Last post was way back in June of 2020. A lot has happened since then, but not so much having to do with traveling. Mary and I have, like many others, been dealing with the lockdown. Add health issues to the mix, and we have been pretty much permanent residents of 75 Quail Trail. To summarize, when we last posted back in June of 2020, we had been back at The Ranch from Sept of 2019 dealing with Mary's Extreme Ulcerative Colitis. We no sooner got that under control and Covid 19 hit. We were so fortunate to have our place in Lakewood where we could "shelter in place". That took us through 2020 and part of 2021, when the fun really began. But that is another story that we'll get into further on in this post.
To get back to 2020, we tried to follow the rules and stay sheltered with limited contact to outsiders. We both wore masks in Public and tried to limit our exposure. All of this went fine until the summer weather hit. Consistent day time temps in the low 100's had us thinking about retreating to the mountains of northern NM while remaining in New Mexico. COVID dictated. We made reservations at Sky Mountain RV Park in Chama for the months of July and August. What a great move.
Chama and Sky Mountain became pretty special to us. We really enjoyed what it and the area had to offer - from the Hummingbirds to the fishing.....oh, and Lexie had a good time too! Can't forget the weather- mid 80's daytime, low 50's to high 40's nighttime.
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| Lexie and friend |
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| Hummingbirds were plentiful |
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| Rio Chama River is back border of park. |
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| Another view of the river. |
We were so happy to escape the extremely warm temps of SE New Mexico for the cooler temps of northern NM. Daytime temps averaged mid 80's and night time temps low 50's & upper 40's. Definitely doable. One thing that really bothered us was who we had to share the Park with. New Mexico had a good reputation for attempting to deal with the virus, ie masking, lockdowns, etc, not so much our states neighbors on either side. It seemed that each new arrival to the park was from either Texas or Arizona. Which was a cause for concern, especially with most of them maskless and group partying nightly. Oh well. Such is life. We maintained our distance.
Chama is not a very big town, with a population of 995. The town revolves around the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railway and with the virus shutting it down, the town, the railway and especially the local merchants took a BIG hit. We felt so sorry for them. The town became like a ghost town.
Chama has one grocery store and considering the population of the area, actually has a pretty good selection of items and usually is pretty busy. Every couple of weeks however we would make the trip to Pagosa Springs, CO, population 2003 and a distance of about 45 miles to visit Walmart. This allowed us access to a little better selection of products. Pagosa Springs was memorialized in the famous C W McCall song called Wolf Creek Pass, which is just east of Pagosa Springs. Traveling this road is an experience. Mary and I always marvel how wrong they got it in the song- truckers hauling roosters/chickens crashing into a feed store in downtown Pagosa Springs after losing their brakes coming down Wolf Creek Pass. Also losing the top row of chicken crates in a low tunnel. First off, the only tunnel on this road is on the other side of the mountain and secondly, downtown Pagosa Springs is 8-10 miles from the pass. Long way to coast with no brakes! Anyways we enjoy the trip and usually coordinate the trip with a lunch stop at the Junction Restaurant.
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| A favorite lunch stop |
Fishing
Fishing while in Lakewood was confined to Brantley Lake. There is a State Park associated with this lake and during the Covid crisis was shut down. Did manage to launch my inflatable pontoon boat in a place called Champions Cove, which is just a little north of the state park.
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| Launching at Champions Cove |
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| Dam and spillway |
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| Friend Eli with a Largemouth Bass |
When we got to Chama, the fishing changed from bass to trout. Whole new ballgame for me, as I was a complete novice to Fly Fishing. Fun learning though. Started out fishing at the Park. Nice stream that is stocked pretty regularly by the Fish & Game Dept. And I actually caught some of them.
With all the RV's up close and personal, this is a popular fishing spot and tends to get pretty busy.. Soon, I was looking to expand my range and headed south of the park about a mile to a public access just above the Unsers' property. The racing Unser's own a place about 1 mile south of our park.
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| sharing my fishing spot |
A little farther south, about 7 miles, I found 2 access areas for fishing the Brasos River.
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| Tough river to fish. I caught more trees than fish. |
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| The view from the river. The Brasos in the background. |
It didn't take me long before I acquired a Colorado fishing license and headed north to check out some recommended places. First on the list was Trujillo Meadows. You get there by traveling to Cumbres Pass from Chama.
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| Yes, that really is 10,022' |
Once you pass this sign, a quarter mile up the road is a left hand turn to Trujillo Meadows which is about 7 miles in. The trip is quite scenic.
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| View is awesome |
The next area on my to do list was the Conejos River. From the Cumbres Pass Elevation sign instead of turning left to Trujillo Meadows, you stay straight for about 10 miles. The other side of the mountain. Again, scenery is awesome. The Conejos River is pretty secluded. I found out just how protected these trout waters are when I had to drive in about 7 miles before I found access to the river that wasn't posted with No Trespassing/No Fishing access. When I finally got to a spot- it was worth it.
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| Crystal clear water |
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| Just look at how clear and clean this water is. |
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| The scenery ......... |
We stayed at Sky Mountain for July and August and then it was back to Lakewood. An overnight stop in Santa Fe was part of the trip.
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| Our spot |
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A view from Santa Fe Skies RV Park, looking across to Santa Fe Brewery.
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In March of 2020 I had cataract surgery. This was a crazy deal. I had one eye done and was scheduled to have the other done 10-14 days later. But then Covid entered the picture. All elective surgeries were put on hold. It wasn't until June that I got the second eye done.
