Category: Nomad Travels

Wintering in Lake Havasu

The Brittlebush is blooming and long V’s of Geese are heading north. The Arizona daytime temperatures climb and begin flirting with the 90 degree level. It is our cue.  Just as snow birds move towards their summer breeding grounds, we consider our next move for our travels. We have obstacles and many decisions facing us.

We have enjoyed our winter hibernation on the shores of Lake Havasu.  It was an everyday treat to wake up and look across the “Blue Green Waters”.  The moderate temperatures in Arizona are also a blessing. When millions of Americans were suffering from the onslaughts of “Polar Vortexes,” endless blizzards and mountains of snow, we face decisions of which t-shirt and shorts to wear.

The day after we arrived in Havasu Springs last November, we received a phone call that changed our nomadic perspective. Jude’s son, Chance had a seizure, then another which eventually lead him into the caseload of the University of California at San Francisco.  It is the nation’s number four Neurological treatment center. Chance had a brain tumor the size of a golf ball. It was immediately scheduled for resection.

It is malignant. In fact, it is the most aggressive form of brain cancer. It supports itself with a well-developed series of blood vessels and it contains several different types of cells. It is virtually impossible to totally remove and the probabilities of re-growth are nearly 100%. Glioblastoma is a most deadly form of cancer.

We make the decision to forgo our original summer plans.  We were scheduled to volunteer at Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge, a summer nesting area for Trumpeter Swans near Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. For two years, we planned to spend our summer in this lush Minnesota refuge. Now we make decision to cancel those summer volunteer plans and begin searching for volunteer opportunities closer to the Bay Area. We need to respond to any needs that Chance may require. We are determined to keep him on the face of the planet.

Because he insisted he didn’t need help, although we very much wanted to hover, we resisted the notion. We scour the volunteer.gov pages seeking volunteer opportunities that remain unfilled and close to San Francisco.  We locate several opportunities that were offered by the Corp of Engineers.  We settle for a Campground Host position at a 62-site campground at Eastman Lake Recreation Area near Madera, California.  It is only two- three hours from Chance’s Dublin, California home and will allow us to be close to him without seeming to be hovering over him.

The Eastman Lake Recreation Area is located in the Sierra Nevada Foothills and is a step-off location for visitors who are headed for Yosemite and Kings Canyon National Parks. It is also well visited by springtime fisherman seeking the trophy Largemouth bass that live in the lake.  However, Eastman Lake is a mere shell of its normal self after nearly four years of severe drought.  It is down nearly two hundred feet and the locals call it the “frog pond!”

The Sierra Nevada foothills are an expansive area of huge granite outcroppings and cliffs intermingled with Oak and Pine trees and expansive grasslands.  It is the home of Bald Eagles, Red Tail Hawks, Bullocks Orioles and Miriam Turkeys.  It is also the home of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake.  We keep our walks limited to the paved road and avoid any high grassy areas!

We settle into a routine making the best of our situation and after a little snake education for Jude, we are enjoying ourselves for the most part.  Campground visitation is heavier on the weekends leaving us with a fairly quiet work load on the weekdays. We take this opportunity to explore the surrounding area.

Ever since Jude and I have been together, we have always expounded to the thought of “I wonder where this road goes?”  Here on the Sierra Nevada foothills, it leads to great experiences of grandeur trees and towering landscapes punctuated with deep rugged valleys.   We enjoy the massive mountains, forested valleys and pristine mountain lakes that are associated around Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.  I am in awe of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There is much to explore here.

Sierra Nevada means snow covered range but the mountains are barren of any snow cover.  The entire area is bone dry.  I can’t help to think about fires here.  Any fire has tons of totally dry grasslands and drought stricken trees.  A single lightning strike would set off a fire storm of biblical proportions. I worry silently and constantly scan the skylines for smoke.

Eastman Lake has negative phone reception. Even our trucker phone antenna is useless.  We have excellent internet reception but are totally unreachable by phone.  We soon realize that this feature is totally unacceptable for our caretaking role with Chance.  He suddenly had another seizure and we realize that our non-communication by phone is a deal breaker with the Corp of Engineers.  We pack and make plans to locate closer to the bay area where all forms of communication are easily at hand.

Traverse from Maine

We fire up the mothership on the first day of fall 2014. Our time in Maine has ended and we will move our home across the nation headed to our winter location along the Colorado River in Arizona.  We were reminded by the sharpness of the early morning temperatures that an early season snow is a high probably in Maine.  There are two four-letter words that make us move: snow and cold. After all, we are snowbirds!

One thing about the eastern.U.S. is it is hard to find a way out of the region that does not entail extensive use of toll highways.  While the use of toll highways is sometimes unavoidable when moving westward, limiting their use across this part of the country just makes common sense. The recent experience of a $68 toll just to drive across a New York City area bridge was fresh on my mind. It helped to motivate and discover an alternative route whose purpose was to avoid as many toll highways as possible.

While we were trying to map our specific route, we were lucky to gather valuable information for one of our Maine co-hosts.  For years, he was a long-distance trucker.  His experience was our gain.  We were able to determine our route across the five eastern states that extensively avoided tolls highways when traveling west.

