More Vacation Photos--Weminuche Wilderness Continued

During our camping trip in Colorado's Weminuche, we hiked on the Squaw Creek Trail. 

 It was pretty chilly on our last morning in the wilderness!!

Farewell to the wilderness . . .

Our kind of quilt store!

We went back to Durango to return our rented hiking sticks and to explore a bit.  We were there in time to see the narrow gauge train leave town. 

Then it was time to head towards home and back to full responsibilities.  Big sigh . . .

Thanks for following along on this picture show from our trip in August/September 2010.  It was a great trip.

Have you begun planning your next adventure?  Let us know what you're going to be doing!

More Vacation Photos--Colorado's Weminuche Wilderness

While we enjoyed camping in the beautiful Weminuche Wilderness in southwest Colorado, we hiked on the Weminuche and Squaw Creek Trails.  These two trails start from the same trailhead in 30 Mile Campground near Rio Grande Reservoir (by the way, this campground has some of the nicest outhouses I've ever visited--carpet remnants on the floors, skylights, nice posters on the clean walls, clean interior and exterior, and neat trash cans). 

A ways down the Weminuche trail, you enter the Weminuche Wilderness. 

Because of all the recent rains, the trail was a muddy mess.

 But you had an idea of who else was using the trail . . . Hmmm. . . Elk and deer?



The Weminuche Creek is gorgeous!

Sneaking up on a butterfly:

Heading back to camp . . .

Time to sit and relax and plan the next day's activities . . .

More Vacation Photos--Southwest Colorado Camping

View from our campsite in Lost Trail Campground

 After we left the relatively highly populated Mesa Verde National Park, we headed for the isolated high country of southwest Colorado.  We went through Durango and stocked up for our trip to the Weminuche Wilderness.  We got groceries, of course, and ate ice cream in the parking lot because we weren't going to get it again soon.  We left our hiking sticks at home, so we stopped at Backcountry Experience where we rented some for our hike.  They were nice people and gave us good information about the equipment and our planned destination.  And they were pretty right on about the weather--unpredictable!


Off we went on our new adventure, passing through some gorgeous scenery in southern Colorado.  We turned at South Fork and headed through the little historic silver mining town of Creede.  Then we turned off onto a dirt road and passed the Rio Grande Reservoir.

A little ways past the reservoir on a rough and potholed road is the small Lost Trail Campground.   

We set up camp and I walked around the campground and surveyed the scenery . . .

Then we went for a hike on the Weminuche trail.  
 

I'll have more photos of this beautiful place in another post.  Wanted to share these with you now. 


Have a pretty day!

Vacation Photos--Mesa Verde National Park

Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park

After we left Chaco Canyon in northwest New Mexico, we headed north to Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado.  It's another magical place with many dwellings left by the Ancient Puebloans.  

In the summer, the park has a wonderful program where rangers portray a historical person relevant to the area.  That person leads a late afternoon tour of a cliff dwelling while in period dress and acting in character.  On the day that we arrived, we signed up for the tour of Cliff Palace led by Al Wetherill (one of the men who "discovered" Cliff Palace) portrayed by a ranger whose name I have forgotten (I'm sorry because he did an excellent job). 


The tour began above Cliff Palace and "Al Wetherill" explained that for the next hour we would be in 1902 and that he'd hoped we'd filled our canteens at the nearby spring.  

Away we went for our tour of the Cliff Palace ruins.  We got a history lesson about the Wetherill family and the discovery and study of Cliff Palace.  We walked down the trail and down some stairs as the sun started going lower.  Al paused and showed us a rough, rocky trail that used to be his way down to Cliff Palace.  Once we got down to the ruins, we sat on a large, curving rock ledge while Al told his story.  


One story of the Wetherill family history is here.  We can see that the Wetherill family had a lot to do with the sites of ancient peoples in the Four Corners area of northwest New Mexico and southwest Colorado.  


As the sun lowered in the sky, you can see that the ruins (above) positively glowed in the light.  

Al had us mesmerized with his story and the story of Cliff Palace and his many visits to the ruin.  Then he said we had to get moving since the sun was getting lower.  We got up and moved to another location in front of the cliff dwelling while Al told us a bit more about how he and his wife had to leave this area after they lost their ranch in order to survive.  He thanked us for joining him on this visit--his last visit to Cliff Palace.  Then he paused and removed his hat and . . . became the ranger.


The ranger then filled in other parts of the story that Al didn't know and could not have known. 


It was fascinating, but we had to get moving to beat the sun out of the canyon. 

Cliff Palace

We had to climb a few ladders to get out of the ruins and to the rim of the canyon.  I do NOT like ladders, but I tried not to think about that too much while I tried to just keep moving.  I muttered to myself and my man talked encouragingly to me while we made the climb with the others on the tour. 

Once out of the canyon, we headed back to the Mesa Verde campground where we spent a quiet night.  

The next morning we met some of the campground residents.  

Mesa Verde campground resident

 There are many deer in the Mesa Verde campground.  

And bees.  That wanted to share our meals.  I like bees about as much as I like ladders, so we kept our tent in the shaded campsite and ate our dinners in an open, sunny, unoccupied campsite where there were fewer bees. 


Whew.  

I LOVE Baseball! It's Spring Training!

It's an annual thing here in southern Arizona.  Alas, this is probably the last year for spring training baseball in Tucson.  So sad for those of us who love baseball and love sitting in the ballpark in March.  But, for me, one afternoon last week was bliss.

An afternoon at Hi Corbett Field watching the Colorado Rockies play the Kansas City Royals.  Thanks to my friend and former co-worker Bill who provided the ticket for me to go. 

Is this the same Brian Anderson who used to play for the Arizona Diamondbacks?  I don't think so, but our group never reached a definite conclusion. 

And for the fans of Troy Tulowitzki: 

My friend Bill and I thought the duel between outstanding pitcher Zack Greinke (reigning American League Cy Young award winner) of the Royals and Tulowitzki of the Rockies would be fun the watch.  In Tulowitzki's first at bat, he hit the first pitch with a huge CRACK of the bat.  The ball rocketed into the outfield.  So much for that battle. 

In Tulowitzki's second at bat, there was indeed a battle.  Tulowitzki hit into a force out, but he hit it hard.  He is also very reliable at shortshop.  Rockies' fans will enjoy watching him play again this year. 

The Rockies' pitcher Jeff Francis was successful in the three innings he held the Royals scoreless. 

The day started out sunny and cool.  Then it got a bit warmer and I questioned my decision to wear my warm undershirt under my long sleeved polo shirt.  Then the clouds moved in later and blocked the sun.  While others around me talked about how chilly it was getting, I was feeling pretty smart and pulled my fleece jacket up around my shoulders. 

There I was.  Happy as a clam.  Sitting in the (mostly) sun at the baseball park watching baseball.  Sigh . . .