Today’s fruit with granola was pineapple and coconut!
My fried egg.
After Steve and the rest of the anglers and guides took off in the helicopter I was going to try to go for a ride. Last time I rode was in New Mexico where the elevation was 9000 feet and I got very tired. Here the the elevation is 2250 so I hope to do better.
This field is where cattle wintered over. Turnips are planted and the cows feed on them all winter. First they eat the greens and then they eat the turnips.
These are our horses for the ride. I had Shelby, the dark horse.
This is where we stopped for lunch. Dismounting was quite inelegant as my hips got stuck on the back of the saddle. When my guide helped me lifted my leg up I fell right to the ground! I landed with a quick soft thud! I can be quite the klutz at times! Years ago when Sally took dance classes I took a summer class with her. We were supposed to dance across the room doing jetés across the room. I couldn’t stop and ended up crashing into the wall! We all had a good laugh at that!
We remounted after lunch and I was able to walk, trot and canter on the ride back.
Dismounting at the end of the ride was a lot easer as there was a mounting block!
After my ride I asked to check out the wine cellar, which was in the building I showed you yesterday.
It was gorgeous.
There was a bottle from 1967 that I wanted to google a price for but couldn’t find it on line. Not sure if it is vinegar now or superb. It’s not mine, so who cares?
Steve’s fishing locations are all pretty much inaccessible unless you chopper in. It would take days of hiking to get to where he goes via the helicopter. Yes, this is an extra fee, but if Steve doesn’t fly to the spots where the water is fishable, he can’t catch fish! Here are some pictures from his trip today.
I went to town with one of the other guests here who is a non fishing spouse. She needed to mail a package at the post office.
Lake Taupo. A former caldera like Lake Tahoe. It is the largest lake in the Southern Hemisphere. In Taupo I bought three pairs of pants as I thought that I had left a pack with seven pairs of pants on the bed at home! Three weeks vacation with one pair of jeans and two dress pants wasn’t going to cut it for me!
A beautiful fish that Steve caught! This fish was 8.25 pounds! The fish was 26 inches long with a girth of 16 inches. This was Steve’s personal record to date, so I would consider the trip a success so far!He fished the Rangatikei and caught five fish for the day. This stream was bigger, but easily crossable at the tails of pools and wider riffles.
The helicopter approach for Steve’s pickup at the end of his days fishing.
This is where it landed!
The view on the way back.
Appetizers after fishing was beef on a bun.
Chicken pate (not raw).
This I never really figured out what it was!
Nor this one!
Beautiful flowers in the lodge.
Romaine hearts with a chorizo creamy dressing.
Roast pork with twice baked mashed potatoes.
A vegetable medley.
Flan for dessert.
How many pairs of black pants do you own?
How much clothing do you bring on vacation?
Steve’s beard looks a lot less white today. Do you think he packed some Grecian Formula to darken it up? Just asking for a friend.
Here I am at breakfast, reading the literature about the history of Cow Creek.
Please don’t quiz me! This is the view of the dining area from the opposite direction.
Breakfast!
I love my whipped cream on coffee!
After breakfast I wandered down to the horse barn for my scheduled ride.
Can you see the fish in the stream?
Here I am with one of the staff and Lanier one of the owners. This ranch had the first riding waiver that I had to sign that mentioned the possibility of death, I looked at Lanier and asked her how often that happened. I did not relish the thought of being their first casualty!
The creek at Cow Creek was very pretty.
Unfortunately there had been forest fires a few years ago and the hill sides were severely damaged.
This is some damage from a bear that was clawing on the tree!
Look how big the scars are from the bear claws!
My posture looked good, I was happy to be almost done with the ride! At one point in the ride my horse stumbled and I semi fell off it. No worries! I lived to tell the story!
Thank you for the ride Horse!
After my ride I walked back to the room where I rested for the rest of the day. The elevation really got to me and I was exhausted.
This is one of the fish that Steve caught in the morning from one of the lower beats on Cow Creek.
The fish was a real beauty, but Steve prefers less constructed streams. This fish was 21 inches.
