Aspen Anniversary

For our anniversary this year  we took a lovely drive through the mountains close to here to see the aspen and enjoy the day. The colors are amazing and are just getting started.   Aspen anniversary pix

We are beginning our last month here in Utah.  I’ve been wanting to go hiking in Escalante.  We finally got to go last week and  hiked a slot canyon. We just about got shook to death driving the 27 miles into the monument as the road was so washboarded.  Then we had to hike down into the dry river bed…really beautiful, lots of trees and rock walls. We found the entrance to the canyon and had a great hike. Lucy is now officially a mountain goat! Then we had to hike back up out…only had to rest twice…not bad for these old timers!  Slot canyon pix

Saw a great sight in the town of Escalante, the Shooting Star Drive in and Airstream resort.   Make up your own story ….. Drive in pix

Jim’s been fishing a lot. Lucy helps herd the cows when they are in the meadow. There are times when he feels like the Pied Piper when he looks around and 20 cows are following Lucy along behind him. LOL. Check out this 22” Brown he caught …… Trout pix

We’ve also fished at several lakes around here and driven up Proctor Canyon. Here are more fall colors. Fall colors pix

Yesterday we had our 1^st winter storm blow through. Had a beautiful rainbow in the evening and snow the next morning. Snow on the cliffs pix

We'll be out of here in a couple of weeks and will keep you posted on our travels...as of now we are heading to Florida to Fish Eating Creek Outpost. Here is the website Fish Eating Creek Wildlife management area. 

More Exploring

Every week I have the good intention of doing the blog on a weekly basis and then time gets away from me.  I wind up getting behind in my picture editing. And then we are off again on another adventure. So here is a synopsis of the last 3 weeks:

We’ve gone to some new places in the last couple of weeks and returned to some others. We drove on Highway 12 (3 weeks ago , 8/6) and saw the east side of Bryce Canyon and explored the town of Tropic (bigger than Hatch). Then we went further south to Kodachrome State Park and on to Grosvenor Arch.   

Pictures of Tropic and Grosvenor Arch

Both were named by the National Geographic Society. The road to the arch was quite an adventure, beginning with a sign that says”Impassable when wet”. It was not bad except for a very muddy wash that we had fun sliding across. Rain was threatening but we made it there and back before the rain.  We were stopped by a couple from France that asked us if that was the best way to get to Kanab from Bryce Canyon. They were in a very low clearance sedan and their GPS routed them that way. (I can’t get our GPS to route us anyway but over paved roads!) We advised them to turn around ….. it was a shorter route but would take a lot longer and they might get stuck…..that wash was steep and muddy.  Many people have told us GPS doesn’t work well around here….supposedly the canyons have something to do with it along with bad co-ordinates.

We passed on Kodachrome Basin and went back towards Hatch. We stopped at the historical marker for Bryce Canyon Airport…very interesting.  The hanger was built in 1936, by the WPA, out of native ponderosa pine and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Flight 608 crashed here on Oct 24, 1947. It ended tragically but it was the first time a plane was reconstructed to determine the cause of the crash. As a result a critical design flaw was discovered in the DC-6 and all 80 planes were grounded and repaired, including President Truman’s. Pictures of Bryce Airport

We drove north off the highway and explored the road to Casto and Losee Canyon.  The hikes up these are pretty long but we noticed a sign for the Arches Trail…it said it was only .7 miles long with 14 arches and lots of hoodoos…… just my speed! Pictures of Casto canyon

We went hiking up Arches trail the next day and it was as advertised, probably did see 14 arches, some very small…windows actually ….. and beautiful.

Pictures of the Arches Trail

We topped our week off with an amazing sunrise 

The next week (8/14) we went back to Pine Lake with the kayak and had fun paddling around and fishing. Lucy had a great time, sitting right in front of me like a pro.  The fishing would have been better later in the day but we've been having major thunderstorms every afternoon so we’ll wait and lake fish in September and October. We came back a different way and did some off-roading and enjoyed the view of a field of sunflowers on the way back.

Pictures of Pine Lake

During the week we heard from friends from San Carlos, Tony and Marquita, saying they were coming our way.  They stopped at the north rim of the Grand Canyon and got to our place Sunday afternoon.

So Monday we went hiking up the Arches trail, stopped at the visitor’s center in Red Canyon and then on to Bryce …….

Return to Arches Trail

Pictures of Red Canyon

The visitor’s center had a wonderful story about the Quilt Walk in the winter of 1864-65. The early Mormon settlers in Panguitch (just north of here) were starving and trying to survive their 1^st winter. They decided to set out for Parowan (40 miles to the west) for supplies. They had to abandon their ox and cart to the deep snow and were soon foundering in the snow themselves. They laid out their quilts to pray and realized that they weren’t sinking into the snow.  They used the quilts to walk on the snow all the way to Parowan and back. Here is a link to the story: 
The quilt walk story

Pictures of Bryce Canyon

We had a great time with Tony and Marquita and had fun helping them plan the rest of their trip through southern Utah, Colorado, northern Arizona and New Mexico.  We meet so many people in our travels and love visiting them when we are traveling.  But it is really wonderful when they get to visit us and we get to show them some of our favorite places. 

They left on Tuesday to continue on Hwy 12 east through Escalante National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park and we headed west to Cedar Breaks National Monument. We decided to see a part of the area we haven’t seen yet. 

It’s geography is similar to Bryce but the amphitheater of formations is huge! It is over 2,000 feet deep  and over 3 miles in diameter.  The monument was established in 1933 but was part of a tour of southern Utah parks that was conducted by the Union Pacific since the early 1920s. All the parks were connected by railroad or bus. Tourists would be driven from park to park and stayed each night at a different lodge. The lodge at Cedar Breaks was built in 1923 and stood until 1972 and was famous for its fried chicken dinner.  There are lots of high mountain meadows and hiking trails. 
Link to Cedar Breaks National Monument

Pictures of Cedar Breaks National Monument

As soon as you go through the monument you are in Brian Head which is a ski area. The road down the “hill” into Parowan is a 13% grade for something like six miles! I can’t imagine how anyone gets up the road in the winter to ski.   Pictures of Brian Head

We meet so many great people in our job…..we enjoy sharing our experiences here with people traveling through, describing the beauty of this place.  And here is an example of a really
adventuresome person traveling through the area ......... 

