Campgrounds and Back Roads

8-18-2011

Today we went back toward Taos, stopping in Mora at the Cowboy Cafe for a good breakfast. You have to be careful what you order. They seem to want to put New Mexico chiles in everything.

After breakfast we headed up into the Carson National Forest. I say “up” because it is a pretty steady climb from Mora.

Valley below Carson National Forest highway

About half way to Taos we found a real good Park Service Campground.

Campground entrance

River running through campground

 

The campground has a paved road and several pads that looked like they could handle a motorhome The park host had a Class C and another site had a Class C Plus parked. Other than that the site were open.

The road is pretty good

Leo seemed to really enjoy the view

From here we did some exploring of a couple of the Forest Roads. They are not as motorhome friendly. They are pretty good dirt roads but are narrow and I didn't find any place where it looked like you could turn a motorhome around. It looks like a toad will be essential. A bicycle won't cut it for me. A dirt bike would work, but a truck will be ideal.

No I didn't crash. I just put the camera down. We got back to camp safely mid-afternoon, in time to finish my book and slip in a nap. Ain't vacation great?

Cimarron Or Bust

8-16-2011

Today I made certain not to get lost. I accomplished this by following my new rule...travel with not particular destination in mind. It worked perfectly. When I got where I was going, I was there.

I started the day trip with a right turn from the state park entrance. Yesterday I went left and that got me lost immediately on my trip to Angle Fire. It turns out if you turn right, you wind up in Angle Fire about 30 minutes later. It's 17 miles from the state park in that direction. That means I averaged about 35 MPH. That seems about right. The speed limit seems to be 45 on most of the roads here, but there are many turns where you must slow down to 25 or less. Once again the scenery was great. Once I came out of the trees, the drive was through what I believe is called an Alpine meadow, surrounded by

mountains

Along road to Angle Fire

Angle Fire is a nice little resort town. I stopped at the Visitor Center and picked up some information. A nice lady there let me know that a new RV park is planned for next year with 300 sites. She also provided me with the password for their WiFi connection which I used to post my blog entries. I drove around town some and found that it is mostly hotels, condos, ski shops, T-shirt stores and such. Unlike Steamboat Springs, there didn't seem to be a “town” of Angle Fire, just a ski resort. But it did have WiFi and cell phone coverage so I could check in.

From Angle Fire we headed north and about 15 miles on we can to Eagle Nest. Eagle Nest's main attraction is Eagle Nest Lake. Like Angle Fire, the main focus of the town seems to be tourism.

Eagle Nest Lake

From Eagle Nest I headed toward Cimarron. From Eagle Nest to Cimarron is about 27 miles and a vertical drop from 8200 feet down to 6400 feet. It's a winding downhill run to Cimarron and a long climb back. This take you through Cimarron Canyon State Park. The Cimarron river flows from Eagle Nest Lake and, the highway runs along the river with pull-offs ever few hundred feet where you have access to the river.

Limit 1 over 16 inches! Then STOP.

 

So, it looks like a good place to fish, until you catch a keeper. Then you have to stop. Once you learn your way around this would probable be a good place to spend a few weeks.

Cimarron River along highway

 

In addition to the river the scenery in the State Park is spectacular.

Palisades Still

Driving through Cimarron Canyon State Park

 

Once I arrived at Cimarron, I found that it is little more than a wide spot in the road. By the time we got there it was 2:00 in the afternoon. So we grabbed a burger at the only place in town, then retraced our steps back to Coyote Creek.

 

Population 888

 

After this second full day of driving, I think we'll stay in camp tomorrow. Both Leos are getting pretty road weary.

We did get back in time to enjoy some nice evening sky at the campground.

Evening at Coyote Creek

8-17-2011

Today we stayed off the road. I read about two-thirds of a Louis L'Amore novel while Leo napped in his chair. We also took a walk along Coyote Creek and found a couple of beaver dams. 

Coyote Creek

 

While I was sitting on the bank a beaver came out and swam across his pool to gather some grass to carry home. I guess he was looking for lunch. Leo didn't see the beaver because he was busy trying to catch a grasshopper in a clover patch.

