Thursday, September 22, 2011

Catching Up

OMG, it’s been nearly a month since I’ve had a chance to post a blog. So much has happened. . .or possibly just not enough has happened. Short on time and energy.

Let’s see, we took a LONG drive northwest out of Pagosa Springs on Aug 20. Gorgeous views - of couse! We ended up at Piedra Falls. Not a bad hike to the falls, but the drive there was long, windy, & uphill. Here’s the photo album taken on the trip.

On the 23rd (another day off work before it got really crazy due to lack of other workkampers), we drove west beyond Durango, north thru Dolores to Telluride. Wow what a unique place. . .snugged up into a deep, dead-end canyon. Then we drove east to Ridgeway,  & south thru Ouray & Silverton to return to Durango. Now I was SO excited to see Wolf Creek Pass, but the highway (close to the famous railroad route) between Ouray & Silverton was intense! The road is only 2-lane, perched on the side of a mountain most of the time. As the passenger (Jeff was getting his driving fix), I was WAY too close to those sudden drop-offs just beyond my door. Thankfully, I concentrated on looking up & ahead as I snapped photos. We stopped along the way at an old mining camp at Red Mountain with more amazing views. And the late afternoon sun really showed off the red rocks on those mountains. Another photo album to view.

Labor Day came & went. . .& we worked & worked. This campground was stuffed!  We managed a Saturday night & Sunday morning off work tho to attend Color Fest – a hot-air balloon rally in Pagosa. I’d never been around these huge balloons before, so I learned quite a lot while taking up close & personal photos. Here’s the best of the bunch of photos.

Next day off, we took a drive from Pagosa south to Chama, NM on Hwy 84. More great scenery but dyer. Here’s that album. While investigating that direction from town, we also dropped in a couple of times at the Casita Solo Rally held at Blanco RV Park south of Pagosa. We reconnected with Pete in his Oliver (camped together in Arkansas a couple of years ago for Mountainborn’s Jug Fest), and met & talked with several familiar names from the Casita forums (Arizona Eileen & Lane). It’s always such a thrill to see a group of eggs together.

Finally, we visited Chimney Rock (west of Pagosa Springs along Hwy 160) for their monthly FULL MOON program. Unfortunately, the moon remained behind a huge cloud for at least an hour after rising. At least I got some great photos of the area & surrounding views during daylight hours.

Since then, our pickup has been in the shop for various problems, so we haven’t gotten out much. The frame of my glasses broke so I got new glasses, but the harddrive on my 3-yo HP laptop has died. I’ve ordered a new computer from Best Buy (MY computer store, but no actual stores in the area) that should be delivered Monday. I’m using Jeff’s laptop & trying to recover my log-in & financial information. Since I use Gmail, at least all my emails are still on that server so I can read & send email even tho my saved emails are lost. The only photos I have now are the ones I’d already uploaded to Picasa. We re-nested our trailer on our triangular-shaped campsite so that we have more room behind the trailer with a fire ring & can now extend our awning fully. However, the DirecTV satellite dish (Winegard MP-1) can’t sit on top of the Casita now due to a tree in the way, & it’s taken us 10 frustrating days to get the dish aimed correctly at the satellite.  Since we’re RVers now instead of campers, we really, really missed the DVR even tho cable is provided by the campground.

The fall foliage is just starting to change finally since the nights are getting into the upper 30’s. We haven’t had rain for several days also, so the days get nicely warm before chilling down at sundown. This is my favorite time of the year ANYWHERE, but it’s particularly spectacular here in Colorado. We’re still loving living small.

4 comments:

  1. Charles Martinez was the flute player, we just happened to be there 1 year ago for the same program. Enjoyed all your pictures. This is our link to the Full Moon Program.

    www.travelsofjohnandbridget.blogspot.com/2010/09/moon-rise-program-at-chimney-rock.html

    Stay Safe

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  2. Hey, been thinking about you and hoping you'd post. Seems like things are going well for you guys and I'm glad for that!

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  3. You all have been busy!!...Chama, NM is one of my fav places...haven't been there for a while though. Pagosa Springs...I would love to spend a week there just exploring...I have been there a couple of times but just driving through...seems kind of yuppy..new rich..but would like to just check it out just for the fun of it...be interesting to see if the "new normal" has taken hold there also...

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  4. Wow! You guys have sure been busy!! You have had some great trips....beautiful photos!! :-)

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