With that route, we steadily moved westward across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and Pennsylvania.  We are quite pleased as the route allows us to travel through less traveled sections.  We are doing what Nomads really desire; to see the United States.

We are also blessed to see these states when they are bathed in the cusp of fall colors.  Everywhere there are areas of intense reds, oranges and yellows that are inter-mingled with trees and vegetation still cloaked in their vivid summer green.  It is a wonderful delightful visually-pleasing trip!

One of our goals this summer was to gain experience with our volunteer work and applying that experience toward obtaining positions within the National Wildlife Refuge systems.  They don’t allow camping and are focused upon ecological education, invasive species intervention and species preservation.  They are always in beautiful places with tons of birds, wildlife and fish.

Our specific focus now is to travel back into Minnesota and leave our updated resumes at a 48 thousand acre refuge called Tamarac that is near Detroit Lakes, MN.  It has a recently remodeled Visitor center and an under-construction Discovery building that is focused entirely on education/display of how diverse biological systems within the refuge operate.  Its acreage includes 11 lakes and thousands of acres of shallow surrounding wet lands.  It is a summer home for many Trumpeter Swans and thousands of migrating waterfowl!  This is just a fisherman’s and photographer’s dream location.

After meeting the Refuge’s administrators and dropping off our updated resume and letters of recommendation, we head south.  Traveling through North & South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, we again take the non-interstate routes.  We find they give us a neat and unique individual flavor of each area we travel through.  There is some magical traveling down highways whose road shoulders are filled almost right to the asphalt’s edge with high rise corn fields.  My mind revisits “Field of Dreams.”

After exiting the Panhandle of Oklahoma, we travel into the vast openness of Texas.  It is void of vivid color that accented the northern states and the highway is surrounded with constant browns and greys that testify that the vegetation has endured a long hot summer.  Yet the country is clean and the far horizon just magnifies the vastness of the late summer sunsets.

All of our nomad travels have used Albuquerque, NM as a constant pass through.  Jude has family located here and after three days of traveling, we welcome a brief respite there.  This year we were going to visit Jude’s oldest Granddaughter who has just entered her freshman year enrolled at Fort Lewis College located in Durango, Colorado.  It was a wonderful opportunity to travel by car looking at all the terrain changes and scenery through upper New Mexico and into the 7000 feet altitude surrounding Durango. After spending a whole summer near the Atlantic Ocean in Maine & Maryland, I quickly feel the effects of altitude sickness. I drink plenty of water and avoid a lot of exercise and quickly adjust.

After NM, we travel a short distance to one of our favorite spots.  For years, we have enjoyed staying at Roper Lake State Park near Safford, AZ.  It is an absolute oasis in the desert.  It is always full of resident birds including Cardinals, Vermillion Flycatchers, and raptors along with a constant turnover of migrating waterfowl and shorebirds.  It a welcome rest from our traverse from New England and Minnesota.

We have traveled nearly 4000 miles.  A monument to that amount of travel is what looks like 1000 pounds of dead bugs on Mothership’s front grill.  I am actually amazed at the collection and marvel at the variety of different colored grasshoppers, dragon & butterflies and God knows what else!  I laugh but draw a tub of soapy water and set out scrubbing.

One thing about Roper Lake is that it is just a small sojourn to Tucson. We always look forward to the reconnection of all of our close friends in Tucson. There are tales to tell, photos to share and great laughs.  It is such a special thing to have great friends.

I am looking forward to traveling to Lake Havasu.  We are going to stay at Lake Havasu Springs.  It is a Colorado River resort located right on the shores of the lake. It is adjacent to the Bill Williams National Refuge area and of course great fishing.

When we arrive at the lake, we were shocked to find the best RV site with the best view was waiting for us.  It had the most magnificent view overlooking the lake and the far shoreline.  We happily occupy it and start the process of settling in for a six month winter retreat from our nomad travels. Jude and I look forward to making new friends.

Dash for Humanity

Unbelievably, our first season full-time RVing is almost done. Our time in Minnesota has ended.  We check the map and set the course for our scheduled rendezvous to help build a house for Habitat for Humanity in Silver City, New Mexico. What has taken us three months of northerly movement, we plan to unravel within the next four days.

We pass through North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas in our return to New Mexico. Jude jumped in and drove the coach for the first time.  She did a great job controlling the coach in a strong headwind that plagued our journey south.

We rested in Albuquerque for three days before making the dash to Silver City for our build.  On the way, we misread a sign and took the wrong highway.

A Rookie mistake

It was a back-road highway that was full of hairpin curves, steep hills and blistering accents complimented with narrow bridges, overhanging trees and rocky barrow pits.  In other words, a highway where no RV should ever venture forth! You should have seen the look from passing motorists as they glazed in bewilderment at the sight of our coach navigating this narrow winding pathway!

If we wondered about the engine power of our coach, this wrong turn expelled any doubt.  The Banks Power System we had installed at the start of our nomadic travels proved its hype.  Not only did the engine have the power to climb those long steep inclines but the stamina to slow our descents.  I was ecstatic at how easily this engine upgrade handled that highway challenge.  I was grateful for the insight to have the Banks Power System installed at the beginnings of our travels!

