Today it is supposed to be sunny and 69 F! Since we are in the Southern Hemisphere, that means we are in late spring!
I wonder what’s for breakfast.
The beautiful spread of fresh juices, coffee and granola.
The sandwiches for the guides and fly fishers!
Delicious banana apple muffins.
Cantaloupe with raspberries.
Omelette for Steve.
Fried eggs for me.
After breakfast we met Duncan, Steve’s guide, and I checked out where the helicopter would land.
Steve with Duncan his guide.
Flyagra for flies that sink instead of float.
Steve’s gear ready to go.
Waiting for the helicopter to arrive.
The helicopter lands outside the lodge. Helicopter flights are an extra charge. A very expensive extra charge, but if you don’t fly out, you won’t find fish!
Loading up and they are off!
After I saw the anglers and the guides off I decided to take a walk to find someplace comfortable to read (besides our cozy cabin with comfortable chairs, a coffee table for my feet, a kettle to make tea and a drink stocked refrigerator. Remind me again why I wanted a walk?)
Over the stream that ran behind our cabin I wandered. If it hadn’t have rained so much in the past few days Steve might have been able to fish here.
I found an outdoor pavilion where barbecues were probably held.
Then I wave Hi to the horses, I was planning on riding the next day.
I thought I finally found my perfect spot. Sofas, lots of natural light and a beautiful trophy specimen on the wall. I think that it was a 16 pointer! Although the room was pretty, the chairs all faced inside and not toward the view. Plus there were so many flies buzzing in the room I couldn’t stand it any longer!
So I trudged back to the lodge but by mistake took the upper pasture because I saw the lodge in the distance. Unfortunately I was supposed to take the lower pasture!
So after walking back and forth I finally figured out my mistake and made it back in time for lunch.
A lovely garden salad.
A cheese plate and fresh grated beets.
While I was reading today and exploring Steve was off fishing. Here are some pictures Steve took from the helicopter, some of the places that he fished, and the fish that he caught!
After Steve was done clambering in the streams Steve had to hike to a meadow to wait for the helicopter to pick him up. Steve told me that I would have divorced him if I would have gone along. He is right. I stroll, I don’t do whatever he was doing!
Steve fished theUpper Mangamarie above tree line. He described it as follows: It was super clear, about 200 cubic feet per second. It was tough going due to gorge sections that require scrambling “up and over” cliffs and deep pools. I caught 3 rainbows. Steve has told me since that it was one of the most difficult days fishing that he ever had. Not only were there cliffs, but he had to climb them wearing waders and his fishing boots!
Two of the fish weighed 4.5 pounds, one was 5.5 pounds.
Later in the afternoon the helicopter returned Steve, Duncan, and the rest of the anglers and guides. Then after showering and changing it was time for dinner.
For appetizers we had bacon wrapped figs, they looked too rare for me to eat!
Curry chicken wings.
Green lipped mussels, which are a Kiwi (New Zealander) favorite! Mine too!
Cheese straws.
Meat with vegetables.
Chocolate lava cake (lava was set and not oozing.)
Can you believe how white Steve’s beard was?
Would I have physically been able to clamber all those rocks like Steve did?
Weren’t those bacon wrapped figs disgusting?
You are probably wondering what happened to Sunday as we left Poughkeepsie on Saturday. New Zealand is 20 hours ahead of New York time, so it is very confusing! We totally lost Sunday but will get to relive two Sundays on the way back home!
The plane was very small. There were less than 15 people on our flight including the pilot and copilot!
But still big enough to fit Steve’s big beard! He did get it trimmed after our trip West during the month of September!
Outside the airport you can see the large Norfolk Island Pines. When I was in college I had a small Norfolk Island Pine in my dorm room. They grow quite large here.
Poronui is a large hunting and fishing lodge. They also have large Manuka bushes and many hives for bees that produce Manuka honey. Manuka honey is said to have many healthful properties. Here are some dairy cows for that beautiful New Zealand butter.
There are also red stags that are raised here, the Chinese use the horns for medicinal purposes. Think aphrodisiacs!
The living room, with a gas fireplace.
Looking toward the bedroom.
The bedroom. Steve says howdy! I did not make Steve sleep on that little bed. I kept my suitcase on it!
The bathroom with a heated towel rack.
From the bedroom looking toward the deck. What a beautiful place to read or just relax and enjoy the view!
This was the view outside our room.
We had a little fridge with complimentary drinks. Alas, no Champagne!
Lunch was quiche and a lovely salad.
