Mud-on-the-tires Full-time RV Adventure: MT & CO -- Roundup MT, Colorado Springs, Creede, Pagosa Springs

Intro...

We cut our summer in Canada short because we had family who needed our help.

Each time we went back and forth to my hometown, Roundup, this summer we stopped in Greatfalls, Montana to visit my childhood and dear friend Linda. We are so glad we were able to see each other several times this summer. During our visit in May she took us to one of her favorite childhood places: Ryan Dam and the Great Falls portage on the Missouri River. Runoff was peaking and the falls were impressive! We could feel the spray from where we were standing.

Linda & I

Where we've been the last four months...

Roundup, MT

Sadly, my Mom seriously injured herself in May. She spent time in the hospital before being moved to a skilled nursing facility. She would never be able to move back into her home. Mary arranged for her to move to a skilled nursing facility in Colorado. My sister, Kathy and her daughter Andrea, went to Montana and flew with her. We are so grateful to our dear friend and honorary sister Kathy, for helping before and during that difficult transition. I know my Mom is safe and hope she is happy.

With Mom at her home last year

Shawn and I spent over a month preparing my Mom's house to sell. Mary had returned during the summer to do some things but there was still a lot of work. 60 years of "memories" had to be taken care of. We are very thankful to my friends Anne and Ardie and my Mom's neighbors in Roundup who embraced us and made this challenging process easier.

The last seven months since my Mom injured herself have been difficult. They’ve made me reflect strongly on relationships, priorities, and long term planning. I hope I’ll always remember to not let pride stand in the way when I get to the age where I need to make changes. May I realize when my physical constraints are such that I need a cane, or a walker, and most importantly, a medical alert system.

We did take a couple of breaks! We spent a few days in one of our favorite Montana mountain towns: Red Lodge. We drove the famous Beartooth Pass and did a little mushroom hunting. We found just enough porcinis for a few meals. The lofty Beartooth Plateau has incredible views of southern Montana, northern Wyoming and eastern Yellowstone NP.

Clay Butte Lookout Tower

View from Beartooth Pass back across Top of the World with thunderstorm in distance

King Bolete or Porcini (Boletus Edulis)

Hawk Wing Mushroom (Hydnum imbricatum)

I also took a weekend and went with my childhood friends Linda and Anne to Anne’s cabin in the Absorka Mountains. We had a great time reminiscing about our childhood and teen years till the early hours of the morning. The best therapy in the world is old friends!

Linda, Anne & I

The day I drove away in the U-Haul truck loaded with my Mom's belongings was a bitter sweet day. Four generations of my family lived in Roundup, Montana. My great-grandfather, a coal miner, settled there in the early twentieth century from Croatia. Sundays were spent at my great-grandmother’s eating chicken she had raised herself. From three years of age, my sisters and I would walk the two blocks to see my stepfather at the grocery store to ask for a few pennies. With a penny we could buy two pieces of candy. Even as preschoolers we ventured on our own into the sandstone bluffs north of town. I was the last of my family to leave.

I drove the UHaul while Shawn drove our truck and trailer from Montana to Colorado

We are very thankful to friends Darrel and Lori in Cheyenne for their hospitality! They let us stay in their comfortable guest room and let us park on their street with our 90' of trucks and trailer. They took us to dinner at Sanford's Grub & Pub in downtown Cheyenne. It was just what we needed after a long day of driving. We highly recommend it!

Colorado Springs, CO

We spent a few weeks in Colorado Springs visiting both of our mothers and other family members. I know both our mothers enjoyed the extended time with them.

My Mom enjoyed visits from my sisters and I. However, nothing bolsters her spirits like my niece, Heather’s squishy baby, Liam. He’s such a happy baby!

My Mom, Liam, Heather

Heather & Liam

Shawn’s Mother, Sandi, got a new four legged friend while we were there and we were able to help greet and play with the "darty" kitten, Nico.

We only had limited time with other family members. However, we’ll be settling down within a five hour drive of them so it’s easier for them to come visit us then in years past.

Shawn’s Dad is having medical challenges as well. We were able to spend a few days with him in Pueblo and are praying for his complete recovery. We miss Tom and Wanda’s company camping and fishing with us.

We returned to the Front Range twice while we were in Pagosa. The first time was when Shawn’s Dad had to have emergency surgery.

The second time was to rent another U-Haul and collect our personal belongings. We have always had a small storage unit. But I also bought furniture at a large antique marketplace in the Springs. In addition, Shawn’s Mom and my Mom passed on a few things to us as we set up house again for the first time in nine years. We’ll soon be like everyone else with a house full of stuff (I don't think so! - Shawn)…

Loading up a the table that Shawn's mom gave to us. Thank you Mother!

I was really proud of myself for driving the UHaul by myself down Wolf Creek Pass. A few people die here each year.

