Silverton, Colorado

 Today was a day at Silverton, Co.  But, it was just a "day in the park" type thing even though we did have lunch in a park.  On the way, Jerry took us 4-wheeling throught the back roads and mountains to see the rivers and the beautiful trees in bloom.  We saw all kinds of animals along the way.  But our first stop was a western town, still put together as it was in the 1800's.  Yes, they have to paint and make it livable, but it is the same structure.   Some of these buildings were really cute.  The people were actually living in them. We did see some being rebuilt safer.  We actually had lunch in this tiny town. The mountain at the end of the main road rose up high into the air.  There was a Falls coming out of that mountain and it was so beautiful.

Oh!  let me tell you abour the Mine we actually got to go into.  This mine was a very active mine until they were closed down.  Well, when the boss tell the men the mine is closing, they drop everything and head out the door.  They leave whatever is there.  There is no $$ coming in so why not just leave?  I was told that if people only knew how much gold they were walking on every time they hiked the area.  Here are some of the Mine pictures.  Really interesting. This is Jerry and Burl at the door of the mine.  It is locked and closed.  So much to see at these old mines.

This hole that Jerry is pointing to is where the men would put the dynamite.  It is very rare to find a rack that still has the hole in place.

 

 

 

Our first Hike in N.M.

Today we took our first hike in New Mexico.  We have a mountain/mesa behind our campground, and it has intrigued me the whole time I've been here.  Our boss lady, Eliana, told us to just follow our noses to the top and the view would be extraordinary.  So we started out before breakfast.  We had trouble at first trying to find a trail.  So we walked through the desert!  First thing we saw was a bunny!  This one is wild but I bet he'd like to live with our other bunnies.

As we continued walking I realized we were climbing the whole time.  The big hint:  my breathing was hard.  With my lungs, all walking is difficult, but I refuse to allow that to stop me.  I love hiking.

We are headed to the Mesa but looking back at the campground here.  Burl was leading and he had shorts on (dummy).  I had my hiking boots and longer 3/4 length pants on.  The scrub brush is very sharp, some with thorns.  He kept finding the river bed, with no water in it, to follow and it was leading us upward. Some of the mountain looks like rock with dredges in it.  Its kind of pretty.  Once you touch it, you realize it is merely packed dirt from mountains.  We continued up, but along the way I saw pretty wild flowers.  There is NO water here, so how do these flowers bloom?

Looking down at the Rio Grande

We continue up and it is straight up, not flowing like I imagined. 
When we finally arrive, I am in awe!  It is beautiful. 

Looking out on the other side of the Mesa

Desert Weeds along the path

Looking down into the Valley

On our trip down we followed the road (made for 4-wheelers, I think) which was extremely rocky.  Again, I am glad I wore my hiking boots.  The road took us way past our campground (to the left of it) and brought us out by a couple small ranches.  Not ranches like on TV, but a trailer with a couple sheds and fenced in area for the horses.  The horses seemed interested in us when we were walking by them.  I had to take the picture.. they were so contented and peaceful. 

 

We finally ended up on Hwy 187, the road that runs along the campground.  It was a steep walk, mabye 2 miles, but good cardio walk.  Especially for me!  As we entered the campground, we see two signs.  One telling of the campground and the other telling of our Pet Cemetary.  The pet cemetary is very peaceful and cared for tenderly. 

 

 

Needless to say, it has been a great day.  We came home, did our laundry, hung it on the line to dry,  cooked a breakfast burrito and now we'll head up to visit the animals.  I really love being here this time of my life.  It is rewarding and satisfying.  

 

Pictures of DHAR and some of the residents

 these are only 4 of the 30... Very photographic!

The Cowboy that protects us

Our Sign

The mountain across the road from us

Introducing Dog Town

Bobby



Cocoa

Cookie

Cocoa giving me kisses

Our beginning time in DHAR

Today, I am going to try and catch up the time we have been here at Desert Haven Animal Refuge.  We are physically in Williamsburg, New Mexico; the desert and I'm not exaggerating!  My first impression was, Oh My Gosh.. where are we?  I've always lived on the east coast or at least where there was a LOT of GREEN.  However, that is not the case here.  Now that I've been here since the 12th of September, I am starting to like this land.
We watch a lot of cowboy movies and I never really thought it looked like desert, but now I totally understand.  Let me give you an example...
We wake up for work about 6:30.  Its totally flat so the sun is up.  By 9:30-10:00 it is hot.  We decided to just leave the windows open and it would be fine... NOT!  We work from 8-11 usually caring and feeding the animals.  Sometimes there is more to do on some days.  When we get home it is HOT!  We suffered the first week and a half.  NOW, we set the A/C at 79 at night and on 75 during the day and it is ok.  We are finally able to sit in the RV and not sweat!