Nonetheless, we eventually arrived in Silver City ready for a completely different personal challenge.  We were joining other more experienced Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanners for the next two weeks to build a three-bedroom high efficiency home for a qualified Silver City family.

The lead team had built 25 Habitat homes, and we join three other couples plus a single RVer from Alaska to build this home.  I have operated many power tools but that experience was never focused on the total construction of a home.  Jude and I just hope to find supporting roles for these experienced builders.

Over the next two weeks, we find our experience very satisfying.  Even with our limited experience, we find ways to contribute.  For the first week, I focused on chores that others did not quickly volunteer for.  I loved to use the compressed air nail driver but as the demand for it increased, I relished that chore for more hand-it-up, to hold it and a few toss-ups and lifts in between.

Because of all our efforts, we put the construction nearly a month ahead of schedule. After two weeks, the home’s outside walls and roof were in place. It is amazing to see all the pieces and processes that literally must be in place before you can proceed with the next part of the construction.

The agency supervising the construction was ecstatic with the process as it is their very first time they have used Habitat for Humanity for a low-income housing build. And while that is special that they see that level of teamwork and tell us, but the really special part for Jude and I was getting to know the family who would move into this home and to watch the children lay claim to their bedrooms.

We leave Silver City and along with us is a new appreciation of the commitment of these teams of Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanners.  They come from all parts of our country, with all levels of backgrounds and construction expertise and focus on a project that means so much to people that would never have the financial resources to purchase a home. It is helps you see the bigger picture.  It is so humbling.

Tomorrow we return to Arizona.  We have come full circle in our first summer of nomad travels. We have seen such wonders.  We have learned so much about the nuances of travel.  We will now return to old friends, settle down for a winter, and start planning our next adventure.

 

North Woods Minnesota

We enter Minnesota with enthusiasm of a returning hero!  We have spent part of our travels already around the Detroit Lakes area just a mere 50 miles from Fargo ND.  Eventually, we will travel back to Detroit Lake as it is our staging station for our appointment with Habitat for Humanity in Silver City, New Mexico!

The last Wisconsin town is Superior and its sister town Duluth which lays in Minnesota. Both are major port cities on the shores of Lake Superior. Both are very busy receiving domestic and international shipments.  Their skylines feature giant tall cranes, wide silos, docks and warehouses lining this Lake Superior bay.  After spending the past few weeks in the high canopy woods of Wisconsin, these industrial sights are an assault to our eyes but at the same moment interesting! It is amazing that all this industrialization flourishes on the edge of pristine wilderness all made possible by Lake Superior and its sister lakes connected to the Atlantic!

We turn North on to Highway 53.  I am sure that it acquired its numerical designation due that it has 53 stoplights before one can clear the Duluth metropolitan area. Finally, suburbs gave way to forest.  We are headed to the Northern Woods!

We skirt by International Falls! The city is called “The Ice Box of America.”  It is named because it is the city that regularly records the lowest temperature in America. I remember it only because when International Falls wasn’t the city with the lowest temperature, it was my long-time home Jackson, Wyoming!

The city has another claim on fame.  In the Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoon show, the pair’s home was Frostbite Falls, a direct reference to International Falls!  I silently symphonize with all the frozen citizens living in and around International Falls. I am grateful to have escaped freezer burn!

As we continue North, it is somewhat amazing to see how much fishing means to the local economies.  We pass hundreds of vehicle-towed boats scurrying to their destination boat ramp on one of the thousands of lakes located in the north woods! It is satisfying knowing that people with the same passion I carry for fishing supporting vast areas!

Nearly every town on the route has several tackle stores, all supplying everything an angler could need. Several towns announce their town boundaries with giant fish statues.  Orr was the home of the Giant Bluegill & Baudette was the Walleye Capital of the World. There are hundreds of hotels, inns and resorts catering to anglers, all proclaiming they are the best at helping anglers catch Northern Pike, Walleye, and Pan fish.  Make no mistake: Walleye is King in Northern Minnesota!

People believe fishing is a summer event, but it is easy to see that fishing and its related industries drive these economies year around.  There are lines of ice shanties & huts stored on lakeshores waiting for the hard water season.  I have known that fishing generates a lot more revenue than golf in the United States.  To see that expression in a local economy is impressive!

Near Ely and Tower MN is Bear Head Lake State Park!  This park was voted America’s favorite park in 2010.  I can see how it acquired its fame. It is a beautiful northern lake with dark clear water that is completely ringed with Spruce, Birch & Balsam trees. The forest is alive with sounds from Woodpeckers, Pine Squirrels and Chipmunks which is welcome after the sounds of silence that dominated the Wisconsin canopy forests!

The whole area around the State Park is heavily wooded that is sporadically sprinkled with bogs. The bogs are called the Pickle Jar environment.  In a normal forest, trees, branches, and leaves fall to the ground and decay, thus returning their nutrients back to the soil and available for the living plants and trees. It is a cycle that is self-perpetuating.

A bog‘s environment is 180 degrees opposite. Its high-water table is acidic which inhibits decay.  Dead matter then continues to accumulate and ultimately forms peat moss. Peat moss is the jar’s lid and this layer of peat moss effectively seals the wetlands and eliminates decay by denying sunlight and oxygen to dead plant matter.

