MONUMENT VALLEY

This week has been quite the adventure. We started off by getting gas before we left Durango… unfortunately this little stop included having the rear end of the trailer swing into the protective barrier in front of the gas pump .. Thank God it was only the barrier and not the pump!!! The result was a really screwed up bumper on the trailer, which in turn destroyed the welding Buff did on the extension platform where we have lots of our stuff stored in a large tool box.

After getting out of town Buff decided he had better check and see how bad it was… we pulled off into a pull out, walked back to the rear of the trailer and….. If we had gone a few more miles we would have lost the whole platform and all that is on it. So, Buff starts rebuilding as best he can with what he has…it is hot, dirty and taking all of his fabrication skills to rig up something to get us by.

About an hour into this a Colorado DOT truck pulls up and these two guys get out to see what is going on. One, a big Indian guy and the other just a plain old white guy. (They told us their names but I am having a senior moment and can’t remember them.) They just could not believe all the tools that Buff carries with him plus all the camping stuff loaded into the tool box!! But, the one thing he needed was a sledge hammer and by golly, they had one. These two really nice guys stayed and helped until we had something that would get us to our next stop. We thanked them and the plain old white guy told us he would sure hate to leave us out there in Indian Country broke down and all … the Indian guy remarked that with all our good stuff we were sure to be attacked after dark. I remarked that I knew that they didn’t attack after dark…I saw all the movies and knew what I was talking about. He told me he was a Ute and they sure would attack after dark to get to all our good stuff, but he didn’t think those damned superstitious Navajos would!! So we headed for Navajo country real fast.

Well, we made it to Monument Valley and found the perfect spot in a primitive camp ground right on the rim of the valley .. AND IT WAS FREE!! All the other campers had pulled up to the rim either facing it or backing into it… not Buff … that big old truck drivin’ man wanted to see the valley out of our living and bedroom windows so he maneuvered that rig around until he had us sideways to the rim!!! What a view we had and we laid in bed the next morning and watched the sunrise over the valley…gorgeous!!

Buff spent most of the next day rebuilding the bumper, from what he could salvage and strengthening the platform. All these old guys that pulled into the site couldn’t wait to get set up so they could come and see what he was up to….like bees to honey!! They also could not believe all the tools…grinders, cutters, jacks, etc…that we haul with us. Wasn’t it smart of me to latch onto this amazing guy to travel with???? The next day we drove the 17 mile loop into the valley and took pictures, were awestruck and ran out of words like…”my God!”…..

Along with the camp site you get what appear to be three stray dogs, rare Indian dogs, who make their rounds getting hand-outs, water and attention. If you feed them they apparently make the contract that they will guard your trailer for you. Sure enough.. We fed them and they slept in front of our trailer… during the night something came around and they went off barking and chased it off. It seems to work well for them as they were fat and healthy looking and very sweet. (Sierra now knows just how lucky she is to belong to a couple of plain old white people who produce food, treats, a bed to sleep on and all the other goodies she takes for granted.) The next morning we also got a herd of goats as visitors. It seems that in Navajo country animals are just turned loose to fend for themselves…we have seen horses, goats and cattle in the shopping center grazing the edges of the pavement……

As far as Monument Valley goes, there really isn’t anything I can write that would equal what we saw…the pictures say it all. I will add a bit about how it is believed the valley was formed…..”Monument Valley was created from beneath the Earth’s surface. During the Paleozoic Era- about 570 million years ago, the entire Colorado Plateau was underneath the Gulf of Mexico, which brushed against the young sediments of the Rocky Mountains. Uplift from the Earth’s mantle created the ocean floor to crack while the sea subsided west during the shifting of the Pacific and North American Plates. At the end of the Jurassic Period – about 65 million years ago, the mud from the ocean floor became sand stone held together by the Organ Rock formation and the mountain sediments such as limestone. In certain places you will see ancient volcano plugs that turned into Basalt – in igneous rock formation. With continuous erosion from water and wind, you are seeing one of the most amazing places of natures creation. Some of the formations rise over 1,000 ft. from the valley floor.”