The animals are wonderful.  We have 15 dogs and 30ish cats.  No one really knows how many cats we have.  Tina, one of the workcampers is trying to photograph each one, but some are very feral and hide!  They have a VERY LARGE area with rooms and beds and hiding spots so its hard to keep track of all of them.  Oh, they all have names.  Yeah!  What cat comes to a name, right?  But when we go in at night and sit with the "grooming comb" in hand, they literally line up!  It is so funny.  I'll try and take a pic of it when we work on Tuesday night. 

The animals all have different personalities.  You learn within the first week, who wants what and who not to mess with.  We do have a beautiful dog, Lucy, who is so feral and we can't touch her.  She will take treats but we can't touch her.  I feel sad for her cause we can't hug and love on her. She just won't have it. 

Then we have Shadow who loves EVERYONE and wants to be loved, walked, played with etc.  She is  a joy.  Black Lab and so loving.  Then we have my little loves, the "4some" which is what I call them.  There is Cocoa, a small brown sweetheart, that loves to be loved.  There is Cookie, Cupcake and Bobby.  Bobby looks like a spaniel but there are some that say no.  They all live in a huge area together and love each other so much.

There are 2 sweeties, Daisy (black) and Sandy (brown) who are so loving.  They love their snacks and seem so happy to have anyone love on them. 

We have other larger dogs that love to play tug of war and ball.  They almost smile when you come in wanting to play with them.  Then there are days, they just want to be petted. 

I say all this because we are having Adoption Days, October 2nd and 9th.  I am praying people will come in and adopt these dogs.  They would be such a blessing in any family. 

Our time has been so extrodinary, except when Burl was pulled down by one dog trying to get to another dog.  He had to have 7 stitches in his ring finger (left hand and he is left handed)!  But he has done great and was back to work in 2 days walking and loving on the dogs.  Nothing keeps that man down!

One exciting thing that happened was that we found a church. When we came, we drove through
Tor C (Truth or Consequences) kind of looking to see what churches were there.  The first one I saw we both felt drawn to.  Full Gospel Tabernacle.  We went last Sunday and loved the church people and the church.  We felt like we were home.  Well today (Sunday) was our second visit.  The pastor was there to preach as he was out of town last week.  I felt so comfortable and loved.  I feel like we are home and that is a great feeling after popping in and out of churches along the way here.  So that is one of the exciting things for me.

Yesterday we went to Las Cruces, NM.  There was a big farmers market/Craft Market going on. It happens every Saturday and Wednesday and the parking is hard to find.  It takes about an hour to get there but watching the scenery change was remarkable.  Las Cruces has so many beautiful houses!  You know it's desert but so many buildings help it look like a city.  The people were from all walks of life at the farmers market.  Many had their dogs and babies.. very much like others we've been to.  However, it still looked different due to the artsy stuff there.  Lots of paintings of the desert life; lots of Green Chili stuff too!  I tried it, too hot for me!  Needless to say, we'll be going back to shop there.  Next time, I'll have a list of things to buy!

We usually work 3 days and have five off.  However, there is always so much to do around here that we are always working.  One great thing here is there is a CLOTHESLINE.  I know, some of you say, "WHAT?"  But I love the smell of the clothese, and so. we wash our clothes in our washer and dry them on the line.  All of us do it!  So we have to SHARE the lines.

Our time here (11 days) has been wonderful.  I wouldn't change it for anything.  We look forward to going to Colorado in May, but for now, we love the desert and are happy. 

4-Wheelin to Telluride

When Jerry told me we were going 4-wheeling, I freaked. I thought he meant the ATV, but he has a 4-wheel Jeep and they can do the same thing.  I felt so much better knowing I'd be INSIDE a car and not on the outside, flying through the air!  I've seen too many kids with broken arms, legs etc when I taught school.
We started out easy and then Jerry put it in 4-wheel drive and we started up the mountain.  Now this road is called Last Dollar Road.  It made me think but I really didn't have time to think too long, because we were bouncing all over the place.  Now some of the road was smoother and I really enjoyed seeing the trees and valleys and all that nature has to offer.  I love White Birch trees up in Massachusetts and I saw some that looked just like them.  Well, I found out they are Ash trees. And the leaves shimmer in the wind.  Their leaves turn yellow, bright yellow, and are so beautiful. 

We also saw herds of cows.  One was black with a white band around his middle.  It was part of his coat/fur and it looked so funny.  The mountains were so beautiful.  I kept making Jerry stop so I could take more pictures. I saw this prairie dog and had to take a picture of him.  They are all over the place!