Sunflower seed bread with gorgeous New Zealand butter.
Chocolate cake and chocolate truffles for dessert.
There were also fresh humongous chocolate chip cookies that need more chips!
We gathered in the main lodge for dinner. Here I am checking my messages.
Chicken mousse that Steve and I did not try as we don’t care for innards.
Mushroom soup.
Fried pork bellies.
Deep fried venison chorizo in a fry basket.
Dinner was roast New Zealand Lamb with vegetables.
We also had tomatoes with peppers, and a gorgeous salad of fresh spinach with shelled peas. You have to look pretty hard to see the peas, but they are there!
Dessert was a lemon tart with strawberries, garnished with whipped cream and rhubarb sauce.
Good morning!
Tuesday started with a great breakfast.
At Lunch we had a great salad with a vegetarian stir fry that was so-so.
The cookies with hazelnut filling were spectacular, so I had a happy tummy! I didn’t particularly care for the peach cream pie.
We had a dip in the bath house, and then in the outside spring until we heard thunder. Then it was time to vacate the outside hot spring!
Steve fished most of the rest of the day on the Dolores River and I did some reading. As the elevation here was a little bit higher than Brush Creek I didn’t want to exert myself too much. Our cabin was also the closest to the dining hall in case I had problems breathing. Elevation here is 8600 feet. The elevation at Brush Creek was around 7400 feet. We were gradually increasing our elevation. Our next stop will be at an elevation over 9000 feet. We shall see how I will do in a few days at that higher elevation!
Dinner was most entertaining. (Not because of the food, but the people we met!) We started off with a great garden salad.
Our entree was Trout en papillote, chanterelles, wild leeks, and pine nuts. Served with manoomin roasted carrots and pine cone syrup. The twist was that the trout was baked in a corn husk! What a clever twist on the traditional paper papillotte.
I was not crazy for the rustic apple tart served for dessert. No chocolate!
The doors open up just like the wings of a gull! The wife even had matching luggage! (Which I didn’t see, but I don’t think she would lie about that! )They stayed for a few days in Telluride and had pictures taken of them in the car tooling around. As the roads to Dunton were too bad the car was kept in an air plane hanger in Telluride so it wouldn’t get dusty until the couple was done with the photo shoot in Dunton!
You can just bet that Steve was itching to fish here! However, there was no time to stop today, as we were on our way to Dunton Hot Springs. Steve was going to be able to get his Colorado fish at Dunton. At least we hoped he would!
\We drove through the San Juan Mountains. The highest elevation was 10,100 feet. The Aspens had just started to turn golden.
You can see evidence of a rock slide here.
This is part of Telluride ski area.
This business in Rico, Colorado had seen better days. After 30 minutes of driving on a dirt road we saw a car with flashing lights. What was ahead?
A cowboy and his cattle.
After an hour on a dirt road we came to the gate that would separate Dunton Hot Springs Resort from the rest of the world! Steve is talking to staff asking them to open the gate for us. This was a former mining town from 1885 that turned into a ghost town. In 1994 it was bought and then restored by the Christopher Henkel, a German born London based investor. If you use Persil laundry detergent you keep his family and this place going! The place looks like a dump on the outside, but it is decorated in a five star way! 
Our cabin is the little one to the right of the main building. The main building is also where the dining area is located.
You can see the spa in the bath house being refilled. There had been a wedding the previous weekend and all the spas were drained, cleaned and then refilled. The spring looks yucky , that is because of all the minerals in the water. 
This is one of the outside springs behind one of the cabins.
This was another hot spring, you had to climb down stairs to get in.
Here is more of our tour of the town. 
The library with the bear skin rug that I tripped on. At least I didn’t go boom!
The library’s bottle of whisky. What proper library doesn’t have a bottle of whisky in it? 
Here is the waterfall. What proper lodge doesn’t have a waterfall?
Our African themed room. The shower was in a little closet on the right of the door.
The toilet and sink were to the left of the door. The Cabin was tiny!
Lunch was great.
Lentil soup.
Then fish.
Dessert was brownies and a peppery blond brownie.
Of course it was time for Steve to gear up and test the waters!
Here is a picture of Steve catching a fish on the West Branch of the Dolores River. Unfortunately I can’t figure out how to post a copy of an old video for you. This was just behind our cabin!
Did you not believe me? Of course he caught a fish!
Here are some pictures of the prep work for dinner. Gorgeous potatoes for roasting.
Also many different colored carrots.
We started with a beautiful grilled escarole salad with fruit to start our dinner.