We had scattered rain throughout the day, so it was easy to just hang out. I've decided to scratch Valle Vidal off the list for this trip. It takes too long on these winding mountain roads to travel that far. We'd have to go Back to Cimarron again and then another 27 miles north. I think tomorrow we'll go back toward Taos and explore the National Forest some.

Accidental Taos

8-15-2011

It was a brisk morning today. I don't have a thermometer, but when Leo and I got up at 6:30 AM I'm guessing it was in the low 50s. Our sweaters felt good.

Good Morning Campers

 

I cranked up the propane stove and got some Starbucks VIA brewed. By 8:30 I realized that was an insufficient breakfast. I had seen a sign somewhere that said Angle Fire 20 miles. So I decided to make a run in to see if I could find a breakfast spot.

Two and one half hours and 75 miles later I rolled into Taos. When I got back to camp this evening I pulled out the map (which I'll take with me from now on) and determined where I went wrong. It seems I should have turned right instead of left at the State Park gate. That's what is known as getting' lost from the get-go. But I've come up with a sure fire way to avoid getting lost int future. From now on I'm going to explore with no particular destination in mind. That way no matter where I end up, it won't be accidental.

As it turned out, my accidental trip to Taos was great. It took me through a large section of the Carson National Forest. This offered some of the best scenery I've seen in years. Here is a sample:

View from the top of the drive through Carson National Forest.

Leo found the prospect of chasing chipmunks down the mountain particularly tempting.

I hear movement in those leaves!!!!

Too bad that railing and Pappy are in the way.

On the trip through the National Forest I saw several NFS campgrounds that were sparsely occupied. There were also plenty of well marked NFS roads that I can explore for boondocking locations. Since this was my first time through this area and, remember, I started out going to breakfast in Angle Fire, I didn't venture off the main highway. You know, I wouldn't want to get lost. And while access is fairly easy, not many people venture past the first few miles of the stream, leaving the rest relatively pressure free.” I hope sometime when I out exploring with no destination in mind I can find Forest Road 438 off New Mexico Highway 518 and just happen to have my fly rod in the truck.

In the woods...

August 14, 2011

Coyote Creek State Park

It's evening on our first night here. After arriving mid-day, we got camp set-up and then collapsed for a three hour nap.

After that we headed back into Mora, NM to get gas for the truck. It really sucked it down pulling the trailer.

As we turned onto the highway from the state park entrance I immediately was stopped by a pedestrian crossing the road. It was a black bear headed over to the park for dinner.

When he saw our truck, he stopped and looked at us for a few seconds then turned around and headed back toward the direction he had come. I guess you could say, like Davy Crockett, I grinned him down. He's lucky Leo didn't see him or he may have been treed!! You know your in the woods when you see bears.

Hard Travelin'

August 14, 2011

The Leos are now on vacation in New Mexico. It's good to be out of the 100° plus Dallas heat for a few days. But getting here proved to be a bigger chore than I expected.

When we got up Saturday morning to load the truck and trailer, we were greeted with rain. It's the first rain we've had in over a month. So, by the time we were packed up and ready to roll, I was soaked with rain and sweat. It's a good thin T-shirts air dry well in the truck air conditioner.

We hit the road about 9:30, headed for an overnight at Caprock Canyons State Park. According to Google maps the trip is 315 mile and 5 hours and 31 minutes. This is slightly longer than my target maximum daily travel of 250 miles/5 hours.

I managed to miss a turn north of Fort worth due to construction and didn't realize it till I saw a sign telling me Denton and Oklahoma City were straight ahead. Since Wichita Falls is not in that direction, I pulled out my GPS and go myself back on track.

The next few hours were filled with the the beautiful scenery of northwest Texas.....flat...dry....straight road....oh, my achin' back (and hip and knee and neck)!!!

       

After missing a turn in Quitaque due to poor signage and having to backtrack 20 minutes, we finally arrived at Caprock Canyons State Park at 5:15. Let's see...that's 7 hours and 45 minutes. Due to poor navigation, 385 mile. And, IT”S STILL HOT!!!

Since this is an overnight, I didn't unhitch, so we didn't see much of the park. What I saw didn't call for a repeat visit. It looks like the rest of the Panhandle. Mesquite and rocks. There are suppose to be bison there, but Leo couldn't find them.