As we reached Telluride, we headed for Bridal Falls.  The road was not one I'd choose to drive on.  It was definitely a 4-wheel drive road.  Up, Up, Up... And.. we were not going to the top but to the bottom of the falls!  They are beautiful. 


From there we went to the Brown Cow Pizza place.  I had calzone and it was the best I've ever had!  While sitting waiting on my food, I was told the bank across the street was the one that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid robbed.  $24,000!  They got away with it too.  Of course the bank has been renovated but it looks really cool. 









I really wanted to take this prairie dog home with me.... :)From there we went to ride the Gondola over the mountain.  That was actually interesting as one of the workers rode with us.  Telluride has a small population and their school system is awesome.  I was told the students ride this FREE Gondola down the mountain to school.  It is the ONLY FREE Gondola in the country!  It was neat. 

Telluride is an awesome little town.  Dogs and Bikes everywhere.  Also a college town.  Really neat.

Black Canyon at Gunnison National Park - Hike

We got up real early and eaded out.  Jane needed to get blood work done at Montrose.  After she was done we grabbed a panini sandwich and then head to Paonia, where we could pick our own apples.  The Honey Crisp Apple was the sweetest apple I've ever eaten.  We picked a few of them and then tasted some of their wine.  I wasn't impressed with the wine, but loved the apples!
Then we headed off to Black Canyon.  Most of my pictures from Black Canyon are on my phone so I need to figure out how to get them off of there so I can put them on here.  It is totally beautiful and I will get the pictures on. 
I am currently at a Candy/Coffee shop using their Internet so I can only do what I can do. 

Portland Mine Trail -

This day was an exciting day!  We got to use our new backpacks, hiking boots and our hiking poles.  This is all new to us so Jane and Jerry had to help us out!  My backpack actually has a water bladder so I can just drink from it while hiking.  We went to Portland Mine Trail.  It is about a 4 hour hike with a good amount of up and down.  The first picture is of Jane and Jerry Riley. 

This is us in our new gear!  Don't we look like hikers? 

Well we were hiking along and I turned to say something to Jane and look what was following us.
She stayed withs us for about 10 minutes.  Always a few feet behind us.  She is a Mule Deer because she has such large ears.  She is so beautiful!.

Then we stopped for a snack and look what we saw. 

 

Needless to say this was such a beautiful hike.  There was a couple of times we had to stop and "breathe" deep; but most of the time we kept up really good.  We walked 3.8 miles in 3 1/2 hours which means our moving speed was 1.7 miles per hour.  Jane and Jerry have this down.  She has a gadget that measures all that. They said we did real good seeing we don't do this regularly.  But we will!  When we finished we were tired and wet with sweat.  But it was exhilarating!  Burl had problems with his knee in the morning, but with a knee ace bandage, he did awesome.  We were proud of ourselves! 

To treat ourselves to such a wonderful successful hike, we went to Timberline Deli for a great Ice Cream!  After all, we burned a ton of calories!!!

Tonight, Burl is cooking Lamb, Rice, and veggies for supper.  Then we will possibly go to the Hot Tub for a good soak. 

Tomorrow we are headed to Telluride where we get to ride a Gondola.  I'll have pictures, don't worry.  We are so happy to be with our friends, and also to be enjoying ourselves and each other. 

 

We are Blessed beyond Measure

Ouray, Colorado

This was the most Amazing Day!  We left the East Denver KOA about 8:30-900 a.m..  We figured we'd miss the traffic.  Getting out onto I-70W was not a problem and we started heading to Denver.  When we got close, the traffic started backing up.  Not a pretty site! We started driving real slow but not actually stopping.  I could see the mountains in the distance.  They were hazy but I could see the shapes were jagged and high.  I was getting excited!  We drove by Vail and by the Colorado River.  Here are some pictures of what we saw on the way.

The mountains were beautiful!

It took us about 3 hours to arrive in Ouray and what a joy that was! We were greeted by Jerry and Jane with such anticipation of excitement.  That day they took us to Red Mountain.  And then they took us to Bear creek Falls...

These mountains are so majestic!  The pictures do not do justice to the massive mountains.   Now Jerry has a 4-wheel jeep and he can make that thing a 4-wheeler!  He took us places we'd never be able to imagine.   That first day was so exciting, but we were tired and needed to eat.  Jane made an awesome supper of Flank Steak, Corn on the Cob, and potatoes.  Jerry started a fire and we sat with our drinks and talked into the night.  Then Jerry said we had to leave the next day at 6:30!  OH BOY!  We were ready to go.  

This is such a beautiful place.  Can't wait to see so many more places here!  Keep watching and you'll see lots of pictures!