. We ended up in Quemado, and bought gas for $2.95. We were hungry, so we bought beef jerky and bugles. We called mom and dad to check on them, and they were fine. We called Erica, but kept getting cut off. The phone showed 5 dots, but we couldn't get messages or emails. We'll have to wait to check on the world. Back at camp, we visited for a while, and started planning on a Wyoming trip next year. 

Friday, July 17

Everyone else packed up this morning, so we said our goodbyes. Shelly and I drove back to the area we went to yesterday, but stopped on forest road 4010. We drove about a hundred yards before it started getting muddy. We stopped and hiked back to the area of the pit houses to see if there were others in the area. We didn't find any others, but enjoyed the cool day and hiking in this beautiful area. We started walking back down the road we came in on, but when we got back to the gravel road, we realized we had missed the turnoff to where we parked. We walked near the road about a half mile back to the truck. We drove the gravel road back to camp, which took an hour instead of the half hour on hwy 32. It was scenic, but rough. Back at camp, we decided to move to a single campsite #58. 

Shelly and Sadie

Site #58

We played cards until dark and called it a night.

Saturday, July 18

I wanted to find a camp I had stayed in with mom, dad, and my sisters 45 years ago in Arizona. I knew the area it was in, and looking at Allstays, it looked like Alpine campground south of Springerville, Arizona. I can remember tent camping, and waking up to a cold summer morning. I hiked up the mountain that morning and soaked up the sun to warm up. Jeri, Karen and I hiked up a trail to a walled in cave, possibly Anasazi. Back to the present, Shelly and I drove through Quemado to Springerville, Arizona. We stopped at McDonalds to check emails. We couldn't get their wifi, but used the iPhone as a hotspot. After checking emails, I decided ice cream sounded good, so I ordered two. After 15 minutes, I finally asked how long it was going to take to get the ice cream. She Apologized and said she forgot. Good thing we weren't in a hurry. We stopped at a moving sale, and got an electric burner for $3. We also went to a thrift store and an antique store. We drove south into the mountains, and found the campsite I was looking for.

It still looked pretty much the same as I remember, but it was pouring down rain just as we got there, so we couldn't walk to see if the walled in cave was still there. We drove back to camp, and relaxed. I hiked across a ravine to the hilltop on the other side, and enjoyed the peaceful evening. We played cards again.

Sunday, July 19

Left Quemado lake about 9, and drove south through Silver City, to Mimbres.

A thunderstorm in the mountains

Clouds building up north of Silver City

We checked into mountain spirits Rv park, in Mimbres. They are nice side by side sites and $25 a night. We drove back to Silver City to Walmart to buy groceries. Back at camp, we decided to wash clothes, but the dryer was out of service. The owner said we could use the clothes line, so we did. I fried bacon and sausage outside using our "new" electric burner, so we could put in the freezer for later. The clothes dried in about the same amount of time as they would have in the dryer. We checked in on the world since we had wifi here. 

Monday, July 20

We drove to Gila cliff dwellings and got there about 10:30.

We watched a short video in the visitors center, and learned about the dwellings. The hike up to the caves was about 15 minutes, and almost strenuous. 

On the way to the top

The first cave with the valley in the background. 

The second cave and the Anasazi style "t" door

Shelly about to go into the cave

Shelly afraid of falling off the walkway

An idea of how high the dwellings are

Shelly being brave

A look at the caves from below

Done with the tour. 

We enjoyed the Gila cliff dwellings, but we both liked Mesa Verde much better. I don't remember them from when I was a kid, and thought this would jog my memory, but it didn't. Funny that I remember the Alpine campground, but not this. On the way back, we checked out Mesa campground on Robert's lake. It has full hookups, and in a pretty area for only $15 a night. We're planning on coming back tomorrow to stay for a few nights. Back at the Rv park, Shelly cut my hair in the camper, and decided to wash the few dirty clothes we had. 

About time! Colorado and New Mexico!

Sunday, June 28, 2015

We're off again.

It's been way too long since our last trip, and I've been ready for a while. We're traveling with my parents again, heading for cooler Colorado. We drove through Walnut Springs going to Stephenville and then north to Wichita Falls. The cowboy church let out just before we got to Stephenville, and it took 20 minutes to get a half a mile.

