Toes in the Sand

After spending five months in the Rocky Mountains, it has taken me a while to get in an "island mood". The flat uniformity of a beach is a stark contrast to the rugged peaks and valleys the Leos had become accustomed to over the summer.

Mustang Island Beach, Port Aransas, Texas

But after being here at Port Aransas for two weeks, I'm beginning to come around.  A few visits to the local establishments for some good sea food and a healthy dose of the National Beer of Texas makes a fellow mellow. And that is, after all, what the island life is all about.

About the only thing I found disappointing about Colorado was my inability to obtain Lone Star. For some reason Coors seemed to be offered as a substitute, which it IS NOT. Before I head west next spring, I'll fully stock my cargo bay.

The Trusty Companion has had no problem with the change of scenery. Dogs have such a wonderful way of living in the moment. This moment for Leo calls for running after every shore bird he can find from the time we got here. As soon as he leaps out of the truck door onto the sand, he is running as hard as he can go toward the nearest seagull or sand piper. Of course, the birds take flight just before he reaches them, but that doesn't slow him down. He continues his mad dash for exactly 15 feet, then makes a hard right or left turn and runs in a circle around me and repeats. 15 feet? That's the length of his retractable leash. If I hold tight, he only jerks my shoulder out of joint as he hits its limit and tries to launch himself after the birds. A looser grip and he pulls the leash from my hand and gives chase further down the beach.

No matter the occasion, Leo manages to turn it into a party.

Let's go for a ride on a party boat!

So, following Leo's example, I have been spending each day living in the moment.

Sunrise on Port A

After a few hot and humid days when we first arrived, the weather has cooled and been perfect most days for relaxing on the beach. It's only about a five minute walk from our trailer to the surfs edge. We spend most mornings there with my good friends Jack Reacher, Mitch Rapp, Jane Candiotti, Carter O'Brien and Alex Cross, all of whom live in my Kindle. After about a half an hour of chasing his gull friends up and down the beach, I can generally get Leo to sit in his beach chair with me for an hour or so while I learn of my friends latest adventures. Then we repeat the process. Chase the birds..relax...chase the birds...relax. Tough duty.

And as we have settled into this routine, I have found that all I had to do to break the monotony of the flat open beach was turn around.

And even the beach itself is growing on me.

Toes in the sand.

Southbound

Carson National Forest from Forest Service Road 103

The Leo's are getting ready to hit the road again. After a pleasant summer of new friends, good fishing, bueatiful scenery and great weather, it's time to head South.

Fall Color on the Conejos River

The leaves have turned and the weather is getting cooler. For the last week we have had nightly temperatures in the mid-20s, with daytime warm-up into the 60's.  But that won't last much longer. It will soon be the beginning of winter here in the mountains, so Southbound we go!!

Over the next three weeks we will be wandering our way to the sands of Port Aransas, Texas.


View Larger Map


The first leg of our wander will be a three day run from our summer camp in southern Colorado to Midlothian, Texas. Along the way we will be making a stop in Santa Fe, New Mexico to get new tires on the HitchHiker. Then we will overnight in Tucumcari, NM (boondocking at Flying J) and then an overnight at the Old Town Cotton Gin Park in Goodlett, Texas.

We plan to spend a week in Midlothian to visit with Doug and family in their new home, catch-up on movies that are now in theaters and catching the Farmer's Branch Bluegrass Festival.

Then it's on to Austin for a few days with Kim and family and Maggie and Jonas. We'll be there in time to celebrate Maggie's birthday.

After Austin, we'll make a brief stop in New Braunfels to visit The Trusty Companion's vet to renew his prescription for allergy pills. This is important, because the pills have been working. We made it all summer without Leo chewing out large chunks of  his coat. His coat is now the longest it has been since we've been partners and he's well equipped for winter.

Then it's on to the On The Beach RV Park in Port Aransas for four weeks of Toes in the Sand.