We leave you with this quote: 
"Ever'thing there is but lovin' leaves a rust on yo' soul"
Langston Hughes

Jim and Becky

We've been here a month ......

Sunday, Aug 5^th

We’ve really been enjoying our time here in Hatch. The job is great, especially at the gas station/store. I get to visit with many foreigners who are here seeing America. They all seem to be doing long cross-country trips, many starting in California. Some even from back east! We also had a lot of bikers through this week on the way to Sturgis. I’ve talked with people from China, Japan, Czech Republic, France, Spain, Italy and England, just to name a few.  Most I have to show how to work our gas pumps as they are old school. Put the nozzle in and turn on the tank. No pre pay, no slot in the gas pump for your credit card. Who out there still knows how to pump gas the old fashioned way?

We hung up hummingbird feeders around the motor home and we have had many, many hummers flying around.  I tried to get a picture of one that was very differently colored…he had a bright orange throat instead of a ruby throat. He was very fast and I think he has moved on because I haven’t seen him in recent days. We get 6-8 flying around the feeder all at once. Lots of the time they stay still for several minutes and perch on the tree branches, which I’ve never seen them do before.   Hummingbird pictures

We go for a bike ride with Lucy every morning. She is so funny. She never barks except when you get on the bike and ride down the street…she must think we are cows she needs to herd! She gets ride behind your left pedal and barks and yips. I keep thinking she is going to run into the side of the bike and Jim or I will crash but she never does. The other morning she flushed a fawn out from behind a pine tree and went after it like a rocket. I’m hollering at her to come back but she is paying no attention! Off she and the fawn go……right across a meadow and on across the highway! Thank goodness there was no traffic coming at that moment in time……it certainly gave me a fright. She has NO street sense.

We’ve also been sampling a couple of the local beers brewed in Utah. There are 2 breweries that we’ve seen in the stores so far. Wasatch Brewing Company (wasatchbeers.com) and Uintah Brewery (uintahbrewing.com) I love the names for the beers that they come up with. Check out the websites for a total listing but this one is my all time favorite: Polygamy Porter – Why have just one? I saw a T-shirt last night that has the label on it along with this statement: “Take some home to your wives.” Who says Mormon’s  don’t  have a sense of humor.

We decided to try some new trails on our off days this week. As you can see by the picture of one of the Forest Service maps…the roads go everywhere. The problem is, many of them are not marked. And if they are marked the Forest Service road numbers are different from the Off Highway Vehicle  road numbers that are on the maps.  We got off on some pretty intense 4WD roads west of here and decided we needed some better maps! 

We also went to Pine Lake (we’ll go back there with the kayak now that we’ve scoped it out)  Pine Lake pictures and Bryce Canyon ….awesome and beautiful as always. (www.nps.gov/brca) Bryce Canyon and Red Canyon pictures 

Hatch, Utah

Monday July 23^rd

Today finds us in Hatch, Utah, beginning our 3^rd week working at the Mountain Ridge Motel and RV Park. I’m looking east towards Bryce Canyon, enjoying a beautiful rainbow over the mesa after an afternoon thunderstorm.  

We accepted the position as workampers here on the 1^st of July and plan to be here until the 1^st of November. We left Colorado not quite knowing what to expect. Not the least of which was whether we could drive west on    I-70 due to the wildfire that was burning west and north of Debeque, Colorado. As of Friday it had burned right up to the Colorado River and had closed the highway. Thankfully, by the time we got there Monday morning, it was burning farther north and partially contained.  

We got to Grand Junction in time to do a major shopping trip at Sam’s Club stocking up on the essentials like….you know….  Cajun trail mix and made it as far as Green River. Since it was 100 degrees in the shade we decided to spend the night at a KOA campground. This is the first time we’ve stayed at one. It was real nice, had a pool and a free continental breakfast!  We’d never experienced a KOA before and although it was expensive ( kinda like the Hilton of RV parks )the pool was realllllly cool.

The drive from Green River west was amazing…..incredible rock formations and cliffs. Lots of markers along the way, explanations about the ancient rocks and interesting snippets of history about explorers and outlaws.     Trip to Hatch pictures

When we were talking with Tony the onsite manager about the position here, we explained how it would be a comfort to get away from the wildfires in Colorado. Then, wouldn’t you know, as we were driving south on Hwy 89 towards Hatch, we began to see a lot of smoke. Evidently we were getting closer rather than further away from wild fires since we soon learned that a wildfire had started Sunday afternoon in the mountains just 20 miles south of Hatch. It was around the town of Duck Creek south of Hwy 14 in a heavily forested and populated area. The good news was that it probably would not head our way but it was touch and go for a week or so.  As of this writing it is history.

We love it here. Hatch is a really small town of about 250 people ( permanent residents ), has 1 gas station/convenience store, 3 motels, 2 RV parks (attached to the motels), 4 restaurants, 1 motorcycle shop, 1 antique store, a town hall, a pioneer museum, a post office,  power company office and of course an LDS church. It is a beautiful little town right on the Sevier River (pronounced “severe”), setting at an elevation of 7600’ +/-. The temperatures are quite mild with daytime highs in the 70’s - 80's and nights in the 50’s (eat your heart out Phoenix).  Scenes around Hatch pictures

Bryce Canyon National Park is 30 minutes to the north and east of us and Zion National Park is 1 ½ hours to the west and south. If you continue east on Hwy 12 (a National Scenic Byway ) you can explore Escalante NM, Capitol Reef NP and lots of places in between  (more on those in a future blog).  It’s beautiful and busy with tourists in the summer many of whom are from foreign countries. Come November all of the businesses in Hatch close until May including the only gas station. Not because of winter weather, although that plays a part, but primarily because of the lack of tourists.

