About six weeks ago, these hoomans got their second dose of vaccinations, and we hit the road to visit family. We hadn’t made the trip since October 2019. That last trip had been the first with our aging husky and our Casita trailer. We found the best route to travel with stops at Clayton Lake State Park and Gentry Creek Campground, make the trip more enjoyable; and we don’t feel like zombies when we arrive.
We park the Casita in Burns Park RV park, which is right in between Juniper’s great-grandma’s and grandparents’. This trip I also got to see my brother for the first time in about 5 years and meet my new niece! And saw my uncle, aunt and grandfather from CA & MT that we hadn’t seen in about 13yrs! If Juniper wasn’t with us in the Casita, she was hanging with Uncle Louie at Grandma & Grandpa’s.
And a week later, we made the same trek back the other way.
We are definitely getting a jump on camping season and making up for all the weekends we didn’t go out last year. Last weekend was our first campout in Colorado for the year and the weekend before that we were back on the Chama River.
April 23rd – 25th | Chama River
Waiting on Dad to grab some firewood. So boring
There were a lot more people on the river than when we were last there in March. We ended up in a different spot that had a pretty popular beach. When we weren’t exploring, we were watching all the boaters going by.
April 30th – May 2nd | Colorado Camping
Last weekend we were a little closer to home, just over Wolf Creek Pass. We were lucky to find the traffic on the main road light this early in the season and more dispersed than when we visited here in July 2019.
Puppy highlights included our hike, which ended up in playing with a 2yr old Bernese we met, a few little patches of snow left at about 9K ft, and plenty of drainages, seeps and creeks to splash the paws in.
The new harness got a good break-in and after a short nap, Juni learned how to play frisbee. Or at least how to chase and chomp the frisbee. Besides outgrowing her little pink harness, it looks like all of her baby teeth have fallen out.
The next morning after coffee around the campfire and taking our time to pack-up, we bounced over to Del Norte for a few pizzas and beers before heading back to Pagosa.
With the snow melting and mud season in full swing, the San Juan Riverwalk is a great springtime option for a stroll, and of course there’s the river to play in.
Tuesday, March 30th – Thursday, April 1st
During the workweek a pup’s gotta find ways to entertain herself.
EASTER WEEKEND | April 2nd–4th CAMPING TRES PIEDRAS & SHOPPING TAOS
With the forest roads still closed in our neck of the woods, camping choices are limited this time of year. So we headed over the pass, stopped for lunch at Three Barrel and set up camp at Tres Piedras.
The next day, we headed into Taos to shop a little bit and takeout our favorite pizza. Looking for a quick pit stop at the Gorge, we were overwhelmed by the number of visitors and ended up with a front row seat to watch this ram graze his way through the rest area.
Back at camp, there was still plenty of time to stretch our legs and explore. That’s how we spotted these Pasque flowers and took advantage of the best snow patches.
my lil sagebrush bunny
Home again and bathed. Ready for another workweek.
Wednesday April 7th– Friday april 9th
We ended the week with both of these hoomans getting their first round of COVID vaccinations. The best part of such a late in the day appointment? Our hometown brewery is open for dinner. It was a blustery red-flag warning kind of a day, so we practically had the patio to ourselves.
Tryin’ to sleep here, Mom.
Saturday, April 10th | chris mountain
Before running the usual weekend errands in town, we took advantage of one of the first forest roads opening up and hiked about 3.3 miles up Chris Mountain. There wasn’t much snow, but there was still plenty of mud to be found.
How are you celebrating Spring and what new adventures are you looking forward to?
The new year brought a sad parting with our 15yo husky-malamute, Pakak, the pup, the last of our original pack of seven dogs. The house sat quiet and empty for about a week while we allowed ourselves some time. Having spent the last 18 years with a family of four husky-malamutes, we knew we wanted another husky or malamute, a sled dog, a northern breed. We also wanted another rescue dog, so we started looking around our local humane societies and Colorado based breed specific rescues.
Pakak on the Chama River, September 2020
We had every intent of adopting a slightly older dog. We were open to about 2-5 year olds, thinking they may have tougher times finding homes. Through Taysia Blue Husky Rescue, we ended up on the puppy list and within about a week of that, we were notified about and jumped on the opportunity to adopt Juniper.
Her name with her foster family was Olive. She was the only girl in a litter of five named after taco toppings: Pico, Guac, Salsa and Queso. We still had to wait two weeks for her to be old enough to pick up over a weekend haul to Kansas City, at the beginning of February, traversing precarious highways, in snow and freezing fog.
Juniper and her littermates, photos courtesy of Taysia Blue and their foster family
It was so worth it, and she’s been the perfect match. She sleeps in the car yet is adventurous. She loves all the people we meet. We need more experiences with dogs. She was introduced to other dogs in her foster family. The few she’s met around town, she has mostly ignored. She has slept through the night and been the easiest pup we’ve ever had to house-train. To celebrate a month with Juniper and four months since her birthday, we took advantage of a small spring-like window in the weather to camp on the Chama River.
I’ve written about this camping spot before and painted it. We usually seem to visit over shoulder seasons. When we’re lucky there are boaters to watch. This weekend our only nearby neighbors were geese and cows, although we did hear owls and coyotes.
Friday, March 5th
Playing in the snow in the driveway in the morning while Dad hooks up the trailer.
By the afternoon, we were soaking up the sun.
Saturday, March 6th
Evenings are for gathering around the campfire.
Sunday, March 7th
River walks and afternoon climbing. Mud puppy!
Monday, March 8th
A girl could get used to this.
Tuesday, March 9th
Wednesday, March 10th
CHOMP!
Juni turned 4 months old today, and we all celebrated with blueberry pancakes.
Thursday, March 11th
Friday, March 12th
Squeezed in one more nap in Mom’s lap and a few more stick chomps under the rabbit brush before we had to pack up and head home.
In my last camping post, I signed off with the intention of being Alaska bound this summer. That dream did not become reality this year. It is interesting to observe the twists and turns, the changes that life has laid before us as an alternative.
We knew it would be a monumental undertaking to be able to leave our normal routines and lives for a couple of months, and our desire to make that journey still burns. What really slowed us down was the repair work our Volkswagen needed. Hubby got the new engine going last October for his birthday trip to the Gila. When we got home, he decided to tear into the body work. After four months of winter shop hours, it was Spring and time to get out and enjoy the outdoors; yet the bus was only half finished by then. That’s when we realized we should shift our priorities and find another ‘vehicle’ to enjoy the gorgeous Summer the San Juans had in store.
July 2019 Latir Lakes, Costilla ParkJuly 2019 Latir Creek, Costilla Park
Hubby started researching options and as soon as he settled on a Casita, the best one showed up on craigslist for the right price and only an hour away in Durango. The original owners had bought it in 2012, and at ninety-one he was ready to let it go. We’ve gotten 5 trips in so far this year, with the longest being two weeks for my birthday. There are at least four more tentatively planned for this season.
June 2019 Palisade, Middle ForkJuly 2019 N. Beach CG on the Taylor RiverJuly 2019 N. Beach CG on the Taylor RiverColumbines outside Crested Butte
Recently, we were asked if we were going to give up our VW camping? No way. There are so many places the truck and trailer can’t go, more primitive camping options and it gets much better gas mileage. In our minds, the Casita has already paid for itself. Not only as a camper that we’ve enjoyed this Summer, but also as another small house when our septic was having problems in the main house or it was too hot to sleep in the loft. It’s always good to have options.
We intend to return to Silver City and hopefully visit our friends again in Bisbee this Fall. It will be with the Casita, while the bus waits patiently for the wheel of the year to turn inward again.