Giant marshmallow farm!

We had planned on going to Amarillo, but we decided to stop near Clarendon at a city park. After driving north of Clarendon 4 miles, they said we could stay, but not Sadie. No dogs allowed. So we backtracked to Yankees Rv park on the east side of Clarendon. Not exactly an Rv park, but more of a parking lot next to the highway with electricity. And the electricity was in the form of a 50 amp outlet, and no discernible breaker or fuse. The fuse was missing from the dilapidated box. I had already paid $30 for the priveledge of staying here, and the owner decided it would be better for her to go to a hardware store and buy two adapters. So we waited. We were tired enough that we got a good night sleep.

Shelly making breakfast.

Our beautiful campsite.

Monday, June 29

What can I say about west Texas, except we made it across! Long monotonous drive. After filling up with gas in Raton, we decided we were tired of driving, so we checked Allstays for a place to stay. There were 3 places in Raton, but none looked good. We found a great spot on top of Raton Pass, called Raton pass camp. It has great views to the south, and is high enough in elevation that it is cool. It got down to about 60 at night.

The view from our site.

The view of our Airstreams from below. 

 

Tuesday, June 30

We tried to see if Rocky Mountain national park had any last minute cancellations, but to no avail. So we decided to drive to our original destination west of Pueblo Colorado. We got the last two spots available in la vista campground on lake San Isabel and set up camp before noon. It is a great camp, and has electricity. Even though the camp is at 8500 feet elevation, in the sun it was almost hot, so we were thankful for the electricity. We'll be able to stay here through the Fourth of July, so that takes the pressure off on finding a camp for the holiday. The sites with electricity are only $24 a night. Shelly and I walked around camp in the afternoon, and dad and I hiked down to the lake later in the day.

We met Bob and Esther Brothers, and after mom showed them the 59 Airstream, they wanted to buy our 63 when we finish it. 

970-259-0859 ohbrothers@yahoo.com from Durango, Co. 

Wednesday, July 1

We rode with mom and dad to see Bishop's castle about 6 miles north of camp. We had been there about 20 years ago, and wanted to see it again. Jim Bishop had started building a castle years ago, and worked alone. It is impressive, and amazing that one person built the castle, but the workmanship has gone downhill since he started. Some of his engineering is questionable at best, but I had fun climbing to the top of the towers, hoping this was not the day it decided to fall. Shelly and I drove to Rye to get groceries. Mom cooked salmon, and Shelly made zucchini and tomatoes for lunch. We started hiking around the lake, but it started thundering, so the hike was cut short. We ended up playing triple Yahtzee, until it quit raining, and then stood by a campfire until dark. Mom won at Yahtzee, and I lost. The temperature was about 60, so the fire felt good. 

Thursday, July 2

I walked Sadie down to the creek, and decided to stretch and exercise on a picnic table. I jogged back to camp, and Sadie was tired. Shelly said Sadie didn't want to do much the rest of the day. I hiked the Cisneros trail up to a cabin and old mine. The host said it was a mile and a half to the cabin, so I told Shelly I'd be back in about two hours. Only it was a mile to the trail head, then a mile and a half to the cutoff to the cabin.

Old cabin on the trail

Columbine flower

Then it was almost a half mile to the mine.

The trail was steep, but the scenery was worth it. I started paying more attention after I saw the fresh bear poop on the trail, but I never saw a bear. The cabin was very old, but had a new deck, and window shutters and door. It was right on a creek, and in a beautiful location. It is very secluded and only accessible by trail.

 A waterfall above the mine

I got back after about four hours, but Shelly is used to me underestimating time. We had 16 bean soup for lunch, and was delicious. I took two beano pills with it, but I think they had the opposite effect on me. Wow is all I can say. We played triple Yahtzee again, and was very close, with only 19 points difference between dad's winning score of 1735, and my losing score of 1716. Shelly had 1718, and mom had 1726. 

Friday, July 3

Beautiful sunny morning. We had been told of a scenic drive, so we drove north on Colorado 165 past Bishop's castle, and turned left by Ophir creek. We stopped to cut some firewood, because we're too cheap to buy it. We found a beaver pond on a creek, and stopped for a picnic lunch.