Followed by grilled lamb chops. Our wine was from Sutcliffe Vineyards. Sutcliffe is located in Cortez, Colorado; the nearest large town .I think there was some kind of relationship between Sutcliffe and Dunton.
Our delicious dessert. Sweet Potato Pie with chocolate chile sauce and maple whipped cream.
Here is Steve’s guide checking out the water. You can tell that he is the guide as he has the net. Also if the guide were taking the picture he would either have the sport centered in the picture or on the left of the frame looking toward the river. I should stop complaining, and just be thankful that I have a picture of the beautiful stream!
While Steve fished I rode. I bought two shirts and one pair of jeans to wear while I rode. This shirt is a white buffalo plaid. Buffalo plaids are usually red and black. A new fun fact for you!
Below us you see the Artist Colony and some of the creek side cabins. We stayed in one of the Creekside cabins on one of our stays. Brush Creek invites artists (musicians, composers, photographers, painters) to stay for the season and create.
I pondered this all afternoon on my next ride. I did lots of pondering as you can imagine!
Here is a beautiful fish from Steve’s fishing.
On my afternoon ride I found this beautiful deer shed. I am happy that we were going to drive back home as I don’t think that I would have been able to fit it in my suitcase!
Steve and I met back for dinner. This was my entree. It looks like it was polenta with elk tenderloin. It could be something else entirely also!
Dessert was a berry crumble.
So we met my new friends from my ride at the saloon before dinner. I asked them to join us for dinner. I have scrambled their faces to preserve their privacy. We met a new couple also. The couple at the far end of the table run a travel agency that specializes in hunting trips. Brush Creek has much to offer for those that like to shoot and hunt. The ranch used to have bison that were available to hunt , but the bison kept escaping and got in the neighbor’s fields. The neighbors were not very happy at that as the fences were ruined and the cattle were bothered. Bothered cattle do not bring happy cattle prices. So that very pricey hunting option had to be scrapped. The couple on the right, S are the couple that we met last night and I went on the ride with today. S is the owner of the six carat diamond.
Breakfast. A little of this, and a little of that.
Breakfast is served on the patio outside. The heat lamps are nice in case it gets cold.
I went for fishing lessons with Trey. Steve had fished several times with Trey before and found him to be a great guide. Steve and I agreed that it would be good that instead of his trying to teach me someone else should try to help me with my casting. After I got the hang of it Trey went to another part of the pond to try and catch some fish himself. After noticing that he was getting no action whatsoever I told him that we should go back to the lodge. I figured that if he was not catching anything, then surely I would not also! Nil for the morning. I am hoping that shooting will be easier. Just aim at the target and fire!
Back at the lodge I had lunch by myself.
Meanwhile Steve was out with his guide. He caught one beautiful fish.
He had lunch here.
There are tee-pees for kids to play in when there are group dinners.
It is a pretty spot to visit.
Here is another large fish that he caught after lunch. Steve ended up catching 18 fish for the day. The two largest fish were 17 inches.
After lunch I went riding.
Later we had cocktails at Falcon Peak. This duo plays at many Brush Creek evenings. They are married and have great voices. Singing together a long time they harmonize well.
Don’t we make a cute couple? The answer is “Yes!”
There were lots of shrimp and crab legs to eat.
A sundown picture.
This one is a little better.
Back at the lodge we had a lovely dinner. Dinner included fried polenta and smoked prime rib. It was served buffet style.
The good-watermelon, the bad-fried bananas, with caramel sauce and whipped cream which looked a little bit ugly.
I scraped my plate clean.
Then it was to the campfire for some s’mores.
If I worked outside the house I could have this picture on my desk!
Perhaps Steve would want this picture on his desk.
This is one of the reasons we keep coming back. A 20 inch brown on the Encampment.
This is Cheyenne the horse that I rode today. There is so much to remember! Shoulders back, chest open, seat firm, hold reins like an ice cream cone, let the horse know who is boss, don’t let him eat grass, lean forward going up hills, lean back going down hills, when you post go up and down faster. If you are hitting the saddle hard it is because you are too slow for the beat, look ahead, not down, sit up like a girl, not slumping like a guy-they are protecting their equipment! Too much too remember but having fun anyway.
This was where I hung out before lunch. Can you believe I got a little sun burn? It’s the high elevation and poorly applied sunscreen!
Dessert from lunch today. I forgot to take pictures of the buffet. Oh well.
Here you can see the reef around the islands. the deep water is a much darker color.