While the National Parks may be the biggest attraction they’re by no means the only one. This area is home to one of the largest OHV trail systems in the world.  People come from all over the country, many with vehicles in tow, just to ride and explore the 600+ miles of trails that criss-cross the area. We see all sizes and kinds of ATV’s come through, many with kids driving which is weird to see. They can drive if they are 8 years old and under adult supervision (kind of a cool way to introduce kids to driving when you think about it). Especially when they (forest service) publish information about the dangers and responsibilities involved in OHV (that’s Off Highway Vehicle for the uninformed) use.

The Mountain Ridge Motel and RV Park has 8 rooms and 16 RV spots and is connected to the gas station/ convenience store. Mountain Ridge Motel and RV Park We clean rooms and do the laundry in the mornings and Jim runs the motel office from 5-10 pm and I run the store.  So we work 3 ½ days on, 3 ½ days off which gives us lots of time for exploring.

One of our first priorities was to check out the river and neighboring creeks to see how fishable they were and what access was like. Being from Colorado access is always a consideration when exploring unfamiliar water since most of it is private and landowners are rumored to shoot first and ask quest ions later. Our first adventure was to drive up to the village of Duck Creek and check out the back roads along the way. We took a wrong turn and wound up at Panguitch Lake a mere 20 miles out of the way. No biggie as it’s all new territory.  We also discovered Aspen Mirror Lake and Duck Creek Pond along the way and Mammoth Cave which is a ½ mile long cave formed by volcanic activity. It has 5 entrances but only one is accessible. Its main claim to fame seems to be the rare bats that hibernate there in large numbers. In the winter access is restricted to protect the bats but in summer you can explore at will. We choose not to….three guesses why, LOL.  Pictures of Duck Creek and Mammoth Creek

To our surprise the fishing has turned out to be much better than expected. The Sevier River which flows thru town is more of a stream than a river averaging 10’ to 15’ at the widest with many twists and turns. You won’t find much information online about this little gem, which is a good thing. Riffles, seams, undercut banks and deep pools abound loaded with Rainbows and German Browns averaging 14” and up. Then there’s Assay Creek and Mammoth Creek (ten minutes away), the afore- mentioned Panguitch Lake and Tropic Reservoir (to name just a few) all fishable and for the most part unpressured. Oh, and the best part is that access is pretty much wide open. (Jim is writing the fishing report)

For Jim’s birthday we drove up Proctor Canyon. It was fun to put the Jeep in 4WD and explore. There were some great rock formations along with lots of pine trees, aspen and open meadows with deer.  We eventually got to Tropic reservoir and did a little fishing. From the map it looks like this reservoir parallels Bryce canyon to the west. We stopped at a nice little restaurant for dinner…. Evidently they are famous for their pie …… the slice you get is at least a ¼ of a pie! And it was delicious…. not to mention the ice cream.  Pictures of Proctor Canyon

Yesterday we went to Cedar City (about 1 ½ hours to the west).  We needed to make a major grocery run, especially coffee, dog food and you guessed it…. Cajun trail mix. It was a nice drive but the highway is only open on the weekends as they are repairing the road in 3 places from landslides that happened over the winter. We have to work Saturdays and many places are closed on Sunday in Utah, but we knew that  Wally World would be open. (We had gone to Panguitch which is a slightly bigger town north of us on our 1^st Sunday off to get veggies and every store, except for the gas station, in town was closed……even the grocery store). Ya  gotta love this country life….. hopefully we should only have to make the drive to the big city once a month.  Pictures on the way to Cedar City

Tomorrow is a statewide holiday, Pioneer Day, which celebrates the Mormon pioneers that settled the state….even the post office is closed. There is a parade in the morning and lots of activities with a BBQ in the evening…maybe fireworks but the fire danger is still high. Do you know of any other state that has its own holiday? Needless to say the parade was short (about one block long) but the whole town turned out to watch. The BBQ was really more of a pot-luck with skillet fried taters, pulled pork, salad, rolls, all kinds of cakes,  pastries and homemade root beer. Pioneer Days parade pictures   

Here are 2 links to information about Pioneer Day

http://www.media.utah.edu/UHcE/p/PIONEERDAY.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Day_(Utah)

In the words of John Mellencamp’s song “Small Town”

“No I cannot forget where it is that I come from

I cannot forget the people who love me

Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town

And people let me be just what I want to be”

Until next time with much love Jim and Becky……….

Blues From the Top music festival

Saturday morning finds us sitting on the grass on the slope at Hideaway Park in downtown Winter Park. We are getting ready to listen to some great blues music all weekend long. This is the 10^th annual music festival and is presented by the Grand County Blues Society www.grandblues.org The lineup is great and I’m looking forward to kickin’ back and listening to some awesome music.

It is also a fundraiser for the Blue Star connection.  www.bluestarconnection.org They provide access and ownership of musical instruments for children and young adults with cancer and other serious life challenges. To date they have reached hundreds of kids and donated musical gear to sixteen Children's Hospitals therapy programs as well as several other community programs. They are having another fundraiser in Denver, Aug, 4^th at Clement Park by Southwest Plaza in Littleton. Tab Benoit is the headliner and he plays Louisiana swamp blues and is incredible to listen to, especially live. If you are in the area, you need to go and play for the day!

In between the main stage acts they have young performers playing on the “Keeping the Blues Alive” stage. These kids range in age from about 8 into their teens and are very talented. They are playing covers of Crossroads, Little Wing and All along the Watchtower to name a few; plus many of their own songs. Katie Johnson of the Sad Sam Blues Jam really stole the show! Like them on Facebook….great bunch of girls, oops….musicians.

And of course the people watching was highly entertaining…I found myself looking for the best t-shirt, best hat, best tye-dye, etc

People watching

I think my favorites for the weekend were Ryan McGarvey (ryanmcgarvey.com) and Samantha Fish (samanthafish.com)  Both are great guitar players and play hard chargin’ blues. The headliners Sunday were good, too. They can’t but help it…The Royal Southern Brotherhood….Cyril Neville, Devon Allman (of the Allman Brothers ancestry) and  Mike Zito. Just a little too jazzy for my tastes….but to each his own. Here are some  pix of the bands.

