Showing posts with label Vacation 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacation 2008. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Happy Birthday, Dad!
Today is Dad's birthday and he is having to spend it alone since we dragged Mom off to Colorado. Send him an email and wish him a happy birthday!
Travels with Grandmom
Today (Monday) was our first full day in Durango. We had breakfast at our hotel this morning and had a table next to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Animas River. There was a trail running along the river and we saw many joggers, walkers, and cyclists pass us. We have even see one man in waders fly-fishing about 50 yards from our room. Seeing all the bicycles, I said that it was a shame that Greg didn't bring his bike. Durango has bike routes marked all over the city. Greg liked the idea and wondered if there might be a place he could rent one. We stopped at the front desk to ask and were soon on our way to Pedal the Peaks bike shop where he rented a trail bike for $25 a day. We brought it back to the hotel and he took off. Two hours later, Mom and I were sitting on our terrace enjoying the view and drinking our coffee when he rode up the trail and over to us. He had been all over Durango and was having a wonderful time. Getting the bike was the greatest idea we had had on this trip.
One thing we all really wanted to do on our vacation was to recreate our picnic at Lake Vallecito that we had in July, 2000. We searched for a KFC (gotta keep that re-creation accurate), got us a bucket of chicken, and headed for the lake. There were rumbles of thunder and a few showers as we drove up into the mountains surrounding the lake but all was clear and beautiful again by the time we reached the lake.
Greg was driving and I had forgotten that you have to drive across the dam at the south end of the reservoir to get to the picnic areas. This is not a nice two-lane road with guardrails -- it is a narrow lane with a sheer drop off on each side. As we sped merrily along, I watched both sides wondering whether I would prefer to fall off the right side and fall 50 feet to the bottom of the spillway or off the left side where the cold, deep water would break our fall. Fortunately, it is not a long drive and we arrived at the other side intact.
We then started our search for a picnic table. We had already commented that there were very few people around. This was not a surprise because October is well past the prime tourist season. Getting a table in a prime spot sounded simple. The first site we came to had a beautiful view of the lake and three empty tables. We pulled to the entrance only to find that it was gated and sported a sign announcing that this area was closed. This was disappointing, but there were many more good sites up ahead. As we neared each one, we saw the announcement - "This area closed." We finally reached the northern end of the lake and the end of the picnic areas -- no luck. We knew it was late in the season, but we didn't realize everything would be closed. There we were -- at the end of the road with our bucket of cooling chicken and no picnic table.
Fortunately, Greg had brought the bike since we knew there were bike trails all around the lake. We dropped him off and told him we would meet him back at the dam. He took his time and had a blast on the trails that zigzagged along the lake road. When he caught up with us at the dam, he came to the car and asked if I would let him ride back across the dam. I said "sure!" and he and Mom both looked at me and said "Really?" Hey, I'm not that strict and he is an adult. He took off and I told Mom that I hoped he wasn't a little nervous and counting on me to tell him "no." We followed behind to be sure he didn't fall off. I don't know what we would have done if he had -- neither one of us was going to dive in and save him. Anyway, it was all worth a cold bucket of chicken.
Notice the single aspen on the island
You can see that the lake level is very low this year because of low rainfall. The mountains back behind it are beautiful, though.
As most of you know, Mom has been through a knee replacement and a broken ankle in the last year, so this has been a difficult way to take a vacation. Just getting in and out of the car is quite a production but Greg has it down to an art. We park and he hops out, runs to the back, pulls out her crutches, and then comes around to the side to help ease her out of the back seat. (She has to ride with one knee elevated so she can't sit in front.) There is a comfortable arm chair in our room but we have learned how to shore it up with some pillows to keep her knee in the proper alignment. We don't want this attempt at a vacation to set her progress back any. It's a shame that her real participation has to be so limited, but she is enjoying a change of scenery as we drive.
Sleeping is also an issue. We have devised a system of pillows to keep her knee in the right position at the right elevation. The bedding here is very thick and heavy and the weight of it on the knee is painful so we stood an empty suitcase on the bed under the covers to raise them off of the knee. Monday night, she climbed into bed (the word climbed is not an exaggeration - these beds must be three feet off the ground), arranged her pillows behind her and under the knee, positioned the suitcase, and pulled the covers up. I made a comment about something on television, so she tried to see what I was talking about. The bedding was in the way so she tried to beat it down a bit with her hand. That didn't help so I offered to climb out of my bed and help her out, but she said "No no! I can do it myself!" She then grabbed one of her crutches and whacked herself in the foot. Mom, aim for the covers, not your feet. (And we wonder why she isn't getting any better)
One thing we all really wanted to do on our vacation was to recreate our picnic at Lake Vallecito that we had in July, 2000. We searched for a KFC (gotta keep that re-creation accurate), got us a bucket of chicken, and headed for the lake. There were rumbles of thunder and a few showers as we drove up into the mountains surrounding the lake but all was clear and beautiful again by the time we reached the lake.
