Sunday, July 1, 2012
Took off for Durango after a quick car wash next door to the campground...boy, we were sure getting buggy. When we left the campground, the temperature was a nice 70 degrees. Heading across the flat desert land, 10 miles down the road it had climbed to 86 degrees. Love that AC! The temperature went up a degree every couple of miles. A half hour later it was up to 95 degrees and still climbing.
Amazing landscape along Route 89...a continuous stretch of rock formations and layer upon layer of color. Everywhere you look is a scenic view. As we approached the Arizona state line, I took a photo of Lone Rock, a strange rock tower emerging from the waters of
Lake Powell. Passing through Glen Canyon -- first clouds we have seen for days, maybe even weeks. The water level of the lake was quite low. We stopped at Glen Canyon Dam Welcome Center for a few photos.
106 degrees at Four Corners Monument Tribal Park where the borders of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah meet. Both Mel and I stopped at Four Corners as kids and remember it as a little pull off along the road. Now you need to pull off Route 160, travel about 1/4 mile down a road to reach the Corners managed by the Navajo Nation. Entrance fee was $3 a person. Indian beadwork and crafts were available from vendors around the Monument.
Smoke is in the air. Fifteen fires along Rte 160 near Mancos, just past Mesa Verde National Park and saw several fire trucks spraying water along part of the perimeter. We learned later that this fire was now "under control," yet it looked pretty ominous to us.
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| Mel, Katrina, Katie, and Cousin Merl |
We arrived in Bayfield, CO just East of Durango at Merl and Katie Schafer's (Mel's cousin and wife) in time for apple crisp dessert made by their daughter, Katrina. Katrina was visiting from the Phoenix area where the Schafers live from October to late May. They spend the rest of the year in their self-built log cabin on the bend of the Animas River. Katie's sister Karen and her husband Junior, from Indiana, were also visiting.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Plans for the day included shopping time for the ladies in Durango and repair jobs around the cabin for the men followed by dinner and music at the Bar D Chuckwagon.
While shopping, Karen found the perfect "gift" for Merl. A pesky skunk had been roaming around their cabin for the past few days and Merl had set a trap for him in the yard. Karen found a realistic looking stuffed toy skunk just the right size. Katrina and I pitched in and planned to set a trap for Merl. More on the skunk tale later.
After our downtown Durango shopping spree, we dropped Katie off at the Bar D Chuckwagon Supper Ranch, 9 miles North of Durango in order to get good tickets for the dinner and show later in the evening. Katrina took Karen and I to buy some local Colorado honey and a stop at
Baker Bridge. Baker Bridge was featured in the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Now the bridge serves as a "I dare you to..." local attraction. We ended up seeing three jump from the bridge to the river below. The river serves as an area swimming spot.
We met up with Katie at the Bar D where the guys joined us. The evening started with a stroll through the tourist shops and then a chuck wagon dinner--for 500. Because we had seats right up front (thanks Katie!), we were some of the first to be served on our tin cowboy plates -- beans, baked potato, BBQ beef, apple sauce, biscuit, and spice cake. They had a very orderly system set up and it only took about a half hour to serve all 500. Following dinner we had a very entertaining evening of cowboy songs by a very professional group which included two guitars, a fiddle, and a bass. We really felt like we were back in the old West.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
What luck! Merl discovered he had caught that skunk during the night. After we had our grapefruit from the Shafer's AZ backyard, eggs, and bacon, we decided to check on the skunk. We talked Merl into "taking care of it" before we pulled out for Colorado Springs. He grabbed a small tarp and headed around back of the cage so he could get behind the skunk and throw the tarp over him.
The plan was to pick up the covered cage and drop it off the small bridge into the creek letting nature take its course. He was ready to pick it up when Katrina ran up to save the poor critter. It was Merl that got skunked as well as Katie. Merl will never live this one down.
We hit the road around 10 am and, at Katrina's suggestion, stopped at the Bayfield bakery for green chili fritters, a maple pecan pastry, and a loaf of cranberry pecan bread. We were ready for a tasty lunch later in the day. The interesting scenery continued as we made our way to Colorado Springs.
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| Skunked!!!! |
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| Katie's sister, Karen on left, Katrina, Katie, and Cousin Merl |
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| Mel and Candy out back...really neat log cabin. |
Visiting the Ryans is much like spending time at a lakeside resort: good meals -- the lake just a few steps away with kayaks, noodles, and floats -- the pool just down the road -- interesting restaurants in the area...let me tell you about those restaurants. Hugo's in Claremore, OK is a hot spot for breakfast and known to be one of Garth Brook's favorite restaurants. Mel and I decided to share a breakfast which consisted of three eggs, 15 pieces of bacon, six "dollar" pancakes (each nearly the size of a dinner plate) and Mel decided on a side order of biscuits and gravy. All this for less than $10, if I'm remembering correctly. How can you go wrong? Oh my gosh, needless to say, we ate it all.
One evening we met up with Karen's sister, Ann, at Fish's BBQ in Tahlequah, OK. You would only know about this place if you were a local. It is located in a semi-industrial area on a little side street with not much of a sign to indicate the restaurant is even open. The sign was out by the road and the steel garage in which it is located was down a gravel road with no sign whatever that there was a restaurant inside. There was no indication that this wasn't just a place to have your oil changed. Wow, they must really go through the oil, however. The place was packed and so were the plates of pulled pork, chicken, brisket, ribs, curly fries, beans, coleslaw, potato salad. Check out the menu here. I ordered the pulled pork and Mel ordered the ribs. We had enough leftovers in our doggie bags for another whole meal. Oh, they know how to do BBQ at Fish's.
That same evening Ann joined us for a musical review "Downtown Country Classics" by students from Northeastern Oklahoma State University at their theater in Tahlequah. The evening ended with a stop at Braum's Ice Cream. They were having a special on their double dip cones...$1.79 for two huge scoops in a large waffle cone. The same cone at our local Ben & Jerry's runs $6.94 before tax. As an ice cream lover, I made sure we hit every Braum's ice cream shop we saw as we made our way home to Virginia. Of course, we also had our eye out for those Culver Custard shops as well. It's a miracle I didn't gain weight on this trip. Hmm, didn't lose any either. As my mother used to say, "This (eating ice cream) is how I maintain my weight." A good rule for living a happy life.
Karen and Tom's lakeside community is one of those neighborhoods where everyone has a golf cart to run to the lake, pool, marina or tennis court. Tom, not to be outdone, has his own version of a golf cart, a Cushman. Unfortunately I failed to get photos while visiting, but did find this photo in my files. As you can see, he doesn't just use his Cushman for transportation...this is a working vehicle. 
Hopefully we didn't overstay our welcome at Karen and Tom's. Mel did help Tom with a few projects around the house and pool, as well as a little computer tweaking. Karen and I managed a trip to Fabricut, a local discount fabric store, not that I really need any more fabric, but we had fun looking. We also spent several afternoons cooling off in the water. Tom got out the kayaks one day and we headed out along the lakeshore to admire the beautiful homes along the lakefront. We had a great time together.