With no decay, nutrients are not readily available, so the trees and shrubs that grow there appear stunted and arrested.  Even in death, the Spruce trees look like skinny small stalagmites silhouetted against the sky! This gives the bogs an eerie look where death is captured in permanent frame straight out of a B-rated horror film.

Because to this lack of available nutrients, the bogs are a place where small plants have become carnivorous, evolving ingenious ways of capturing insects to help supply their nutritional needs!  The Pitcher Plant, the tiny Sundews and the Bladderwort all have develop strategies of catching insects to supply their nutrients.  It was very interesting reading about their methods of attracting hapless insects to feed themselves because of living in a harsh environment. Kind of makes you wonder about life on other planets and how they could evolve and survive in severe climates.

Ely is the jumping off point for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area that encompasses 1.1 million square acres, 5,000 lakes, and is the largest wilderness area west of the Mississippi River!  This area is so vast and connected by water ways and short portages that adventurists can explore this totally pristine area through Northern Minnesota all the way into Canada.  The most efficient mode of travel through the thousands of lakes is done by the canoe or kayak. Also, to keep the area pristine and limit the footprint of humanity on the area, only a small number of travel permits are issued every year. Understand that it would require a lifetime to explore every possible waterway. WOW! I wonder how many fishing lures would be needed on such a commitment!

Ely is also the headquarters for both the International Wolf Center and the North American Bear Centers.  Both are state of the art study centers for biologist, scientists and state management officials who are committed to determining how to establish best practices and policies for both these full-time residents of the Minnesota north woods.

Their interpretive centers, informational films and audio presentations were great and help us understand more about these often-maligned animals.  We discovered that study methods for the two species have evolved into learning how much both animals contribute to the natural order of the entire ecosystem rather than just shooting them with tranquilizers, weighing and measuring them.

Both centers had small tracts of land that housed resident animals in a natural wooded world that imitated their natural environment.  I liked both observational sites as it provided excellent opportunities to acquire photos of animals that would be difficult to obtain in the wild. I got some great photos of wolves and bears doing wolf and bear things.  I observed a huge male Black bear in the lake with his nose underwater blowing bubbles. That was priceless!

Both Ely & Tower featured a small grocery chain called Zup’s.  They were tiny compared to our usual Wal-Mart grocery haunts, but on further inspection, we discovered that they were renowned for their hand-crafted sausages and brats.

We studied all the numerous choices and decided on Spicy Porchetta and a smoked sausage.  After charcoal grilling the Porchetta, we discovered that their reputation was spot on!  Wow, they were delicious!  We beat a hasty return to Zup’s to restock! Yummy, Yummy!

After a short time in Bear Head Lake State Park, we packed and moved even more North to Zippel Bay State Park on the shores of Lake of the Woods.  We glided past fields of sunflowers, alfalfa and wild grass. The endless corn fields of our southern travels have bowed and surrendered to the shorter northern growing season.

Our route swings us parallel to the Rainey River.  It is a wide river and looking across its width you can see Canada. We were excited to gaze into another country just by looking across the river. Our excitement ended when our phones suddenly believed that we were now traveling in Canada.  Our Verizon service ceased and our smart phones went silent.  Stumped at what had happened, we frantically searched for a health care attendant for our phones.

We found a Radio Shack and they informed us that many phones suffer that same malady and they are busy everyday helping people re-establish service.  We took our place in line.

At Zippel Bay, I had hoped to venture out on Lake of the Woods to fish for the lake’s tremendous Walleye population.  Unfortunately, a strong late summer storm sent even the most seasoned boaters to shore.  I spend some time there talking to anglers coming off this massive Canadian Shield Lake. It was enjoyable talking to them because no matter how much each angler is a stranger to each other, fishing is a universal language and once spoken, every person becomes a friend.

The conversations are good-natured and generally filled with laughter and jokes.  Quite often information is shared that helps a person like me who is totally inexperienced in the nuances of catching this elusive game fish.  I have always been generous with my expertise and I appreciate when another angler returns theirs.

We have reached the northern most point in our travels. Amazing! We look backwards now and formulate our plans to eventually return to our starting point in Arizona.  Our first stop on the return is Detroit Lakes.  This resort destination is a natural for us with its proximity to 400 lakes appealing to Jude’s love of kayaking and mine of fishing.  We love the area as it is somewhat civilized but bordered by pristine backwoods, lakes and trails.

As we travel south, we are re-introduced to the endless corn fields.  However, they are changed.  When first seen, they were a pleasing visual experience with their stocks waving in the southern breezes and the light reflecting off their leaves.  Now the fields are brown with maturity and stand rigid awaiting their inevitable harvest. I feel somehow attached from watching their growth throughout our nomadic travels. Now their maturity reminds me that our summer wanderings will follow the increasing number of Canada Geese V’s headed south.

Detroit Lakes greets us with north winds and cooler temperatures than our first visit.  We graduate from shorts to jeans and vests.  I ask our campground host when the area gets its first snow.  “Anytime, now,” was the short reply.  We check on the Weather App on our phones.

