After 3 days of dry run at Chatfield, we head out for this
summer’s Western adventure. Today we
drove as far as Buena Vista. It was an
uneventful drive but we were nostalgic and wistful reminiscing about all the
trips down to Salida to see Steve’s folks.
We stopped for the night at the Buena Vista KOA. It was our first time at the BV KOA, and
possibly the last time. It’s off a dirt
road with unlevel dirt sites – plus the water tasted funny. So next time, we’ll try somewhere else. There are plenty of RV parks in the area so
we’ll just have to keep exploring for a better half-way stop.
Steve did an excellent job of navigating Monarch Pass yet
again. The trip took us past Blue Mesa
Reservoir, and we had never seen it so low.
What is normally a lake that goes on for miles was mostly a small river
going through a wide cavern of dirt.
Instead of boats, people were taking their cars to the middle. We had heard that it had been a dry winter,
but something more severe than that must be going on. Maybe we’re seeing that worst of the
negotiated water usage between the states.
Don’t know. Anyway, we arrived in
Ridgway safe and sound. Lisa, Cody and
the girls had set up a couple of hours ahead of us so they were relaxing and
the girls, at least, were full of energy.
Lana, Sonya and I went exploring down by the river and the fish
ponds. After dinner, we had an evening
of conversation by the fire. I saw my
first shooting star! Lisa had a phone
app to tell the constellations, and discovered that there will be a meteor
shower later this week. Hope we can get
far enough away from civilization to see that.
We woke up this morning to see Sonya riding her bicycle
without training wheels. Yesterday was
the first day she had tried riding a bike with pedals and she’s a year younger
than Lana was for her first free ride.
Must be something about Ridgway because both girls had the same first
here! They have been riding between our
two campsites constantly so Sonya is getting lots of practice. While Peyton was having her morning nap,
Lisa, Lana, Sonya and I decided to try a new adventure and took a very steep
and narrow trail in the park to see if we could see the Ridgway Reservoir over
the dam. I was very proud of the girls
who made it almost to the top of the hill.
But it was far enough. We did get
to see the lake and also got a beautiful view of the canyon where the trailers
were set up. The trip down was scary,
but Lisa held on to Sonya’s overall straps and Lana used hiking poles to keep
herself steady. I’m really proud of both
of them. The afternoon was very hot so everyone
came to our RV and had a break in the AC watching Fantasia. Then another quiet evening by the fire. Sigh!
Somehow we lost the morning but decided to go on a road
adventure this afternoon. Our drive took
us by the Ridgway Reservoir which looked a whole lot like the Blue Mesa
Reservoir. No wonder they said no
swimming! We started with lunch at the
True Grit Café (our local favorite). We
had the unfortunate company of a baby bat who had taken up residence right
under our table. You can tell that it’s
different out here in the country because when we pointed it out, no offer was
made to move us. The waitresses just shrugged
it off. So we did our best to “man up”
and ignore it. I guess we could have
asked to move if it really mattered.
After lunch we drove up through the San Juan Mountains to
Silverton. We made a couple short stops
but while the adults were as impressed as ever by the beauty of the country,
the girls were cranky by the time we arrived.
Luckily we found a miner’s sluice where the girls could pan for gold
and other minerals. With bags of gems in
hand, Lana and Sonya plus Steve and I then took a stagecoach ride around
town. By the end of that, spirits were
up so we explored the town a bit more, made the obligatory ice cream stop, and then
headed back home. After dinner, the
grown-ups drank and talked into the night. The stars are so magnificent to see
here. But it was too short a visit for
Lisa and Cody et al since they all head home tomorrow so Lana can start first
grade on Thursday. It’s a long drive for just two days. Not enough time for
them to really relax and truly enjoy this beautiful place. Hopefully we can
plan better next year and make it a longer visit.
So it’s back to Steve and I today. The girls visited with us this morning while
Lisa and Cody packed. It has been a
great couple of days but at least our adventure continues. Unfortunately, we’re having water heater
problems so it won’t be all fun and games.
A quiet day close to home.
The water heater that Steve purchased was used so returned
which cleared the day for more fun. We
returned to Ouray for lunch at O’Brien’s Café.
I used our walking around town as a chance to check out any stores that
might be interested in my boot bracelets.
It has been a very bad season because of all the fires and it is the end
of the season so I was mostly told to try again in May. Mostly.
I spoke with the owner of Wildflower Boutique with the idea that she
might be interested next year. She said
she was willing to see my samples. She
ended up buying eight of them and commissioned four more to be delivered before
we leave the area. Yay! Hopefully they sell for her and I have a
market in Ouray.
Another quiet day but at least we got to move a bit. Steve and I took a hike on the Dutch Charlie part of the Ridgway Park. The reservoir is extremely low but beautiful nevertheless. We stopped at the Visitor's Center and Steve was able to talk to a local about the route we will be taking to Flaming Gorge in another week. Still up in the air which way we will go. Quiet days for now until our move to Montrose on Sunday.