Festival pictures

Hot Sulphur Springs

The fishing access along the White River was not very accessible so we went on to Craig. Lots of places to fish along the Yampa but it was so low! I don’t think it was even deep enough to float on.  The fish and game department was recommending not even fishing it as the water is so warm and the fish are stressed by the terrible conditions.  We went on to Steamboat Springs and kept right on going as it was Friday night and the rodeo was in town! Lots and lots of people……very beautiful but busy and touristy.

We wound up spending the night on the top of Rabbit Ears Pass. It is not a really high pass but it is a long pull up the mountain. And it was a lot cooler up there.  This is all new exploring for Jim and I had not been to the Steamboat area in years. The drive down into Kremmling was beautiful; sage covered rolling hills, rocky outcroppings and aspen trees. Kremmling and beyond were our old stomping grounds so it was like coming home. We drove on into Hot Sulphur Springs to check out the Colorado River there. There is a really nice primitive camping area there called Pioneer Park, managed by fish and game. Even though it was Saturday we were able to find a nice spot. Two very useful websites I have come across: www.freecampsites.net and www.rvdumpsites.net

It is a beautiful spot, right on the river with lots of huge cottonwood trees for shade. They even have porta potties and trash pickup! From the campground we can walk to the hot springs. This is one of my favorite hot springs as there are multiple pools of varying temps and lots of minerals in the water. Most are outdoors so the views are great. Hot Sulphur Springs Resort

The only drawback is the noise from the trains that go thru many times a day. As it is in a canyon the echo is quite mournful. Lots of freight trains and the California Zephyr which runs between Chicago and San Francisco and back. I rode it 4 years ago with my granddaughter Kalyn; from Denver to Glenwood Springs…incredible trip! Amtrak

Hot Sulphur Springs is a great little town. Info and history of Hot Sulphur Springs. Did you know the first competitive ski race was held here is 1911? Here is a link to the Denver Public Library’s Digital Collection of old photos of the area, including the Hot Springs Resort. It has been in continuous operation for 140 years. DPL digital collection

We met several new friends while we were there and got to share in a little boy’s 1^st caught fish. It was at least 16” and he caught it on one of those little plastic kid poles and a worm. His dad didn’t know if the pole could handle it! Pictures of Pioneer Park

We also met a guy who is riding his bike on the Transamerica Trail. He is biking 4200 miles and plans to take about 3 months. His blog is www.crazyguyonabike.com/8333. He left Yorktown, VA on May 9^th and was on day 48, and had biked 2,435 miles when we met him. The previous day Ed had ridden over Hoosier Pass south of Breckenridge, the highest point on the trail at 11,500 ft. His wife Cathy drives the support vehicle and sets up camp and packs in the morning. What a great adventure!

We are also starting a new chapter in our adventures. While we were at Trappers Lake we got to know the camp hosts there, Bobby and Shirley. I had always been under the impression that camp hosts were strictly volunteer positions…not so. We talked a lot about their experiences camp hosting, some of which include an hourly wage and your RV spot. As a result we really felt that this was a path in our lives that God wanted us to take. We did a lot of research over the next few days and found several positions to apply for. On Friday, June 29^th we got a firm offer from a campground/motel/gas station/store in Hatch, Utah. That is where we are headed on Monday! Hatch is 30 mins from Bryce National Park and the whole area of southern Utah we’ve wanted to return to and explore. In the meantime we are off to Winter Park and the “Blues from the Top” music festival. 

Trappers Lake

Trappers Lake is located about 40 miles east of Meeker in the Flat Tops Wilderness. You follow the White River on a really good dirt road through some beautiful country. About half way there you come upon some pretty amazing housing developments with private fishing, golf courses and horse arenas.  We saw a moose calf in the river. I also saw the best name for a ranch ever…. “Cattle Lack Ranch”

Past all those houses you begin to see signs for the Rio Blanco Ranch that go on and on and on and on…for miles. It’s one of the biggest spreads I’ve seen outside of Wyoming. We finally saw the “ranch house” (can you say huge) and the guest “cabins” around their private lake just before we turned off onto the last road up to Trappers Lake.

There was a huge forest fire in the area in 2002, the Big Fish wildfire (caused by lightning) and it resulted in a lot of devastation. As it is a wilderness area, no mechanized equipment can go into the area to clear the burned timber. The campgrounds are beautiful with lots of pine trees, but most of the area around the lake and up the slopes has a lot of dead and downed timber. I can just imagine what it used to look like as it is still very beautiful.  This web site has a great picture of the lake before the fire and lots of facts. Trappers Lake information

The lake is one of the largest natural lakes in Colorado and it is a “wild” trout lake. It is not stocked and has native cutthroat and brook trout. The brook trout are the invasive species, so you can keep all of them. Fish and game harvest the eggs and milk from the cutthroats to use in the fish hatcheries to stock lakes and reservoirs all over Colorado. Jim caught an 18” Brook trout the 1^st day he and Gary went fishing! I’ve never seen one that big (most are 8-12”).

Arthur Carhart, a US Forest Service official, visited the lake in 1919. He was hired to make a survey for a road around the lake. He became entranced with the area and became an advocate for wilderness preservation. The area around the lake was put largely off limits to development in 1920, due to his recommendation. It was the first such Forest Service property to be set aside in this manner. Because of this, some considered it the birthplace of the U.S. Wilderness Area system. The Flat Tops Wilderness is the 2^nd largest in Colorado. For more on wilderness areas visit www.wilderness.net.  It is a great site.

As I said the campgrounds are really nice and are at the edge of the wilderness area. They are in the National Forest. The lake is inside the boundary, so you have to carry everything to the lake, including your boat (no motors). It is a ¼ mile down to the lake. That’s not so bad; it’s the climb back up! (we are at over 9000 ft in elevation). There are many criss-crossing trails all around the lake so it is wonderful to just get out and hike around.

Our big adventure was to hike to Little Trappers Lake (higher than 9600 ft); about 2 miles up the mountain and at least 4 miles back down. (that’s what it felt like)  I think it was harder coming down….the rocks seemed to be looser and my wading boots weren’t meant for hiking! But it was amazing…the wildflowers were in full bloom and we were the only ones there. I caught a nice cutthroat on my 2^nd cast and that was it for the rest of the day, but we had a lot of fun!

