First Day Fun

 

 

WOW!  What a view!  We love Del Norte Peak!

Colorado 2008

It's great to be on the way to Colorado again this year. We miss George so much, but his memory is with us every day. Also, we left Sonya and Robert back at home so he could finish up an LSU Independent Study course so he can get into Central High, but they will join us shortly.

 

 

George Waites

On a dreary Thursday morning, we lost our George to pancreatic cancer.  God needed George to be with Him to help us understand the frail, wonderful gift that is human life.  Thank you all for your prayers and support!  We miss you terribly, George!  You sparked in us your gifts for gab, invention, exploration, jokes, laughing, happiness, loyalty, gardening, farming, loving, and giving...

Back Home

Well, we cut our trip short this year. We're back home now, and really happy to be here. Thanks to all who shared our pictures!!

Robert Rebuilds Fire Pit

Today, Robert spent a few hours rebuilding the fire pit behind the cabin. Previously, it was just a jumble of rocks, weeds, and half-burned wood. We decided to have the first fire in the new pit tonight. We stayed out a couple of hours stargazing and saw satellites and shooting stars. Thanks, Robert!!

North Clear Creek Falls, Bristolhead, and the Rio Grande

We left Gunnison a little late this morning, and we decided to take a relatively easy drive back to the cabin. We stopped over in Lake City and had really good pizza at Poker Alice. After clearing Slumgullion and Spring Creek passes, we just had to stop at North Clear Creek Falls, an old standby for this area of Colorado. We then went down to a campground near South Clear Creek Falls and went on a nice hike that brought us to some seldom-seen cascades and falls. On the last leg of our return, Sonya was able to snap a nice picture of the Rio Grande and another of the abandoned railroad tracks near the river. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend!

Monarch Pass, Ruby Mountain, and Tin Cup

Happy birthday, Paw Paw!! This morning, we left Gunnison and headed east over Monarch Pass on Highway 50. Our first stop was a return to Ruby Mountain. We were determined to rockhound there, and we did. After a nice hike/climb, we spent about an hour chipping away at Ruby Mountain. We really only found one small ruby, but we all had fun. We then had a nice Mexican lunch at a restaurant in Buena Vista. After lunch, we found our way to Hwy 162 west from Nathrop. We stopped first in an old town called St. Elmo. The old buildings there are privately owned. It was interesting. We left St. Elmo and headed up the roughest 4x4 mountain pass I've ever been on, Tin Cup Pass...in the rain! Fortunately, the rain stopped when we neared the pass, but we found out that the trip down was even rougher than the trip up. We were so worn out that we took a few pictures in the town of Tin Cup and then headed right back to Gunnison for a good night's sleep.

Weekend of Fun Begins

We started our weekend of fun on Friday with everything packed, but no planned destination. It didn't take us long to decide to visit one of our favorite locations, the Natural Arch. It makes for a fun hike/climb and interesting pictures. After a nice picnic lunch, we drove all the way north over Poncha Pass, through Salida and on to a neat rock shop near Nathrop. The nice lady there told us about a good rockhounding spot, Ruby Mountain. We only made it about half way up the trail, when it started raining. We made our way up to Buena Vista and then west over Cottonwood Pass to the city of Gunnison, where we are staying the night.

Pool Table Memories

This evening, we set out on a mission to find some markings left by our niece and nephew just a few weeks ago. Here you go, PT & LW!! We'll try to get some better pictures when we go to Wheeler...maybe next weekend...

Del Norte Peak

After an evening thundershower, we set off for Beaver Reservoir and ended up near Del Norte Peak. It was an interesting ride that dropped us back near the cabin.