Now my Thermos doesn’t have vinyl and stripes, but it does have a cup built right in. And it is way better than any barometer. (To any “non” Steve Martin fans, I apologize.)
But one thing my travels have confirmed, is that I really do have the extra best Thermos you can buy. I’ve enjoyed hot coffee from my manly Stanley on many a brisk morning since we left, thanks to el Jefe.
Then while at the ranch, I noticed a lot of old-timers and hardcore outdoorsmen also own a Stanley Classic Bottle Thermos.
It really does keep beverages hot – not just warm – even after a couple hours of cold mountain fishing. What I like most, however, is that you don’t have to take the screw top off to pour. You do have to take off the cap, duh. That’s the cup! But by unscrewing just a bit, and lifting on the top, out comes your steamy beverage of choice. Pretty handy when your hands are already full with a rod, camera, leash or all of the above.
OK. Life must go on I suppose, as lonely as it is without Jerry …
But enough about my hay stories. By now, I’m sure you’re as tired of the hayin’ as I was when we finished. How ’bout some fishing?
This isn’t exactly timely anymore, but consider it my summer fishing report for Lake City, Colorado – from the Vickers Ranch fish ponds, to their upper ranch mountain lakes, to the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River.
A fun time was had. No gear was broken. And a few fish were caught. But not too many.
It’s a perfect, sunny summer day in Lake City, and we just returned from last night’s camp out, high atop the Vicker’s property, at about 10,500′ elevation and only accessible via 4×4 jeep roads.
We ventured up to see the yearly Perseids meteor showers, which are at their peak this week, after 2:30 AM.
I’ve always wanted to watch the Perseids. When we lived in Humboldt County, we never saw them because the skies were always too overcast. Finally, last night under a carpet of twinkling stars, we watched the show. I counted 62 shooting stars between 2:45 am and 4:15 am.
This morning I awoke to warm sunshine, and looked out in awe at the beautiful lake, aspens and spruce trees. I thought; “We used to backpack for miles to get to untouched wilderness like this. Now here we are, the entire place to ourselves, and we got to it in less than 20 minutes!”
This was all I needed to remind myself that, despite the hard work we’ve been doing all summer, this unusual life of ours is still like a dream. I don’t ever want us to wake up from it.
I might have said it before, but this time I believe I have truly found the best biscuits and gravy on the planet. I can stop looking now.
Perhaps it was the real cowboy coffee, cooked over an open fire, or the crisp rocky mountain air. Maybe it was the horse ride up the mountain, the breathtaking views, or all of the above.
But I can honestly say Carla and Paulette make the best chuck wagon team when it comes to a ranch style breakfast that would please any old cowpoke. Or workamper in this case.
As soon as our rig crossed the border into Colorado, my spirit felt as if I had returned home. This land just calls out to me.
From Minnesota to Maine, there are lots of beautiful places in this country that I think I could live in. But none of them feed my soul like Colorado does. I know I’d love living here. But it could be a pipe dream.
Because in Colorado, you’d never know real estate is crashing all over the country. The Rockies are the most beautiful place in the U.S., and property owners know it. They have it made. I’m not seeing reasonable prices on any pieces of land, except for the most isolated patches of non-irrigated ag fields in the plains regions.
Ten years ago, Jim and I moved to Eureka on a whim. I knew it was rainy there, but I thought I could tolerate it, because I’d lived in San Francisco. But after a while, the rain forest was getting to me. The endless cold gray days, coastal winds and thick fog was wearing down my psyche. I constantly griped about what I knew I could not change; the weather.
So I started to have these fantasies about living in the desert. I wanted to feel the warm sun. Munch on chips and hot salsa and wash it down with cold beer. Sit next to a saguaro cactus and play my guitar. Go out at night wearing a summer dress, flip flops and a tan.
I thought that workamping here in T or C would convince Jim that living in the desert was a good idea. But after just one month, I’ve discovered that I’m too much of a wuss for this kind of environment.
We’ve seen many places in the U.S. where human habitats are completely at odds with the environment. In places like Florida, builders continue battling nature, despite all of the evidence that this is a bad idea. Living there is a constant struggle between the land, the animals, and the humans, and as a result, few things about the place feel natural. There is complete and total disharmony with the environment.
But here in the harsh lands of New Mexico, humans seem to do a better job of working with their surroundings. From the ancient style of adobe buildings that naturally insulate homes, to suburbanites doing xeriscape conversions, people seem to be more willing to work with nature.
On our way to Santa Fe this week, we tried to “make good time” so we opted to take the interstate.
But as New Mexico’s breathtaking scenery began appearing, how could we be in a hurry? Despite our frantic timeline to get to Jerry’s oncology appointment, I wanted us to have some real fun before we dealt with the serious issue at hand. So we hit the back roads.
My Road Trip USA book has a section about Highway 53, The Ancient Way, which parallels Interstate 40 from eastern Arizona into New Mexico. This route takes you between the Pueblos of Zuni & Acoma, and was the path that Coronado took while searching for the Seven Cities of Gold. This road has been guiding traders, explorers and adventurers through the west for over a thousand years, and since we are explorers, I thought it only fitting that we hauled our rig down that two lane road too.
In the past, whenever I visited L.A., I’d have a hard time adjusting to the frantic pace, smoggy air and traffic. As much as I like seeing my family, I hated how stressful the city made me. But my visit was different this time. Our sabbatical has changed my attitude toward visiting places that I find undesirable, which makes life a lot more enjoyable. As Jim likes to say, “it is what it is,” and I accept that can’t change that. So this time while visiting the region, I decided to try to see more of the positive things about L.A, and find beautiful things about it, like nature.
Driving around Los Angeles, I can’t help but wonder what archaeologists of the distant future would make of the cryptic tags of today’s graffiti artists.
And I have always snickered inside at all the modern day scholars writing dissertations on the meaning of ancient petroglyphs which may in fact just be the scribblings of prehistoric taggers.
But one thing my travels have confirmed, is that I really do have the extra best Thermos you can buy. I’ve enjoyed hot coffee from my manly Stanley on many a brisk morning since we left, thanks to el Jefe.
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