June 9, 2014 - ATV Adventure

This morning we decided to try the ATV adventure.  We rented a two seater for two hours.  The people we rented from were the nicest people and assured us that if we were not back by 1 they would come looking for us. Since we were on our own to explore through the National Forest I had these visions of taking the wrong road and ending up driving forever trying to find our way out. I kept thinking of last year in the Kootenai National Forest where Dale insisted we were not lost! Yeah, right!! Anyway, we actually had a map of the trails and the ATV owners were wonderful to point out the trails they recommended since we were newbies at this adventure. We had an absolute blast and ended up going to the top of one of the mountains to a clearing that overlooked a bunch of trees below us.  It was not the most beautiful site we have seen so far but it was such fun and we thoroughly enjoyed the wilderness adventure. We did not see any wild animals but we did see quite a lot of evidence they were around!  I think next time we will be studying up on wild animal poop so we can identify what in the world we should be watching out for!  LOL!  Unfortunately we did this on our last day here or we certainly would have rented an ATV more than just once. 

Tomorrow we head to Durango Colorado and will be there for three days.  I am not sure about being able to post to the blog but will certainly play catch up when I can get a good connection.  No telling what kind of trouble we will get ourselves into in Durango.  Until the next post ....

 The seasoned ATV driver!

 From the edge of the road looking down.

 Great ATV trails

 Can't help but to take pics of wild flowers I have not seen before

 Another new wild flower (I think!)

 Beautiful views on the way to the top of the mountain

Finally got a selfie without a hand in the pic!



June 8, 2014 Buckles Lake

Another adventurous day!!  Today we drove to Buckles Lake, which is about 20 miles or so from Pagosa Springs and then back in the boonies another 10 miles or so.  Dale had his eye out today for wildlife and he did spot a elk cow and a couple of deer.  I was supposed to be on the lookout for any signs of wildlife but I cannot see them if you shoved them in my face!!  Here he is driving on these switch back roads (I call them snaking) with drop offs on a constant basis and he still manages to spot these things!!  Scary, huh?!?   Today was a bit cooler and we had some rain come through but not until we returned to the RV.   After hiking down to the lake, about a mile, we took some pics,enjoyed the scenery, and headed back the mile to the Jeep.  This is some great exercise for sure. The path going to the lake was a breeze - it was all down hill!  You know what that means!  What goes down must come up and it was challenging to return to the Jeep!  Keeps us in shape!  Dale is enjoying this so much he has been researching what we need to properly dress and carry when we hike.  No telling what he has planned!  Following are our pics. Sorry for so many pics of flowers but I just love looking at the different wild flowers.

 Wild Iris

 A field of dandelions - they are everywhere!

 Buckles Lake

 Wild fern

 Aspen

 Wild morning glory

 Elk cow

Deer

June 7, 2014 - Silver Falls near Pagosa Springs CO

Today we decided to start our day with a rafting adventure. We took the short one since we had not been rafting and wanted to use this as our introduction into rafting to see whether or not we would like it. Besides,the water here is still very cold since it is still the run off from the melting snow in the mountains.  The water here makes the 80 degree water in the swimming pool at home seem like a hot tub!  Anyway, we had a blast and did not get very wet because we took the back row of seats in the raft.  There were 7 of us in the raft and the two in front were soaked by the time we arrived at our destination an hour later.  We will definitely do another rafting trip and, depending on the temp of the water, know where the best seats are if we want to stay fairly dry.

Later this afternoon we decided to take a small road trip to Silver Falls, which is about 20 or so miles from where we are staying.  Once we got off the main road, the roads were quite rough with several areas that had road damage from the flooding that had occured from the run offs.  We had to put our Jeep in four wheel drive. It was a very interesting drive to the falls area and we ran across several people that were camping along the way.  Reminded me of when we used to camp in the boonies when the kids were little.  We made it to the falls area and took about a 1/3 mile hike up to the falls area. We did not make it to the top of the falls but did get pretty close.  Sometimes these trails can become quite challenging and be quite narrow with loose rock and an easy tumble into the water. We did get a few decent pics. 

 Hopefully this is not poison ivy, sumac, or oak!

 I was so excited to catch the bee in flight!

 These are wild iris. 

 Nestled in the middle of nowhere!  How peaceful with beautiful surroundings!

This little guy was so wonderful to pose for me.  : )



June 5, 2014 Horse Back Riding and Piedra Falls

Today we took a 2 hour trail ride right here in Pagosa Springs in the wooded areas and right next to the San Juan National Forest.  The ride was fun and we saw 2 baby foxes in their den waiting for their parents to bring them food.  They looked so very cute peering out at us as we went by.  We had a great time!  What I once thought was a padded behind actually felt very bony by the time we got back to the stables!  Now I know what they mean by saddle sores!!  After the horse back ride we felt pretty froggy so we decided to go on to Piedra Falls about 20 miles or so from Pagosa.  The book said the hike to the falls was about 1/4 of a mile and we both were thinking that would be great and we could handle that!  Well,the actual hike to the falls was 1/2 miles and as we got closer to the falls the path became narrower and narrower with loose rocks and quite a drop.  Coming off the horse back ride our legs were feeling the pain and I had already fallen on my hiney back at the stables on the way to the car when I walked on some loose rocks to the car (only my pride was hurt) so we both decided to head back to the car and forego the falls. We were both disappointed!   In spite of that we enjoyed the day and had a blast.   However, tomorrow we will be taking a day off and just being lazy around the RV.  Gonna grill out some pork chops tomorrow evening and take it easy.  Sure wish family could be here to enjoy this beautiful weather with us!

 

 

 

June 4, 2014 Treasure Falls - San Juan National Forest

Today we traveled to Treasure Falls and hiked up to the falls.  We had thought we were both in pretty good shape but after climbing the trail up to the falls we figured out pretty quickly we need to hit the exercise room more often and more effeciently!  Wow!  Add to that the altitude and it was challenging but also quite rewarding once we made it to the top.  I loved the going down part and found it not nearly so taxing as the climb up!  LOL!  The hike was definitely worth the trip.  We then went on to Creede Colorado with a stop or two along the way enjoying the scenery and the pure peacefulness of the countryside.  What a beautiful country!

 

This little guy came right up to Dale's feet before running away!

 Feeling the pressure of the walk!

 The falls at the top of the climb

 View in the distance from 8700'

 Tracing the flow from the falls to the ocean

 Still snow on the ground in June!