Rocky Mountain and Texas (Heat) High

Colorado Fishing (reprieve from the Texas heat) Trip

Holly's first trout on a fly rod

I ended the last blog with us leaving Palo Duro Canyon and heading toward Colorado.  We passed through northwest New Mexico without incident (for those who know, that hasn't always been the case for us) and arrived in Salida, CO.  We stayed at the Four Seasons RV park in a campsite that backed up to the Arkansas River.  As soon as I saw the river, I was concerned about our fishing trip scheduled for the next day.  It has rained (unusual for August in Colorado) and the water was both high and a little colored.  This was Holly's first fly fishing trip so I had hired a guide to help us.  We met Abe (the guide) at 6am the next morning at a parking spot in Bighorn Sheep Canyon.  He confirmed my suspicions by telling us we would be fishing mostly around the banks due to the high water.  He assured us we would still catch fish.  Fishing is an exercise in hope and even if the catching isn't great, the fishing always is.  Armed with this attitude (and a couple of fly suggestions from Abe) I set off while Abe worked with Holly.  True to his word, Holly had a nice brown trout on within a few minutes.  We fished all day long and at day's end had caught a little over thirty fish.  Most were Brown Trout but Holly caught a couple of Rainbows.  One of them was 19", so she got the "big fish bragging rights" for the day. 



A typical 16"Arkansas River Brown Trout

Holly and Abe working a section of the river

We stayed three more days with me fishing and Pam, Holly and Cora shopping around Salida.  Then we headed for Gunnison which requires driving over Monarch Pass.  It's a little nerve-wracking pulling a camper over those mountains but we made it with no problem.

View from the top of Monarch Pass

 

We arrived at the Big Texan RV park in Gunnison (so named I assume because 90% of the campers are from Texas) and met Janush (pronounced Yan-ish) the owner.  He offered to help me park the camper at our site and after taking a look at the site, I agreed.  Normally, I have no problems backing the RV into a site but this one was loaded with trees in all directions and frankly I wasn't sure it would be possible even with his help.  I underestimated the abilities of Janush.  He told me to follow his instructions (more like orders) exactly, which I promised to do.  He had me pull up past our site until my front bumper was touching a Cottonwood tree.  Then he barked a series of commands (back up turning your wheel all the way to the left, now all the way to the right, now all the way to the left (this went on for a minute or two) until finally he said "Stop, you are there."  I got out and he was right.  It looked like I had been dropped in that site with a crane.  I felt safe knowing Janush had things under control at the RV park. 

 

Gunnison is a great little town with lots to do in addition to world-class fishing.   I had looked forward to returning to Gunnison since our last visit two years ago.  I was focused on a sandwich I'd had at the Gunnisack (a local restaurant).  When we got there, the sandwich was no longer on the menu. Crestfallen, I inquired of the waiter and learned it was a sandwich they offered only a couple of times a year.  Explaining my fixation on this sandwich, he took pity on me and told the owner who had the chef prepare one just for me.  Every once in a while you get more than you deserve.  The sandwich is a filet of sockeye salmon on a sesame seed bun slathered with gunnisauce (ground hearts of artichoke, parmesan cheese and garlic in a sour cream base).  It's pretty amazing. 

I fished the Gunnison and Taylor Rivers the next few days while the girls hung out in Gunnison, Lake City and Crested Butte.  Holly was going to fish the Taylor with me but the weather didn't cooperate (went from 60's and sunny to 40's with rain and even a ten-minute hail storm).  Being less intelligent than Holly, I fished through it but did catch several trout like the one below (worth it in my estimation). 

A beautiful dark spotted 18" Brown Trout from the Taylor

 

The Gunnison just above Blue Mesa Reservoir

Before we left the Big Texan, I found one more indication of Janush's command of the RV park.  In addition to his parking expertise, he's also found the time to solve many of those nagging little problems we face in the public setting.  I'll share this notice I saw posted in one of his bathrooms as one example: 

When faced with a double toilet paper dispense, I'll always know which roll to choose.
Now that this is taken care of, Janush can focus on heavy water cold fusion development.
 

Matt and Miss Kitty rendezvousing in the barn

Meanwhile Back at the Ranch

I mentioned in the last blog that our cat Dan had disappeared so we added two more to give Lilly some company and some help on rodent patrol.  We added Matt and Miss Kitty (brother and sister of Lilly.  It only took a day or two for them to get reacquainted and comfortable with their new home. 

At night, all 3 cats like to sit on the tractor (it comes with a front end litter box)

The big project for September is digging a new tank.  Tank is the central Texas word for pond or lake.  I have two springs that cross the property on either side of the hill where we plan to build the house (and already have the RV and barn).  Both are grown up with trees and grass, so we decided to clear the larger of the two for a tank (for watering livestock and perhaps some fishing).  It had been a tank many years ago but the dam was blown out by a hurricane.  I learned from reviewing TOPO maps that it drains 1100 acres so heavy rains (10+ inches) see a lot of water come through in a hurry.  Based on this, we decided against a real dam and instead will dig it out to a depth of 10' and convert the causeway to a "mini" dam of 4'.  This should result in a 12'-14' deep tank with overflow loops on either side in the event of a major rainstorm.



View from the causeway before any clearing.



Same view after one afternoon of clearing



Every test hole dug 10' deep quickly filled with water from the spring



Pam's Dad enjoying watching the dozer & excavator

Ava, Pam, Mattie and Shane checking out the progress.

When finished the tank should be about an acre in size. 

 Since we were back in Texas, we felt the need to make a bar-b-que run.  Austin (nephew) had a 9am track meet in Lexington, so we arrive early enough to go to Snow's BBQ.  They only cook on Saturdays and open at 8am.  After being named the best bar-b-que in Texas by Texas Monthly Magazine, they usually sell out before 11am.  We got there at 8:20am and stood in line for about 30 minutes.  We got our brisket, pork ribs and pork shoulder steak, stored it in a cooler and made it in time for Austin's race. Snow's pitmaster is a 77 year-old woman named Tootsie.  She is a BBQ Jedi.



Here's Tootsie's brisket.  It was amazing-smoky, tender, juicy & flavorful.

Next weekend is the kolache festival in Caldwell (Kolache Capital of the World) with 15,000 visitors expected-kolaches are a big deal in Texas.  We also have the Alabama-A&M football game, so it should be a little busy in our quiet neck of the woods.   Finally, we have the county fair the following weekend.  I've got to get going with the chicken coop, well house and garden.  With all that going on, I'm going to try to blog more frequently with shorter blogs.

Hope you are all well.