RAFTING THE ANIMAS RIVER

Today Jeanne, BJ, Diane, Christine and I rafted the Animas River.  We had lots of fun and brought some life to the crowd.  Our raft started screaming through the rapids and singing Row Row Row Your Boat and got the other four rafts participating which made for fun all around.

We ran through class 3 rapids, just enough for lots of fun!  And we saw some houses with million dollar views.  

Our guide was from Kirkwood!!!  His parents live just a few blocks from me and he graduated from Kirkwood High School a year behind my niece and knows some of her friends.  Small world stuff!

Luanne went fishing but didn't catch anything today.  

Off to dinner in Durango tonight in Durango where we'll meet Susie and Dee too!

DURANGO

This will be a short post this evening after a long, beautiful day in Durango.
We spent the morning on a lovely walk along the Animas River, destination.....Baskin Robbins!!! Yeah!!!  Our four miles should help with making all of those calories disappear!  

After a quick lunch, Susie and Christine headed to Ouray to explore and shop.
The rest of us headed to a beautiful lake about 30 miles and 3,000 feet up the mountain. 

 It has been very windy but Luanne and I decided to give fly fishing a go and she caught a nice rainbow trout.  You can see from her pictures how excited and pleased she was.  

The rest of the crew perched on rocks lakeside and you can see what BJ did with herself!

I didn't catch anything but I did find a camera in my flyvest that has been missing for a year, that may actually have been the best catch for me.

On the way back down the mountain we stopped at this hot springs right on the side of the road.  It has been spewing hot water since the early 1800's and used to feed a therapeutic pool in the late 1800's.  It was quite eye catching, the minerals created a "skin" looking very much like an acorn squash.  

DURANGO TO SILVERTON NARROW GAUGE RAILWAY

The first picture is of Chimney Rock which is on the Navajo Reservation.  We passed it as we came across Wolf Creek Pass on the way to Durango.  I was especially interested because I enjoy the Tony Hillerman mysteries featuring Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn who investigate cases on the Reservation.  I was glad to have seen it!

Then today's pictures are from our trip on the RR.  Diane, Jeanne, Christine, Susie and I took the train up the mountain.  It was spectacular!!  Something I've always wanted to do and I'm so glad I did!

While we were gone Luanne went mountain biking and fished a bit and BJ got her car serviced and now she's off having a massage.  Jeanne and Susie are going to head to town to do a little hiking boot shopping.  

The Animas River is flowing so fast that we can't fish in town like we thought so we're going to have to head to the fly shop later to find out where we should go. 

GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK....SUNDAY MORNING

Saturday morning dawned clear and bright with five ravenous women salivating over a camp stove where my Mom’s old cast iron skillet fried bacon, eggs and hash browns for breakfast.  What a nice way to start the day!

And with the things we were frying up the idea of toast was floated and everyone agreed it would be a good addition.  Remember that we are dry camping, no electric or water at our sites.  But Saffire does have a generator and produces her own electricity.  Lo and behold what should appear….two electric toasters!!!  Diane and Linda both bring toasters with them when they are camping, so we had lovely buttered toast to add to our feast!

Fortified for the day, we headed out on a hike to the mountain ridge which overlooks the campground and the sand dunes.  It was a beautiful hike filled with wildflowers and two blooming cacti.  All the cactus plants look as if they are ready to burst into bloom, a small rain would make the hike a riot of color.  I am always delighted by the vibrant cactus bloom, it comes from rough, rocky terrain from a plant which is so prickly and plain.  

Later in the day, Luanne and Linda climbed to a waterfall which I would have loved to have seen but I recognized my limitations and took a pass on it.  It was .5 mile straight up slick rock; then clinging to a wall to get around a corner; then fording a river which was running swiftly, knee deep, and filled will round slick rocks; then around a corner to stand in the river for a picture of the falls.  I’m not sure I would have survived to be sitting here telling stories this morning!

Diane, Jeanne and I decided to go down to the river at the Dunes to play.  We took the dogs and drove down.  It had been windy at the campground, but OMG, when we got to the river it was a real wind storm!  Jeanne and I left our glasses in the car, not wanting them to be sand blasted.  We got out into the middle of the river and the sand was blowing so hard it STUNG through my long pants!  The people walking on the dunes looked like they were floating on air as the sand swirled around their legs!  It didn’t take long for us to give it up and head back to our camp.  

The winds here are what have created the massive dunes.  There are two mountain ranges on either side, erosion has created the sand and the winds drive down from one side and are met by winds from the other range which pile up the huge dunes.  I think a new dune may have grown yesterday!

After our busy day and the gusting winds we were all pretty wiped.  We had planned to barbecue but put that idea aside for another evening.  We all brought “stuff” and met in Saffire for dinner.  Although Saffire II is much smaller than Saffire I she can handle five people for dinner, maybe not in style, but in more comfort than the out of doors offered last night.  

As I type I’m watching the sun come up over the dunes, the play of clouds and light make it an ever changing sight.  I went to bed last night at 8:30 so have been awake since 3:00.  I thought rather than tossing and turning I’d get up, write and have this spectacular view to inspire me.  

We leave the Dunes today and head over the mountain pass to Durango.  Linda has left the group and headed back to Ohio as she has to work Tuesday, so we’ll be four arriving in Durango but our numbers will soon grow again.  BJ will arrive from California today, she has been on the road for three days to join us.  Christine flew from St. Louis to Denver yesterday, got a car and will meet us in Durango.  I have her camping gear in Saffire and she’ll be with us through Moab.

I have a friend, Dee, who lives in Durango and another friend Susie who is flying in to Durango today to stay for the four days we are there.  So that brings our numbers to eight.  And I have another friend and her husband who will be in Durango at the same time so we should have a really great campfire one night!!

Monday morning we are riding the narrow gauge railroad from Durango to Silverton and Wednesday we are rafting the Animas River.

I have to find time in between for fishing and biking, maybe we should have planned to be in Durango longer!