We went to sleep about 11:00. Leo woke me about 3:30 and said to was time to go. So off we went. The Panhandle is prettier in the dark. The flat and dry carries over into New Mexico. However, once we left I40 and headed northwest from Tucumcari the scenery started to change.

At 11:30 AM mountain daylight time, we pulled in at Coyote Canyon SP. Yeah...temperature in the 70s!!

The Stars at Night....

...Are Big and Bright,

Way Up In North Texas.

Just back from a weekend trip to Copper Breaks State Park. The purpose of the trip was to get way from the light pollution of the Metroplex to see if any stars are still out there. We can now confirm they are.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights were clear and moonless. As sunset changed to twilight, the stars began to appear and by 10:30 the sky was full. This morning I got up about 3:30 and went outside the trailer for a little while. Its been a long time since I've been where I could see the Milky Way stretch from horizon to horizon, but Copper Breaks State Park filled the bill.

 On Saturday night we went to a "Star Walk" organized by the Park. Several ameture astronomers set up their telescopes to allow viewing of various celestial objects, including Saturn and a few distant galaxies.



One of them gave about an hour long presentation, pointing out objects of significance in the sky as the evening got darker. By the time he finished it was pitch dark. The spectators then moved around among the telescopes to see what was visible. Since I had Leo with me, I held back while Maggie and Jonas made the rounds. Then Jonas relieved me with Leo and Maggie helped me keep from stumbling in the dark to get a look at Saturn and two distant galaxies. It was a very interesting evening.

While the main focus of the weekend was Stars, the most challenging activity was staying cool. Daytime temperatures were above 100 degrees each day.

The trip to Copper Breaks was also a challenge. When I got ready to leave home on Friday I found the signal lights on the trailer weren't working. So, I spent about three hours trying to find the problem. No joy. I finally got the right break and signal to work and took my chance using that alone. I'm going to have to get someone who knows what they are doing to get this solved once and for all.
That got me away from home by about 12:30 PM on Friday. I hit traffic just north of downtown Fort Worth, which cost me about an hour of stop and go. By the time I got to Copper Breaks it was 6:30 PM, about 98 degrees and the wind was blowing at about 40 MPH. I cranked up the AC and stayed in till about sunset. As soon as the sun began to go down the temperature dropped 15-20 degrees. With the wind blowing it was very pleasant outside. I wanted to stay out to watch the stars, but was exhausted and went to bed about 10:00.
On Saturday morning Leo and I drove into Quanah and found Dutch's Restaurant. My kind of hometown cafe. After a good breakfast, I went back to the campsite and read a book in the shade till Maggie and Jonas arrived about 1:30.

Shortly after they arrived, we joined the Park Rangers for "Meet the Longhorns".  Copper Breaks is home to part of the official State of Texas Longhorn herd. I learned that of the 1.5 million Longhorns that roamed wild in Texasafter the Civil War, only about 500 of their bloodline remain.

And, even though Maggie wasn't quite quick enough on the shutter to catch it, Jonas really did get a Longhorn kiss!

Our visit with the Longhorns was short, because it was about 110 degrees out in the sun with them. We then chilled in the trailer till about 5:00 PM, when we went to the telescope area to take a look at the sun through one of the scope. It was cool to look at, but extremely hot at the telescope site as well. Fortunately, by the time of the Star Walk the temperature was beginning to drop post-sunset. 

A couple of times during the weekend Maggie and Jonas braved the heat for short hikes, kayaking and swimming.

And, since the wind continued to blow all weekend, kite flying was the order of the day on Sunday.

But the best part of the weekend was spending time with Maggie and Jonas in the peaceful, quiet and star-filled outdoors. Just ask Leo...

Leo's Surprise

Since The Trusty Companion didn't get to make the first trip of the year, I feel obligated to give him a post of his own. After all, he is a co-host of this blog.

When I returned from the Spring trip, I found Leo in pretty sad shape. During the cool months, when Leo wears his coat long, I try to give him a bath weekly. This keeps his coat fairly white, soft and fluffy. It also keeps him smelling pretty good.

