Monday September 28, 2009-Priest Gulch campground

We went on a drive up Hillside Drive this morning. This view is across the river from our trailer and shows two of the cabins with the gold hills above them.

Here is Dick, one of our new friends that we made here at Priest Gulch, all bundled up with Stella getting ready to go on our drive this morning. The temperature was down in the upper 30's this morning but it warmed up quickly.

Just one of the beautiful views across the hills. The colors are beautiful and we wish you had been here with us to experience them with us.

More beauty. It is interesting to note the green pine trees in among the gold aspens. They make a beautiful contrast that must be experienced to believe.

The entire road was gold. When we rounded a curve in the road, all we could see was gold!

More tall, golden trees with the brilliant blue skies in the background.

Here is our little group: Gene, Linda, me, Stella, Peggy, Len, Eugena and Dick. We had stopped for a break from driving in a little clearing, high in the mountains.

When we returned from our trip, we rested for a short while then met at Gene and Linda's site for a potluck dinner. We had a pretty good feast of steaks, sausage, potatoes, salad and other assorted goodies. The final goody was a chocolate pie that Linda made and a peach cobbler that Stella made. It was a wonderful way to end the afternoon. We went back home for awhile and met back at their site for a campfire. Everyone but us and Gene and Linda are leaving in the morning, so a lot of goodbyes were said tonight.

So long.

Sunday September 27, 2009-Priest Gulch campground

Today, being Sunday, was a day of rest for us. Here you see Cassie trying to stay warm on my blanket. It is cold again, about 36 degrees outside.

Our neighbors Bob and Hellene, left early this morning. Bob works for one of the railroads and intends to retire in January. I gave him one of my cards so that hopefully we can stay in touch. He is also interested in buying a new trailer since his Open Roads trailer manufacturer has gone out of business and I steered him to a Heartland. Hopefully he will consider one when the time comes for him to make his purchase.

Stella and I ate a late breakfast of biscuits and sausage. I went for my daily walk around the park and met a nice couple that have a Sunnybrook trailer that is similar to our old Mobile Scout. We had a nice chat and they told me about the layout of the park on the other side of the river from where we are now. It is interesting to know the improvements that have been made to the park since Ernie has owned it.

Later in the afternoon, we met Ernie, the owner of the park and his wife Freda. Ernie is the retired Chief of Police for Pomona California. There are several ex or retired Police Officers here in the park, and it was nice visiting with Ernie. I'm sure we'll return to this park.

Stella fixed us a pork roast with rice and corn for supper. It was a very tasty meal and we enjoyed it. Linda and Gene had another nice fire at their trailer, so we went down there for awhile. Some friends of theirs, George and Shirley had also come by and we all enjoyed the fire and the company. We stayed over there until about 9 o'clock and came home.

So long.

Saturday September 26, 2009-Priest Gulch campground

We woke this morning and e=were supposed to go for a mountain ride with Gene and Linda. Stella wasn't feeling well so we decided not to go with them. We ate some breakfast and decided to ride up to Telluride and to eat lunch at Ridgeway. As you can see from this picture, the leaves are beginning to change here in the park. This shot was taken from the back of our trailer looking upriver at the cabins.

Here we are going down Hwy. 145 toward Rico. This is where we stopped on our first day here to call back to our friends and family after we found out that we didn't have any phone service. You can see some of the trees that are changing. Just hold on, it gets better.....

Another shot of the snow-covered peaks, towering over us. We just can't get enough of these views, and again the photos do not do the mountains justice.

The sheer rocks are a very nice background to the yellow and gold trees.

Now we're talking.....beauty is everywhere up here. Stella took about 150 pictures out the window and through the windshield glass while we were on our drive today.

Another shot with the gorgeous trees on both sides of the road. If we stopped to take a photo of everything that is pretty up here, we would never get anywhere and traffic would be backed up forever.

Another shot of the yellow/golden trees with towering, snow-covered mountains behind them.

This is just outside Ridgeway CO. which is the home of the late actor Dennis Weaver and where he had a dinner club for many years. We attended some of the dinners and enjoyed the play after when we came to Blue Spruce a few years ago. Since Weaver's death in 2006 from cancer, the club has been turned into a Christian center.

This is the True Grit cafe in Ridgeway. Parts of the John Wayne movie True Grit was actually filmed in this restaurant and in and around Ridgeway. There are numerous pictures of "The Duke" as Wayne was known and also an entire wall of Dennis Weaver photos from his long career in Hollywood. When we got there, there was a waiting list but we soon got a table. There was another couple that just walked in, so we invited them to sit with us for lunch, since we had not ordered yet. Bill and Bert were a very nice couple from Kansas who have been traveling for awhile. they are a very nice couple and we had a very enjoyable time with them over lunch.

This is the old Ridgeway Fire Dept. that is just down the street from the cafe.

This sculpture was done by a local artist and is between the row of buildings where the cafe is located and the Fire Dept.

Still more golden trees on the mountainside.

Just one more beautiful trees on the road back toward Telluride.

This pine tree is hanging on with just a few of it's roots. It is on the side of the road between Telluride and Rico. I'll bet it won't be there for much longer.

We were gone until late in the afternoon, and when we got back, we sat outside at a campfire at Gene and Linda's until about 9 o'clock.

We had a very nice day and plan to do one more drive over the mountains next week.

So long.

FridaySeptember 25, 2009-Priest Gulch campground

I slept until about 6 o'clock this morning. I had planned to get up early to see Tommy and Susan off, so I was right on time. I did my morning routine of reading the newspapers and the blogs that I follow, and went in about 6:45 to take a shower and get dressed. Stella also got up and we went outside about 7:30 and lo and behold, they were already gone! Stella said she had heard something outside about 7, so we figured that was them pulling out.

