"it's just 'RAFTIN'"

Day two in El Prado and I felt my energy level rising like the morning sun. You can feel the solar power as soon as it hits your face. Warm, fresh, and a new. For some reason, I always notice it is a new day in Taos. Back home I just wake and begin my day. Jonathan had a high energy day planned for us. It was his daughter's seventh birthday, and as a celebration we were going to raft the Rio Grande.

I think the following song should be playing in the background as you read. I was humming, whistling, or singing it out loud all day long...

The Rio Grande grinds down through the mesa West of Taos. Almost as soon as it enters New Mexico from Colorado, it begins cutting down into the bed rock. It makes for some awesome rafting. Now my rafting partner, Perry, had to straighten me out about rafting. I kept calling it "white water rafting". All the "rafting" trips I have taken in my life, have always been "white water rafting". There were class III to class IV rapids involved, sometimes even some FIVERS. The chances of death are always in the cards. Every year some person does die in "white water rafting" mishaps on the Appalachian rivers . They just call it "rafting" here. When raging, you might get some class 2.5. It has been very dry in New Mexico, and the river is very low. So Perry, it is just "rafting".

So here is our crew, except for Leslie. Sasha, the birthday girl, is in the center. Jonathan in the white was our guide. Birch, standing to the right was along as was his daughter Adelaide. What a great bunch to spend the day with.

Perry and I got to take the kayak. Perry kicked butt all day long never slacking on the paddle. For a five year old, he put out a very impressive performance. He was also an excellent help at reading the class I rapids.

Halle was strictly along for the ride. Going for a ride down the river suited her well.

Sasha and her best friend Adelaide, sure enjoyed the ride too...

Occasionally the girls were asked to paddle. But pretty much the entire trip involved relaxing ..."across the Rio Grande O, across the lazy river"...

Our hosts. So much THANKS to both of you!!!

The whole family was a glow after the trip. What a way to have an awesome vacation. It is only half over. Life is real good in Northern New Mexico.

.."across the Rio Gande O, across the lazy river,. across the Rio Grande O, Across that lazy river"...

You Are Now Entering a Recharging Zone

Our Family reunion came to an end and since we were right next door to our favorite State(of mind) we headed South to Nuevo Mexico. Collectively our family was hoping to recharge it's batteries. Nothing nourishes the soul like New Mexico. First we needed to recharge the belly. First stop, some local, greasy spoon, for haute cuisine.

Beth's choice was a total classic. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, chilaquiles fits the bill. She managed to get half the plate in her before the gauge hit "FULL". I will let her off the hook, for nothing will fill you like this meal will.

I am a HUGE green chili cheeseburger fan. I ordered mine with, yep, the green sauce. When it came out smothered instead of gringo style(on a bun) I was totally stoked. Three fries remained on my plate. It was good and I was hungry.

The kids both had chicken fingers. I almost asked them to sit at another booth.

Next stop, El Prado. El Prado is a sleepy suburb of Taos. If you ever have been to Taos, you would understand the humor in that statement. Taos is as laid back as it gets and it couldn't pass for a suburb, let alone having a suburb.

Leslie and Jonathan have been allowing us to free load off of them for a few years now. We love staying with them because they make us feel like family and their house is so comfortable for us. We have many similar tastes and much of their house is identical to ours. We do not have a ski fence going however.

WARNING: This may get hippie dippie, touchy feely....

During a previous visit to Taos we met a man from the Pueblo. We were telling him how much we loved Taos and that we thought about moving there. The Pueblo People practice Catholicism, but also their original religion based on nature. He told us about the mountain and it's control over those who lived within her sight. He told us that if the mountain accepted you, life would be filled with happiness, but if it did not, no matter how hard one tried, life would always be very difficult. Eventually it would wear you down and that either you left or you would die. I did not really know if to believe the man or not, but often thought of what he had told us.

It has been very dry and hot in New Mexico all summer. When we arrived, so did a good long soaking rain storm. The land needed it, and it really cooled things down.

However upon the mountain something else arrived with us. One rainbow formed, then a second, and to my astonishment, so did a third. It almost felt like a sign to us. Was the mountain welcoming us back?

Chugga, Chugga, Eureka!!!!

I am an absolute sucker for a steam train. I am just old(or young) enough to remember steam trains being used. Though their use was phased out by those nasty diesel electrics here in the United States, steam locomotives were used in many parts of Germany where I spent my younger days. My Oma lived very close to an industrial area where the little steam switch engines buzzed around day and night. I sometimes still hear their high pitched three tone whistle when I drift off to sleep.

When I found out we were going to be so close to the Georgetown Loop, I quickly added it to my personal agenda. Beth and Halle willingly went along for the ride, and Ava, well, she is thirteen now. There was no way she was going on any stupid train. Her and her Grandmother went shopping and did their nails together. We headed off for Silver Plume.

Honestly, I thought I might piss my pants when we pulled up to the station in Silver Plume. Right next to the car was Number 12 taking on water. I could feel the pulse of the boiler through the car door.

This narrow gauge Baldwin locomotive was built for the sugar plantations of Hawaii. It spent most of it's life hauling sugar cane. Luckily it was bought by a museum in Idaho and brought back to the main land. The only thing negative I can say about it, is it does not burn coal or wood. There is no coal in Hawaii and oil was easier to transport over. None the less, she is a beautiful locomotive.

So why is it called the Georgetown Loop? Because it is one of five rail lines that utilizes a loop track to drop the elevation it cannot do over distance. The train runs between Silver Plume and Georgetown which would require many more miles of track to drop the elevation. By looping it around and under itself they gain the distance needed.

It does this feat by using both sides of the canyon and this beautiful steel bridge. The bridge was rebuilt as was the railroad. It had all been torn up and sold for scrap when the mines played out.

