Thirty Mile Campground Creede, Colorado

My grand ambition to post here regularly failed to take into account that we would be off the grid for the first three weeks of our trip!
Now we are in Durango, planning to visit Mesa Verde and maybe even go glider flying (don't worry Mom - They are safer than planes - after all, there is no motor to worry about!!!!)
We have decided that Thirty Mile Camp, 30 miles from Creede, Colorado is THE place to go in August to escape Texas heat. The campground has no electricity or sewer hookup and you have to load water from a faucet. Every morning we awoke to a temperature in the thirties which WOULD have been even better had we had propane working. But we developed a leak and so had to do most of our cooking on a fire and wait for the sun to warm the RV. Don't feel sorry for us though! The hiking was spectacular, fishing on the Rio Grande Reservoir was productive (Mike beat me!) and the stars were brilliant.
Georgia spent her time hiking with us and keeping the raging chipmunks out of our camp. I think her paws may be as sore as our muscles, but we are all enjoying ourselves!When we arrived in Durango yesterday, we did stop at an RV repair facility and got the propane leak repaired.

Day 2 - FRIDAY - La Veta, Colorado

None of the clocks in the RV are working yet - I haven't replaced the old batteries.
Still in Capulin, pre-dawn, Mike got up to tinkle, and I followed after him. After I had crawled back into bed, I noticed he had looked at his watch and I inquired about the time. Five-thirty, he mumbled. Thirty minutes later I gave up trying to get back to sleep and thought "What the heck, six o'clock - I'll read a while - quietly". After an hour, I find my watch and discover that NOW it was 6:00 am - Mike had been referring to "Texas Time" - it was really 4:30 in New Mexico. By then I was already into my book, sleep was impossible, so I just stayed up.
Three hours later, after breakfast and purchasing the grass fed, free-of-hormones meat that we always get in Capulin, we said goodbye to the Volcano and hit the road. Crossing Raton Pass into Colorado was uneventful, but again we were following clouds and rain squalls - and glorious coolness (60 degrees). The Spanish Peaks were visible as soon as we crossed into Colorado.Three hours later, we arrived at our destination in La Veta - the Elk Lodge RV Park - right across the street from a gorgeous golf course and at the base of the West Spanish Peak Mountain. Deer and Elk frolic on the links while golfers play through. Last year I photographed 4 trophy mule deer buck here on our way to Cuchara.After lunch we set out up the mountain to Cuchara to see if the National Forest Campground was crowded (we plan to go there Sunday and stay for a week). The drive is less than an hour, but we are staying in La Veta because when we ride the train tomorrow, Georgia can't go with us and we want to leave her alone as little as possible).
On the way up the winding, switch back road, we rounded a corner and saw a Dodge truck precariously hanging over the edge of the narrow mountain road with two young men clinging to the back of it. Another truck had just arrived from the other direction and its driver was desperately trying to find a way to tow the Dodge off the brink. All he had was some nylon rope. Meantime the two kids hanging on the back of the Dodge (and their female companion) informed the growing crowd (no one could pass - we were a captive audience) that it was their weight keeping the truck from falling over the edge to the creek 25 feet straight down below.
The Good Samaritan in the Ford was worried that the rope would break and possibly do more harm than good. They needed a tow chain, and the one we usually carry in our truck had been removed to wash the bed and was not replaced. We were no help (but I DID grab my camera and begged forgiveness from the hapless hangers-on for taking pictures).Eventually someone DID arrive with a chain and tow strap, and it was quickly tied to the Dodge and the savior Ford.With a mighty roar, the Ford pulled the Dodge off the edge of oblivion and disaster was avoided. According to the young people in the truck, they had just parked the truck to photo the creek below and the e-brake was engaged. But with all the rain we've had, it appears as if the edge of the road was mushy, and as the truck started over the edge, the boys jumped on the back to counterbalance it. It was lucky they weren't in it when it started to fall - I doubt this story would have had a happy ending!We continued up the mountain and discovered that the campground was staying pretty full and we decided to get there soon after 1:00 pm Sunday if possible. The scariest part of our trip is going up this road with a 35 foot RV. The switchbacks are hairpin and harrowing - especially if you encounter someone coming DOWN with an RV. USUALLY those leaving are gone by noon, though, so those arriving get the whole road. USUALLY. We've never had to back up, but we have had some close calls with vehicles NOT pulling RVs. Most people are fairly careful, though.
Oh, and we found out that there have been 6 new black bears spotted in the area and one was shot by a camper in the Blue Lake campsite one-and-a-half weeks ago. It is against the law to carry a handgun into a National Park, but the camper WAS NOT ticketed. Don't worry, Mom! We'll be OK!!!! Life on the edge......ha ha ha!