We took several pictures of baby ducks, old cabins, and a two holer outhouse.

We drove to the top of the mountain, and got cell phone service, so we made several calls. Mom says the views remind her of the movie "the sound of music".

We checked out Ophir creek campground, but decided it is not as nice as the one we are in. I lost at Yahtzee again, while we waited out the rain, and dad won again. We stood by a fire again, and mom was impressed how a blow dryer turns the fire into a furnace. We made plans for where we're going after here. 

Nice sunset in Lavista campground

 Saturday, July 4

I exercised by the creek again, using rocks as weights. Dad wanted to see the old mine at the top of the Cisneros trail, so we hiked to see it.

We left about 10, and got back around 2. We scrambled around the old mine, and found what we think was where a water wheel was.

The amount of work that went into the mine building is astonishing.

 Dad enjoyed scrambling around the ruins.

We took our time hiking, and enjoyed perfect weather.

It was thundering as we were on our way down, but cooler. Back at camp, I started a fire to cook bratwurst on. Shelly cut up, and seasoned some zucchini that we grilled also. As we were eating it started sprinkling on us, which it had done the past 3 days, but before we could get inside, it started pouring down. The wind got up also, so we had to put the awning away in the rain. We played Yahtzee again with me losing. Again. Seems to be a pattern here. Shelly came in second. It was a cool 55 degrees and windy this evening, so Shelly and I watched a movie. A goofy movie called sign of the otter, with terrible acting, but the scenery was decent. It was so bad, we ended up pretending it was supposed to be a comedy. 

Sunday, July 5

Another cool sunny morning. Packed up and moved north. We drove back to i25 and north to Denver. On the way, I wanted to rest, so I took the first exit to find a parking lot big enough to pull over in. There was nothing close at that exit, so we got back on the freeway. The next exit had several gas stations listed, but when we exited, it took us off the freeway about a half a mile before we could find a parking lot. The gas station was older, and too small for two trailers, so we tried to get back on the freeway. Easier said than done. After going north on the access road about a mile, the gps said to take a right. So we did. We finally found a large church parking lot, and took a rest, but had to drive a mile and a half south to get back on I25. In Denver, I decided to get gas before going into the mountains. Shelly found gas for $2.57 on gas buddy, so we took that exit. Naturally the gas station was a mile off the freeway. We turned left to get to the gas station, but there was no entrance to the station, and no u turn at the next intersection. After going into a residential neighborhood, we finally got turned around In a cul de sac. Whew. Back on the interstate, we headed uphill on I70 going west uphill on about a 7% incline. In the rain. Heavy rain. All the way through Central city, up and down 8% inclines. In the rain. Heavy rain. We got to cold springs camp, and found two sites next to each other. 15 and 16. After a late lunch, we played Yahtzee again with the same results. Me losing. That is 5 straight losses. Now that my bad luck is used up, I am ready for the casino. Ha! I walked up the trail to a vista on top of the mountain, and got several good pictures. 

Sunset

Panoramic shot!

Monday, July 6

Well it rained all night the day I left. Dad drove us to black hawk and Central City. We stopped at an older casino and used their parking lot. Shelly won $15 in about 10 minutes, and mom, dad, and I lost a couple of dollars. We decided to walk around to check out the town. Several stores were closed, and after about 30 minutes, we decided to eat at Red Dolly's casino for lunch. I had a French dip roast beef sandwich, and Shelly had their club sandwich. They were both delicious. Shelly and I both lost a dollar there, and we drove to Black Hawk to another casino. We parked on the third level, and spent about 20 minutes there. We both lost a couple of dollars there. Shelly's winnings made up for my losses. We got back to camp, and we got our truck. We took two trucks to Nederland to wash clothes and buy groceries. Dad and I went to a rock shop nearby to check it out. Back at camp, we found out there is rain forecast for several days everywhere in Colorado. We decided the rain would be more tolerable in a lower elevation, but we're not sure which way to go. 