We stayed 7 days, fishing and hiking and enjoying the smell of the pine trees. We left on Friday June 22^nd and headed for Craig and the Yampa River and maybe a visit with friends in Steamboat Springs.

https://plus.google.com/photos/112814756363158658621/albums/5762989903495923121?authkey=CPSQ77CBwaSldw

To Antero and beyond

To Antero and beyond……

After getting back to Antero we had a great time fishing. I’m getting really good at different ways to cook trout. As they are too big to fit in the skillet and it is too breezy for the grill, I’ve also learned to fillet and de-bone them. I’ve come up with a couple of great recipes. One is for fish tacos and the other for patties. Here they are:

FISH TACOS:

Take boneless fillets of fish (I use trout) If they have skin, use a sharp knife and slice between the skin and fish. Cut into inch or so size pieces.  Put into a zip lock bag with 1 beaten egg. Mix well.  In another zip lock or on a plate, mix cornmeal with spices and some salt if needed. I use dill and garlic; or fajita spice; or Cajun spice; or salmon seasoning….anything works. Coat well.  Fry up in a skillet with a little canola oil until golden brown; drain well on paper towels.

While the fish is cooking, heat either flour or corn tortillas. Slice avocados if desired; limes or lemons if you want. Serve with salsa or pico de gallo and hot sauce. 

I make cole slaw and black beans as a side dish. I came up with this recipe for cole slaw by accident, using what I had on hand. I may never go back to sweet slaw again, except at KFC.

Dressing: Use an envelope of Ranch salad dressing mix and mix with mayo, sour cream and a little milk (you want it thick) Add some dried minced onion 1-2 T and powdered garlic 1t. Add 1 t liquid smoke. Mix well and let stand.

Slaw: Take ½ head of cabbage, ¼ head of red cabbage and 4 carrots, grate and mix together. Mix with dressing, a little at a time until you get the right consistency. Add a little milk if too thick. Taste. Add more liquid smoke if you like. Leftovers are good for a few days, but it usually gets eaten quick

.

FISH PATTIES:

I make these with smaller trout that are too small to fillet. Put fish into a skillet and add an inch or so of water. Cover and bring the water to a boil. Cook for a few minutes and turn over, cook for a few minutes more. You don’t want them too done, just enough to be able to get the meat off the bones. Take fillets out and cool; bone.  Put flaked fish into a bowl, mix with spices (see above), 1 or 2 beaten eggs, mix well. Mix in enough bread crumbs to hold together…. Don’t use too much.  Make into patties and refrigerate until later or cook right away. Brown on both sides in a little oil in a skillet, drain on paper towels and serve with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce or sour cream mixed with dill or other spices…it depends on what spice you used in the patties. 

Alisha, Billy and the kids joined us for the weekend. They got there just in time to get blown away by the wind! Billy and Jim went out in the kayak, had a lot of fun but fought the wind the whole way. Us girls stayed inside and played UNO. In the 1^st hand we went through the draw pile 8 times before someone went out! I’ve never had that happen before….especially with 5 people. So we modified the rules somewhat for the rest of the game. 

We played on the beach and entertained the gulls and pelicans with fish guts. They got to fish some off the boat jetty but it was too hard to cast into the wind. The most fun was when we took the dogs and walked around the lake. They had a blast in the water and mud, even thought they could catch the geese….. Antero pictures

After they left, we noticed we had a low tire on the motorhome. (Remember in the last blog I said we got new tires for the jeep? Well we had to because we picked up a big hunk of metal in a tire driving on one of the dirt roads on the way back from Lake George.  Our spare was not that great so we decided to go ahead and replace the tires now instead of in September. ) We called our road service and they came out to the lake and changed it out. Turns out it was a loose seal around the rim. Then a couple of days later we drove to another fishing access area and when we got ready to leave we had a flat tire on one of the brand new tires on the jeep! Picked up another piece of metal….where do they come from on dirt roads? ! Now …. We drove all the way to Alaska and back and to Mexico and back and NEVER had any tire issues! And we had 3 in less than 10 days……… not good.  Thank goodness for tire insurance.  And of course the closest Discount Tire was in Grand Junction or all the way back to Denver. Since we were going to go west to the next fishing hole, we decided to go to Grand Junction.  

We went to Buena Vista and north on the highway to Leadville. Then up Tennessee Pass. Pretty mellow so far.  Went past the Camp Hale Memorial Campground which is historic because the 10th Mountain Division, an unit of 15,000 men, trained here in mountaineering and skiing techniques during WWII. Some saw combat in Italy during the war. Most of the buildings have been torn down, but foundations and other "footprints" remain. The 99th Infantry Battalion (Viking Battalion) also trained at Camp Hale. There are interpretive signs along US Rt. 24, explaining the history and accomplishments of Camp Hale.

Boy the drive down the south side was something else! I’m so glad we did not have to go up the side we were going down. It is not a short cut to Buena Vista unless you absolutely have to go that way.

The drive through the Vail valley was beautiful, as was Glenwood Canyon. The rivers are so low! And it is so dry everywhere…as you know from all the fires burning. 

After a very hot day in Grand Junction, we came east back to Rifle, hoping it would be cooler.  It wasn't much cooler during the day but it did cool off at night. A friend of ours that we met in Alaska, Gary, grew up in Rifle and was there visiting his family before his annual pilgrimage to Country Jam. So we stayed in the rest area in Rifle for a couple of days. It is a beautiful place, lots of parking, a RV dump, lots of shade….right next to the Colorado River… I still can’t believe Jim didn’t go fishing while we were there.  We took a ride with Gary one day to try and find some shade and fishing (no luck) but he did show us where he grew up and where his dad had a coal mine. On the way back we encountered a herd of cows, being driven from point A to somewhere up the road. Lucy went nuts! She didn’t bark (she hardly ever does) but she was riveted on those cows and quivered from head to toe…..she must have had some fun with cows in her last life! The cows

Back in Rifle we went back and forth on where to go next. We had 2 weeks before we had to be in Winter Park for the “Blues From The Top” music festival. Jim wanted to fish the Frying Pan and the Roaring Fork over south of Glenwood Springs but we also wanted to try out Trappers Lake. Several fishing buddies at Antero highly recommended it. The heat won out (it was way hot in Glenwood, too)  and we decided to boogie on up to 9000 ft. We convinced Gary to come with us and before you know it we had ourselves a convoy…………

Next stop Trappers  Lake ……….