Fishing has a seasonal approach.  Each season has its unique set of parameters. Following those general guidelines creates a greater chance to catch them! With the shorter days and cooler mornings, the fish suddenly realize that the numbing cold winter days are coming. Imagine getting into the shower and just when you are washing off, the hot water goes missing!  That sudden rush of air into your lungs is like the fish’s urgency to prepare for their long winter hibernation. They need to increase their calorie intake to store fat that will sustain them until spring.

That urgency creates fabulous fishing and I am ready to take advantage of that urgency.  I have selected one lake out of the hundreds available here in western Minnesota.  When you see Bald Eagles, Ospreys and King Fishers making their home there, I instinctively know that this body of water is a fertile fishery.

What remains is a search among through and along all the lake’s structure to find those fish that are willing to strike. I believe it is not the catching fish that drives me but the search for them that is the main stimuli. With a few hours, I locate fish and over the next two weeks, I refine my approach and enjoy the best fishing of my nomad travels this summer.  Fall fishing is the best!

The Dacotahs

Dacotah is a Native American word for “friend.”

After achieving our legal requirements for South Dakota residency, voter registration, re-establishing Medicare coverage and plethora of sight-seeing tours around the Black Hills, we headed out into the vastness of the rolling prairies that lay from Rapid City in western South Dakota to the eastern city of Sioux City.

The Coach now travels along easier without the long grinding steep inclines so common in Colorado, Wyoming and the Black Hills of South Dakota.  We make good time as we follow Inter-State 90 towards the Lake Cochrane Recreational area run by the South Dakota Parks Department.  This allowed us to make several stops along the way for points of interest.

We stopped in Wall Drug. I have seen their bumper stickers on cars as long as I can remember! Well, it is the biggest commercial entity I have seen outside of Yellowstone. There were stall and more stalls, selling everything from sports pennants, rubber tomahawks, and high priced Western prints to a hundred different formulations of fudge flavors.  We partook of the fudge settling on a combination of peanut butter and dark chocolate! YUM!

The next stop along the I-90 Corridor was the Corn Palace.  It is called the Madison Square Garden of the Mid-West.  It is an arena that features concerts, theatre plays, comedians, magic acts and most importantly, basketball games for the local high schools.  Its Taj Mahal type towers, all its outer and inner mural panels are totally constructed of different colored corn cobs cut and shaped into scenes.  These scenes change in variety and complexity twice a year.  I marveled at the mural’s depth and scope. This is different and neat, but I wondered how one becomes a corn cob mural artist.

Closer to Sioux City, the high plains prairies with their open range pastures turned without protest into fields of endless corn and soy bean fields. Each field is the same as the last in a seemingly endless progression of bright green leaves waving in the southern breezes. They remind me of a sea with rolling waves that shimmer and shine with the changing light.  It is a pleasant visual experience.

Here along the inter-state medians and shoulder areas are mowed.  I quickly realized that the adjacent landowners are mowing them and collecting the cuttings into four-foot high round bales. What seems to be present is cooperation between the state and the landowners.  When I asked about the practice at a local station they told me it is necessary to help protect the highway travelers from deer crossings, that without those cuttings, deer would just suddenly appear, and you can guess the rest.  It must work as there are absolutely no dead dear carcasses along any of the highways and it gives highway systems a total look of being manicured, almost estate-like!

We find Lake Cochrane Recreational Area to be the most rural place we have stayed so far!  Jude reports to me that there will be no Interstate noise here.  I laugh as we have had our brushes with Colorado RV Parks that are close to the constant rumble of interstate travelers.

The Recreational area features two lakes. Cochrane is a large body of water with its twin lake called Oliver right next door.  This presence of two bodies of water makes it very convenient for me to fish and the warm temperatures and humidity made it possible to fish at night.

I forgot how pleasant it is to fish at that time.  The rural nature allowed a really nice view of the Milky Way and all the stars present on a New Moon.  The shore line has limited access places and was almost entirely wooded with mature Oaks and Cottonwoods.  Among the trees and bushes is an old friend that I have not seen since my Army enlistment days at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri…Fire Flies!

There is a sentiment of peace with the gentle winds, the star-lit skies punctuated with the occasional shooting star, the sounds of the nocturnal animals and then the on and off bursts of light from the fire flies.  Nice, really nice, and oh, did I mention the fishing? Blazing!!!

The bass were eager to cooperate and throughout the evening, I caught nearly thirty bass. This was just the icing on the cake of a wonderful summer evening. Within my stay around the Cochrane and Lake Oliver area, I had a very successful fishing adventure with numerous catches of Large Mouth Bass, Walleye and Northern Pike.  One Walleye measured over 20” and one Northern measured in at 33 inches.  Wow!! I am grateful for my nomad travels. What fisherman could not like this!

One thing I have always said about quality involved fisherman is that they are the first witness to water and environmental issues.  They notice things going on negatively and are involved with trying to create better fishing and that includes the environment where fish live. I was going to be a witness. It was during an afternoon fishing on Lake Oliver, I noticed an animal in the shoreline bushes.