On The Beach RV Park

After staying in one location for five months, it will feel great to be On The Road Again!

Summ....Summ....Summertime

Summer is drifting by. Since we have been spending the summer in one location this year, my days have become somewhat routine. One of the results of this is that I have become lazy about updating this blog. So now seems like a good time to catch up.

Fishing has been slow, due to reduced flow in many of the rivers and streams in the area. I've been told that Southern Colorado's snow pack last winter was 46% of normal. This, on top of 12 years of drought, has reduced the levels of reservoirs that provide water to the rivers and streams once the spring run-off ends. As with most of the Western United States, agriculture in the area is heavily dependent on irrigation. As we have gone through the summer, water has been diverted from the Conejos into irrigation canals further reducing the flow. So, it has been challenging to find productive waters.

Rio de los Pinos Rainbow

One of the solutions has been to go higher into the mountains to the smaller streams above the reservoirs. One such location is about 45 minutes from Mogote Meadow, above Trujilla Meadows Reservoir. Trujilla Meadows lies along the Rio de los Pinos, which is one of the most productive steams in the area. Below the reservoir the los Pinos flows through private land and/or areas that require four wheel drive to access. However, above the reservoir, there are several miles of access in the Rio Grande National Forest. By parking at the reservior I have enjoyed hiking up the los Pinos and had good results with dry flies.

Another activity I have been enjoying for the past few weeks has been the art class I am taking. I'm a long way from having the skill to produce art work that I would make pubic, but I have enjoyed the experience of painting outdoors. It combines the pleasure of being close to the natural world with the stimulus of creativity. Last week, Coni Grant (the instructor of the class) spent the first hour doing a demo for the class. The following photos and videos will give some flavor of the experience.

Sketching the scene

Sketch completed

In the following video, Coni is demonstrating the under painting step in the process.

 

Adding heavier paint over the under painting

Finished Demo

The Wandering Leos are also finding time to live up to our title by wandering through the mountains while exploring the many unpaved roads that traverse the Rio Grande National Forest. We really enjoy the high meadows and mountain views.

Forest Service Road 255

Mountain Meadow

Along Forest Service Road 250

 

Corral at Ozier Park

Rio de los Pinos below Ozier. Jeep please.

In addition to our solo wanderings (or I guess that should be duo wanderings), my Trusty Companion and I have joined other Mogote Meadows summer RV residents for outings. Last Sunday we wandered up to the site of Richard's future home in the Sheep Creek development for a cookout. Of course, it rained and hailed on us on the mountainside.

It was a nice afternoon, especially for Leo, who spent hours running through the woods.

Finally, I'd like to report on my second ride on the concert train. Last Saturday I made the run from Alamosa to the Fir Concert Venue on the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad for a concert by Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. The show was opened by Dana and Susan Robinson, who brought a taste of Appalachia.  

Then, Ricky and Kentucky Thunder cranked up a show that kept the audience stompin' and clapin' till time to catch the train home. I videoed until my battery ran down and have posted all on YouTube in a playlist. Here is one from RS&KT:

I believe that gets me caught up through early August. I must post more frequently. This post has taken me four hours to produce (uploads are slow), so shorter more frequent post are in the offing. With fall approaching the mountains, I should have some new color to share soon. Till then, The Leos wish you well.

Saturday Ramblings

It's kind of a lazy Saturday here.  It has been raining occasionally since about 10:00 AM. This is unusual.  We haven't seen more than a few showers since we got to the San Luis valley in mid-May.  Fortunately, my Trusty Companion and I got in a walk before the rain started.

So, it's been a good day to hit the books.  In my case that means reading a novel on my Kindle.  I'm currently reading a political thriller, Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn.  My summer reading list has been a mix of westerns (by Ben Bridges and Louis L'Amour) and political thrillers (by David Baldacci and Vince Flynn).  I must say, I dig my Kindle.  I have over 60 books in my library, which would add a lot of weight to my trailer if they weren't digital.