Creede, CO

We returned to the mountains and Creede, Colorado in mid-September. We had first visited 7 years ago in 2012. This time we stayed at Antlers Rio Grand RV Park. We had full hookups, decent wi-fi and a weak data signal. We were one of the few folks there during our stay. We were excited to return and explore a few areas we had before.

First, we climbed Copper Ridge. When we did this hike seven years ago, our four legged friend Praia was with us. This was his last long hike. Somehow we ended up parking in a different spot, on the east side of the ridge. So I followed the snowboarder through the woods and straight up the sheer ridge walls on rocky game trails. We were both relieved to get up on top. As we marched across the rim, we greeted a hunting party coming back on horseback from somewhere deep in the San Juans. From there it was easy to follow the ridge to the top where you are treated to a 360⁰ view of the upper Rio Grande valley and surrounding San Juan Mountains. We took another way down following a faint trail but it was more gradual than the way we had climbed up. We plan to return but will not wait another seven years.

Continental Reservoir is one of our favorite places to fish in the area. We know just the spot to fish from our kayaks where there is a good drop off. Since we already put the kayaks up, we walked the mile and a half along the rocky shore to get to the spot. It was worth the effort as Shawn did very well and battled with several nice trout.

We checked out several of our mushroom hunting spots. It was past the time for porcinis. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find that beetle kill areas had a lot of healthy blue spruce that had sprung up in the years since we last visited. Another pleasant surprise was at one of chanterelle honey holes. We found enough of the golden beauties for a meal. Plus, we now know that area produces every year as long as there is a decent monsoon.

After Creede, we went home to Pagosa Springs, Colorado where we will settle down next year.

Pagosa Springs, CO

Pagosa Springs CO, population 1,727 and elevation 7,126 feet, is great! People come from all over to experience its famous hot springs. It seems that there is always something going on: “Four Corners Folk Festival”, “Colorfest Mass Balloon Ascensions”, “Mountain Chile Cha Cha Festival”, and other events. Though the little town has less than 2,000 residents, it’s a busy and vibrant place and feels bigger than it is. It’s touristy and draws folks from all over, but license plates from Texas and New Mexico prevail. There are far more services, restaurants, and stores than most towns of equal size. There is a big Walmart, good-sized City Market (Krogers), roughly 50 restaurants, a new hospital and soon a Natural Grocers. We like Pagosa most for its access to many miles of National Forest and Wilderness areas. It will take a life time to explore the area thoroughly!

First, we had medical and dental appointments. It feels great to establish care in our soon to be hometown. Our greatest challenge in our travels has been continuity of medical care.

Next, we had a myriad of decisions to make on our future home, Spruce Roost. We saw it go from just a wooden frame to being dried in. It now has windows, doors, electrical wiring, plumbing, and drywall. We look forward to moving in next spring. I spent time visiting local businesses selecting materials.

September 9th, 2019 - Initial Frame

September 17th, 2019 - Trusses & Beams

September 27th, 2019 - Framed with OSB & Tyvek wrap

September 27th, 2019 - Framed Inside

October 16th, 2019 - Electrical rough in & Plumbing rough in

October 16th, 2019 - meeting with Dave (builder), Mike (cabinets), Richard (electrician)

November 7th, 2019 - Windows

November 10th, 2019 - Doors

November 12th, 2019 - Garage doors

November 23rd, 2019 - Drywall

We are very thankful to friends Keena and Laura who have gone out of their way to get and send us pictures of the progress. This was before they even met us! Laura and Mike live in our neighborhood. Keena and Todd live in a nearby neighborhood, and are building a home, too, but are doing most of the work themselves. It has been fun to compare notes with them.

Keena & Todd putting final siding on their home

I took a few road trips with friends Keena and Laura to Durango and Farmington to look at granite and to visit hardware stores. It’s great to have such fun friends. They have both been so welcoming. And they taught me to play Canasta and invited me to their monthly gatherings. I feel so at home already!

My original counter choice was far more expensive than granite. White Dunes granite it is!

Playing Canasta with Kathy, Keena, Judy, & Laura

Neighbors Arlie and Brian have an apple cider press. Once a year they go to Hotchkiss and buy several hundreds of pounds of apples. Then they invite neighbors and friends for a potluck. It was fun to meet more of our neighbors. Plus, we rolled up our sleeves and got sticky helping to load the apples in the press. We came away with a bottle of yummy apple cider. It will be an annual tradition for us!

Pagosa Springs has a number of festivals throughout the year. The big one at the end of September each year is the Mountain Chili Cha Cha. There is a 5K, 10K, and half marathon in the morning. And in the afternoon there is a chile cook-off, margarita contest, Spanish music concert, a Mexican beer garden and Hatch green chiles roasted on-site in the afternoon. There were 30 different crockpots of chili. We were able to sample 10 in order to vote on our favorite ones. That will be an annual tradition too!

Adventures

Shawn and I managed some time for a few adventures in the area.