Day 1 To Capulin, New Mexico

The first day of this year's BIG TRIP finally arrived and I don't think I could fit anything else into the RV or the ice chest. Thankfully it has been raining for a week in our area of Texas and that mainly means our neighbor, Ron, won't have to move the big bales of hay into the pasture for the horses quite as often. The gate and house was secured, the refrigerator was empty, and all our neighbors promised to stop by regularly. The kids plan to spend a night or two and keep the yard mowed. There was nothing left to do but leave.We left fairly early Thursday morning between rain squalls and passed green pastures and standing water all the way across Texas. I cannot recall ever seeing the dry land corn and cotton near Amarillo so healthy. And all the pastures are lush. Oddly enough, though, the two biggest cattle feedlots in West Texas were empty. Mike said it's because of the drought that has, until recently, covered most of the state. Many of the big ranchers have sent their cattle north, and that's evident with the abandoned empty feedlots and pastures.New Mexico was green and rainy, too, and we arrived in Capulin around 6:30 pm Mountain Time. We quickly set up the RV, ate dinner and settled in for the evening. A late afternoon shower treated us to a spectacular double rainbow right out our front door.After the rain let up, I went exploring for images on my bike and got some pretty nicely illuminated skies and buildings.Tomorrow we head out for La Veta and the train ride.

Easy and Tuffy Part

Easy’s temporary roommate, Tuffy, left this evening for a new pasture. Carl, the builder, received Tuffy in trade for a job and needed a place to keep him for a while, and we obliged. I’ll miss him, because he’s a handsome son-of-a-gun and made an interesting model (and, yes, I have plans to paint him), but I don’t think Easy will miss him much, because he was quite domineering.

Easy was agreeable to letting him be boss, unless Dandy was around. So I had to keep the filly in a separate pasture, or the guys would fight over her. Such is the nature of the fairer sex, huh? Always causing a ruckus and keeping men in turmoil.

Georgia will miss him, too, because he learned the tag game very quickly and chased Georgia as much as she chased him. What fun!

Easy Gets a Pasturemate

I have a friend, Carl, who is temporarily boarding his horse, Tuffy, with us.
Tuffy is a buckskin paint with a domineering attitude. He's a lot of fun to ride and is really interested in Ron's cows. His original owner had "issues" about his bossiness over the other horses in the pasture, so we have been extra cautious about turning him out with my horses, especially PJ, who, being a typical mare, thinks she is boss. We were concerned about Dandy, too. Not because she would get into a fray, but because she just might inadvertently end up caught in the middle.
So Tuffy has been here a couple weeks - "talking" to PJ through 2 fences, and Easy has just returned from his adventure in San Antonio. Ron has leased the big pasture for his cows, so I have only the little South pasture, the round pen and small corral to keep horses in. Ideally I would LIKE for them all to "just get along", but that is wishing for too much. PLUS I need to feed Dandy extra because she is still a growing yearling so she needs to be separated, but within eyesight.
SOOOO it's time for "musical horses".
Ron's cows are temporarily off the big pasture because he just fertilized, so I can use the double corral with the water tank to lock up Tuffy and Easy side by side over night - separated by a stout welded fence. No problem. They sniffed noses, snorted and squealed and settled in f or the evening.
Our initial object is to get Easy and Tuffy to get along together in the South pasture. We catch Dandy and put her up safe by herself. PJ is in the round pen on her yearly Spring diet. Tuffy is released into the South pasture alone to get the lay of the land for a few minutes (do you need a program yet?). Easy watches safely from outside staying close to me (he is NOT an alpha horse).
With Tuffy still exploring, we release Easy to go investigate. Tuffy continues to ignore Easy and sniff the pasture. Finally they face one another, arch necks, squeal and kick, with Easy quickly agreeing that Tuffy is boss. (Yea, just what I expected)
Tuffy chases Easy. That's OK, because he's used to PJ on his tail constantly, and he knows where all the escape routes are.
They run the pasture together, with Easy leading
And finally they settle down to eating grass, what horses do best - no one injured and no feelings hurt.
Carl and I finally agree that the two will probably be OK for the night - and in fact will most likely keep one another in shape with all their running around.
Tomorrow we will build a small pen out of portable panels for Dandy so she can be closer, but still separate from the guys.
PJ will remain in isolation on her diet. Don't feel sorry for her - trust me. It is in her best interest....