Indian Summer in the Gorge

Back to the property after a 6 month absence.  As I stared at the mesas from the hospital in Raton, my longing for an unpeopled wilderness grew intense-away   from the reach of alarms, call lights and phonecalls-The demoralizing demands of the world of man.  Not to be subject to human capriciousness and morbid self-centeredness.  I longed for the property where I am free of these things.  In the gorge the 21st century disappears.  Jesus often went into desert places.  I can appreciate that impulse.  To be away from man's manic pace and yet be still in the presence of God.

Arrived at 1 pm.  The weather was pleasant and warm.  A bit of wind up top, an occasional gust down below-but as the winds was from the South it was warm and not unwelcome.  River running at 50 cfs yet it still looked lively and beautiful.  As the water has become shallower, fluorescent green carpets of hairlike algae cover the pebbled riverbed especially on the West side that sees longer hrs of direct sunlight.

We found green airsac like pods reminescent of the plankton we saw on the Pacific coast earlier this summer.  Is there a freshwater variety that I was hitherto unaware of?  We waded downstream to a pleasant grass covered shore that seems to be quite happy with the rejuvenating effects of the rise and fall of the river.  The mud beneath this grass is deep and has earthworms in it.  Appears very fertile.

Decided this would just be an overnight.  Once again tried to make it as easy as possible for the kids as previous visits have felt like forced labor camps to them.  Do not want to taint their impression of this lovely place.

Alas the stairs did not come to fruition this summer as we had hoped.  Instead we spent a month at the cabin and two weeks on the road.  It is ok.  Perhaps time will soften the kids' impression of this place and they will once again be on board for the stair project next summer.

Tried to keep our gear to a minimum.  Hope to leave as much down in the Gorge as possible so we don't have to sherpa or zipline as much.

Opted out of the generator this time too, as unless we need to operate powertools it only powers a lightbulb at night and an ipod or two.  That saved on hauling and fighting to get extension cords up and down the gorge walls.

We basically each brought in a pack and that was it.  I want it to be plug and play as much as possible so we will be more inclined to return.

Hipcamp wrote me about submitting the site.  I am kind of excited at the prospect.  Still not sure how to make it user friendly with the ladders and ledges though.  Would like to set up hammock brackets along the gorge walls.  That would be alot of fun.

Also have fantasies (along w the stairs) of mounting wind turbines and/or solar panels on the rock face to provide power that cannot be so easily stolen.  Am glad to say that there is no evidence of trespassers on the property above or below-excepting the little turd of a rodent that has still managed to get in despite all of our screen, steelwool and pebbles we have used to fill in gaps.

A New Church in the Wildwood

So strange, St. Anthony turning his back on affluence in the 4th century retreated to the desert.  A $1.99 1979 music box from New Horizons for Margie.  Name that song?  A church in the Wildwood-amazing origin story-and this as I was thinking of jettisoning the purchase of the add'l rg property-not sensible in light of the exposure I have for calling Parkview on it's chronic 3:1 ICU staffing on it's sickest most vulnerabe pts.  I freak and dump my property my acquisition intent.  But now I'm refortified.  A mighty fortress is my God.  I will be the voice of the disenfranchised Christian in this dark generation. 

Pack Rat Poop and Frozen Locks

Had some free ski days at Red River so I took the kids there for a couple days. So cool that the ski area is less than an hour from the Rio Grande property. Cut out a bit early to check things out-make sure nothing had been stolen and that the pack rat had been kept at bay. Airstream up top was intact with no sign of theft or vandalism. We made our way down the gorge-rather treacherous footing with the snow. The river below was frozen over with the exception of the rapid section just opposite us. The ladder gate lock (a worthless lock purchased from the Taos walmart would not open. Had to unscrew and remove it to get down. Down below everything looked undisturbed. Opened the shed and there on the floor were rodent droppings. After all my Ft Knox seal off efforts the rat still got in. No sign of damage other than gnawing into a box of bras colored deck screw. Stupid animal. Will resume my battle in the spring. We walked out on the river and spelled Shackie Chan on the snow covered river surface in giant letters. We shimmied back up the cliff wall and headed out. Looking forward to Spring on the gorge. Planning on doing the bottom 18 miles of the Ute Mountain Run-furthering our knowledge of the area.