I looked back on the last blog posting and I am really, really, really far behind! It’s amazing how fast the time has been passing. But I have to explain that it’s not really my fault.
I know I had a blog almost done about our time in Cotopaxi (end of April through Memorial Day) On MD weekend we had an intense rain and hail storm and you won’t believe what happened! I came back to the motorhome and my computer had water all over the keyboard :( I couldn’t figure out how that 1 spot on the desk got wet and nothing else was. Well it turned out water came in through some cracks in the seal around our TV antenna (which was down) and that was directly over my laptop. Unbelievable. So as soon as we got back to Denver (on the way to Estes Park) I had to get a new computer. Thank goodness my hard drive was OK. So I spent the entire next day transferring all my data over to a new laptop which starting glitching and crashing within a few hours. So we took it back to Bestbuy and upgraded. And I spent the entire next day repeating the whole process all over again!
So enter in Estes Park and River Spruce. We hit the ground running and have been busy ever since. Many of you know I’m a list person and every new list has “finish the blog” at the top of the list….meaning the Cotopaxi blog so I can start on the River Spruce blog! So, FINALLY, today I sit down at the computer and I can’t find it. I have every document ever written except that one! I’m sure it’s here somewhere but with all the file restoring it got put somewhere weird. So I’m just starting over again………except I just remembered I wrote it with Libreoffice, so I reinstalled that and here it is:
May:
Well here we are all snuggled up in bed in our motor home, listening to the rain on the roof. We're parked alongside the mighty Arkansas River in Cotopaxi, Co. for the month of May. I'm helping my friend Amy who owns the KOA here get the office organized and ready for the summer season. We first came here two years ago to work and fell in love with the place. So now we come back every spring and help with getting everything organized for the summer. Jim goes fishing and I work which he feels makes for a great relationship.....LOL.
We've been here about 10 days and it’s been fun so far. No snow just lot's of rain which is typical spring time weather in the mountains. Last year we had 6” of snow on Mother’s Day so we've got our fingers and toes crossed hoping for sunny days ahead. Jim's enjoying some great fly fishing, including a 24” rainbow trout he caught out of Deweese Reservoir which is a short drive to the south. Picture a small mountain lake surrounded by forest and flanked by the 14,000 foot peaks of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range and that's Deweese. He also caught some small mouth bass which make great fish tacos. Clean and fry pieces of the bass up in an iron skillet until golden brown and crispy, wrap in a warm tortilla with some chopped onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and fresh salsa with a roasted chile on the side..... easy, quick, and lip “smakin” good!!! That's English for muy bueno.
The Arkansas River was recently designated by the Colorado Wildlife Commission as Gold Medal fishing water meaning waters capable of producing 60 pounds of trout per acre, and at least twelve 14” trout or larger per acre. Only 322 miles of Colorado's 9000 miles of trout streams carry the Gold Medal designation. Needless to say Jim's in 7th heaven and spends many hours fishing the river and hiking the its banks with Lucy. This is one of those places where it's as much about the surroundings, solitude, the scenery, and the wildlife as it is about catching fish. Lucy loves it because she gets to run and play to her hearts content with no leash....just being a dog.
After we got back from California we headed back to Estes Park to help Shelley and Wendye install a new hardwood floor in Tom Tom cabin. Tom Tom is one of the older cabins at River Spruce and very popular with guests. We knew it had snowed in Estes because the same big storm that chased us back from California had passed thru but I could not believe how much snow was still there! They really did have 3 feet of snow and it all happened over 1 night. They shoveled and plowed for over 5 hours on Friday and barely made a dent in it. Heavy, wet, springtime snow....almost like shoveling cement. As soon as Jim saw all of it, he started shoveling. Shelley, Wendye and I tackled removing the old carpet and linoleum from Tom Tom. I think it was a draw as to who had the harder job..... Jim or us! There were 2 layers of hard, brittle linoleum and 2 layers of carpet....yuck! But we got it all out and installed a beautiful new wood floor in just a little over a day. It's amazing what 3 gals and a guy can do! (PIX)
Tuesday morning we looked up from the breakfast table and there was a herd of about 15 deer walking across the river and stopping for a drink. It was beautiful scene set against the backdrop of snow covered spruce trees and the river
Thursday we left Estes for Cotopaxi. We don't have a tow bar installed yet on the new Jeep so I got to drive the Jeep.... by myself.... all the way to Cotopaxi while Jim drove the coach! Needless to say, I haven't gotten to drive it much and what fun. Toolin along all by myself, listening to bluegrass music on Sirius XM, singing out loud, pretty cool!!!!
One of the most amazing thing about the springtime here is that we already have hummingbirds and they are hungry. Today we had hail and lots of rain but they were still out there....fighting over the feeder. We've had as many as 8 to 10 there at one time!
As it’s been raining a lot and Jim is reluctant to stand in water with a 9 foot lightning rod in his hand we’ve been able to take some trips and do some touristy exploring. Jim’s sister Judy and her husband Gill were at their amazing house in Red River while we were in Cotopaxi so we drove down there for a short visit. We went into Taos and explored a small artist community called Arroyo Seco. Very cool place….lots of pottery studios and funky shops and great ice cream. (Pictures of Taos and Red River)
Then we spent another fun afternoon in Canon City touring the Prison Museum. (Canon City prison Museum) There are 7 state prisons in Canon City plus all the federal pens in Florence just 10 miles away! For a change of pace and beauty we visited the Abbey Winery (Abbey and the Winery).
And we went to the new Royal Gorge Park. It burnt down almost completely in the fire 2 summers ago. They were able to save the suspension bridge which until recently was the highest in the world. The incline railroad and the tram were lost and they have rebuilt the tram, but of course it is not the same. They were also able to save all of the animals including the albino buffalo but they aren’t bringing them back. They’ve added a zip line across the canyon and one of those giant slingshot rides where you put on a harness and they launch you out over the edge while you scream and throw up…….no thanks! (Royal Gorge pictures)
That brings us full circle to Memorial Day at Cotopaxi and a wonderful visit with Alisha and Billy and Allie and Kalyn. It was Billy’s first time fishing the Arkansas River and Deweese Reservoir. They caught a mess of fish and had a blast!
We are finishing up our 3 months in Estes Park and I promise I’ll be much more prompt in getting a narrative of our adventures and pictures out to all of you. We have a lot of little projects to finish up here before Wendye and Shelley return from Wisconsin. So as soon as we are on the road again I’ll get the pictures edited (there are a lot of them!) and the story written………...
