Another beautiful morning in Colorado. I am attaching two sunrise pictures and my camp site. We will leave sometime this morning for La Veta stopping along the way, of course. When we were strolling around Creed yesterday we ran into friends from La Veta who happened to tell us about free flu shots at the health center. Not wanting to pass up a good deal we all 3 trouped into the health center for our free shots. It's amazing what you can pick up on vacation! More later. . . .

Camping on the Rio

The air is pink. That happens sometimes at sunset in the mountains. . .the air itself appears pink, we call it Alpine Glow. There is nothing like the clear mountain air in the fall. The forest is changing color and the Aspen are taking on their gold color. This is spectacular country and as I drove along to Creed I thought about how much I had always wanted to live in the mountains. Watching the Rio Grande and shear rock outcroppings trimmed in pines everything around me was truly breathtaking. Creed is a lovely little mountain town with galleries, shops and white water rafting tours advertised along the river. I used to enjoy shopping in these little towns but now I am more interested in the art galleries and camping in this magnificent wilderness. When one looks around at the beauty it is hard to think about the hustle and bustle of the rest of the world. I am fortunate to be loving this life.
I will return here next July to kayak. The water is up then and should be great fun. When I get home tomorrow I am going to take the kayak out myself at Lathrop Lake in the National Park. That way I can practice. This is such a fun sport! Surprisingly, after my trip yesterday I'm not sore except in the abs. Paddling is good exercise. Until tomorrow, peace to all.

Camping on the Rio

A new day dawns on the Rio. Such a beautiful sunrise and I would post a picture if I hadn't left my camera in Carl's truck. Fox and I were out before dawn for his early morning breaking of water. Back to the Casita for my coffee and a maxalt for my migraine. A great combo to start your day. Thankfully, the maxalt worked and left my head without the axe in it. Lovely breakfast of eggs and precooked bacon for my protein load. Topped it off with a breakfast bar an hour later. Our plan was to be off for the river by 10 and spend three hours kayaking. Of course, that meant I would miss lunch so had a piece of cheese and a sloppy Joe just in case any trace of hunger should appear before the next planned meal. I am really good at keeping my weight up. You never know when you may need a couple of extra lbs.
Marilyn and I took the dogs for a long walk to tire them out before we left. We loaded up and drove up stream for 7 miles then found a place to put in. Marilyn and I were in one kayak and Carl was alone. As soon as we launched we became high centered on some rocks. Both of us got out and I promptly fell in up to my neck. How that was possible when there was no water to speak of is beyond me. But, there I was in the icy rocky mountain river water. No problem getting into the kayak after we carried it precariously over the rocks to the channel. A word of caution, under water river water are very slick, as Grandpa Bill would say "slicker than snot on a door knob." We slowly picked our way so as not to fall again. At last, we were both in the boat and headed down stream. Great fun despite problems getting in sync with the paddles. I was up front and only hit her in the head twice. I would paddle once on the right pushing the nose left and she would paddle again right pushing the nose straight into the bank then we would paddle like hell on the left. . . too far, of course, so we managed to get turned around. That was sort of the way it was. I'd say we were only high centered about four times so we were fairly fast at avoiding the rocks. The best part was going through the white water. Of course, we yelled and carried on as our 6" waves hit the boat. On a scale of 1-5 our rapids probably came in at a minus 2. Hey, we're just two old broads having a blast.
By the time we put in at the RV park I was completely exhausted and soaking wet and cold. After a change of clothes Carl and I went back for the truck. I am just leaving South Fork when I revved it up to 55 mph just in time for a cop to notice. He swung around with those little lights flashing and I pulled over. Such a nice kid. He wanted to know where we were going so Carl gave him a quick 5 minute answer. I turned over my "papers" and the cop informed me that I was going 59 mph in a 45 mph zone. (I was parked right next to the 55mph sign). I looked shocked (yes, really) and panted that I was sure it was a 55 zone. He asked me when my last ticket was and I said maybe 20 yrs ago. He said they usually don't give warnings in South Fork but since he was the boss he would give me one. Oh how we thanked him and then Carl gave him a 15 minute summary of our kayaking trip. I could tell he was ready to go but was politely listening. It truly was funny. Needless to say, we retrieved the truck and made it back to camp with no further interruptions. I tried to take a nap but didn't work out. That's another short story.
Forgot to mention that I am on nightly oxygen due to sleep apnea, maybe?? Anyway, I have a travel machine that is about the size of a large shredder. It makes a humming noise and every 5 seconds it seems to belch. As a result, I had plenty of oxygen last night but didn't sleep until I turned the damn thing off. A fair nights sleep considering I got up 5 times to use the bathroom. IEEIP*)*&^%$$!!!!!Back to my nap. Hooked up the machine again for my nap figuring I'd make up for lost oxy and listened to hum and belch for an hour. Then I gave up and Fox and I went for 2 long walks. Dinner is over and I'm going to sign off. No oxy tonight (:-)

Camping on the Rio

After an uneventful, eventful summer the Fox and I have escaped in the Casita to Creed, CO. We joined Marilyn and Carl on a short trip to try our hand at kayaking the Rio Grande and exploring the area. Early in the summer I decided it would be a good idea to buy an inflatable kayak. Inflatable because it is lighter and easier for me to carry (or so I thought). Only weighs 32lbs and I figured I could easily carry that down to the water. Oh no, no way Jose! I guess I keep forgetting my ageing body. Damn! The trials of getting old. Not to be foiled I rigged up my pull golf cart to carry the load. My old duffel bag bolted to the cart works just fine to tote the kayak and its accessories.



My friend, Janey, and I tested the equipment on the little Wahatoya Lake across from my house. Everything worked great and we paddled along taking in the beautiful valley we call home. All was fine until I tried to push the kayak onto the landing (with Janey pulling). My sandal caught in the mud throwing me off balance and I fell into the water (only 6" deep) and managed to break my arm. (:-( That was the great event that preceded the uneventful summer). No more golf or kayaking. Fortunately, I only have three more weeks in the cast. I did decide that the arm was strong enough to go camping and kayaking. Stay tuned tomorrow.

We were going to leave this am at 10 and I was up at 5:30 to be sure I would be ready. Getting the Casita ready is now down to a science since I've done it so many times. Had the furnace fixed so all was set to go. I pulled up in front of Marilyn's exactly at 10. Carl still had a few things to do so I went to the gas station to check the air in the tires and get gas. Then back to Marilyn's. Carl was still doing some things so we finally left at a little after 11. This was a 2 hr. trip down 160 over the pass and on to Alamosa, Del Norte and South Fork. We pulled into a very nice campground right on the river. It took me about 20 minutes to get everything hooked up and the rug out, chairs, table and awning. I am getting soooooo good. An hour an a half later Carl still wasn't hooked up. Unfortunately, the hitch fell off of its stand and his trailer sank down on its front knees kinda like a big circus elephant. I had to stifle my snickering. Carl had the hitch bar on top of what looks like an orange traffic cone then whoops! Luckily the neighbor, a big hunk dressed in a "I'm a stud pressed hiking shirt" with an Aussie like hat with leather straps under his chin just happened to have a very large jack. Presto, chango, all fixed. Then Carl had to drain the trailer of bleach water and refill her. Too bad, the cold water faucet in the kitchen wouldn't work, must be plugged saith poor Carl. Marilyn had to borrow two pills for her migraine. A trying day for the Shunks. I played ball with Foxy down by the river and tried not to look in their direction.
Tomorrow, Marilyn and I plan to kayak up and down the river then go into Creed to shop (:-). Until then. . . . .