Meador Manor

Trip Date: July 14, 2013

On the fifth day of our vacation, Wendy and I decided to return to the Piedra River to hike along the main trail, rather than trying to ascend Ice Cave Ridge.

Day 5: PIEDRA RIVER & A MELODRAMA

Day 5 Map (click map for slideshow)

Wendy enters the Piedra River canyon

Wendy started the day in Pagosa Springs by walking across the street to Higher Grounds Coffee, bringing back a delicious lemon square and milk for me and a peanut butter chocolate chip bar and coffee for herself.  

We then drove northwest to the east trailhead of Piedra Trail 596, hiking the trail to the bridge over Williams Creek and back, a total of 3.8 miles. A sign at the trailhead warned us to be aware of lingering conditions from the recent trail closure by the Little Sand fire, but we never saw anything of that nature on the section of the trail we traversed.

A group of equestrians was unloading at the trailhead as we embarked, and soon passed us. We’d be dodging their traces now and then for the rest of our hike. While I was gazing out across the river, Wendy was examining the rocks, flowers, and wildlife.

I took a shot of Wendy as we entered the canyon cut by the river, and she returned the favor as we approached the cliffs. The trail led past a hillside of wildflowers and beside tall cliffs. Wendy’s sharp eyes picked out a yellow spider on a flower.

We walked south through the tall trees, noticing the damage wrought by bark beetles. Other hikers with dogs passed us, pausing at the end of the canyon where the Piedra River joins with O’Neal Creek. One fellow even floated in the cold water.

We turned west to walk to Williams Creek, with a rainstorm building ahead of us. We climbed over the edge of the Williams Creek valley, finding a stick and stones arranged as a trailside marker, its meaning obscure.

We reached the bridge over Williams Creek, watching the creek flow south to the Piedra River and Wendy having me use my camera flash to highlight a spiderweb on the bridge.

Walking west into the storm

I walked on for a ways, but with the approaching weather I realized it was time to turn back. Wendy paused beside a baby tree, and then lightning flashed to the north, thunder crashed, and raindrops began to strike. We quickened our pace, retracing our path through a gentle rain. As we passed the high cliffs, we saw a couple up on the Piedra Road overlook. We exchanged waves, with my superzoom camera providing a good look at them, high up and across the river.

Wendy paused to shoot a wildflower in front of a grove of aspens with her iPhone 4, and I worked to get a depth-of-field shot of the same subject with my Canon Powershot SX260 HS.

At the end of the four mile hike at an elevation of 7600 feet, Wendy said, “I used to think I was tired. I had no idea what tired was.”

Rain across the pasture

We returned to Pagosa Springs, with rain showers in the distance across the pastures. We had a late but tasty lunch at Chavolos Taquiera, with Wendy noting how the Piedra Road had coated Princess the Camry with dirt.  

Clean it already!

We stopped back in at Higher Grounds to purchase more lemon bars and a lemon crumb muffin for future breakfasts, and then drove an hour westward to Durango, arriving in the rain at the hotel to clean up before dinner. Best Western seldom disappoints, but I have not been impressed by either of the old-style Best Westerns in Durango with their outside entrances and cramped bathrooms; next time I stay in Durango, I’ll look for something newer, although it will likely cost more.

We forwent the many nice restaurants in town for the McDonald’s at the depot to ensure we would be on time for the melodrama at the Henry Strater Theater. The Dirty Deeds at the Depot show was nonstop laughs, with a fun cast, and I was picked to start the show. After some vaudeville acts, the mayor Gerri Mander, played by Leslie Hoxworth, was up on the stage and I was sitting in the audience. I donned a big black cowboy hat, stood up, and asked, “So, when will that noon train arrive?”  She mercilessly mocked my question and the laughs began.

I enjoyed hissing and booing the villain, Professor Thaddeus Mack, as played by Jacob Buras, and Wendy and I both enjoyed how Megan Moran, as the heroine Lacie Camisole, would stop, gaze out into a yellow spotlight, and plaintively say, “I didn’t know!”  We would use that catch-phrase for the rest of the trip.

It was a splendid end to a fine day, with us looking forward to a long ride on a steam train the following day.