While I read, I keep Bluegrass Junction on SiriusXM playing in the background.  Every once in awhile the background moves into the foreground when a song catches my attention. That happened today.  I heard the line "If the 4-H club and the FFA were the only local gangs, where you grew up..." and I was hooked.  As I listened, I could identify with every line.  So, I immediately went to Amazon and found the album from which the song came and added it to the 11,491 tracts I have in my Amazon cloud drive music library (there's no such thing as too much bluegrass).  Then, so I could share the song, I went out to YouTube to find it.  No luck.  That got me started on one of those computer weenie projects I still haven't gotten out of my system since retiring.  I've spent the past few hours researching different methods of adding music files to my blog. After several unsatisfactory attempts, I think I have it figured out.  Here's the result.  Let me know if it doesn't work




Clearly, I need a hobby!!! Fishing is good, but it's hard to do with my Trusty Companion and I still wind up with time on my hands.  So, starting next Thursday I'm taking a painting class at the Alamosa Parks & Recreation Family Recreation Center.  It's a five week class, with the first week in a classroom and the rest outdoors.  If it goes well, I'll follow up with the next five weeks.

As the ramblings of this post illustrate, I NEED A HOBBY.

Ok....now I'll close and go pick my guitar. Oh...wait....That's a hobby!!!!

Ridin' the Rails to Suzy

Yesterday was Saturday and a good day for a country music fix. The San Luis and Rio Grande Scenic Railroad had Suzy Bogguss booked for their weekend Concert Train. That was just too good to pass up. So I drove to Alamosa to catch the train to the concert venue, located on the side of a mountain at a site known as Fir, Colorado.

I ran into a slight delay on the way. Between Mogote Meadow and Antonito a herd of sheep had traffic stopped. In Colorado, livestock always have the right-of-way when moving along the public roads. Cars have no choice but to stop and wait for them to clear. In this case they were not crossing the road, but moving along it to new pasture. Fortunately, I was headed in the other direction or I would have had to follow them till they reached their exit!

Bahhh!!!

Keep 'em movin', boy.

The herd was kept on the move by working dogs, and herdsmen on horseback and gator. The Great Pyrenees guard dogs seemed to be enjoying a morning stroll.

But....back to the topic at hand.

Fir is located about three quarters of the way between Alamosa and La Veta, Colorado. The concert site is 9,400 feet above sea level. And, the trip reminded me of how much I enjoyed riding the Illinois Central between Champagne, Illinois and Du Quoin, Illinois every-other weekend in 1966/1967 while attending school.

All Aboard in Alamosa, CO

What a great way to travel

Looked like rain as we approached the concert site

 
A two hour train ride brought us to the concert site.

Welcome to Fir, Colorado

Let's put on a show!!!

Since access to the concert site is by train, we had a little wait while the stage was set-up. This was due to the fact that the performers, sound crew and sound equipment all rode to Fir on the train with us.

Once the stage was set, Anne Hills provided an opening act. Anne is a folk music singer/songwriter and featured several songs she has performed over the years with her close friend Tom Paxton.  

Throughout her performance, Anne had to compete with one of the full-time residents of Fir, Colorado who kept distracting the crowd by panhandling for food.

Particularly to pull the kids back in, Anne pulled out her banjo for a kids drop-thumb number. 

After Anne finished her set, Suzy Bogguss took over. When Suzy kicked off her opening number, it was all I could do to keep from jumping on stage to join in. But I held myself back and she managed to get through it well, even without my help.