Greg was driving and I had forgotten that you have to drive across the dam at the south end of the reservoir to get to the picnic areas. This is not a nice two-lane road with guardrails -- it is a narrow lane with a sheer drop off on each side. As we sped merrily along, I watched both sides wondering whether I would prefer to fall off the right side and fall 50 feet to the bottom of the spillway or off the left side where the cold, deep water would break our fall. Fortunately, it is not a long drive and we arrived at the other side intact.
We then started our search for a picnic table. We had already commented that there were very few people around. This was not a surprise because October is well past the prime tourist season. Getting a table in a prime spot sounded simple. The first site we came to had a beautiful view of the lake and three empty tables. We pulled to the entrance only to find that it was gated and sported a sign announcing that this area was closed. This was disappointing, but there were many more good sites up ahead. As we neared each one, we saw the announcement - "This area closed." We finally reached the northern end of the lake and the end of the picnic areas -- no luck. We knew it was late in the season, but we didn't realize everything would be closed. There we were -- at the end of the road with our bucket of cooling chicken and no picnic table.
Fortunately, Greg had brought the bike since we knew there were bike trails all around the lake. We dropped him off and told him we would meet him back at the dam. He took his time and had a blast on the trails that zigzagged along the lake road. When he caught up with us at the dam, he came to the car and asked if I would let him ride back across the dam. I said "sure!" and he and Mom both looked at me and said "Really?" Hey, I'm not that strict and he is an adult. He took off and I told Mom that I hoped he wasn't a little nervous and counting on me to tell him "no." We followed behind to be sure he didn't fall off. I don't know what we would have done if he had -- neither one of us was going to dive in and save him. Anyway, it was all worth a cold bucket of chicken.
As most of you know, Mom has been through a knee replacement and a broken ankle in the last year, so this has been a difficult way to take a vacation. Just getting in and out of the car is quite a production but Greg has it down to an art. We park and he hops out, runs to the back, pulls out her crutches, and then comes around to the side to help ease her out of the back seat. (She has to ride with one knee elevated so she can't sit in front.) There is a comfortable arm chair in our room but we have learned how to shore it up with some pillows to keep her knee in the proper alignment. We don't want this attempt at a vacation to set her progress back any. It's a shame that her real participation has to be so limited, but she is enjoying a change of scenery as we drive.
Sleeping is also an issue. We have devised a system of pillows to keep her knee in the right position at the right elevation. The bedding here is very thick and heavy and the weight of it on the knee is painful so we stood an empty suitcase on the bed under the covers to raise them off of the knee. Monday night, she climbed into bed (the word climbed is not an exaggeration - these beds must be three feet off the ground), arranged her pillows behind her and under the knee, positioned the suitcase, and pulled the covers up. I made a comment about something on television, so she tried to see what I was talking about. The bedding was in the way so she tried to beat it down a bit with her hand. That didn't help so I offered to climb out of my bed and help her out, but she said "No no! I can do it myself!" She then grabbed one of her crutches and whacked herself in the foot. Mom, aim for the covers, not your feet. (And we wonder why she isn't getting any better)
Monday, October 20, 2008
A Whole Lotta Blinkin' Goin' On
We left Raton for Durango at about 8:30 Sunday morning but planned several stops and side trips along the way. We were curious to see how long the actual drive would take - Dad said 8 hours but Google Maps said 5 1/2. Normally, I trust Dad's travel instincts but Google Maps seemed so sure... Anyway, we drove to Taos, did some shopping and ate lunch, and then took a side trip through a scenic drive. We came at a perfect time -- the temperature during the day has been about 60 (colder in the upper elevations) with a very light breeze and almost no clouds. The aspens are a brilliant gold and look so beautiful against the dark pines and spruces. We have seen at least 100 antelope and almost that many deer and even passed a coyote trotting along the road. We stopped at a pottery shop high up in the mountains and took a tour; Mom bought a coffee mug and I wish I had bought one, too. We realized we had made too many stops, though, when it became apparent that we were not going to make it to Durango before dark (Dad-1, Google Maps-0).