It looked like a beaver and I wondered how a beaver lived here as I never noticed the presence of a domed stick beaver house anywhere in the two lakes.  I sit motionless in my float tube and studied the large brown animal.  I guessed it to be nearly 10-15 pounds and watched it stripping the bark and leaves from a bush.  I waited until it turned to see if I could see the flat tail and positively identify it as a beaver. It eventually turns.  No flat tail!  This animal has the tail of a rat!

So here was an animal that looked like a beaver but was not. It was way too large to be a Muskrat.  That could only mean one thing.  I believed I was watching a Nutria. They are an invasive species from South America.  They are a large rodent and do considerable damage to waterway shorelines and dams by digging their denning burrows.  Where they are common in such states as Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana, and other southern states, their Game & Fish Departments have full time employees who do nothing else but attempt to eradicate the Nutria.

Their ability for frequent litters and few animals that can help control them; they are a serious problem where they are found.  But this is South Dakota, a very harsh climate in the winter with snow and ice.  How could this animal be so far north?

I quickly go to the internet to make sure…Wow!! There is no doubt.  The Nutria in the images section are a dead ringer for what I saw on the shoreline.

I seek out the Park staff and report my sighting.  They quickly report the incident to the South Dakota Department of Fish & Game.  The very next morning, a game warden comes and interviews me concerning my discovery along the shoreline of Oliver Lake. I report to him the where and when, size and everything else I can remember!

He says that they are taking the report very seriously and are mobilizing a team within the Department to arrive and find the reported critter as they are fully aware of the destructive nature of the Nutria on aquatic environments.  I am happy that I was able to report such a threat to the authorities, but I would have no closure on this as we were leaving the recreation area and traveling north and east to the Detroit Lake Area in Minnesota the next day.

Corn Palace Image courtesy of Sean Jackson via Creative Commons license, some rights reserved.

Land of 10,000 Lakes

Again, the traveling is easier as we move north into North Dakota and then east into Minnesota toward the Detroit Lake.  This area is near Fargo and touts 400 lakes in the surrounding area.  Are you kidding me? This is a fisherman’s dream!  I can’t wait to explore.

A quick trip to the local tackle store for information effectively narrows the number of lakes that fit my requirements.  The number one lake was named Little Cormorant Lake.  It is even close to our parking space at Forest Hills Golf & RV Resort, a Coast to Coast resort. My first visit was an early morning excursion.  As I quietly paddle up a shoreline, I hear the call of Loons.

These calls are the epitome of wilderness.  Their haunting Tremolo and Yodel calls take me back to my fishing days with my dear friend Paul Bruun.  These birds, although rarer in our Wyoming home than here where it is the Minnesota state bird, were our accepted good fishing charm.  We always said that where the loons are, that is where the fish are and that is where we should fish. These calls this morning take me to a pleasant place with a forever friend.  I am grateful!

Staying in our Coast to Coast RV site is a perk for our purchased membership in the Colorado River Resorts.  That membership allows us to stay in Coast to Coast resorts for free. Well not technically as we had to put out the original purchase price for the membership.  There are restrictions and Jude is getting to be a master at their navigation.  Jude’s skills greatly help reduce our nomad traveling cost.

That leaves more funds to go on adventures and see the surrounding countryside.   Our first adventure is Itasca Park.  The lake that the park surrounds is the headwaters for the Mississippi River. It is cool that a mere wading stream becomes the major American river.  It drains over 51 percent of the country and it travels nearly 2600 miles before it drains into the Gulf of Mexico; it takes a drop of water 90 days to travel that distance.

I am reminded that I have stood at the headwaters of Green River, the Snake and the Yellowstone River all within my home state of Wyoming.  Wyoming is like an island in the United States and all rivers originated there and flow out.  No rivers flow into the state.

The Yellowstone is the major tributary of the Missouri and it is the major tributary to the Mississippi.  The Snake River is the major tributary to the Columbia and the Green River is the main tributary to the Colorado River.  Thus, Wyoming is a major contributor to four important river systems.  The only system originating in Wyoming that I have not been to is the Platte.  It is the major tributary to the Rio Grande.

I am blessed with such an acquired list.  I can honestly say that every headwater originates in very beautiful places. Itasca is no different just a little more accessible than the Wyoming River starts.

It is a very different experience driving here in Minnesota.  It is hard to imagine all this water especially after years in sunbaked Arizona where the mere trickle of water is a novelty.  Here it is the common almost at every bend in the road.

I realized that I am haunted by water.  I cannot pass the myriad of lakes and ponds without wondering what angling opportunities exist there, what monsters live there and how I would catch them.  With all these bodies of water, my mind is very busy. Whew!

Other ventures into the Minnesota countryside included a beautiful state park, called Maplewood.  It was adorned with beautiful tree lined driving paths, groomed picnic areas and vistas of seven lakes within its borders.  It has a history of being one of Minnesota’s first ski areas with multiple rope tows.

We see Minnesota with all of its summer greenness and it is not apparent that these beautiful lakes and surrounding country are very snow bound and frozen most of the winter!  I learned that living in Wyoming if you did not find something to do outside in the winter, you would not endure. I am sure it is the same here.