Next post….Canyon De Chelly, then on to The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert……

Hope you enjoy the photo stream……

The Gypsies

MONTROSE TO DURANGO – Sept. 22nd

And yet another post…. such an amazing day must be recorded!! We left Montrose this morning headed for Ridgeway about 20 miles down the road. Arriving at the campground we discovered that it was only about 40 degrees…COLD!! We looked at each other and agreed at once….plans are made to be changed…this one just got changed….we are ready to be where it is warm!! New Plan: keep driving until we get where it is warmer … then we will decide what to do next.

Well, the trip from Montrose to Durango (where it got warmer) is only about 115 miles but it includes driving through the San Juan Mountains. These mountains are known as the Colorado Alps and are stunningly beautiful…. they are also steep and the road through them includes three passes with summits all above 10,000 ft. The road is narrow, full of switchbacks and pulling this monster fifth wheel along was quite the experience!! Half the time the passenger (me) was looking out into space with the sharp drop from the road into the canyon only a few feet away…I kept telling Buff to be sure to stay as close to the dividing line as possible ’cause there just wasn’t any room on my side for error. The pictures were all taken by me holding the camera out the window or up to the windshield …. no place to pull over to take them…. once you start up into these mountains you just keep going!!!

The first pass was Red Mountain (summit 11,000+) and as you can see from the pictures the mountains were very red and splashed with other colors…with the aspen trees in color on the sides of the mountains it was just overwhelming … almost a visual overload!! Just when I think I have seen the most splendid scenery that Colorado has to offer something like this pops up! Right under the mountains is the little mining town of Ouray, I tried to capture a picture as we continued up the pass. Finally we arrived in Silverton and stopped long enough to take a few pictures and see the Durango Silverton narrow gauge train getting ready to leave for the return trip to Durango. Silverton is bigger and a bit classier than Virginia City and today it was COLD. But, we did take the time to find the Post Office for Jeff and get a picture…. Then back in the warm truck and onward from Silverton in our quest for anywhere above 60 degrees. We went over two more passes, Molas with a summit of 10,900′ and Coal Bank with a summit of 10,100′ then dropped into red rock country with lots of trees. WOW!!!!

Durango is red rock country and gorgeous, not at all what we expected. We are staying here for the next few days or until it gets cold….found a great R.V. Park with lots of trees, views, and the most important, the Durango Silverton train goes right through the park.. boy is Buff in train heaven. This little railroad has been in existence since the 1880’s and has made the run continuously over the years. It is a coal powered 2-8-4 steam engine with counterweight on the wheels for extra power to pull the grade. It was really OUTRAGEOUS to watch it puff by this evening.

What a day…what a life we are living…what a blast!!!!!

FAIRPLAY TO MONTROSE

Wow…what a wonderful beginning we have had for our next adventure. We left Fairplay Friday morning and spent the day driving through some more of Colorado’s amazing country. From Fairplay we traveled Highway 285 to Poncha Springs then headed West on Highway 50.

We drove over Monarch Pass, crossing the Great Divide for the final time on this trip. The pictures just don’t do justice to the vivid colors that we encountered going over the pass. It was so brilliant that it almost hurt your eyes to look at the trees….

From there we went past Blue Mesa Reservoir and a geographic formation called the Pinnacles….saw a Big Horn Sheep but didn’t have time to get the truck/trailer stopped to get the picture.

We were looking for a campground to spend the night and flew past two turnoffs before we slowed down enough to catch the third one .. A great little campground called Cimarron. We had it all to ourselves the first night and really enjoyed the quiet. After setting up the trailer, etc. we discovered that there used to be a town there called Cimarron and that there were several points of interest to explore while we were there. We drove about 150 miles this first day…. YIKES!

Cimarron was once a bustling little city that was the second largest stockyard for railroad shipping in Colorado in the mid 1800’s to the 1940’s. The first stop was at a reconstruction of the shipping yards right at the park. Then we drove up the canyon to an old narrow gauge train engine that has been secured to the original trestle crossing the river, it was really awesome to imagine in the day when it was actually running up and down the canyon.

