Sunday, August 1 - It was supposed to rain today. We got a shower after lunch. Before and after it was bright sun. We spent the morning chatting with folks from Payson, AZ. We had a long nap after lunch and went to town for peach ice cream and a dozen eggs.
I have been feeling hot for a month. Maybe I was damaged by the heat dome? It's 65 right now and I have a fan blowing on me. Anything out of the ordinary and I wonder if it's related to leukemia. My appetite is also reduced.
There is one other Jeep in the CG. I walked around this morning and counted 17 dirt bikes and then I quit counting. They all belong to men over 60.
The culture of this CG which we have enjoyed for over a decade has changed. It's not about Jeeping anymore. In addition to the motorbikers, there is a contingent of entitled folks from Texas and Oklahoma who are close friends and want to take over the CG with their high-end rigs by claiming sites for their friends who are arriving. They would seem to be happier in an RV resort.
Monday, August 2 - Another lazy day. It was supposed to rain a lot, but all we got were some dark clouds and a brief shower.
Tuesday, August 3 - More rain was forecast today. Again, another brief mist while we were unloading the groceries. Dorothy had her doc call in a script to Montrose so we took the hour drive to pick it up and reload the larder. What a busy town. We had long lines at Walmart, City Market, and Wendy's. All had Help Wanted posters in the windows.
If I were going to buy property in Colorado, I would locate in the valley north of Montrose.
We have noticed a lot of people masking up, tho it is not required. I wanted a mask the other day when we were standing in line for ice cream. I am going to add one to my pocket.
Wednesday, August 4 - The first day in a week without rain in the forecast. While the afternoon rain showers have not slowed us down much. Dark skies do not make for good photography or charging the batteries. No rain is forecast for the next 10 days.
I wanted to drive up Stoney Pass and down to Kite Lake - a drive we had not done. Alas, the road was closed. So we decided to do nearby Kendall Mountain instead. It's not a popular trail, so we would not have to contend with traffic.
The first few miles were not scenic, just rough. Then it opened up and there were mountains all around us. Then it went to a one-lane shelf road, which scared the bejeesus out of Dorothy. Nothing to do but continue forward. When we reached the top we were on top of the world. About 12,800. We could see every mountain. Even the elusive Needles. If it had been a clear day, the photos would have been spectacular. I cleaned them up as much as I knew how.
Does the trail continue?
Silverton from Kendall Mountain
The tall plants reminded me of catus in California
At the very top, we saw a girl sitting in the road taking in the view. She quickly scrambled up the steep side of the road - perhaps thinking we were going to hit her going 4mph. Turned out she was 22 and from NM and had hiked to the top in three hours. It took us almost that long to drive it. She was a delicate-looking creature and enjoyable to chat with.
There was no turnaround at the top, so I backed up the mountainside of the trail as far as I could and then inched forward to the edge of the road. Made it in only two passes. I would have liked to have seen how the 4door we saw did it. I warned him about it, but he was unfazed.
Thursday, August 5 - The intent was to do Cinnamon Pass and beyond. We had not done this trail before. The trail out to Animas Forks where Cinnamon begins has been trashed by side-by-sides. It was slow bumpy going for over 10 miles. Cinnamon was OK, but will not get top scenery awards from me.
No, we did swing on the bridge
I did not want to return the way we came so I opted to return via California and Corkscrew gulches. I thought it might save some time, but we were still on the trails for five hours and that's too long for us. My neck is stiff.
For the first time, we have seen Mexicans on the trail. There is a Japanese-born single young woman parked next to us in $150,000 B+. We saw a Prius that has slid off a trail. It is a new world, everyone is out.
Friday, August 6 - The dirt bike "convention" here is coming to an end. The apparent group leader, the guy in the 45 foot Class A with the 30-foot double high trailer that carries all his toys, put his scooter-pooter in the trailer at 6:30am. We were up, so it did not bother us, but it did bother the woman next door to him. What an asshole to crank up a noisy engine at that time of the day. He could have waited or done it last night. What does he do next? He and his chums stand in the parking lot having coffee for an hour. Then he and his chums spend another half-hour hooking up the trailer. His mates followed him out. Texans! After the mass exodus we moved down to one of the premium waterfront sites.
