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

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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..….