The next morning we stopped at the Cimarron Cemetery and walked through what looked like the original Boot Hill of any western. The oldest grave was in the late 1800’s but the one that fascinated me was the old boy that was born in 1825 and died in 1911 and had been in the U.S. Cavalry …. What stories he could tell!!!! Jeff, there is still a post office (note picture) there so another job possibility for you!!

Then on to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park…never heard of it but thought we would take a look around….Boy!! What a find!! This canyon is BLACK and so steep that there are places that the sun never reaches. It is like the Grand Canyon in that you are walking along and suddenly the ground just drops into this huge chasm. Not a good place for someone with vertigo, I had to hang on to the railings real hard and sneak up on the view of the canyon. After taking the Rim Road and lots of pictures we took the road down to the bottom….drops over 2,000 ft. at a 16% grade…what a chicken road!!! It was amazing to look up at the cliffs from ground zero. In the pictures from the top you can see the little ribbon of the river in the bottom….well, in the bottom the river is very wide ..took a picture of a fisherman on the river to give some perspective to the shots from the rim. All in all a great day for sightseeing.

Sunday we drove a staggering 20 miles then hooked up in a really lovely little R.V. Park in Montrose for a couple of days for NASCAR, long showers, a little television and more sightseeing in and around Montrose.

Tuesday we head out toward Durango and will probably stay at Ridgeway State Park outside Ridgeway, Colorado near some great museums and tourist stuff. Another long day of driving … about 26 miles…HA!

Hope you enjoy the pictures….

The Gypsies

WEDNSDAY SEPT.16,2009…. FAIRPLAY COLORADO

Today we finally decided that it was time to leave our little Garden of Eden and get the hell out before the snow hit. It was really difficult to drive away knowing that we probably will never pass this way again. Oh, but what a wonderful summer we had and what lovely memories we have to keep for the rest of our lives. We are so glad that Jeff and Amy set up this Blog … it will serve as a permanent journal for us to review as the years go by.

We are now sitting in the dumpy little rv park in Fairplay… listening to all the traffic noise…and looking at a junky auto shop yard through our living room window instead of the wonderful trees and squirrels…but… we are also able to turn the furnace on… turn the generator off … use all the hot water we want … and Jim is simmering away in the hot tub here……REALITY IS A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD!!

We will be spending tomorrow removing all that wonderful nature from our battle worn trailer since I really didn’t feel the need during most of the summer …. Catching up on laundry … getting some grocery supplies in for our trip south and adjusting to the noise level of civilization.

We have decided to pass on the job in Valley of Fire… it is a volunteer situation which usually pays a stipend and gives a trailer space with full hookups…not NEVADA!! No stipend…no hookups…the work expected is more than we did all summer.. AND we would be expected to use our vehicle w/o any compensation…just didn’t look like a real good deal to us….if we want to go there we will just pay the damned six bucks a night and relax!

So, we will be headed to Arizona where we have applications in on three jobs now…any one of them would be great…One is at the Red Rock State Park, one in a little town south of Tucson as activity directors and one at the National Wildlife Refuge in Yuma. Each of these jobs provide a full hookup site plus some income and each sounds really interesting to us.

We will be posting as we travel with lots of pictures to share … so check in every so often….

The Ready to Roll Gypsies

COLORADO COLOR FEST

Not much has happened this week….no bears in camp….a very busy Labor Day Weekend and lots of work during that time. Now we are seeing about two campers a day and it is great to have some slow time to ourselves.

As you can see from the photo stream we are having a gorgeous fall with the trees turning more colorful each day…thought we would share it with all of you.

We are still working to secure a position for the winter….the one in Sedona is looking better this week. They sent us a formal application to fill out and we had a telephone interview yesterday which went very well. I was told that I “come across very well on the telephone which would be important in the Visitor Center” and when Buff had his interview the biggest concern was that he would have to walk about a mile on the guided trail walks he would be doing. When he told her that we are walking two miles a day at a altitude of over 10,000 feet she was very impressed. We will be surprised if we don’t get the job. We are also waiting to hear back on a camp host job in Valley of Fire, Nevada…near Las Vegas… we would be thrilled with either of these positions….just need one to come through for us.