When we got back to Lakewood, we figured with things the way they were, we would probably be there for a while, so we went out and bought Mary a car. We acquired a new 2020 Ford Ecosport. This was in October.And the way things were going to turn out, it was a good thing that we did.
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| Mary's new Ecosport |
Back to- it was a good thing that we did. Mary's personal Physician became my personal Physician when Dr Go agreed to take me on as a patient. One of the first things she did was give me a complete physical which included shot updates and blood test. Blood test revealed high PSA levels(which is usually indicative of Prostate cancer). I was referred to a Urologist in Roswell. When she couldn't take me on, I was referred to another Urologist in Artesia. This was in Oct of 2020. Further blood test, followed by MRI followed by Biopsy, followed by CT Scan and Bone Scan confirmed cancer, confirmed that it had not spread and was confined to Prostate. This all occurred between Nov and Jan. Surgery was elected and scheduled for March 2021.
Surgery was performed at Artesia General Hospital on March 18. I left the hospital on 3/21. Then the fun began. I had a catheter inserted after the surgery. It remained in place for almost 4 weeks, when it was removed by Dr Labayan. A week later he went on vacation and 10 days later I was in the Emergency Room, with a full bladder and no pee. Issues with scar tissue on ureter. Catheter reinserted. I had it removed a week later. To make a long story short, it closed again and this time there was no reopening without surgery. Back in the hospital and then back on catheter for another month. Then it was a regimen of self catherization to keep the passage open. This has taken us into the month of June '21. What an experience. We were scheduled to be staff at the Escapees Escapade in Montana in mid June. Had the entire trip planned, overnight trip stops reserved and had to cancel everything. Really disappointing. Did not want to risk being away from doctors and medical help.
Good thing that we bought the car- with all the trips to and from the doctor, the hospital, the pharmacy.
So that is what brought us into 2021. What a way to start the year. Oh, but it gets better. Mary was contacted by the drug company about renewing her Humira Prescription Assistance and during the process was told that she didn't qualify for the program anymore. What a shocker! We were suddenly looking at a $3500 per month bill for the Humira. I can't tell you the aggravation and worry that caused. Mary spent hours on the internet and phone looking for a solution and finally out of desperation called AbVie (the ones that provide the prescription assistance) and talked to someone who took an interest in her situation. This person did some further research and found that she did in fact qualify for the assistance and the person or computer program that said she no longer qualified, was in error. Happy days!
2021. I got ahead of myself. This was the first year that we stayed over in Lakewood for the full winter. What an experience. Temps got quite cold, down in to the low teens on occasion.
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| This brought back memories of Vermont. |
And The Ranch was still The Ranch.....
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| Always have to be looking for these guys |
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| The Roadrunner- in a tree |
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| The Roadrunner on an RV |
With all the medical things going on, pretty soon it was June , the weather was starting to warm up again.
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| Time to be thinking about Chama |
Time to be thinking about the reservations that we had made at Sky Mountain for July and August. I had progressed enough that I was comfortable leaving the Lakewood area. So that is what we did. Chama here we come.
We left Lakewood on 6/29, travelled 254 miles up 285 to Santa Fe. Stayed over 2 nights there and then headed north the 106 miles to Chama. It was a different Chama this time. The train was running, the town shops were open. The town was happy.
We got settled in and then started enjoying the experience.
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| Site 45 |
Lexie really enjoyed site 45.
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| A Lewis' Woodpecker |
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| Naptime for Lexie |
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| Lexie guarding her stream.... |
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She does love this spot
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| She hasn't noticed them yet |
Lexie and her Deer friends
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| Lexie looking at deer |
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| She notices them and they notice her..... |
The deer are everywhere...
The deer must think they own the place!
And Lexie is always up to meeting new dogs in the park...
The Train
What discusion of Chama would be complete without a mention of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. In previous trips to Chama we had done the train ride, preferring the Chama to Osier to Chama trip, although we did do the Chama to Antonito, CO trip once. Too long a day for us. Our 2021 season will involve another Chama to Osier to Chama trip, one which we are looking forward to. In the meantime we do day train gawking trips. Wait for the train to leave at 10 AM and then find opportune spots along the way to observe. A sampling follows:
Hard to adequately describe the scenery. Occasionally we'll take a video to relive the sight and sound of the experience
Some pics I've always wanted to take were at Cumbres Pass, where elevation reaches over 10,000 '. Check out these piocs- hard to fathom....
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| Train track bed is literally cut out of the side of the mountain! |
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| Really quite a site! |
Just about 1/4 mile ahead is the Cumbres Pass stop. Here the train stops for water and at times, to pick up passengers.
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| The sign says it all. |
The nice thing about Sky Mountain is the wildlife. We got site 45 because of the trees and the grass, not to mention the wildlife that frequented this area. A few years back, I bought a Lumix Camera which features a 60X Optical Zoom. Camera was neat to use especially for our birding. Wasn't too bad for deer either.
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| Cordilleran Flycatcher |
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| Gilded Flicker |
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| Black Billed Magpie |
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Our little friend: the Rufous Hummingbird
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One last wildlife pic to share. This one taken out of our door to a spot not 30' from our rig.
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| Sampling the new bushes |
I guess that brings us up to date. A little over 2 weeks left here at Sky Mountain and then it is back to Lakewood for 2 months before we head to Yuma for a 5 month stay. Be good to see old friends that we haven't seen in over 2 years.
