We're now wrapping up a month long stay in Woodland Park Colorado and getting ready to strike out north toward Grand Tetons National Park and Yellowstone. Our truck is in the shop getting an oil and fuel filter change, so I'm confined to camp for the day. Seems like a good time to do a Post.
The highlight of our stay here was last week when Maggie and Jonas joined us for a visit. They flew into Denver late on Tuesday evening. We made it back to the Diamond Campground in Woodland Park about midnight and were up at 6:30 Wednesday morning to hit the Dream Stream.
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| Ready for an epic day. |
Also known as Spinney Mountain Ranch, this three mile long Colorado
tailwater section of the South Platte River is nestled in the windswept
high mountain plain of South Park. Flowing out of Spinney
Mountain Reservoir, meandering through prime big trout habitat, the
river eventually flows into Eleven Mile Reservoir. To maximize our potential for success on the river during Maggie and Jonas' visit, I engaged Ben Davis, a fishing guide from the South Platte Fly Shop in Woodland Park for a half-day guided trip. I told Ben my goal was to put my beginning fly fishermen on some fish that would encourage them to hit the steams again in the future. Ben did not disappoint.
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| The Dream Stream |
By the end of our outing Maggie, Jonas and even I had "fish on" and in the net.
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| Does she look pleased? |
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| Number One |
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| Number Two |
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| Mine was the smallest, but it was the first of the day. |
By about 2:00 in the afternoon we were tired, happy fly fisherman. Thanks to Ben for making the day a success for everyone.
On Thursday we headed to the main attraction in the area, Pike's Peak. Since this was the third of July, no seats were available on the Cog Railroad, so we drove the Pike's Peak highway. So many pictures were taken that I have set up an album on Snapfish.com that can be accessed by
clicking this link.
We started our day with some World Cup Soccer, followed by
a good breakfast at the Hungry Bear in
Woodland Park (I think it was quite considerate of them to name the
restaurant after me). Then we headed to America's Mountain. It's a good thing we went on the 3rd because I heard later that on the 4th of July, traffic was backed up for miles just to get on the Pike's Peak Highway.
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| Up we go |
It took about an hour to climb the mountain. As expected the views were spectacular.
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| Quite a view |
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| Jonas takes good pictures! |
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On Friday, Maggie and Jonas spent the day in Manitou Springs, enjoying the tourist atmosphere and catching another World Cup game in one of the local establishments. Leo and I took a nice long nap back at our base. There was a fireworks display for the Fourth in Colorado Springs, but we opted to wait for the Symphony Above The Clouds in Woodland Park on the Fifth.
By Saturday the new fly fishers were ready for more, so we headed to Eleven Mile Canyon. Here the South Platte River has cut a wide canyon through the granite mountainsides creating excellent conditions for fishing, hiking and rock climbing. It's also a great place to take pictures.
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| "we don't need no stinkin' waders!" |
On Wednesday Ben had provided waders for Maggie and Jonas. But their absence Saturday didn't deter these new converts. Jonas borrowed mine, which he could fit into three times over, while Maggie opted to wet wade. Fish were hooked, but none were landed. That's why we call it "fishing", not "catching". But as we know from experience, you don't have to catch fish to have a great day on the river.
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| South Platte in Eleven Mile Canyon |
It's beauty like this (and high temps in the low 80s) that bring me to the Rockies in the summer.
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| Tumbling waters |
After a nice afternoon on the river, we topped of the day with the Symphony Above The Clouds, complete with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic playing the 1812 Overture accompanied by a full six gun 105mm howitzer battery from Fort Carson...and fireworks.
The week wrapped up on Sunday when we took a stroll through The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs before Maggie and Jonas caught their flight back to God's Country (Texas).