Some family time

We left Tarryall after Memorial Day and headed for Denver. We arrived a few days earlier than we planned because we were hoping to take delivery of our new family member.

Pictures of Lucy. 

Everything worked out and Lucy is now part of our lives. She is a 5 year old red merle Australian Shepherd. Her family in Wyoming was moving and could not take her with them, so we volunteered. She is an amazing dog, very well trained and affectionate.  Her arrival coincided with my grandkids and their friends getting out of school so Lucy had lots of loving. We spent several hours at Petco getting vacs, heartworm testing, chipped and stocking up on her meds for the road….. ticks and mosquitos!

On Saturday we went to Allie’s dance recital. Allie is 5 ½ and has been in dance for 3 years. She is my dressy granddaughter…the more ruffles, lace and bling, the better. She loves to sing and dance. She knows the words to many songs by heart, especially those from Sugarland. Alisha, my daughter, told me that during the dress rehearsal, she had it all down pat…the moves and the words. She asked Allie how come she knew the steps so well and she said “I just listen to the music and know when to change the steps”.  So I was really looking forward to her tap dance, Broadway Babes, complete with costume and a little top hat! Her performance was right in the middle of the recital, so we got to see lots of other acts, from 3 yr olds up to senior s. Most were really good…especially the ladies my age doing tap to country and western, complete with boots and hats. Looks like a lot of fun…….I might have to try it if we stick some place long enough. Allie's dance recital

Kalyn,  Allie’s big sister, is going to be in 6^th grade!  All of the sudden, you turn around and they aren’t little anymore. She is a fantastic reader, reading way above her grade level. She’s in some G&T classes in school. She’s involved in many school activities, including “peer mediation”. She’s doing real well at basketball, so she is going to a skills camp next week. Her dad, Billy, coaches their team and every season they get better and better. It is great to see them get more confident and self-assured.  And she earned lots of money for Girl Scout camp, through her cookie sales. Well over a 1000 boxes! It still was not enough to go to “horse camp” so she opted for some day camps this summer instead.  I’m hoping that the girls can spend some time with us fishing but they are so busy…it doesn’t look promising.

We haven’t gotten to see much of Ethan, Jeremy’s boy. We always hit the wrong weekend (when he is with his mom). But he is doing great in school and loves to read, also. He’s an avid skate boarder and so far has managed to escape serious injury! He is facing some adjustments this summer as Jeremy has a wonderful lady is his life, Michelle, and she has kids, too. She’s wonderful. They just got a house together and Michelle has a son Ethan’s age (and 3 more) so everyone is settling in.

Well, we got new tires on the jeep and restocked on flies and got all the dog stuff we need…… we can’t afford to stay in town any longer. I think we are going back to Antero for a couple of weeks …. Where the fish are big and the hatches are plentiful..….

The Summer of Fishing Begins!

April 12^th

We were anxious to see the kids and the grandkids, so we boogied down the road from Jim and Bren’s and headed for Denver.  It was great to see everyone with lots of overdue hugs and kisses. We caught up with all the goings on, doctor’s appointments, etc.

We had decided to spend the summer in Colorado, camping in our motorhome and fly fishing. To that end we bought an inflatable kayak, fishing equipment and several books guaranteed to clue us in on where to go and how to fish the many streams and lakes all over Colorado.  Based on Jim’s research, we did a LOT of fly shopping at Charlie’s Fly Box (Charlie's Fly Box), Bass Pro Shop, Sportsman's Warehouse and....online. It’s incredible how many different flies, in different sizes, in different colors, in different stages of development are needed to “match the hatch” that is happening on the particular river or lake of your choice. Then when you get there, the fish don’t hit on them anyway, no matter how many you try and you wind up with your old faithful, the black woolly bugger!

Before we left Denver, Jim (and sometimes Billy) went on several day fishing trips on Clear Creek (which flows east along I-70 from Loveland Pass down through Golden, alongside Coors Brewery and on through Denver) and on the headwaters of the South Platte in Deckers ( in the mountains west and south of Denver).

We started our summer journey on Antero Reservoir. Antero is southeast of Fairplay in South Park. It is the 1^st reservoir on the headwaters of the South Platte. Antero is known for its big trout and Jim caught several.  I don’t think we were ever skunked. This time of year it is very nice there, except for the occasional windy day (waves and whitecaps) and twice a week snowstorms! Antero pictures  There is absolutely not a bush to be had, much less a tree, so the summers are hot and dusty. Right now though, with the view of the mountains to the west, still capped with snow, it is a beautiful sight. Also, the numerous shore birds, Canada geese and white pelicans break up the monotony. The bug hatches were numerous and intense, so the swallows were there in the hundreds. No mosquitoes yet, thank goodness! Needless to say, Yaqui, our cat was incredibly entertained by all the activity going on outside her window.

While at Antero, we took a day trip to Spinney Reservoir (rumored to have some of the biggest fish in the state but we got skunked) and stopped for a late lunch at in Hartsel, CO. While the town is nothing more than a whistle stop, the Highline Café serves up a pile of skin-on homemade french fries along with ½ pound juicy buffalo burgers that are SOOO GOOD. One of those little places worth driving miles out of your way to visit. Oh, and they have PBR on tap for a buck, can’t beat that.

We stayed for about 10 days and then went to Buena Vista for Mother’s Day. (Info on Buena Vista) We stayed at a really nice place, Mt Princeton RV Park (RV park info) to do laundry and charge our batteries and take really nice long, hot showers! We had dinner at the Eddyline Brewery (Eddyline Pub), sampling their many microbrews and eating gourmet pizza and wings. Come to find out, they had been exhibitors at the Telluride Blues and Brews Festival for several years and won “Best of the Fest” for 2010 and 2011. Blues and Brews was one of our favorite festival venues as vendors, small world! Monday we went and soaked at Cottonwood Hot Springs (Cottonwood Hot Springs). Tuesday we had lunch at K’s Dairy Delite, in business since 1955. Not as good as the Highline Café, but OK. We restocked our refrigerator, the fly box and went back to back to Antero for a few days.