We hiked Ice Cave ridge several times. We find the vast splits along the ridge above the Piedra River fascinating. It is a perfect three mile loop with views the entire route. One of those times our friends, Keena and Todd joined us.

Todd, Keena & their 4 legged friends

We consider Williams Creek Reservoir “Our Backyard Lake”. The 500 acre Reservoir is 26 miles from Pagosa. The lake at 8,500 feet elevation is beautiful with Flag and Bald Mountain, Cimarrona Peak, Toner and Sugarloaf Mountain forming an impressive 12,000 foot high backdrop. Because it was October, we picked the warmest day to get the kayaks out and fish our lake. Fishing was slow but we still enjoyed checking out the numerous birds and taking pictures of geese, ducks, and a prairie hawk. As we were paddling back a bald eagle soared over and tipped its wings as if to say hello.

We rented fat tire bikes from the Hub Bike shop. Neither of us had tried them before but we thought the single track behind our future home would be the perfect place to test them. “The Turkey Springs mountain bike trail system consists of 14 interconnected single-track non-motorized routes, providing more than 30 miles of trail to ride.” We wound around for a few hours building our confidence over the rocks. It had been many years since either of us had ridden single track but the fat tires made it easy. A pair is on our future shopping list.

Every time we drive by Wolf Creek Ski Resort we have remarked, we needed to climb Alberta Peak. So we finally made it a priority. We parked on Highway 160 where the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) crosses. We followed the CDT south for about two and a half miles. We detoured occasionally to walk across the ski runs that were still barren. The trail only pitched up 1,000 feet in that distance so it was not difficult despite peaking at 11,847 feet. The last part was a ¼ mile rocky scramble to the summit. And it was windy! We took a quick picture, took in the impressive view of Treasure Mountain, the South-San Juan Mountain Range, the Weminuche Wilderness and the South San Juan Wilderness dominated by Montezuma Peak and Summit Peak and headed back down. We took refuge behind some rocks out of the wind for a longer break to enjoy the incredible views.

On the CDT Trail

Shawn spends hours studying topo maps and satellite. He noticed Cade Mountain might have a great view of our most prominent mountain: Pagosa Peak. Cade Mountain at just over 9,000ft, sits on one of shoulders on Pagosa Peak which rises to 12,600ft. First, we stopped at Debs School on the way. The old school was only attended in summer because winters were too harsh. The school was used from 1909 to 1959.

Then, after a few miles of narrow winding road, we parked along Plumtaw Road. We found an old ATV trail and followed it. We ended up in the trees which was interesting. Would mushrooms grow in the dark woods? But when we came to the clearing Shawn had seen on satellite, the trees still blocked our view into our valley. We went back another way where we walked through a spacious opening with a great view of the cliffs below Pagosa Peak.

Another of Shawn’s topo map discoveries was an old stock trail not far from Piedra road. It looked like a great place for a winter snowshoe loop that would offer incredible winter views. We did a recci mission of the area and this time Shawn was correct. It will be a perfect three mile snowshoe loop with a great view of Cimarrona Peak.

We hiked Windy Pass twice. It was one of our favorite fall hikes three years ago. First, we did it by ourselves before the trees were really changing. The second time we did it with our builder, Dave, who we now count as a friend. The trailhead is just below Wolf Creek Pass. It’s perfect because it’s only 3 miles long but climbs 2,000 feet so it’s a great workout. In addition, it climbs through a lovely aspen grove. With Dave, gold leaves were falling all around us. At the top we had an epic view across the East Fork Valley. We could see large yellow and orange aspen groves halfway up Treasure Mountain, Alberta, Montezuma, and Summit Peaks.

Deadman's Curve on the west side of Wolf Creek Pass, hwy 160

Shawn fished the east fork of the Piedra River on a day I was busy making decisions on the house. He said it was a challenge to get down to the stream. Also, it was "small water". He did find a beaver dam and caught a few small brookies.

The low water of fall

During the first week in November after the first snowfall, Shawn fished the inlet at Williams Creek Reservoir. He saw a number of kokanee salmon spawning but left them alone so they could lay eggs and die peacefully. Then he saw a convocation of bald eagles and tried capturing pictures of them.
Meanwhile, I drove to Poison Park to check out the first 3 miles of the trail there. Where I turned around, I had an incredible view of the backside of Cimarrona Peak. The trail actually starts out at about 8,800 feet and drops about 500 feet into the Weminuche valley and then climbs in multiple directions. We hope to do a lot of backpacking out of there. At 500,000 acres the Weminuche Wilderness is the largest wilderness in Colorado and encompasses a significant part of the San Juan Mountains.

Northern Harrier

3 bald eagles that were likely feasting on dying kokanee salmon. Shawn saw 10-15 eagles!

For my birthday, Shawn set a small table and two chairs in front of our big windows. We enjoyed a meal of pizza, ice cream and Baileys in our home while the sun set on Pagosa Peak. It was a memorable birthday!