Spectacular view. All that water is heading for the Atlantic. It has a long way to go, down the Mississippi, out through New Orleans, and into the Gulf of Mexico first.

Hey, we were just up there and now we' re down below.

A part I left out is the old Number 12 is too tiny a locomotive to pull us back up hill. A very rare, narrow gauge diesel switch engine is used to assist. They said only three of these type locomotives still exist. This is one, another sits on cribbing in the repair shop. The third is in a museum somewhere else. Not a big fan of diesel locomotives, but the way cool narrow gauge factor more than made up for it.

Next year this locomotive will be pulling the cars up the mountain. She will need no help with the task, for she is a Shay.

The Shay locomotive was built to tame mountain grades. Developed by the logging industry to climb grades with very level loads. Once this locomotive is done, she will be spectacular. The reason a Shay can climb such grades is due to geared drive wheels.

This is one of the three geared trucks. I am sure a return visit is in the cards.

Hopefully when I return this parlor car will be on the rails also. Man, do I enjoy a train ride.

I like rainbows too. A double rainbow was even nicer....

We visited another boomtown the day after the train ride. The full time population is zero here now but once it was 5,000. There are some seasonally occupied cabins in the area, but we saw no one. There is also a few operating claims here too. We saw no one, not even ghosts.

What we did find were many abandoned mines in the area.

Blown down and torn up stamp mills were a testimony to the gold and silver taken from this area.

The leaching tanks still sit where they did even though the entire building is fallen down around it.

Now somewhere in this general vicinity others have found gold. They did not find it all however. A little bit of it was left behind to be found by me. Now I just need to file those claim papers with the BLM. I will call my mine The Wandering Fool Mine.

More is to come soon. Hope you will stop back in soon....

Wandering

As many of you know, I like to wander. Unfortunately, often, I am not lost. As hard as I try, I always seem to find my way in the end. My most resent wandering was to Colorado and New Mexico. I did not have my camera cord with me and even though I took tons of photos, I was unable to share any of them with you. Now that I am home, I can share. There is a lot to get through, so be prepared for multiple posts about my trip.

We went to Frisco Colorado for a family reunion and despite the hundreds of photos on my camera, not one is a shot of the entire group. I will have to tell you all about the adventures we took while in Colorado instead.

Hiking was high on the list of activities. Before I get into the hiking I need to lay out some ground rules; We live at just under 200 feet above sea level. Frisco Colorado sits at 9097 feet above sea level. So? Well, at that elevation there is only 40% of the oxygen there is at sea level. For low landers, this factor can make any activity difficult. Just sleeping can be a challenge. Hiking up a mountain to 12,000 feet can be a super challenge on your second day up high. All my girls pressed on determined to make it to the top.

Another ground rule; you might see that damn shutter in the photo. I dropped my camera and the shutter does not always open automatically as it should. On the hike we went through an area where bristle cone pines used to be. Only a few dead trunks remain. If you do not know, the bristle cone pines are some of the oldest living things on earth. They grow very slowly in just a few locations. Unfortunately, this location is no longer one of them. They require a very specific micro climate and as our climate changes, so does the places they can exist.

We were able to press on through the thin air and make it to the top as a family. I was very proud of my girls. I was also proud of myself for making it. For 45 years I have abused my body and it was good to know I still had it in me.

See that point? That is where we were sitting in the previous photo. It does not look so far in the photo, but trust me, it was a serious hike.

I also got off on my own for some hikes. I enjoy rock hunting, prospecting, and exploring abandoned industry. Colorado is littered with these opportunities for me. It seems that just about anywhere you go, there is an abandoned mine or workings.

Virtually all of them are fully accessible if you desire. That desire has to be strong, for the danger is great if you enter. This horizontal shaft had a river flowing out of it. The water smelled of death and must contain a very high acid level. As far as I could see, nothing lived near the water which turned everything it contacted orange. This water flows right down to Lake Dillion. Lake Dillion is a reservoir for Denver. I guess all the snow melt coming from higher up dilutes it enough to be safe. I bet most people drink highly filtered water to be safe.

I also managed to stumble through some ghost town during my wanderings. No matter how far from the road I got, how deep in the woods, or high up on a mountain, there was always evidence of others having been there before.

Some of these ghost, or boom towns, had thousands of inhabitants at one point. They came chasing the gold, silver, lead, or other metals found in the rock. Most of them left when they found nothing but a thankless job surrounded by misery. How these men labored up in the thin air is beyond me. The lure of gold fever is a strong mistress I guess. I know it has me always scanning the rock formations and creek beds. I just know one of these days I will find my own claim.

Another awesome hike was to the top of Mt Evans. At 14, 258 feet, a guy like me learns all about that rocky mountain high John Denver sang about. I was so light headed the entire time I was up there. A total LEGAL HIGH!!!!

There is not too much higher than you, as far as you can see, you are the highest.

If you look really hard, you can see my house 1879 air miles away. It is right there in the center of the photo. Tan trim on a deep green body. Airstream sitting in the back yard...

Amazingly, there are things thriving up here on the mountain.

I do not know what these flowers are, but in contrast to the stark granites, they glow.

As we were about to leave the peak, a quick snow storm whipped through for about 10 seconds. Above the tree line, you can expect any weather situation.

Remember those bristle cones I was talking about earlier? Well, on the side of Mt Evans there is a huge grove of them. Though the center of the grove is healthy and thriving, the edges show that the grove is slowly moving down slope. I guess the micro climate is better there. It is a shame that it takes a thousand years for the tree to reach maturity.

There is plenty more to come. I have just begun to delve into this trip. Hope you will check in later.