However, toward the end of the season his coat gets so long it begins to mat if he isn't brushed regularly. So, by the time I got home from my trip, Leo had been well over two weeks without a bath and had been out in the yard a lot. His coat was oily, he smelled pretty ripe and was really beginning to shed in patches.

As a reward for his patients waiting for me while I was gone (and to make him pleasant to be around) I got him to the groomer on Monday. Since the weather is warming, I ordered him up a summer cut and also treated him to a pawdicure and ear cleaning. I'm sure he felt quite pampered, right?

When I picked him up I was treated to quite a surprise. Leo has grown spots!

 I'm not sure if these are new or if this year his coat was cut a little longer than last year. But in either case, he has clearly developed tan and gray spots on his back and neck and the spot near his tail has grown larger and multicolored. These spots don't show up at all when his coat is long and I don't recall ever noticing them when he has been trimmed for summer before. I think they look real good and Leo seems to be pleased with the overall feel of the shorter trim.

So, now he's fresh and preened and ready for his travels during the upcoming months.

Pappy

It's A Wrap!

The wrap-up of my first vacation trip of the year was great. The week was capped off with the Old Settlers' Music Festival Austin. The music was excellent and the weather was beautiful. Bit the best part was being able to spend the time with my kids. Having Doug, Kim and Maggie all together without the distraction of spouses, boy friend, kids was a special occasion.







Then when you add in the Austin crazies that always show up at Old Settlers it was a blast.







I arrived in Austin Thursday afternoon, after spending the morning on my guided fishing trip. I stayed at Maggie's apartment for the weekend. She had class Thursday, and didn't get home until after nine. This gave me a chance to get my laundry done from the first part of the week and catch a nap. Since I had been up since 4:00 am, the nap was welcome. When Maggie got home we went to Taco Cabana, where Maggie was startled to discover the they served margaritas!! She said she may become a regular!

I had planned to go to the festival on Friday, but found out that the headline act, The Avett Brothers had canceled their appearance due to a birth in the family (that's a new one on me). Since that was the act Kim was most interested in seeing, she decided not to go Friday. Doug wasn't arriving until Friday evening. Since Maggie was working Friday morning, I decided to skip the Friday show also and just focus on a great time together with all three on Saturday.

So I spent Friday morning with Kim. We shipped the kids off to school, then went to breakfast at Mimi's. Then Kim gave me a tour of her house under construction.
As you can see, it is now under roof and really beginning to look like a house. Walls are framed out so we can begin to get a feel for the rooms and the flow of the house. It is going to be a real showplace. More importantly, it is a house that the Waters family will always think of as “home”.

In the afternoon, Maggie and I spent some time looking over the information she had gathered about the Nutrition major at Stephen F. Austin State University. It is clear that if she is going this direction we need to get a trip to SFASU as soon as possible to understand what courses she can take at ACC before transferring to SFASU. Right now that is very unclear.

Then, while Maggie went kayak shopping with Jonas, I returned to Kim's house to wait for Doug. He rolled in about 9:00 pm, Maggie and Jonas were right behind him. From then on the party was underway. We finally adjourned about mid-night with a plan for the next day.

We kicked off Friday with a plan to meet at Starbucks at, as Kim put it 9:00ish. By the time Kim and Doug caught up with Maggie and me, it was”9:00ish-ish-ish-ish”. Flora's Mexican restaurant was open, so we went there of breakfast. When we finished it was close to 11:00 so we headed for the festival. A stop at Starbucks was called for in-route, then it was on to the Festival.




As always at Old Settlers, the music varied. There were over-ampted Canadians, a great Irish band (complete with fiddle, accordion and bag pipes) and plenty of traditional bluegrass.
And no festival is complete without "festival food"

And, remember what I said about the Austin Crazies? I do my best to fit in!

Next up....Stars Over Texas for Memorial Day.

Pappy

Now 'at's what I'm talkin' about!!!!

I don't know why, but on a fishing day I always seem to wake at 4:00AM. It may be because that's when Dad always got us up if we were going fishing, so we could be by the water at dawn.

Today was no exception. I had my alarm set for 5:00, so I could get showered, dressed, packed up, and checked out of the hotel by 6:30. That would put me at Rio Raft to meet my guide, Kyle Kenter, at 7:00. At 4:00 I was wide awake and by the time my alarm went off I was loading the truck.