I took a walk around the park and caught up with Dick, the birthday boy from the other day. We walked together around the park and had a nice visit. He lives in Deer Park near Tommy and Susan and I hope we can stay in touch when we leave here.

We came back inside and ate some breakfast and hung out for awhile before deciding to go over to Cortez to buy some groceries and to have the batteries in the truck checked. I knew the batteries were getting pretty old, so I wanted to get them checked. When we got to the Auto Zone, where I had bought the batteries, I asked one of the clerks to check the batteries for me, which he did. he said the battery was putting out the correct amount of power but the cranking power was very low, about 260 cranking amps when it should have been 800. He went inside and researched his computer for the purchase date and it was just a month over the free exchange. He then prorated the price and I got both batteries replaced for $57.00. What a deal! I told him to change them out, which he did. Wow, how lucky was that? We're out here in the mountains with no cell service. How would I have called someone to come help me if the batteries had failed?

We got our groceries bought and came on back home. I guess the Service Engine Soon light that had been on since we have been here was related to the battery because it went off and has not come back on since changing the batteries.

We came back home and Stella went to the washateria to do our laundry. Since its been so cold, I have been wearing my jeans and sweats every day and was running out of clean long pants, so it was time to wash. I went down later and got her and we came back here and ate our leftover smothered steaks which were better tonight than last night when they were fresh. We relaxed in the trailer until time for bed.

So long.

Thursday September 24, 2009-Priest Gulch campground

Another freezing morning greeted us today, 32 degrees. The weather is supposed to be good until Tuesday next week. Of course, I'm sure that it will be raining or worse yet, snowing on Thursday when we leave for Albuquerque. If that is forecast, we may leave early and if our site isn't ready at High Desert, we'll boondock in the parking lot until it is. We did it in April and we can do it again now.

Stella fixed us another good breakfast of eggs and toast and we just hung out here around our end of the park, enjoying the sunshine. We visited with our friends Gene and Linda and of course Tommy and Susan. The big news of the morning was the catching of a very large rat in the trap in Tommy's motorhome. I think they heard the trap when it caught the monster (13") rat. He was put out on display for everyone to come by and see before he was put in the dumpster. We're all glad to be rid of this thing. So far, we haven't seen any signs of mice in our trailer and I feel bad for Susan. She has worked so hard cleaning up after finding the rat and mice droppings in her kitchen drawers. Hope they don't return!

I walked up the mountain again and enjoyed the scenery. I will miss these times for exercise and being in the cool outdoors. We didn't do too much in the afternoon, and invited Tommy and Susan over for a smothered steak tonight for supper. Its their last night here, and Stella didn't want them to have to cook so she made it for them. We had a nice fire after eating and several friends came over to sit with us. We broke up pretty early tonight and everyone had a nice time. We'll miss Tommy and Susan!

So long.

Wednesday September 23, 2009-Priest Gulch campground

Another 30 degree morning today. Our neighbors a couple of doors down have recorded temperatures that are colder by a couple of degrees but then they ARE further north than us.....

We didn't leave the park again today. I took another walk up the mountain and around the park this morning and Stella took care of her clients' books.

Tommy intended to go for a ride up into the mountain again today to take some more photos but decided not to go because Tess was still not feeling well and he didn't want her to be confined in the car for that long. Susan was busy with cleaning up the motorhome after the rat was seen again in the storage compartment. There was evidence that a rat or mice had been inside their house in some drawers, so she wasn't taking any chances and thoroughly cleaned everything.

Susan came over and told us about a birthday party for one of our new friends, Dick. He is 86 years old and lives in Deer Park where Tommy and Susan live. It was to be a potluck meal, so Stella said she would make some potatoes to bring. We all met at the gazebo on the other side of the river for the party. It was a very nice time and I know that Dick appreciated everything.

I got the news this afternoon that my Aunt Frat had passed away. She was my favorite great-aunt and we spent a lot of time at her house when I was a kid. I regret that we are so far away and can't make it to her funeral but I sent my love by Janie, and will do my best to get to Center and visit with them as soon as we can.

We came back home and relaxed until around 6:30 when Tommy came by and said that there was another campfire at Linda and Gene's place. They have been coming here to the park for 12 years, so there was a lot of talk about what had gone on around her in the past. The main topic was the rats and mice that have been in the park and the one that had run around the fire the other night. We didn't see any more tonight but Gene showed us a very large rat trap that he was using in his woodpile to try to catch the rat. We all went home around 8:30.

So long.

Tuesday September 22, 2009-Priest Gulch campground

We woke to 31 degree temperatures again this morning, brrrrr. It was cozy in the trailer so we didn't go outside until it warmed up a bit. I took Cassie out this morning to take her morning walk, and since she seems to want to go up the side of the mountain on the road, this morning we went. She sniffs out on the side of the road and seem interested in going further up in the woods, but comes back down when she only goes a few feet. I haven't seen any signs of wildlife like tracks or scat, so I can't tell what she is smelling.

Stella worked on some of her client's books most of the day today and I stayed out of her way. I was having trouble getting on the Internet all day, so I spent a lot of time outside. It was cold and cloudy most of the day but I took a walk around the park and visited with some of the friends I had made all over the park. Most of the folks up here are very nice and we will likely come back to this park.

About 3:30, we decided to go back down to the Dolores Brewery to have more pizza and beer. We met Gene and Bonnie there, but Tommy decided not to go since Tess was still a little sick and he didn't want to risk leaving her alone, so we brought him some pizza. When we got back sat outside at the fire that had been laid last night. Our new neighbors, Bob and Hellene came over and sat out with us. We stayed out until about nine o'clock when it began getting colder.

So long.