Back in Town

Well we made it back in town for Father's Day. We had a BBQ with the family which was great.

My dad and me.

Captain Steph called and invited us to go sailing. YES!!! We love the water! After so many days of rain and bad weather, she couldn't wait until race day the following day and had to get on the water. It works for us!!

Here's our captain. It is so calming to be on her boat.

My dad had been wanting to get on her boat for some time and he got his lucky break. Unfortunately mom had a conflict and couldn't make it.

The wind was perfect, which allowed the crew some down time. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to wear my Jimmy Buffet T-shirt.



Steph's husband Dave is a great 1st mate and a bartender too. It was so great to see him.



What goes up must come down. It's sad when it is time to go in.


More Good Fortune

I called my old office to get some information that I needed only to find out that the Christmas Party was the next day. You heard me correctly. They were having their Christmas party in June.

Bob and I arrived in shorts and short sleeves to hear Christmas Music. It took me about 30 seconds to "get it".

The party was at Tina's house. It was a catered BBQ. My steak was so delicious and tender that it makes my mouth water just thinking of it. We had such a GREAT time catching up with everyone. Everyone looks so good. I miss them all but love my life and can't think of having to work everyday.

Cowboy'in it up

Here we are in Orangeville, Utah at Kelli & Gary's house. The live in the canyon going up to Joe's Valley Reservoir.

This is the weekend that their cows will be moved up to the mountain. Unfortunately we are leaving in the morning and won't be able to help with that.

However there was alot of prep happening today and Bob is so happy to be a cowboy. Here's Bob and Gary saddling up the horses to go look for three missing cows.

A cowboy's work is never done.

The New Age Cowboy's wear spurs on their Merrills.

They had to move the cows to different corrals so that the Forest Service guy could paint and count them as they moved through the shoots. Black cows got a white stripe and the others got a black stripe. This is because only so many are allowed on the mountain and I guess this is the Forest Services way of keeping track. Here's a black cow with a white stripe. It doesn't seem like the paint would last very long.

Come on gals, that's not very lady like behavior. Here are two nursing mothers butting heads.

Bob herding cows into be pin-striped.

Now that is one GOOD LOOKING COWBOY. I think I'll take him home with me.

This is what they did before lunch.

Someone had to test the beer to make sure it was cold for when the Cowboys came home!

I got my paddles!

I'm assuming that getting your paddles is like getting your wings. I survived my first solo kayak trip with rapids.

On our drive to the put-in we passed about a dozen Desert Big Horn Sheep. I'm not sure if this one is posing or hiding.

The put-in is called Nefertiti. I shouldn't have to explain why. I thought this was a good place to say a little prayer to Nefertiti as she stands watching over the rapids for safety.

We had forgotten how the winds pick up in the afternoon. Woops! We did not put in until 12:45. It was overcast and turned into scattered showers which ranged from light to heavy. Fortunately the heavy shower only seemed to last the length of one of the bigger rapids. We had a great time in spite of the weather. The water was moving FAST. We had planned on a 4 hour river trip, however we were down the river in 2 hours. We took out at Swasey Rapid where we had camped.

We did not notice how cold we were until we got back to the trailer.

It was 73 degrees outside and 77 degrees in the trailer. We put on fleece bottoms and tops. We were still chilly so we got under the covers and fell asleep. It was perfect.

We saw 6 Blue Herons. One was eating a fish. It was fun to watch.

Our trailer is parked just across the river from Gunnison Butte. Here's my view for dinner. It just doesn't get any better than this.

After leaving Salida and US50, we decided to take SR92 toward Gunnison. This was a beautiful drive. We drove alongside Curecanti National Recreation Area and the Lake.

We had a great bike ride out Black Canyon Road which goes to the rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. As we were starting on our bike ride, all the real cycler's from Ride the Rockies were passing on SR92. These folks were riding 360 or 380 miles in 6 days on killer hills. This day they were riding from Hotchkiss to Gunnison 80 miles.

We arrived in Delta to visit Terri & Matt Clark. Their house is really nice. Just like they are. Their daughter Mariah just happened to be spending the week. Terri and Mariah had run the 10k and the half marathon in Bear lake the previous weekend.

They took us out to dinner at a really yummy Mexican Restaurant and then gave us a tour of Delta Colorado. It is a really cute small town.

Bob, Mariah, And Lori at the Ute Council Tree. It is the largest tree I have seen.

On the way out of town we stopped at a Mennonite Bakery and bought a carrot cake. We ate almost half of it the next day. I'm glad it is just a small one.

Salida Colorado

It is with some sadness that we are leaving Salida this morning. We have been here visiting our friends Jim & Elke. We had planned to leave yesterday but Elke knew our weak spot and tempted us with her delicious Pork Roast with Leeks. We have eaten very well while we have been here. It is just like going home to your parents. They take such good care of us.

They have a fox that frequents their yard. This picture was taken just outside the window of our trailer. We spent about 45 minutes just watching it the other night. What a treat.

We had wanted to climb one of the 14ers while in town but they still have too much snow on them. We found some other trails at the East end of town. They were fun. All the trails connected at different points so we were able to loop into all the different trails. We have seen so many cactus flowers while out on our journey but this one on a barrel cactus gets all the awards.

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

These Dunes are the tallest in North America. They cover 30 square miles. When the snow thaws, there are two creeks that run along the outside borders of the dunes. The level of the creek did not go above our ankles for the most part. There is an amazing phenomenon that goes on here. It is one of only several places in the world where there is "surge flow". This is waves without there being an ocean. There is a pulsing of the waves that is like a heart beat. These dunes sit up next to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains which are rocky and currently have snow on top. It is a very strange sight to behold.





This is the surge flow. You have to see it to understand how amazing it is. Bob is crossing in the deepest part that we found. Most of it is only a couple inches deep.

We climbed 650 feet to the top. It was a climb. At times you had to go down the back side of a dune in order to climb the next one. If you want a pedicure this may be the way. We walked for about an hour up barefoot and at times the grade was 60% or better. I was only a little whiny. You know how when you get to the top only to find that it isn't really the top? Well that kind of whiny. It was so beautiful.

Wild Rivers Recreational Area

Wild Rivers is in New Mexico. It is an area controlled by the BLM. It is where the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Red Rivers are. We initially pulled into a campsite that overlooked the Rio Grande. We were up on the rim. The campsite was not level and seemed as though the trailer could easily just roll on down the cliff to the water 600 feet below. I'm telling you there was NO backstop and the cliff ledge was NO more than 10 feet below the back end of the trailer. We had lunch there in the trailer. I was looking out with one foot under the table and one ready to sprint to the door. Needless to say, we did not stay there. Seriously Scary.

On the hike down to the confluence. It is an 800 foot drop over 1.2 miles. The Rio Grande River is on the right and the Red River on the left.

Big Horn Sheep Close Up. She is the only one in the Wild Rivers. The camp host has named her Lonely. I want her to have a boyfriend.

This is The Red River at the confluence just feet before it meets the muddy Rio Grande River. Bob is on a huge fallen tree that is just over the River. What is he thinking? He doesn't even have life insurance and he has the truck keys in his pocket.