Click for a slideshow from this day hike

Day 6 of July Escape 2013 >

< Day 4 of July Escape 2013

Trip Date: July 12, 2013

Wendy had fun ghost-writing the initial version of this post, which I then edited. I thought she captured my style quite well. The trip was a true partnership, with her taking notes each day which she would share with me, these posts mixing in her photographs with my own, and now me revising her first draft into this final post. So, although written in my voice, this post, like our trip, was a true collaboration.

Day 3: SANTA FE PLAZA, GHOST RANCH, & ECHO AMPHITHEATER

Day 3 Map (click map for slideshow)

Morning on the Plaza

Santa Fe Plaza

After spending the previous evening strolling about the Plaza in Santa Fe, Wendy and I decided the next morning to walk the few blocks from the Luxx to the Plaza and seek out the historic Plaza Cafe. I had tried to eat there for the last couple of years, only to find it closed by a fire. Happily, it was back in business after a million-dollar renovation. I had the works – pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, and sausage, while Wendy had a large order of steaming biscuits and gravy. “This is waaay better than McDonalds!” she quipped. Afterwards, we relaxed on a bench, admiring the many flowers draped about the Plaza.

The weather was cool with a slight breeze as we wandered around, pacing by the silver and turquoise jewelry the merchants were busy displaying on blankets on the veranda in front of the Palace of the Governors.

Ghost Ranch

After building up our energy, we headed up US 84 to hike at Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, New Mexico. I loved hiking there last year and was eager to share the experience with Wendy. We checked in at the Welcome Center and, returning to the car for our packs and sunscreen, we heard thunder in the distance as a storm approached from the west.

My iPad’s RadarUS app showed the storm would likely pass just south of us. The high temperature and threat of lightning led me to abandon a hike to Chimney Rock, opting instead to head as far up the Box Canyon Trail as possible, bearing in mind the weather in case of a flash flood. We would end up hiking four miles.

Ghost Ranch

To the Camposanto

Burros

We walked past the various buildings, including the old Ghost House, with its characteristic cow skull. After an arduous trek up a red hillside toward the Box Canyon Trail, we were covered in sweat and stopped to rest in one of the little hogans.  Farther along the road were some cute burros, which Wendy enjoyed petting.

As we headed up the road toward the Camposanto, the cloud cover increased and the wind cooled off.  The panorama was spectacular, with gray clouds over Cerro Pedernal and an impressive cloud bank beyond Chimney Rock. Near the memorials were cholla cacti with hot pink blooms. We trod past the high wall of the Camposanto, onward to the Rito Del Yeso arroyo.

Cholla Bloom

Box Canyon Trail

We followed the Rito Del Yeso up the box canyon, with the lower portion of the little stream drained dry by the water collection system. Wendy examined the clay layers in the eroded walls of streambed.

Above the collection dam, we began crossing and re-crossing the stream along the bumpy and demanding trail. The overcast sky made for less-than-ideal photo opportunities, but thankfully kept us cool. I kept my eye on the sky, alert for pathways to higher ground if it began to rain.

We reached the side stream, stopping for a photograph.

Rito Del Yeso side stream

Encountering many colors in the streambed, we squished through muddy crossings on the trail. Wendy discovered a black inky substance coming up through the mud, and I stopped to take a video of the foul-smelling fluid as it bubbled up from under her shoe.

By this point, in my mind I hear Wendy protesting, “They are going to be sick of seeing photos of me. Put one in there of you.” So I’ll throw in a pose she had me strike on one of the canyon rocks. I’m surprised the picture isn’t blurry from her laughter as she took it.

The Box Canyon Trail is a fun hike of varied terrain. Our waterproof hiking boots served us well. We developed a habit of stepping gingerly upon large stones, making our way across the stream.  This careful balancing act worked fine until we reached a cleft where the trail climbs over a large steeply tilted rock slab. Last year, a rope helped one up the slab, but it was gone. The only other way to continue along the trail was to go across a long tree trunk, which lay across the trickling stream.  Intimidated at the thought of trying to walk across the log like Olympians on a balance beam, Wendy and I decided to scoot our way across, crawdad-style. We were braver on the return, however, carefully stepping along the log to cross.

We finally reached the end of the box canyon, surrounded by the high cliff walls of the mesa above and beyond. We relaxed on a stone slab, enjoying pistachios and Paydays. Red water seeps high up on the walls created trails of moss, and the textures and colors of the varied rock surrounding us were intriguing.