We pack tonight, July 27th, and tomorrow make the longest drive we have had this summer season, pushing towards Lake Michigan.  In Milwaukie, we will send our 13-year old traveling companion, Mia, home to California.  We have enjoyed having her share our adventures and have already started making plans for our time with her next summer.

Wisconsin hints at a total adventure with travels up towards Sturgeon Bay and through the northern limits of both Wisconsin and Minnesota.  This area is called the boundary waters. I think I hear the Loon calling!

The Black Hills

We found South Dakota and especially the Black Hills so very green and lush.  The cows grazing in the fields were fat and slick, a testimony to the plentiful grass available to them, but again you could see the tremendous presence of those dead and dying red bug trees.  We were relieved when the fire danger was rated as low basically based on the ample moisture that fell during the winter and spring!

South Dakota is our intended place of residency as the state has a very attractive program for full-time RVers. We jumped right into getting insurance for me, driver’s licenses for both of us, and voter registrations. All things were simple and easily done as the processes were streamlined and painless to accomplish. We were officially residents of South Dakota after a single day!

We were free to explore the plentiful sites of interest in the Black Hills.  I was astounded at not only the variety but the sheer number of things to do.  It was kind of a RV wonderland with the granite carving of Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse nestled near to Custer State Park and all its pristine lakes, tunnels and rock spires.

The Wind Cave was one of the largest caves in the U.S.  It was made a National Park in 1903 and even today has not been fully explored but guesstimates of it being 140 miles long. It is a dry cave meaning there was little moisture still coming into the caverns, so that was different as we were used to younger caves that still had aquifers feeding them. The caverns were large but the passages were narrow and I spent a lot of time bent over as the ceiling was not set for anybody over 5’10” plus the tour we chose had 450 up and down steps.  It was like exercising at 53 degrees Fahrenheit while being at half-mast! It was fun to walk along exploring its limestone caverns. Caves are cool! LOL

That large cave wetted our curiosity, so we went to another Cave that held the largest Dog Tooth crystals in the world. They were indeed large at 18” long and this cave was a wet cave with the occasional cave kiss coming down on us.

Practically next door to our RV resort was a drive through safari like park called Bear Country,  The two mile auto trek was full of wolves, Elk, Deer, Caribou, Mountain Lions and tons of Bears. They kept the Grizzlies separate. I wonder why? NOT!  This made for some really good close up pictures of animals without the usual wire separation between the animal and visitors.  I usually would shy away from these types of displays, but this was so tastefully done, it was really enjoyable.  I got some really good photos of animals not normally available.

The icing on the South Dakota stay was a helicopter trip around Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monuments.  It was a special treat to honor Mia’s near perfect report card! It was really grand to see the carved faces with their brilliant white granite looking straight at us.  It was quite the feat to take photos as the vibration and plexus-glass of the helicopter made long efforts to get a perfect focus near impossible.  I relied on pulling the trigger the instant the landscape came into focus  It worked as I got some incredible shots of the monuments and surrounding area.

The Fourth of July burst on to the Black Hills with a brilliant clear day and our thoughts turned to the planned events around Rapid City, but within hours a solid line of thunderstorms descended on area. They lingered for hours with a steady drenching downpour of two-pound raindrops.  I can imagine the concern of all those pyro-technicians around the area hustling and covering their fireworks against that kind of moisture onslaught.

We settled in and laughed all day at America’s Funniest Videos, ate cookies and chocolate and had a blast!! Fireworks or not we had a great 4th of July just doing nothing but being together. Sometimes it is just fun doing nothing but chilling out.

We were coming to the end of our stay in the Black Hills.  We are headed to the adventure of the Great areas of U.S… the northern Great Plains and the Great Lakes! Our next stop was near the border of South Dakota and Minnesota to gather ourselves for a final push towards the Great Lakes.

Colorado Fire & Smoke

Jude and I headed west towards the Colorado Front range.  It was great to see the trees again after spending more than a week on the Colorado Plains.  My mind skipped to the French Trappers who after leaving the East Coast of the Americas and encountering the vastness, utter openness of the Great Plains were very happy when they beheld the Rockies and their trees.  That is why most states north of New Mexico have towns named Du Bois or more specifically “the Trees.”

We had reservations at a Coast to Coast Resort just a little north of Colorado Springs.  When we were close, I noticed the elevation at 7000 feet.  That meant we climbed steadily off the plains with an elevation of 3700 feet.

I noticed the RV’s engine as it was working a little harder climbing up the hills to Monument Colorado.  Our camping site was on the side of a treed knoll but it was not far from the constant rumbling of I-25.  I could hear other engines working hard to reach the crests and peaks of the I-25 corridor.

Colorado Springs is green.  It is a welcome treat for the eye from the endless brown of eastern Arizona, New Mexico and southern Colorado.  Jude and I could not help to just jump in the HHR Toad and take a short drive through lush green pastures settled among rolling foothills at the sunset on Highway 105.  It was a pleasant drive counting the various shades of green as they progressed up the sharp inclines of the Rocky Mountains!

The next day was cool and windy.  Again, I have never seen such a constant weather factor.  Since we entered Colorado, the wind was beyond breezy, bordering on gale force some days.  I remembered the carriage of tents in Lake Hasty campground when the winds struck with a vengeance one night.