  

As part of her show, Suzy did several numbers from a project she did with Cracker Barrel in 2011. The American Folk Songbook includes 17 familiar American songs, such as Red River Valley, Froggy Went A-Courtin’, Sweet Betsy From Pike, Rock Island Line, Erie Canal, and the like. Suzy said she was highly influenced by her grade school music teacher who taught her classmates and her many of her still favorite songs. She has found that today, with the reduced emphasis on music in the schools, few kids know any songs from start to finish. So this project included a CD, accompanying 96-page, hard cover songbook with easy-to-read sheet music, and lyrics for guitar and piano, plus original illustrations and stories about each of the songs. Suzy also includes her own comments and remembrances about these songs, and says that she designed the book in the hope that it will help make the songs part of family traditions. (I'm thinkin' Christmas idea!!)

Here is a sample:

And no Suzy Bogguss show is complete without a yodle.




I've put all of the video I took at this concert into a playlist on YouTube, which can be be found by clicking this link. Unfortunately the battery went dead on my video camera, so I didn't catch I Want to be a Cowboy's Sweetheart, which wrapped up the show.

Then, it was back on the train for the ride back to Alamosa. Seemed like a good time for dinner, so I had a grilled chicken club sandwich with chips and an Alamosa Amber on the train. Like I said, a great way to travel.

Friday Night Rodeo and Sunday Drive

Last Friday I went to the Alamosa Round-up, while Leo stayed home and watched RFD-TV on our newly installed Direct TV. I'm sure he enjoyed Hee Haw, while I watched real live critters buck and run. Here are some highlights:


Opening Ceremony

Bareback Bronc Riding

Saddle Bronc Riding

Steer Wrestling

Calf Roping

Women's Barrel Racing

And, of course...BULL RIDING

With the rodeo behind us, the Leos joined our friends Ron and Sooky for a Sunday Jeep Trek "across the mountain" (Ron's words). Ron enjoys taking his Jeep and roaming along the Forest Service roads in the National Forest.

One of the interesting things about this activity is that the "roads" often look more like wagon trails and you can go for hours without seeing any indication that you are on the one you think you are on.

On Sunday, we picked up Forest Service road 107  near Osier. This took us west through the Rio Grande National Forest roughly parallel to Colorado Highway 17. According to the map, 107 connects to 108 near Spruce Hole, which would bring us out to Highway 17. So that was the plan.

Ron..."Now where is that intersection with 108?"

 The 35 mile run took us about four hours and included some rough stretches and fantastic views. 

Now just where is that intersection to 108?

And, Sooky and Leo enjoyed getting out into the wild.

As we headed further west, we reached an elevation that gave us a view of the area around Wolf Creek Pass where the West Forks Fire Complex is burning. This was Sunday afternoon and even from our remote location, we could tell the fire was growing by the steadily  increasing billow of smoke.

That is NOT a volcano.

As we worked our way along 107, our path was crossed by a herd of elk. There were about 40 of them, including several calves. Fortunately, I had a tight hold on Leo's leash, so he couldn't give chase out the window.  Unfortunately, the camera wasn't within reach.

Eventually, we came to an intersection that had potential. Fortunately, Ron had a field artillery FO along who knows how to read a map instead of smoke signals, so we turned left and found we were on 108.Twenty minutes later we were in Highway 17 about 8 miles from Chama, NM. Nice Sunday drive.

Time for lunch

On Thursday , Ron and I took a drive to Osier, Colorado. Osier consists of one main building on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad line and a few smaller out-buildings.

Osier, Colorado

Its significance is that it is the meeting point of the Eastbound train from Antonito, CO and the Westbound train from  Chama, NM. The trains meet here each day around noon and the Osier station serves a lunch buffet. From Mogote Meadow, it's about an hour long drive up a dusty gravel forest service road.

Inside Osier Lunch Stop Depot

 
 By driving up, we got there ahead of the trains and had completed lunch before they arrived. The buffet is a real good spread, all you can eat for $10, so I'm sure we'll be back a few more times this summer.

Outside Osier Lunch Stop Depot

On our way back, we came across a Mormon church youth group from Albuquerque, NM , performing a Trek. They were dressed in pioneer clothing and traveling along the dusty forest service road for a historical re-enactment of the Mormon Handcart Migration.