We have planned our trip from here to either of the positions and will have lots to share as we make our way there … pictures and stories. We are ready to move on as the desire to see the other side of the mountain is getting stronger every day!!

Love to all…..

The gypsies

Things that go BUMP

Well, we had a very interesting experience last night! About 11:00 I went outside for my last smoke of the day and while sitting there all relaxed and ready for bed I heard the dumpster lid go BANG! My thought process for the next few seconds went like this….

That’s funny…we don’t have any campers here tonight….

It wasn’t someone dumping their garbage illegally as no one has drove in tonight….

OMG! It’s a BEAR!

At this time I quickly ran into the trailer to tell Buff what I heard…. After a moment he came to the same conclusion I had….

We timidly went out and got into the truck and drove up to see what was going on….now this is very late….very dark….no light but the headlights from the truck…and very spooky as we were here alone.

Arriving at the dumpster we saw what is in the picture and knew that it was a bear…the blue item hanging on the side of the dumpster is a full sized air mattress, that a camper had discarded last weekend, along with the rummaged garbage sack which was not there when we took our walk that evening!!

We decided to go back to the trailer…load the guns…lock the door… and wait until morning to investigate further…..needless to say we stayed up a bit later than usual….

This morning Buff went up and got the pictures of the bear (or small Big Foot) prints……he cleaned up the garbage and when we went for our walk this morning we added a loaded pistol to our equipment for taking a walk!!!

So…what did you do for excitement last night… watch T.V.?????

The Ready to leave Gypsies

GOAL ACCOMPLISHED

We did it!!! We have been promising that we would be able to hike this trail before we left here. The trail is only one and half miles to the top but you gain almost 400 feet in elevation to the summit!! It only took us 2 hours and 10 minutes, including the time that Buff bounced all over the summit taking the pictures. We feel as accomplished as those who come here to hike the 14ers – (Colorado mountains that are over 14,000 ft.) and feel like mountain goats. As you can see from the photos the view was spectacular and well worth the walk…which was beautiful all by itself.

Sierra stayed right with us until about the last half mile back … then she sat down and refused to take another step .. So not only did Buff do this walk with a backpack full of water, camera equipment, lunch and extra shirts but the last half mile he carried Sierra down… the old fart is in pretty good shape if you ask me.

The following post (yes, two in one week) is the visit with my cousin Linda and her hubby … with lots more photos not to be missed.

Now I am going to follow Sierra’s example and take a good long nap…. Then tonight we are going to have one of those Kansas Steaks, fresh corn on the cob, (grilled in the husk) and a baked potato…. Life just doesn’t get any better than this.

SCHAECHTERLE BRAT REUNION

I’ll just bet that none of you can believe that these two sweet little old ladies were once the terrorists of two Schaechterle families back in the day!! However, I am sure that there are some siblings that can attest to the fact…and probably will. (Linda was the one that thought up the idea of biting our little sisters on their big toes, while they were sleeping, then jumping back into our bed and acting like we were asleep when the big babies started crying and the parents came in to see what was going on.) This was sheer genius!! swThere was a time that our two families were able to visit frequently and lived close enough that Linda and I got to spend part of each summer together at one house or the other. Those visits were always a great adventure and some of the best memories of my childhood.

Now, Linda will tell you that I am the oldest…and sends nasty birthday messages or cards to me each year reminding me of the fact that I am older than she is. What needs to be told here is that there is less than a month between our birthdays and she is just as old and senile as I am!!

We had a wonderful visit with Linda and her husband LeRoy last week. They are on the vacation of a lifetime to Canada, Alaska and points in between from Peabody, Kansas. They will get to visit with their son in Canada and their brand new first ever grandson!! We were so pleased that they chose to take two days along the way and spend them with us. We had time to chat about the old days, our parents that are now on the other side, and a lot of catching up. Not only did we have a great visit but they brought us lots of fresh veggies from their garden and a bunch of Kansas steaks…what a treat!!