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| The Reservoir - the "Swim Beach" |
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| Closer to the Dam - we were told it's going down 7" a day |
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August 13 - Montrose
After a few quiet days and a not fun move from Ridgway to Montrose, we've settled in at the KOA near down town. We went to the Ute Indian Museum today. As often as we have been to this area, we've never visited it before. Not large, and similar to the Indian Museum we went to in Bar Harbor, Maine. Fascinating information and a lot of bead work. Their legends include reference to elephants and they have discovered evidence that the Utes have been in this area for 10-20,000 years (they believe the elephants refer to mammoths). Very sad 19th and 20th century history that is so typical but I think it's wonderful that they are working so hard to keep the language and culture alive. As another vanquished culture person (Scottish) and after the college time I spent on the Yavapai reservation in Arizona, I think it's really important and great that it is being supported by the community as well.
August 14 - Olathe
Check another off the list of things we do when we visit Montrose. Today, after hopefully one final visit to the RV store, we drove to Olathe for our annual visit to Mountain View Winery. We had a wonderful conversation with the owner, had our tastings, and left we three bottles of great wine. Still too hot to do any kind of real exercise, so relaxed the rest of the day.
August 15 - Black Canyon NP
We finally got an earlier start and it was a tad cooler, so we drove up to Black Canyon National Park. Finally got our three miles of walking in. Only got half way around the drive so hopefully there will be time for another go.
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| Rock Striations remind me of cave drawings - horse and rider maybe |
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| Steve diving into Black Canyon - Gunnison River below |
Flaming Gorge Reservoir – August 20-26
(Lucerne Valley Campground – US Forest Service)
No WIFI and only electric hookup so this as
not really my style of “camping” but the views were amazing and it was the one
week when three of the siblings were able to get together.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s certainly
not roughing it.
We did have a resident
heard of antelope.
So quiet when they
run and jump but amazing.
Only downside
was the antelope poop that was a bit of a hazard walking around.
But I’ll take that for the opportunity to see
these animals up close.
The weather was hit or miss.
Thunderstorms, high winds, and smoke that obscured the canyon, but it
was nice often enough to enjoy the week.
Bob and Gina and Laurie went out most mornings to fish from Bob’s boat
but didn’t have any luck catching anything.
Nice way for them to start the day.
Me – I preferred to sleep in as usual.
We got together for happy hour each afternoon and had a few shared
dinners.
We had one night of a raucous
game of dominoes.
I didn’t know it could
go that way but it was fun.
Rules kind
of came and went and nobody knew who won.
The Newhouses – plus Mark – had another rowdy evening of reminiscing,
singing loudly, and generally having a silly, good time.
Gina and I took the opportunity to go to
quieter environs and have some girl time together. Good conversations the rest
of the time.
The days were spent
exploring, so I think we have now seen Flaming Gorge from just about every
angle.
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| California Smoke |
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| From the back of our RV |
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| Our Sites from the Lake |
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Flaming Gorge By Boat – August 22
Bob and Gina took out their boat and Laurie, Mark, Steve and
I rented a speed boat to see the canyon and reservoir from ground (or rather
water) level. We couldn’t find a place
to land so lunch was on the go. Didn’t
quite make the full length because a storm was coming in. It was Mark’s first time driving a boat and
he did a great job. I was only scared
for part of the trip J. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
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| Mark at the Helm |
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| Bob & Gina in the Boston Whaler |
Flaming Gorge From Red Canyon Lookout – August 23
We drove to the Red Canyon Lookout thinking it would be a
good hiking spot, but not so much. But
the view made it worthwhile. We then
drove to Dutch John for lunch and explored the Dam area a bit.
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| Bob & Gina |
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| Mark & Laurie |
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| Us at Red Canyon - away from the edge |
Flaming Gorge From Dowd Mountain – August 25
Laurie and Mark had already explored Dowd Mountain and
assured us that the dirt road was okay to drive. But the storms had taken their toll and it
was a pretty rough drive up to the top of the mountain. After a brief intermission to make sure that
the thunder we heard wouldn’t mean we were in a storm at the peak of a
mountain, we finally got our hike in.
Again, spectacular views.
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| The Reservoir goes all the way to the top right corner |
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| The Gang |
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| The Newhouse Siblings |
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| Beautiful Sunset - with a little help from the California smoke |
Flaming Gorge From Sheep’s Creek Geological Loop – August 26
Sheep’s Creek Loop was a 15 mile trip which we started from
the wrong end. But that meant we saw the
most gorgeous part first and zipped through the rolling hills part. I did a bit of research and the mountain
sheep were close to wiped out like the buffalo.
