July 12 – 16, 2016
Southern Colorado: Trujillo Meadows & Aspen Glade Campgrounds
Tuesday, July 12
Going to be a hot week in Durango so we’ll go higher and see what happens. Only bringing kayak; leaving bikes at home. A 3-hour drive over Cumbres Pass at 10,000 + feet to our first camp, Trujillo Meadows, choosing spot #23, no water no electric. Large empty campground, except for the free-range cows. First time we ever had to clear cow piles to set up (thankfully they were dry). Hence all the flies... It was very windy, which surely helped with the bug situation, but the high altitude also made us tired so didn’t do much the first day, but walk over to see the waterfall and lake. And of course I forgot to bring along the camera. It was small but interesting as it fell into a canyon. Some good wildflowers here: wild roses, paintbrush, columbine, penstemon, etc. The camp’s trees have been devastated by the beetles -- a good thing for getting a dish signal -- so they are attempting to grow seedlings using those plastic cones. Hundreds of them all over--it was like camping in a graveyard, among the tombstones. I called Arlington. The lake is very beautiful, and very small but with the wind even it had whitecaps. Again, the tree-covered mountainsides all had probably 70% dead trees from beetles. Around dinner time the cows came home -- grazing at the spot across from us, and ugh, the flies around them, the poor things, awful. Temps in the mid 70s, morning down to about 40 degrees.
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| What? A cattle call in our campground? The cows are coming home? Beef on the hoof? Round 'em up Little Doggies. It was dinnertime... |
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| Check the flies, sucks being a cow in the summer in Colorado. Poor things. |
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| The campground at Trujillo Meadows felt like camping in Arlington Cemetery with all the cones to grow new trees. |
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| Last winter's trip to Gainesville, FL, provided this most excellent decal for the kayak. |
Wednesday, July 13
By 9am we drove the two miles to launch the boat in the lake, still very windy but gotta do it. He caught one! A big one! Not a rainbow, but a brownie. He will eat it for dinner. That was the only one we got and the wind was really bad so we quit after about 90 minutes. I got bit on the pinky during that float; ended up swelling up my entire finger and half my hand for three days. Mosquito? No idea but he bit in good. After that we drove around, out of the camp for a cell signal, saw a big elk, then went for a short maybe 3-mile hike up a timber road. More bugs, but they didn’t seem to be biting. Saw some huge elk tracks. Listened to a book on tape in the afternoon, then walked back over to the lake and did some shore fishing, catching nothing. However, Bill saw a muskrat and a small black snake. I took a turn with the casting rod and got into that; maybe I need a license too. Caught nothing but had fun… was going for distance. Fish were jumping but not biting. Bill cooked his fish for dinner and didn’t like to very much. Said it was bland. So from now on, it’s Rainbows only.
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| Mother Duck trying to kill her family in the open waters. |
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| Nice little, and I do mean little lake at Trujillo Meadows Reservoir. |
Didn't seem as windy today so we tried the boat again. No fish. And it wasn’t long before the wind came up and it was no fun. ’Nuff of that. Since it was very buggy in camp and too windy to fish, we decided to move on to another camp going 20 miles east toward Antonio to Aspen Glen, taking spot #30 in the lower section by the river -- bad decision: full of mosquitos! Beautiful tall trees, so we had shade at the the lower, warmer elevation, but no electric, no dish, just bugs. Hate this place. A short walk to the water and I had 5 bites. Basically just yelled at Bill to close the door slider for 48 hours, he keeps leaving it open. COME ON! Between my bitten finger and the scores of new bites (they got me before I knew they were there), I took a Benadryl in the late afternoon. Lights out. While Bill made the margaritas I was dozing and after about half of that I needed a nap. Woke for dinner, super bitchy grumpy (about that damn door he keeps leaving open) so off to bed to read at 8:30. Unfortunately he paid for two nights so we have to stay -- can’t walk away from $10!! I coulda. Easily.
Friday, July 15
Hmm, what can I do inside all day… I will not sit outside and feed the vampires. Got a late start and we drove about 10 miles to Antonito. Went to a small Mexican grocery and got some pinto beans for Blazing Saddles later, then to the library for a cell signal, and darn, it’s only noon… Checked out another camp, just like ours, and went back for a very relaxing day with him outside, me inside playing Yahtzee. Ain’t going out. It was overcast so a bit cooler and later we did a walk along the pretty river. Cooked a big batch of beans and even got Bill to play a round of Yahtzee. That’s how bored we were.
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| Cumbres & Toltec Train |
Saturday, July 16
Yay, going home! Too buggy in the summer. Thought about other camps but it will be more of the same. Caught the Cumbres & Toltec steaming up the mountain on the drive back. Back to a warm 88 degree Durango -- but there ain’t no ’skeeters!!!
RIP: Nice street attack in France
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