Thank you Linda and LeRoy for a lovely two days and for getting to watch both of you gasping for breath at this altitude….really reminded us that we were doing exactly the same thing three months ago and that now we can actually walk without passing out….PROGRESS.

The weather here is definitely cooling down and fall is in the air. The trees are starting to turn colors and it is going to be gorgeous. I am so happy that we will get to see the fall colors before we leave…fall is my favorite time of the year. We have had a great break this week as the campers seem to be holding off until Labor Day for the final rush of the year. We have had time to relax, take walks without being interrupted by campers and even get in a couple of afternoon naps.

Tonight we saw a big buck deer in our meadow, we haven’t seen much wildlife lately as they went to the REAL high country for the summer. Of course, we didn’t have our camera in the truck. Hopefully, we will get to see more as the season comes to an end.

Tomorrow we are going to hike the trail that we have been promising ourselves we would do before we leave. It is only a mile and half (one way) but it does go up in elevation a bit along the way (remember, we are starting at 10,600‘). At the end of the hike is a grove of Limber Trees (much like the Bristle Cone Pine) that are about 900 years old. We will take the camera and a lunch and make a day of it.

In our photo gallery this week is a picture that Buff caught just as we were driving back from town after a thunderstorm…I think it is the most spectacular one of all the ones he has taken this summer. There is also one of us right after we finished cleaning twenty eight campsites…just so all of you can see that we do actually work here some days. To give a hint as to just how pig dirty we are…the shoes I am wearing are WHITE tennis shoes!! So, to all of you who think I am too prissy to be seen looking like shit……….

Finally, we are in the process of applying for a winter job…we have applications and resumes out from the Texas Gulf to Seattle, Washington and all points in between. We wait in anticipation to see where the winds of chance will take these gypsy feet next. Even though there is a bit of sadness seeing this season come to an end, there is also the excitement of looking down the road to another adventure.

So, until next week or when we have an announcement of our winter destination……

The Gypsies

BUFF’S DAY OFF

Two weeks ago Buff had the worst day ever!! First, our computer went out, after what seemed like hours calling Best Buy to find a local (?) store he discovered that Colorado Springs would have to do. So, he cowboy’d up and took off for Colorado Springs with directions to the Best Buy. Of course, they forgot to tell him that the highway he took to Colorado Springs had a slight dogleg and he got completely lost. Finally, got to the store…the Geek Squad checked the computer then announced that the mother board was “fried” and it would cost us more to fix it than buy another computer. Hours later, wallet $650 lighter, new computer in hand, Buff found the local AT&T store to have our air card installed…”What…it doesn’t work on this new computer!!” New air card installed (another $175) and Buff is back on the road headed for home…motorcycle passes…throws rock into windshield…big crack in glass!! BAD DAY!!

So, last Saturday, Buff took the day off while I stayed to deal with campers, etc. He attended a local event called Railroad Days, right up his train loving alley!! First he went to Como (ghost town from last post) where he got to tour the old roundhouse, (pictures of machines on the right…mom….you should be able to identify the big machine in one of the pictures…where he enjoyed looking at all the good stuff from the past century. Then on to the Pancake Breakfast at the roadhouse on top of Boreas Pass, driving on the old railroad grade..(picture overlooking Bayou Salado with Buff in the foreground) is the grade where numerous train wrecks occurred in the 1800’s. Then he drove the old grade on to Breckenridge and took pictures of the old snow blower that was used to clear the pass.

He got home about six hours later and was so hyped up that I considered a three martini afternoon (for me…not him). He had a wonderful day and I hope it made up for the one in Colorado Springs with the computer.

We are only four to six weeks out from leaving here and we can’t believe how fast the summer has gone. There are already some Aspen trees starting to show their fall colors…summer is sure short in the high country!! We will be so sorry to leave here and I am sure I will shed a few tears when we pull out. However, our gypsy feet are starting to get itchy and we are looking forward to the trip to our next adventure. We have applied for a position on the Northern California coast in the Redwoods and are keeping our fingers crossed that it will come in for us…otherwise…just checking into Workamper and throwing out Resumes wherever there is work and a location that we would enjoy. Will post where as soon as we know……

My cousin and her husband will be visiting for a couple of days this week…so all you Schaechterle family members be sure to check in next week for pictures of the visit…..