Tuesday, July 7

We decided on driving toward Colorado Springs, and I remember reading on Airforum that Ray Eklund lives near there. We called and let him know we were in town, and he invited us to come meet them and have dinner. We drove to his house in Castle rock, and visited for an hour, before Nancy got home. They live in a beautiful neighborhood, and have a 6000 square foot house that is equally as beautiful. We got to see his collection of books, fossils, arrowheads, barbed wire, dice, minerals, chalcedony, pottery, art, juke boxes, antique slot machines, and other assorted stuff. It is impressive and we got to know them better. Shelly is now looking forward to next week in southwest New Mexico, instead of dreading going camping with strangers. Mom and dad are now considering going with us to go camping there. They asked us to stay in their upstairs bedrooms, but ended up talking us into staying in the road in front of their house. Nancy prepared pork loin, potatoes, salad, and snap peas, with ice cream for dessert. It was all delicious. Shelly and I visited with them and drank a few beers until 10 that night. Dad was feeling bad, so they skipped visiting again. 

Wednesday, July 8

We awoke to a light tapping on our door at 4:30 A. M. Actually the tapping woke up Sadie, and her yapping woke us up. Mom said dad hadn't slept at all, and needed to go to the hospital. He was unable to urinate, and in severe pain. We drove into Castle Rock to the hospital, and got dad checked in. After catheterizing dad, they were able to relieve his pain, but suggested him going to a urologist. We left after several hours, and made it back to Ray and Nancy's house in time for breakfast. She made scrambled eggs, with veggies, toast, bacon, bagels, and raspberry jam. All delicious again. We decided to drive back south to Raton pass Rv park today and try to get to Santa Fe tomorrow. Mom was driving today, and did great. She said she enjoyed pulling the Airstream, and was glad she is now over her fear of pulling it. We checked in, and had a relaxing evening. 

Thursday, July 9

We left Raton about 9:15 and drove south on I25. Mom was driving again, and after about 45 minutes I noticed her pulling over to stop. I stopped and started backing up. I backed up about a hundred yards, until a reflector post hit our right mirror and bent it forward. At first we didn't notice it had scraped all along the right side of the Airstream. Arrgh. We made it to Santa Fe about 1, and to the camp about 1:30, still hoping to find two sites available. With amazing luck, or maybe Mom and Shelly's prayers, we got two of the best sites in the park. # 34 and 35. They are non reservable, so we can stay up to 14 days.

Shelly made spare ribs, asparagus, and stuffing for lunch. I hiked up black canyon trail, and came back to light a fire.

We sat by the fire until about 7, and decided to play Yahtzee. I kept telling everyone "I have skill" , trying to change my luck. I guess it worked, because I got 4 Yahtzees, and won! We slept great again, and woke up to a beautiful sunny morning. 

Friday, July 10.

We drove into Santa Fe to buy groceries and show the town to mom and dad. We went to the Walmart on the south end of town. I needed a card reader for the iPad and found one at Best Buy. We stopped at Smith's for perishables and dad and I went to habitat for humanity. Back at camp, Shelly made potato soup. I hiked to Hyde park up to the waterfall. It actually has water falling this year, and is nice. They have had a lot of rain this year also. Back to camp, we played Yahtzee again, and this was Shelly's night. She rolled 3 Yahtzees and won! 

Saturday, July 11

Shelly and I wanted to try the casinos here, but mom and dad did not, so we drove out to buffalo thunder casino. I was down about $10, and Shelly was down about $5, when I won $60. We played for a few more minutes, but still came out about $35 ahead. We stopped at Camel Rock casino and lost $15 more. It is still more fun when we are using their money. Back at camp, we ate potato soup, zucchini, and salad. We talked with Karen from Granbury. She is in a newer Airstream across from us. We drove up to the ski area to show the area to mom and dad.

Mom and dad overlooking Sante Fe

Shelly and mom

The tent caterpillars had destroyed a huge area of aspen trees, but we read where the aspens usually survive.

Back in camp, we got mom and dad ready to leave tomorrow, and played Yahtzee again. Shelly and dad were both doing great and we knew they were close, but dad had two Yahtzees, and Shelly only had one. Shelly had one roll left, and rolled a Yahtzee on the first roll! Dad still won by 12 points, but it was exciting.