So Steve and his guide moved upstream. This was one of the spots where Steve fished later in the day.
Isn’t this a beauty? He preferred the wild trout as opposed to the larger fish in the stocked ponds. This was his first Rio Grande cut throat.
Here is another area where he caught many wild trout.
I tried sitting here to read for a little bit while Steve was fishing. It got a bit too sunny for me so I went back inside.
I could see the horses gather near the gate while I read. You can see all the fire damage here.
This view is of one of the ponds that were created on Cow Creek.
The rooms were in a motel shape arrangement. They had a very bad fire that destroyed much of the landscape here. You can see how close the fire was to the lodge.
We had a somewhat green salad.
Dinner was pot roast. Followed by the cake from the previous night.
There were many hummingbird feeders under the eaves.
Here is a close up of one of the Hummingbirds. Aren’t they cute?
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.
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.
Breakfast!
There are many beautiful parks in the Western United States. How many have you seen? I have been to all of the listed ones except for Grand Canyon.
The entrance to the park. Come along with me to see the park.
Map so you can see where I traveled.
You can see clearly here the levels of rock. Would you believe that 90 million years ago this area was covered by water? Now instead of a parking lot it is a lunch lot! Doesn’t that sound like a song?
Independence Monument and how it was made.
Yes, there were people climbing this today!
Not for me!
Some of the wildlife in the park.
Redlands Fault view.
Rockslide.
The view of the valley below.
It was cool to drive through a tunnel.
I was so excited to see a group of Bighorn Sheep!
Look at the guy on the rock wall in the second picture!
Another handsome guy!
Look at the wind erosion!
The views were amazing.
This area was shaped by earthquakes and erosion.
The summer wild flowers were in bloom.
You need to be tough to try to grow here.
The famous balanced rock.
I did another good deed today. These two tired hikers were walking along the road looking for a ride to the next parking area. They were hiking since 8 a.m. and it was 2 p.m. when I stopped to give them a ride. I am glad that they were not axe murderers. They were from Switzerland and were visiting our National Parks. I think I saved them another two hour hike. It was 82 degrees and very hot out!
On the way back I stopped at the Marijuana dispensary in De Beque to check it out. I didn’t buy anything, nor did I ask any questions. That’s for someone else to do!
Then it was back to High Lonsome to get ready for dinner.
These are all different fish too!
Another picture of my new male friends, just because!
We had assorted smoked meats as an hors d’oeuvres.
Fresh biscuits.
Salad.
Dinner was fried chicken.
With lots of golden mashed potatoes.
Big bowls of broccoli.
Dessert was chocolate lava cake that was not dry! I can’t stand it when the cake is over cooked and the inside is not oozing out like lava! Tomorrow is our next adventure. Grand Mesa and then a wedding in Beaver Creek.
Fresh yogurt at breakfast.
Granola and fresh fruit.
More berries.
Quiche with a avocado.
I went on a ride with my wrangler.
She took a picture of me facing both directions!
I spied some deer outside our cabin after my ride.
I went back to the lodge to look around. If you wanted to you could hang out at night around a fire pit. We never did!
My sandwich. Brisket sandwich with match stick french fries.
Lunch included some great cookies! Many chocolate chips in these cookies.
Before Dinner Steve got to sign the book at High Lonseome for getting a grand slam. He became a member of The Grand Slam Club. There had been only 8 people so far this year to have reached this highly coveted accomplishment! He caught a brook, cutthroat, cut-bow and a brown trout. He got a special pin and bragging rights. All the fish have to be caught in one day. There was much festivities involved with the announcement, the chart signing and then the pin presentation. Well done Steve! Not for nothing, but Steve is generally one of the best anglers anywhere he goes!
Steve caught 23 fish this day including this four pound Rainbow!
Dinner started with a Frisée Salad and a fried egg on top.
Fresh rolls in butter.
Cassoulet with rabbit, elk and venison.
Apple Crisp ala mode for dessert.
One of the guests was Gennifer with a G. She loved Orange!
She had her orange hat!
And her orange boots! Gennifer with a G’s boots and hat were all custom made.