I mentioned that we had bought an inflatable kayak. It is a Sea Eagle Paddleski.  (info on Paddleski) What a great boat! It seats 2 people and gear, is so easy to get into and to carry. It takes about 10 minutes to inflate and fits into the back of the jeep. I love paddling it. As I am not nearly as obsessed with fishing as Jim is but enjoy being out on the lake with him, I do a lot of the paddling, which is ok with me.  I can’t wait to get it down to San Carlos and paddle the coastline on the sea down there.

On the 21^st we headed over to Tarryall Reservoir. We’ve written about it before as it is one of our favorite places. The fishing the 1^st day was great, Jim caught his limit. I’ve caught a couple but it has been cold and the wind has been insane ever since! To escape, we took a day trip down Hwy 9 toward Lake George and spent the day fishing the South Platte around the Happy Meadows campground.  What a beautiful section of river! I’d really like to spend a few days there. We’re here until the 31^st, the wind is supposed to calm down soon. We don’t have strong enough internet to post the blogs from here so these will all go out at the same time once we get back to Denver to restock and regroup.  Tarryall pictures (We actually left Tarryall a couple of days early because the wind started up again! I am so done with wind that blows so hard you can’t close the door!)

The Journey Continues

We left San Carlos March 27th and had a wonderful 2 weeks visiting friends and family in Arizona.

We stopped off for a few days in Tucson and stayed with our dive buddies Steve and Lynne. They have a beautiful old house in north Tucson, close to the river. Their landscaping is early 1800’s Arizona desert and includes a date palm that has a cactus growing out of its top. They have named it “What’s the Point”. Lynne is an amazing artist in an unusual medium. She is a gourd artist. She creates unique and beautiful pieces of art. Check out her website, www.LMEastdesign.com. We also had a great time visiting with her parents, Don and Lillian, who we met while diving in San Carlos.  Their house reflects their diverse interests and achievements. They are avid rock hounds, talented musicians, world traveling videographers, silversmiths and the list goes on and on.  What a fun visit. Tucson pictures

Phoenix was the usual whirlwind stop visiting friends and family. Jim’s youngest daughter Avanlea transferred with Sprouts Market and is now living in Sacramento, Calif. so we didn’t get to see her. Our little grandson Jack was definitely the hit of the party. He is 1 ½ yrs old and on the move all the time. We got to spend a whole day with him, momma  Melanie, poppa  Travis and had a great time.  Pictures of Jack We even managed to squeeze in a visit with long time dive buddies Jodi, Gary and Cindy. They regaled us with descriptions of their recent dive trips and future plans.

Next stop, Camp Verde, Az., just a couple hours north of Phoenix to see Jim and Sandie. They are more old dive buddies who showed up in San Carlos over spring break and we had such a good time together we had to continue the party a little longer. Camp Verde is an old Arizona town (Info on Camp Verde) with lots of history and still has that old west feel.  Jim owns a jewelry and collectables shop in downtown Camp Verde called Laid Back Jewelry. It is a very cool store with lots of old Indian jewelry, turquoise & silver plus he has a lot of western collectibles. Take the time to stop, say hello and check out his restored 1953 Chevy pickup which is generally parked out front. Or on his website at  www.laidbackaz.com.

Sandie is going to college to get a degree in photography and jewelry making. Her website is www.laidbackaz.net.  She is creating some amazing designs in copper jewelry not to mention building an impressive portfolio of photographs.

We were there during the full moon and went to Montezuma’s Well, which is an ancient spring filled oasis. (Info on Montezuma's Well). The Park service had a huge telescope set up for viewing the moon and Venus. It was very cool. We had dinner in one of the most unique restaurants I’ve ever been in called The Horn. Rumored to be one of the oldest restaurants in town the food and ambiance were delightful.  Pictures of Camp Verde. There are a lot more places to explore in the Verde Valley like…..Sedona, Jerome and Montezuma’s Castle to mention a few.

 Easter Sunday found us driving north out of Camp Verde, heading for a spot on the map north of Gallup, NM. (GPS:  N 35° 37.881’ W 108° 57.813). We could actually plug the co-ordinates into our Tom Tom. However, Google Earth is the coolest (Link to Google Earth) Dive buddies we met in San Carlos, Jim and Bren, (does it seem like we have a lot of friends that are divers?) are building a house on 80 acres there. This acreage was part of a coal mine that was restored by the mining company by simply burying many of the structures on the property. They have found septic systems, concrete pads and basement substructures that they have been able to incorporate into their new construction.  When they aren’t there, they have a house north of Window Rock, AZ. We had a great time visiting them and hiking the mesa on their property.   Camp Davis

We also took some day trips. We spent one day at the Navajo Museum in Window Rock; here the history of the Navajo is interestingly documented in displays, essays and photographs, especially the conflicts between the settlers, the army and the Navajo inhabitants. Museum pictures.  Check out their website: Navajo Nation Museum .......

And then we went to Hubbell Trading Post which is the oldest active trading post on the rez and a National Historic site. It was an important part of history in the area. They have a great exhibit in the visitor’s center. It is an interactive panoramic pictorial history of the Hubbell family, famous visitors and the Native Americans who he considered his friends.  The website (Hubbell Trading Post) has great pictures and history. Trading post pictures …..

And of course no visit to the rez would be complete without a trip to Canyon de Chelly,   (Canyon de Chelly website). The canyon is a national monument and it is also an active Navajo community. This is unique among monuments in the southwest. It is amazing to be viewing the ancient ruins in the canyon while watching Navajo people going about their business nearby in much the same manner as they have for centuries. Canyon de Chelly

We are heading to Golden for a much overdue visit........