Greg took this with my zoom lens
As I said, we had seen lots of antelope in New Mexico and were seeing more and more deer as we neared Colorado. This became a problem as we were driving that last leg from Pagosa Springs to Durango. Just before Pagosa Springs, we passed a car that had struck a deer. The deer was dead and the car didn't look much better; the entire front end was crushed. I was driving with Greg riding shotgun so we were both trying to watch the sides of the road. In Pagosa Springs, we saw an approaching car stop and a car in front of us stopped, as well. I tried to see what had happened and we realized that at least three deer had darted into the road. It was so dark that we could barely see them as they ran between the headlights. Ten minutes later, as we were leaving Pagosa Springs, a deer ran right at our car. Greg saw it just as I did and I hit the brakes and pulled off on the shoulder. The deer turned and missed us by what seemed like 6 inches. I thought the driver behind me had hit it but he managed to miss it, too. After the second close call, I felt like crawling the rest of the way. We noticed an oncoming car blinking his brights. Greg asked if I had my brights on and I said no but then a second car flashed his brights. Mom said that she thought they were trying to alert us to something so I slowed down to look and, sure enough, there was a deer standing on the road on my side. I stopped and he moved and we went on. As the next car approached us, the driver behind me blinked his lights at them. We decided that this was a friendly service expected while driving in the area. [This inspired Mom to name tonight's blog - notice that I am not the only one in my family who enjoys a bad pun.]
Our financial arrangement is that Mom and I are splitting gas, food, and lodging and Greg is paying for anything special he wants to do. For now, Mom is paying for the hotel room each night and I am paying for everything else. On the last day, we add up our expenses and whoever has paid less will pay the other to make things even. We stopped to eat in Taos and had the following conversation:
Mom: Oh no, I left my purse in the car.
Me: Do you need it? I'll be paying.
Mom: Oh that's right. I can't get used to you paying for everything.
Greg: Don't worry, Grandmom - it gets easier.
[He should know]
We have already taken close to 100 photos. I'll pick out a couple to put on each day. Here's a couple from our drive yesterday (I took the one of Greg and Greg took the one of the aspens and the river)
As I said, we had seen lots of antelope in New Mexico and were seeing more and more deer as we neared Colorado. This became a problem as we were driving that last leg from Pagosa Springs to Durango. Just before Pagosa Springs, we passed a car that had struck a deer. The deer was dead and the car didn't look much better; the entire front end was crushed. I was driving with Greg riding shotgun so we were both trying to watch the sides of the road. In Pagosa Springs, we saw an approaching car stop and a car in front of us stopped, as well. I tried to see what had happened and we realized that at least three deer had darted into the road. It was so dark that we could barely see them as they ran between the headlights. Ten minutes later, as we were leaving Pagosa Springs, a deer ran right at our car. Greg saw it just as I did and I hit the brakes and pulled off on the shoulder. The deer turned and missed us by what seemed like 6 inches. I thought the driver behind me had hit it but he managed to miss it, too. After the second close call, I felt like crawling the rest of the way. We noticed an oncoming car blinking his brights. Greg asked if I had my brights on and I said no but then a second car flashed his brights. Mom said that she thought they were trying to alert us to something so I slowed down to look and, sure enough, there was a deer standing on the road on my side. I stopped and he moved and we went on. As the next car approached us, the driver behind me blinked his lights at them. We decided that this was a friendly service expected while driving in the area. [This inspired Mom to name tonight's blog - notice that I am not the only one in my family who enjoys a bad pun.]
Our financial arrangement is that Mom and I are splitting gas, food, and lodging and Greg is paying for anything special he wants to do. For now, Mom is paying for the hotel room each night and I am paying for everything else. On the last day, we add up our expenses and whoever has paid less will pay the other to make things even. We stopped to eat in Taos and had the following conversation:
Mom: Oh no, I left my purse in the car.
Me: Do you need it? I'll be paying.
Mom: Oh that's right. I can't get used to you paying for everything.
Greg: Don't worry, Grandmom - it gets easier.
[He should know]
We have already taken close to 100 photos. I'll pick out a couple to put on each day. Here's a couple from our drive yesterday (I took the one of Greg and Greg took the one of the aspens and the river)
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Vacation Day 1 - Raton, New Mexico
Whew, an early start today! Greg did a good job of getting up, getting the car packed, and being ready to walk out the door at 5:45 AM. We stopped in Amarillo for lunch at the Cracker Barrel (Greg and I twisted Grandmom's arm until she gave in) and made it to Raton by 5:00 Mountain Time. We stopped about every two hours so we could get out and stretch. One rest stop would have been a bit of a stretch for some family members:
Dad and John, this photo is for you
Greg always has to get a sunset photo (this morning, he could have had a sunrise photo, too, but he just wasn't motivated enough). This is the view from our hotel room.
Before we left, Andrea told Greg that she wanted him to have a good time but she didn't want any more mysterious women appearing in hot tubs with him. Most of you have seen our optical illusion shot from our last vacation together. Almost everyone who looks at it says "I don't see anything odd -- it's two people sitting in a hot tub." Except, of course, Greg was all alone at the time. I took the shot and can attest to that but we might have trouble convincing Andrea a second time.
We plan to leave tomorrow morning, have lunch in Taos, and be in Durango by late afternoon. We'll try to avoid those mysterious women and have an update tomorrow night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
