A drive out to Castlewood Canyon to hike with Jon and Kristen.
At the beginning of our hike. A lot of really neat boulders and trees at the top of the canyon.
A car show at the top and end of the loop of the hike. Always seem to find some mustangs!
After our hike we drove over to the Academy.
Jonathon showing his "brick". He hadn't seen it before due to his out processing after graduation. It says..Jonathon Seal, Alma, Arkansas, Class of 2001
Jonathon cooking dinner. Greek Lasagne, it was great!
Two of the grandcats!
Jon and Kristen's house in the morning we were leaving.
We drove to Ouray to spend the night at the amphitheater camp ground. There was a Toyota jeep convention so all the campgrounds were full. So we had to stay in a hotel that just happened to be the one that was the staging area of the convention. The photo above show part of the area they pump water on in the winter for ice climbing. This area is one of the worlds best ice climbing areas. It is mentioned in several climbing/sport magazines.
This is a lake in the mountains going over Monarch Pass.
After dinner the first night, we hiked up to the ice climbing area. Worked off some of the wonderful mexican food!
The top of the mountain behind Joe you may be able to see a rock formation at the very top. We tried to hike up to that point the next day.
We drove two blocks from our hotel to the trail head for our hike. This is an unusually steep trail. We had ridden part of it on a trail ride a few years back. It was easier on horses! DUH!
In the center of the above shot you can see our white topped hotel. This was taken about 1/4 up the trail.
The rock formation looked like an ape from our hotel window but from the side it looks like a face.
In the center of the above you can barely make out the white tops of building below.We were way the heck up there and not even to where we had to turn back.
We arrived at the creek crossing and couldn't advance. The water was running too swiftly and just behind Joe where you see the white water stop was a drop of around 65 feet straight down. We chose not to try to cross! There was another couple there who lived in Ouray and they said it was too dangerous to cross. There was an alternate crossing 25 feet up stream, but you would have to hang by your finger nails on some rocks as the trail was too narrow and steep just to walk. The water was so clean and clear.
One of the few meadows on the trail. Just a very short meadow, but a chance to get your breath. This fallen tree had bear markings on the sides! YIKES
Joe just down hill from me in the meadow. You can still see how steep this area is.
The couple we had met at the crossing wanted their picture taken and was kind enough to make ours. We still had some climbing down to do as you can see how small the town still looks.
On our way to Durango!
Our campsite at Lake Molas south of Silverton.
On the road again.
We stopped in Durango and took glider flights.What a blast, I'm hooked.
This was my flight with the tow plane still attached.
My knees.
Joe getting ready to take off. The Durango/Silverton train had passed just minutes before and this one is one of the repair trains. Note the car behind the train...Planes, Trains and Automobiles! :-)
Joe's glider is just in front of the bare area on the mountain.
We drove over to Pagosa Springs after our flights and lunch in Durango.
Joe was cooling our Mikes lemonade in the icy West Fork of the San Juan river.
After getting in the icy water to cool off/clean up we sat out in the sun for a while. Out tent was about 8 feet from the rivers edge. It was wonderful to hear the river all night. It blocked out all noise of things like chimpmunks and big foot!-
After breaking camp the next morning, we hiked up the river for a bit.
In the hot desert in Santa Rosa, New Mexico we found a Blue Hole!
Joe getting ready to dive in!
The water is and looks cold!
We stopped at Conchas Dam for a picnic lunch. We had camped there on one of our other trips out to that area.
We did some of the Route 66 tourist trap things on this trip.
The videos are of a small part of my flight and the river in Pagosa Springs just about 8 miles from where we ski.Joe doing his dive intothe Blue Hole
My landing.