Mormon youth group on historical re-enactment

Not my photos

We didn't whip out our cameras and start snapping. It just seemed disrespectful. So the pictures above are off the web, but look exactly like the kids we met. Fortunately for them, their Trek had added features not enjoyed by the pioneers....port-a-potties and a water tanker.

Further on down the road we took a side cut-off to a site overlooking another station (now unused) on the railroad. 

Unused station on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad

This hilltop will be a great place to take a lounge chair to read a book and/or take a nap, assuming the bugs stay at bay.

Settlin' in

The Leos are getting settled into the Conejos River Valley for the summer, making new friends and finding the local fishing spots. One of my neighbors, Ron, is a retired Marine pilot who has been coming here for several years. He has been kind enough to load me up in his truck or Jeep and show me around the area. We have visited several streams in addition to the Conejos River.

He also introduced me to Jeremy Smith, the owner of the local fly shop, who I engaged as a fishing guide a few days ago. Jeremy took me to a private stretch of the Conejos and gave me pointers on the most effective techniques for this river. Of course, since this was a private access area, it was well stocked with large trout. It made for a good morning of fishing. 

 

Richard, another of my neighbors here in Mogote Meadow RV Park, has been coming here for the past few years and has purchased property in the Sheep Creek development. He has spent the past two summers here working on site preparation and plans to build a house in the next few years. His site is on the side of a mountain and is heavily forested. So, site prep means clearing dead and fallen trees and using the logs to fill in gullies on the property. Richard has chosen to do all of this work himself, by hand. This means he spend 5-6 hours each day cutting brush and trees and dragging them into the gullies to "compost" to fill in the low spots. Last year's compost pile was 30 feet long by 12 feet deep. Leo and I visited the site with him last week and can see he has done a lot of work, but has a long way to go. Here are some pictures of the area around Sheep Creek.

Richard's site is up on the mountainside in the left of the picture

   

Building sites are up in the trees

Today Ron and I took his Jeep up to La Jara Creek. This is a small stream that flows from La Jara Reservoir, which is south of Alamosa and west of La Jara. After turning off paved highway, we traveled 16 miles on rough forest service gravel roads to the Reservoir. Then we headed down two miles of tractor tracks (good thing we were in a Jeep) to reach the Creek. It was a beating, but worth it. From the time we turned off the paved road, we didn't see another vehicle or person.

La Jara Creek

 La Jara Creek is a high mountain stream that flows through meadows and canyons at about 8,000 feet above sea level. In route we saw pronghorn antelope and elk. No bears this trip, but I expected the see one at any time. We caught  brook and brown trout, ranging from 4 inches to 12 inches.

12 inch brown trout. I caught three like this.

Ron reported hooking one in excess of 18 inches and almost landed it until his dog, Sooky, pounced on it and it got away. Sooky is a black lab mix and had a blast running around the meadows and across the creek. Leo spent the day in the trailer relaxing and listening to classical music. I know he would have enjoyed going along, but then I wouldn't. It would be like fishing with a three year old. I may try him out when I'm not fishing with someone else, but I don't have high expectation for him as a fishing  companion.

I Love Trains

Steam locomotives are at the top of the list.

Yesterday was opening day for the 2013 season of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad.  We spent the morning at the Antonito train yard. While the train prepared for its first run of the season, I took some pictures and video to share here.

While the train made its preparations for the day's run to Chama, NM, we stopped in at the nearby cafe for my obligatory Saturday Morning breakfast.  Since retiring, having this once-a-week treat is about the only way I can keep track of what day it is.



This worked out well.  Just as we were leaving the cafe, the train was making its departure.  I think these videos do a good job of capturing the sights and sounds of the steam locomotive. To me it borders on a living, breathing creature. (the "static" is the wind blowing, which seems constant here).

