July 9-11, 2010 Elephant Butte Lake, NM

Kyle & Dylan were waiting for me to get off work so we could head to the lake. Finally got on the road about 2:00 pm.. We stopped at a Walmart on the way & Kyle bought Dylan his first fishing pole. Dylan got to pick it out, he got a McQueen pole. It had a little tire on the end to help learn how to cast. By the end of the weekend he was pretty good at it & Kyle even put a hook on it so he could really fish.

When the lake was in site, Dylan started talking about sharks in the water. We had to assure him that there weren't any. Ron, Marge, Karyn & girls were there, they saved us a spot thank goodness cuz there were alot of people down there already. Lorna & Larry had just left a few minutes before we got there. I guess they were down there for a few days but had to leave. Would of loved to see them, but they couldn't stay.

Got set-up & then just hung out. Dylan did alot better this trip. He had alot of fun playing in the water, riding the jet ski & fishing. Karyn pulled him on the TAZ tube behind the jet ski, he liked that too. He liked the girls & he said they were all nice to him. He hadn't seen them is a very long time.

Sat. night Karyn, Kyle & I was sitting around the campfire & decided to call Kelly about 3 am ... since she didn't get to go with us this trip. Hope she can make it to the next one at Ute Lake on July 23rd.

Sunday after breakfast we started packing up & good thing cuz the weather started to get nasty. I think we pulled out at the right time. We rule !!!

Day 8: Sat. June 26, 2010 New Mexico/ Colorado

Kyle & I had to leave to head home. We got all packed up & left camp about 11 am. We drove through Wolf Creek pass & Pagossa Springs. We stopped in Chama & had lunch. Got home about 5:30 pm. We had a very great time on our trip & loved Colorado. We saw so many neat sites in NM & CO. We were both glad we decided to take this trip. Hated having to come home to reality.
Pic on left: Behind our camper, SouthFork Campground
Pic below left: Our campsite, Southfork / Pic on Right: WolfCreek Pass

Day 7: Fri. June 25, 2010 New Mexico/ Colorado

Ron, Marge, Kyle & I met Linda & Melissa around 9 am in South Fork. We drove the "Silver Thread Scenic Byway" site seeing. We stopped at all the hot spots & took pics.

North Clear Creek Waterfalls off Hwy 149 between Creede, Colorado and the base of Slumgullion Pass.
Lake San Cristobal. American Basin. http://www.summitpost.org/route/165842/american-basin-trail.html
We spotted 2 big horned sheep on the way up the basin & got some good pics of them.

It started to sprinkle when we were at the basin. Drove to Lake City & stopped for tea & a little shopping. Saw the Cannibal Grill. There is a story about Alfred Packard in 1874: 2/9 - Party of 6 leaves winter encampment toward Gunnison *** - Party becomes snow bound, hungry, and desperate enough for cannibalism.  http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/pen/packer/

Met Jerry, Donnes, Richard & the other Linda at Cottonwood Cove resturant around 6:30 pm. Had a great supper & fun visit with everyone. We were all tired so when we got back so just hung out in the camper & went to bed early.

Day 6: Thurs. June 24, 2010 New Mexico/ Colorado

Kyle & Ron went to a "How to catch a trout" seminar. Marge, Linda, Richard, Jerry, Donnes & I drove to Creede & went to check out the Antler ranch. It was a pretty cool place. They had a RV park, cabins, resturant, activities, walk across bridge etc... They all decided that instead of driving to Creede every day from South Fork they needed to find another camp spot in this area. Southfork campground is very nice but there aren't too many things to do in South Fork. We met up with Kyle & Ron at a Pizza joint & had lunch. Went to the Creede underground museum then drove up the moutain to Last Chance Mine, a few people got to see a moose in the brush. The LC mine was pretty cool. There was a small museum with alot of old mining stuff & items from back in the day. They sold polished rocks, jewlry, & trinkets. The views up there were marvelous. Marge & Linda cooked the trout for supper. It was pretty tasty. The guys were proud of the fish they caught.

Day 5: Wed. June 23, 2010 New Mexico/ Colorado

Marge, Ron, Jerry, Donnes, Kyle & I went to Creede. We went to a waterfall & then drove to the reservior site seeing. We stopped for a picnic lunch. Dropped Donnes, Ron & Jerry at the lake. Marge, Kyle & I went exploring on a pass but turned around after awile cuz it was getting a little narrow & we were in a big Dodge Ram. I sure didn't want to go off any cliffs. We drove back to the lake & hung out there for awhile. Us girls decided we wanted to go back to camp & the guys wanted to fish longer so we headed back to start supper. The guys didin't get back until after supper & it was getting dark. They caught 11 trout so they were happy. Had a campfire after dark.

Day 4: Tues. June 22, 2010 New Mexico/ Colorado

Got up early & headed to Creede. Ron, Marge, Donnes, Kyle & I met our rafting guide about 8 am, got on the river at 8:30 am. We rafted until about 11:15 & then we stopped for lunch & to relax. We got off the river about 4 pm. It was a long day but a very fun trip. The views from the river were just awesome. We ate supper & then sat around the campfire all evening.

Day 3: Mon. June 21, 2010 New Mexico/ Colorado

Marge, Linda, Donnes, Kyle & I drove to Creede. Stopped by Mountain Man Rafting to set up our rafting trip for Tuesday. Went to a bunch of the shops & had lunch before heading back to South Fork. Relaxed the rest of the day & had a great time.

Day 1&2: Sun.& Mon. June 20 & 21, 2010 New Mexico/ Colorado

Day 1: Sat. June 19, 2010 New Mexico/ Colorado  

Got on the road about 10:30 am. Headed to Taos, NM. Walked across the Gorge bridge & back, took some great pics. Drove to Questa, NM and out to Wild Rivers campground. We got the camper set up & then went for a hike on the LaJunta trail. It took us down to where the Rio Grande river meets Red River. I was pretty cool down there but the hike about killed me climbing back up the cliff. It was hot out. We drove over to the Chawalauna Overlook, it was cool. There wasa hole in the rock that you could see all the way through. When we left there to go back to camp, 7 dear crossed the road in front of us. Kyle cooked us some talapia, roasted potatoes & green beans. It was pretty tasty. The gnats were a little thick so we hung out in the camper & watched a movie.

Day 2: Sun. June 20, 2010 New Mexico/ Colorado

Left Wild Rivers campground about 9:30 & headed to Colorado. We got to Great Sands about 11:00 am. Stopped at the Visitor Center, then waded in the water & took some pics. Had a nice picnic lunch. We drove over to San Luis Lake but when we stopped to pay the day fee, the lady said the lake was full of algae so we decided to pass on this lake. We headed to South Fork where we were camping that night & the rest of the week. We got there about 3 pm. We were the first ones there so we got set up & relaxed while waiting for the others to get there.