Better Late Than Never

This past winter in San Carlos was eventful and a lot of fun. We dove a lot and spent a lot of time promoting the dive shop we worked for, Ocean Sports, all around San Carlos. Jim also volunteered to write a weekly dive report for the local online newsletter, What’s Up San Carlos,  www.whatsupsancarlos.com.  The main theme was “temperate” (cold) water diving, how to prepare for it and what you will see in the Sea of Cortez. So this year we bought dry suits, the new Scubapro  Everdry, made out of compressed neoprene so it looks and fits like a wetsuit. Diving off the Ocean Spirit

We had 2 amazing diving encounters this season. The first was when we came upon a small pod of Orcas, just off the coast opposite Tetakawi.  They were amazing.  They practically jumped up onto the back of the boat playing in the wake. Then they broke off from the boat to pursue a large pod of dolphins, which jumped out of the water en masse and scattered like scalded cats.  I’m sure a few became “lunch” for the Orcas because they soon gave us quite an aerial show as well. Orca picture,  Orca video .  I truly believe it was one of those “once in a lifetime” experiences and I am overwhelmed that we were able to see it. 


The 2nd was later, after the first of the year, when Jim spotted a Frogfish in Zorro Cove! It was quite big, over 5” and we were able to get some decent pictures, in spite of the fact the visibility was about 10’ and very green. Frogfish

This year we spent a lot more time exploring Guaymas and having great fun with our Mexican friends. Guaymas market scenes

In October our friends, Rogelio, Mierna and their family (9 in total) came over to work on Rogelio’s dive certification. Mierna brought ceviche (lime & garlic cooked fish) and agua chile (lime cooked whole shrimp with fresh chilies and red onions). Family fun
She is an amazing cook and they came back a few weeks later to teach me and some friends how to make tamales. I think we made about 200! And we had plenty of beer plus a liter of Bacanora (moonshine tequila made in Sonora). More than 2 shots and you have difficulties walking!


We went to a 19th birthday party for Anael, Ernesto’s (captain of the Ocean Spirit) daughter in November. You can’t believe how much food there was! Ernesto is a really good cook; as those of you know who have been fortunate enough to dive with him when he cooks. He made what the Mexicans call “pate’”. You can cut the proportions down, but here is a party sized recipe:
In a large bowl, very finely chop several inches of onions and celery.
In a blender, mix ½ a blender full of whipping cream with a large can of chipotle chilies. Blend until smooth, add to the bowl.
Add 1 jar of mayonnaise to the bowl and mix well.
Add 3 kilos of cooked and flaked yellowtail, mix well. 
Serve with totopos ( tortilla chips but better) and kiss your cholesterol levels good-bye. It is so good.  And of course there was plenty of beer.  Then he grilled whole yellowtail on the BBQ and you just chunked off pieces for fish tacos and we also had tacos “al pastor” (seasoned pork) along with all the toppings. His wife, Anna Marie, creates amazing cakes for a living so you can imagine what she made for her daughter’s birthday.  I think we ate for hours!


In December we had a Posada (Christmas party) for Victor and Maria and their families. Victor and Maria came with the house and apartment and we have known them for years. We had ton of food, lots of beer and a piñata full of candy. I think the adults had more fun scrambling for the candy than the kids.  Posada pictures


Dear friends of ours from LA, Tressa and Jim spent Christmas week with us and of course we had to introduce them to all of our favorite restaurants. We had a blast showing them the sights…it was their 1st time here.  


New Years Eve we went on a sunset cruise and then to Maria’s house way down in the barrio in Guaymas and actually stayed up past midnight. They had great grilled chicken, all the fixings and lots of beer. Lots of music and dancing in the dirt on 4 inch heels and mini-skirts (not me). (I don’t know how these women walk on uneven streets and cobblestones in them but they do). Of course they did not even start eating until midnight and they kept going until 10 am. We left waaaay earlier than that and got lost trying to find our way home. Thank goodness for compasses on your rearview mirror. Once we got headed north I knew we would run into a major street sooner or later, and we did. Quite the adventure! Christmas and New Years pictures


January and February were pretty mellow in comparison, but we had plenty of welcome back parties and see you soon parties and new friends made. Of course, we have to take them to our favorite taco stands and fish restaurants. Can you sense a common theme here? No wonder I can’t lose any weight…in spite of diving once a week and yoga 3 times a week! 
Guaymas and San Carlos scenes. 
More scenes of La Manga


March 10th found us all dressed up, in a catholic church in Guaymas, attending the wedding (boda) of Victor’s daughter.  The mass was in Spanish, of course, but we were able to follow along. Kneeling, standing, praying and the “amens” are pretty universal.  The music was performed by a Mariachi band. Even the “Ave Maria”. I could not see an organ anywhere. I was absolutely blown away by the dresses the bridesmaids were wearing. It was very beautiful and the reception afterwards was a lot of fun. They have a traditional dance called the “baille loco”. Everyone on the dance floor has a handful of confetti. The DJ plays the 1st part of a song and everyone does the steps to it. Then he changes songs and everyone changes steps. Some dances have funky hats or masks for the bride and groom to wear. It is very fast paced and LOTS of fun. Then you get to throw the confetti. Wedding pictures


Later In March we decided to quit working for Ocean Sports and get Abigail (our sailboat) out of dry storage and put her in the work yard and evaluate how much work (and expense) would be involved in getting her back in the water and doing some sailing next season.  Much to our delight many of the issues we feared would be very involved and costly turned out not to be so. So next fall we will completely redo the bottom and the paint, the deck paint, some minor work on the rudder  and put bigger winches on. I’ll need to completely sew and replace the dodger and bimini over the cockpit and try to sew sides for it also.  Lots of sweat equity on our part (which is as it should be) and some new equipment and we’re off!  Abigail pictures


In January I also began working on a new website for San Carlos. Next year, 2013, is the 50th birthday for San Carlos. Upon request, I started putting together a website celebrating San Carlos, its history, before and after pictures and an event calendar. It has taken on a life of its own and is a very comprehensive and informative site for anything and everything to do with San Carlos. Check it out and pass the link around and come and visit this amazing place we call home.  Discover San Carlos website