They were so prevalent earlier that the Shoshone Indians who inhabited
this area were actually named for them.
But lucky for us, about 20 years ago, the sheep were reintroduced into
the area – some from Colorado herds – and have done really well. We were lucky to have an up close view of one
ram.
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| Transplanted Colorado Big Horn :-) |
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| Tower Rock |
August 27 – Heading Out
Bob and Gina made an early exit since their drive home would
be so long. The remaining four of us got
out pretty darn early too, at least for us.
We were on the road to the Tetons before 9:30. The drive was not an easy one because the
wind was so strong and we hit a couple of significant storms. But we were greeted in Teton National Park by
a beautiful rainbow, hopefully foreshadowing a great Wyoming visit.
August 28 – Tetons National Park - Colter Bay
After more storms last night, we finally got a look at the
mountains this morning. They are snow peaked and amazing.
The RV park (Firestone RV Resort Buffalo
Valley) is fine.
Full hookups and
WIFI.
Woo Hoo!
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| From the Back of the RV |
Today is a housekeeping day for me although
Mark and Laurie got out exploring.
After the laundry was done, we did get to Colter Bay just to see if we could rent a boat. Just the drive to and from was worthwhile. More adventures tomorrow - including new tires for the truck. Yay :-(
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| Colter Bay |
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August 29 - Tetons - Jackson, Wyoming
Since this was yet another service day (new tires for the truck), we decided to make a day of exploring Jackson. Steve lived here some 45 years ago so a lot of changes for him to see, and reminisce about the good old days. There was a free shuttle into town so we had plenty of energy to stroll the streets.
It is as I remember it - kind of a cowboy version of Aspen. Lots of galleries and jewelry stores. We did find a vegan restaurant on the outskirts of old town, so had a healthy and very tasty lunch. But then we ended up at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Some much for healthy. But the bar was here when Steve lived here so very fun for him. Nice bartender so fun for me. The bar stools are old saddles. Steve was disappointed that the gun rack was gone from the entry way. PC is everywhere, or more likely, the rich and famous have replaced the working ranchers.
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| Inside the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar |
With our spanking new tires, we headed back to homebase. We did get in a stop to see why we are here in the first place.
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Yellowstone National Park
September 2 – West Yellowstone KOA
Laurie and Mark took the high road – over Teton Pass, and we
took the low road – through Yellowstone, to get to our next stop. I’m still glad we did not take the Pass
although the road seemed wide enough.
When I heard of the 10% grade coming down and that they were in 2nd
gear with a much smaller rig (not factoring in my getting worse fear of
falling), I think we took the better route.
But it was the Sunday of Labor Day weekend so just getting through the
gate took almost an hour. We knew that
we would be dealing with crowd delays, and that definitely came into play. But we arrived safe and sound.
The KOA put us next to each other as requested, but even paying
premium prices, our site took 45 minutes to pull into because it was so
unlevel. We ended up having to dismantle
the picnic table to open the slides. Too
much trouble to relocate, so we’re just keeping that in mind for future
reference (not to come back here).
September 3 – Norris Geyser Basin
Something of a slow start today. The furnace didn't work so Steve did some internal exploring and found a melted wire nut. Too close to catastrophe for my taste but it was avoided. Shwew! So we four went exploring in
the afternoon to reasonably nearby Norris Geyser Basin.
Our first side trip was to see Gibbons Falls. Not high but wide, and one of many in the
park. But it was beautiful.
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| Gibbons Falls |
Our second side trip was to Artists Paint Pots. This is an area of boiling mud and it
certainly shows the extremes in the landscape here, especially after just
having left the gorgeous waterfall a few miles away. The pools were very fun to watch though. I took tons of in-a-row photos to try to
capture the activity. I had fun
afterwards looking at the camera shots as if they were a flip picture
book. It was sort of a slow motion movie
of the bubbling. We’re almost getting
used to the sulphur smell.
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| Artist Paint Pots |
The final stop was to the Norris Geyser Basin.
It is very smelly and very other worldly. It
is eerily beautiful and so we took the long walk around.
We all agreed that it was worth the assault
on our noses.
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| Norris Geyser Basin |
The only geyser we saw
active as one that maybe reached 10 feet tall.
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| Our Miniature Geyser |
This is the site of the largest geyser in the
park, but we missed it erupting by four days.
I think we were probably glad not to be in the park at 9:30 at night
since the geyser was more than 100 feet high and all the trees for quite a
distance were covered with a grey dusting (still there after four days).
A little too intense for my liking but I bet
it was spectacular.
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| See - We are still together |
We were talking about margaritas all the way home, but
couldn’t find a Mexican restaurant other than a bus, and the Slippery Otter Pub
ended up only serving wine and beer.
Disappointing but the food was okay.
Sigh. Maybe tomorrow.