After stopping for an apple fritter and coffee, I headed to the rendezvous spot, missed the last turn on my instructions and arrived at Rio Raft at 7:05. So, now I know why a wake at 4:00!

Kyle had his boat in the river. We shuttled his truck to our take out point and then we hit the river. Kyle rigged my line with two nymphs. The first was about a size 12. He tied a 6X tippet to the bend of that hook and 8 to 10 inches below the first fly he tied on a size 20 nymph. Above the first he added a small split-shot. Above this he added a strike indicator.

The strategy on the Guadalupe is to drift the nymph rig through limestone cuts in the river. They are identified by areas of dark green against lighter water. Over the next four hours I had several strikes, on which I missed the hook set. I also had four on which I set the hook successfully, but lost the fish before landing. I could tell these were large fish.

Then, just as it looked like I was going to have another day when I'd say “that's why the call it fishin' instead of catchin'”, I nailed my catch of the day.


It put up a good fight, with three or four good runs. I'm sure if Kyle hadn't been there with a good big net and coaching, I would not have landed the fish. But I did!

And what a fish! 22 inches and a good 5 pounds or more. I know in the picture it looks like I'm hugging the fish. That because I was! When I tried to hold it away from my body for the picture it would flip and was so strong I thought I would loose it over the side of the boat! After a picture with my camera and Kyle's, we eased the fish back into the river to fight another day.

My decision to hire a guide for my first outing on the Guadalupe was rewarded with a great guide, a good morning of fishing and a great half hour of catching. No question, this area is high on the list of winter base locations.

Now, I'm Austin bound for the Old Settlers Music Festival. What a great week!
Pappy

Scratch Hondo

I've been exploring the last couple of days. Yesterday I visited the area around Canyon Lake and the Guadalupe river. It is a very appealing area with rolling hills, heavily wooded, though the trees are mostly cedar. The Guadalupe is beautiful and I can see why it draws the “Toobers” during the warm weather. There were some in the water today, but the season really starts with Easter weekend. I located a fly fishing shop (Action Angler) yesterday, but when I visited the shop about 10:30 in the morning, it was closed. I spoke with a young man named Lee who was a friend of the owner, and was keeping an eye out for anyone stopping by. The owner was out on a guide trip and was only around the store occasionally this time of year. Lee suggested I call the owner, who would meet me at the store sometime in the afternoon. Pretty laid-back time of year here.

While exploring the river area, I found an RV park that looks like it holds potential as a winter base once I retire.

The picture above shows the RV section of the property. The Guadalupe river is to the left of the line of parking slots. Below are pictures of the typical view from the riverside slots.

River-front slots here during the winter season (October-April) are well within my budget.

Back to the subject of fishing, I decided to engage a guide for Thursday morning. When coming into a new area I find the cost of a guide well worth the expense. Particularly on the Guadalupe, where access to the river is limited to paid access, stumbling around trying to find the good locations can be frustrating. I'll update the Wanderings with a report on that experience tomorrow.

Today I decided to check out the Escapees Co-op location in Hondo, Texas.

For some reason I thought Hondo was in the Hill Country. Wrong! It's is due west of San Antonio, which seems to be below the Hill Country. The terrain is pretty flat, and marked with scrub cedar and mesquite trees. The town of Hondo itself is a typical Texas country town. It has one street of storefronts along a railroad track with US 90 running parallel to the railroad on the other side of the tracks. It's got a population of about 8,000 and its most prominent structure is its grain elevators. Not bad, but nothing to get excited about after seeing the Guadalupe.

Unfortunately, The Escapee Co-op park isn't in Hondo. It's actually about six miles further down US 90 in the town of D'Hanis, Texas. D'Hanis is a wide spot in the road, and not a very colorful one at that. The RV park itself is pretty nice, with good paved streets and good spacing between units. But it is really in the middle of nowhere. If I'm going to be in the middle of nowhere, I want nowhere to be nice to look at (like mountains or beach)!!! So, I'm scratching the Hondo Escapee park off my list in favor of the New Braunsfels/Guadalope River area.

Fishing news to follow.

Pappy