 

What the videos fail to capture is the the smell of the coal fire burning in the engine.  To most folks, I suspect, this is not a particularly pleasant aroma.  And regardless of the industry's PR, there is no such thing as clean coal. The smoke from the stack of the train in full of soot and ash which should not be inhaled.  However, remember...I grew up in Southern Illinois.  This is coal country.  Not only is it mined there, we heated our home with coal.  Our home in Du Quoin, Illinois was within a quarter of a mile of the tracks of the Illinois Central Railroad.  Don and I spent many summer days under the trestles looking for crawdads in the creek and waiting for the trains to pass by overhead.  It wasn't until the late 1950's  that the Illinois Central converted to diesel locomotives.  Many of my earliest recollections are triggered by the smell of coal smoke and the wail of a whistle of a steam locomotive.  Good Stuff!!!

Exploration Hazards

The Leos have spent the last week getting the lay of the land here in the San Luis Valley. Last week we took a drive toward Chama, NM. Chama  is about 45 miles southwest of Mogote Meadow, through a couple of high mountain passes. I've been trying to conserve my diesel fuel so I set a limit of driving no more than 30 miles away from home till payday, so we didn't get all the way to Chama.  But we did make it to the first pass.

It was mid-afternoon when we got there, and the temperature was in the low 60s. Notice the unmelted snow beneath the trees.

On the way up to the pass we had several opportunities to catch some scenic over-look pictures. I took a stab at using the panoramic setting on my camera. Here is the best of the lot:

Scenic over-look view of the Conejos River Valley from US17 between Antonito, CO and Chama, NM

Wednesday, May 22, was payday.  So I bought my fishing license and began to prepare for my first expedition to the river. I plan to engage a guide soon. However, after visiting the local fly shop to get my license, I decided to further explore the river on my own.

Platoro Reservoir is near the headwaters of the Conejos River, 43 miles from Mogote Meadow. The last 23 miles of the route is unpaved Forest Service road. One of the guys here at the park told me that they usually go to the reservoir about once a week during the summer, for hamburgers!! It seems the hamburgers are worth the two hours it take to get there. So that seemed like a good destination for my exploration.

Once we turned off US17 onto Conejos River Road the speed limit was 25 mph. This road follows the river to Platoro Reservoir. The reservoir is the highest man-made lake in North America. And the view along the way is spactacular.

Conejos River Road

About 10 miles up Conejos River Road toward Platoro Reservoir

About 20 miles up Conejos River Road

Somewhere around 18 miles up Conejos River Road, we came to the stretch  that had been freshly graded. Rather than smoothing the road, this seemed to make it rougher. It also loosened some larger rocks that were scattered in the road. At about mile 20, three miles short of Platoro Reservoir, my right front tire blew!!!

Over the next hour I learned

1. AAA Roadside Assistance and Good Sam Roadside Assistance are useless when you have no cell phone service,
2. my spare tire was about 2/3 full of air,
3. and that I am  long way from being acclimatized to the thin air at 10,000 feet above sea level.

By the time I got the tire changed, I was puffing like an engine on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. I then spent the next hour and a half covering the same 20 miles back down the road on my semi-inflated spare tire and made it back to Mogote Meadow about 5:30 in the evening without seeing the reservoir.

So yesterday the Leos made the trip to Pueblo to the nearest Firestone store (three hours each way) to get two new front tires on the Ram. Along the way we passed the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Blanca Peak, one of the 53 "14ers" (peaks over 14,000 feet above sea level) in Colorado. The mission for the day (tires) precluded stops for sightseeing this trip, so we'll go back.

Speaking of sightseeing and the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, tomorrow is opening day of the 2013 season for the C&TSR. I plan to go into town tomorrow and visit the rail-yards for the opening day celebration. The trip on the C&TSR from Antonito to Chama cost about $100 and hiring a fishing guide has higher priority right now. So I'll ride the train later in the summer.