Till next time…miss all of you…love to all….

TRIP TO BAILEY

TRIP TO BAILEY

Finally, a week late, we have the ability to post our latest adventure. Last Tuesday we took a day off and decided to check out some more campgrounds owned by Canyon Enterprises. We left Fairplay about 10:00 A.M. and headed Northeast on Highway 285 toward Jefferson and the Jefferson Lake Campgrounds. A new area we hadn’t explored yet so we were looking forward to the adventure.

We traveled through the grasslands (Bayou Salado) and over Kenosha Pass. Stunning scenery and acres of Aspen Groves on both sides of the road. After checking out the campgrounds (none as lovely as ours) we decided to drive on a bit and see where we wound up. We drove through the Platte Canyon (looks like the Wind River Canyon) and on to the little town of Bailey. At this point we realized we were almost to the Denver suburbs and STOPPED!!

We found a cozy little café and gift store so we stopped for some ice cream and a look at all the neat stuff…then decided to just take the same route back as we realized we had not taken any pictures yet. The pictures on our photo stream were taken on top of Kenosha Pass looking back into the canyon and out onto the grasslands.

In 1806, Zebediah Pike followed this route while exploring the Jefferson Territory and tracking Spaniards to chase them out of the territory known as South Park. After two weeks on the trail he got lost but found campsites which he took to be the Spaniards and followed those sites back to the Arkansas River. At that time he realized they were his own campsites and he was back where he started!! And so, he got a mountain named after him. In 1844 John Fremont also made the trip through this canyon and over Kenosha Pass looking for beaver and other game. Once more we were struck by how impressive this country must have seemed to those early explorers.

While walking some footpaths looking for good photo opportunities we discovered several memorial sites where families had left either the urn of a loved one or had spread their ashes out onto the land below. What a beautiful place to spend eternity!!! The pictures looking back at the canyon show the huge Aspen Groves that cover the sides of the canyon. I have never seen such large groves of Aspen trees and they are so thick you can’t see into them.

We then wandered into the little ghost town of Como, (electricity was not brought there until the 1960’s) where there are still a few hardy souls hanging on and living there. Much like the town of Atlantic City in Wyoming… “population about 70”… We ate dinner at the original Railroad Hotel and Stage Stop which is being somewhat restored to it’s former state. Dinner was surprisingly good and we were given a tour of the upstairs bedrooms, dining room and bar area. After dinner we walked around and took pictures and soaked in the local atmosphere….whatever that is….my favorite picture is the U. S. Post Office…isn’t that awesome?

Just as we started on the road to our campground we saw a three legged Elk in a grove of trees ..Jim slammed on the brakes…and got some great pictures of him. He is living in a grove close to a house and we think the owners must be feeding him as he was fat and sassy. He seems to be able to get around pretty well without his one back leg .. God only knows how he lost it … probably some jerk hunter shot it off and just left him.

The remainder of the week we had what is known as the Monsoon Season here…meaning it is going to rain buckets every afternoon!! Big thunder and lightening shows to go with it all. So we fired up the generator (since the campground was empty) and watched five movies and took naps….and relaxed. It finally cleared up Saturday and we are back to the mid 70’s with blue skies and white clouds.

We have been applying for winter jobs and have had a couple of nibbles … one in Yuma and one in Quartzsite Arizona. Both are R. V. Parks but that may be our only option for the winter. I also contacted the company that has the campgrounds in the Uinta Mountains out of the Evanston Ranger District and got a very positive response and was told that we would most likely get a campground there next summer.

Last, but not least, we went into the pet grooming business last Sunday as Sierra was past the point of finding a real groomer. We got some dog clippers and went to work on her. As you can see …. We didn’t do too bad…but boy, was she pissed!!

Love to all…..