Finally we clambered over the large boulders to retrace our steps to our car, pausing by a pool to capture a reflection of Kitchen Mesa, with clearing skies over Cerro Pedernal in the distance. A posted trail map renewed my determination to some day hike the Kitchen Mesa trail, but it was time to head onward.

Kitchen Mesa

Echo Amphitheater

After a break for ice cream and wi-fi in the Ghost Ranch Welcome Center, we headed north a few miles to the Echo Amphitheater. Its colorful layer cake geology is fantastic. 

Echo Amphitheater bluffs

Wendy laid back on the ground to capture her shot. She also took a great shot of the desert varnish streaming down the walls of the bowl.

We clambered up the slope, feeling the effort after the tiring hike at Ghost Ranch. Rain wash had covered portions of the trail with sand. We briefly created our own echoes until a group of college-age kids came along, prompting us to head onward toward Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

Colorado

As we crossed the border into Colorado, Wendy shared my enjoyment of the change in biome, with us coming up over a hill to see layers upon layers of blue mountains in the distance, the sort of shot you’d expect in a Windows desktop background. It was a magic moment for her, with the Simple Minds song playing in the background proclaiming, “…rain keeps fallin’, rain keeps fallin’ down, down, down, down…” The cool nearby rain had made our afternoon hike feasible, and cool rain would return in a couple of days along our train ride through the San Juan Mountains.

We had dinner at the Pagosa Springs Brewing Company. Service was very slow, and I made the mistake of ordering fish and chips; I should have just ordered chips. But Wendy enjoyed her “Colorado Cuban” sandwich. After a somewhat arduous day, the spacious hotel room at the Pagosa Springs Inn and Suites was a welcome relief. It would recharge us just enough to make it through the next day around and about town.

Click here for a slideshow from this day

Day 4 of July Escape 2013 >

< Day 2 of July Escape 2013

Trip Date: July 11, 2013

This year Wendy Kemp joined me for my traditional vacation from the hot and sweltering Oklahoma summer. I’ve already posted about Day 1, our first visit to Palo Duro Canyon for the Texas! musical.

DAY 2: PALO DURO CANYON & SANTA FE

Day 2 Map (click map for slideshow)

We arose to drive eastward once again to Palo Duro Canyon, this time to admire the scenery along the loop road through the park. Near the visitor center, I shot a panorama and then a closer shot with the Spanish Skirts formations visible to the right of center. The eroding folded bulge of colored layers in the canyon wall resemble the clothing in question.

Palo Duro Canyon

Wildflowers

Wendy and I posed for a self-portrait and along the drive she had me pull over so we could shoot a stream seeming to wind its way from one of the peaks. I like the composition of her shot better than mine. She noticed little fish babies in the water and prompted me to shoot some of the park’s wildflowers.

The road wound past beautiful canyon walls and peaks, and we clambered out of the car every so often to gawk. As it typical of me, I wandered off to search for vistas to shoot, zooming in slightly at times, while Wendy took the time to admire details close up.

We had lunch at Blue Sky burgers in Amarillo and drove on toward Santa Fe, with I-40 paralleling old US 66. Tucumcari was a pit stop, featuring a closed welcome center with a bum sitting out in front. Farther along, Wendy took a shot of the beautiful clouds above a bank of windmills, as well as rain showers seen from the otherwise featureless and rather lonely US 265 cutoff to Santa Fe.

We arrived at the Luxx in Santa Fe, where we had to park a block away on the street overnight to avoid a parking charge, and I took Wendy to La Plazuela at La Fonda. She had her first taste of polenta, with pork carnitas drizzled with orange sauce and grilled jalapeño relish. I had my typical fajita fare, accompanied by hominy and a yummy sopapilla.

A Night on the Plaza

With a crescent moon above us, we strolled around the historic Plaza, where I took a shot of Archbishop Lamy‘s statue out in front of the cathedral. It meant more to me now, since I recently read Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop.

We also window shopped, with a nifty polymer clay lizard sculpture by Jon Anderson catching my eye. Wendy loved the setting and declared we should spend a week in Santa Fe next summer. That appeals to me, especially if we time our trip with the International Folk Art Market.

The next day we would enjoy a morning on the Santa Fe Plaza and then drive north for a nice hike at Ghost Ranch.

Click here for photos from this day

Day 3 of July Escape 2013 >

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