What parked in the same space
We met a couple from Cedar City, UT yesterday and invited them to have lunch with us today. They also have a Jeep so we figured we might fit. We had a really great pizza together.
Saturday, August 7 - We woke up to fire smoke from California. You can not smell it, but you sure can see it. Laundry day. Went to the PO to pick up mail, but only one piece was sent or had arrived. Will have to wait until Monday to call and see what's up. Spent an hour at the library downloading and looking at books about the area. The library was built by Carnegie. Had another fine pizza. Spent the afternoon chatting with Patty and Geran from Cedar City and Lauren and Roy from Hemet. The CG is about empty. All but a small group of bikers have left.
Sunday, August 8 - It has been low 40's every morning here until today it was 34. The smoke is still here. Roy, next door, is a ham operator. He checked his sources and told us a high-pressure system in Utah is causing the smoke to hang around, but it should dissipate by tomorrow.
Still figuring where to go next. Somewhere in the northern NM mountains. But, where first?
It's been a full morning. A couple saw the name on our rig. She came over and said, "I know you, You are Don Malpas". She knew us from the Lazy Daze Forum. They are Florence and Tim from Dana Point. We had a long and interesting conversation. Then Patty and Geran came by to say goodbye before heading home. We may see them again next month.
Monday, August 9 - The smoke remains, but not as dense. By 10am the smoke cleared and we had a cobalt blue sky.
I called the mail forwarding service to find out what happened to our mail. Turned out our mail was placed in an adjoining box. I guess the good thing was it was not sent to the holder of the box it was in.
We went into town to dump and fill the freshwater tank. Somehow we wound up with cones of chocolate ice cream.
Tuesday, August 10 - Our stay here is drawing to a close. It's a maximum 14-day stay limit and the rangers are enforcing it this year.
Some haze, but we thought we would wheel a trail. I chose Governor's Basin, one we had not done before. We got away at 8:30 and on the way up 550 I told Dorothy that if she was OK with it we could do the famous/infamous Black Bear down to Telluride and come back on Imogene Pass. To my surprise, she was up for it. And so we did. We had been up to Black Bear Pass twice before, but we had never descended. It proved an easy downhill trail with a few off-camber places. I did not even have to back up to get around most of the switchbacks. One reason I wanted a 2Door.
The switchback section of Black Bear Trail taken from Imogene - across the valley
We had snacks with us, but we got to Telluride at 11:30 and we took a chance on a restaurant meal. We choose one based just on the name shown on the GPS. It turned out to be an excellent choice. We both had Chile Renellos, pinto beans, and mixed vegetables. We jotted down all the veggies so we can sauté the dish ourselves. I have always said sauces make the meal and that was the case today. You dish up your own chips and can have several sauces. I choose all three. One was made with tomatillos and was divine not only for chips but also for dipping the Chili Renellos.
Stuffed, we found the Imogene trail and went back up the other side of the valley we just came down. I was really looking forward to getting to the pass. Regrettably, by the time we gained the summit the CA smoke had settled in and it was not worth a single picture. We did not even get out of the Jeep.
And so it goes. It made for another long day - 7.5 hours, 6.5 of it behind the wheel. Dorothy was in pain by the time we got back just from having her foot low all day.
Wednesday, August 11 - Yesterday, I noticed something that was interfering with my foot on the brake pedal. Not a good thing as brake use is seriously important going down steep grades. I found a single screw had come out of the toad brake cylinder and it was flopping around the brake pedal. Of course, repair meant taking the whole assembly out. That took up my morning.
Not much is lost as the smoke remains. Dorothy fixed BBQ, baked beans, and Althea corn for lunch. We had a nap and came into town to the library to download some movies and upload this post.
beautiful shots, some looked taken by a drone, you guys sure stay busy!! Makes me feel really old!!
ReplyDeletekeep notes coming, just like I was on trip with you Stay safe Walter