Undeterred, we made plans to visit the Air Force Academy.  We could see the gleaming structures nestled up again the mountains but as we entered the entrance gate, the sparkle of the buildings was augmented by our closeness.  Our eyes could not escape the draw of the spired Chapel.

We arrived at the Visitor’s center where we explored all the niches and corners with all their information panels and displays.  At the movie outlining the progression of cadets, I thought they kind of played down the six-week break down period.  I remember my long ago entry into Officer’s Candidate School. I’m still not sure how the U.S. Military still gets away with that elevation of hazing while it is taboo in joining most any other organization.

After the visitor’s center, it was a short walk to the Cadets Chapel. Jude and I were not prepared for the total majesty with this part of the Air Force Academy.  As with others who were in the chapel, our eyes were drawn upward to the lighting effects present at the top of the chapel. Once there, then our eyes followed the side panels downward to the chapel floor.  All around was this royal blue hue that gave the chapel an elegance that I have never experienced from any other chapel, church or any other place of worship I have visited.  It was definitely the highlight of our visit to the Air Force Academy campus.

Within the next week, we mustered several driving adventures. One was to the top of Pike’s Peak.  It is the highest point of earth I have attained, a whopping 14,000+ elevation.  We did not experience any shortness of breath, so we wondered around looking in the distance in every direction.  It was hard to judge just how far in actual miles you could see as the distance was so far away it was just a vague outline of purple especially to the north, west and south. I could see now what inspired Katharine Lee Bates to pen the Classic American song, “America the Beautiful” after visiting Pike’s Peak and especially the part about “purple mountain majesties.”

On another drive, we traveled up Highway 24 and explored three other Colorado State Parks.  Jude and I have started to develop an affinity for State Parks.  They have great services, are in beautiful locations, have friendly staff and great supporting communities. Today we were visiting Eleven Mile Reservoir, Spiny Mountain and Mueller to check out possibilities of a future stay.

We liked Eleven Mile Reservoir as it was on a high plateau, offered trophy fishing for trout, and its remoteness.  Camping there would be like a grand safari as the nearest grocery store was close to 20 miles away and was more like a garage, beer, liquor and convenience store and would certainly not have the items a regular grocery store would carry. But what an adventure with plenty to see, fish and explore.  We would just have to herd our Mirada up the steep grades of a Rocky Mountain pass, not impossible, just slow.

We also stopped at the last gold rush in the lower United States.  It was at Cripple Creek and its wealth attracted thousands of men who developed the phrase, “Pike’s Peak or Bust.”  It was a story of every gold discovery, men who made fortunes, men who lost fortunes and those individuals who did not do either but came anyway!

There was also the Florescent National Fossil Bed Monument.  We got there late in the day and only had just a few minutes to view the exhibits of fossilized insects, red wood tree stumps and plant leaves, along with dinosaur’s bones.  This is one of the most prolific fossil beds ever found in America and the local citizens pushed to have it preserved from commercialization. Perhaps another time, we could wonder the trails to see more of the monument.

On our way home, we started to notice our next experience in Colorado.  There was a huge smoke plume on the horizon.  As we dropped down to Colorado Springs, this smoke plume was gigantic, and it actually was very close to our camping site in Monument.

The Black Forest fire is located mere miles from our location.  Its power was fueled by the dry bug tree infected pine forest fanned by 20 to 40 mile winds that was devouring residence after residence in this Colorado Springs wooded suburb.

You could actually see the puffs of black smoke on the horizon.  These were a dead give-away of some person’s home exploding.  This fire was a monster and headed our way.  We were glued to the TV and learned of the hurried evacuations by thousands of people (38K), the fear on the unpredictability of the fire, the contributions of high wind and low humidity and the army of firefighters ascending on it.  We went to a fitful sleep as helicopters and tankers continued their drops at night over the campground.  We were hoping not to hear that the campground was ordered to evacuate in the middle of the night!

The next morning we learned that the RV camp site was just on the outside edge of pre-evacuation.  Jude and I weighed our options.  We were scheduled not to leave it for three days, but the concern of possible evacuation and the increasing air quality made our decision for us!

We left Colorado Springs and headed north!  We had reservations at a State Park called St. Vrain but not for three more days. But because we were displaced by the fire, they opened up a camp host site until our reservations matured!

We continued to follow the Black Forest Fire near Colorado Springs.  It burned 14,000 acres and destroyed nearly 500 homes before fire fighters could defend a fire line.  It was a heartbreak thinking of those home owners who lost everything.  Jude and I are grateful that all we had to do was pack up a few belongings and move our home out of harm’s way!

St. Vrain State Park is a series of ponds.  They hold the usual suspects of Canada Geese, White Pelicans, Cormorants, Red Wing Blackbirds, Killdeers and assorted ducks but they also had several nesting Ospreys.   We see them hunting the ponds for Trout, Bass, Crappie, and Carp!  They dive feet first and make a huge explosion on top of the water trying to grab their intended prey.   I have always wanted to capture the moment on camera as they dive in the water from high but talk about timing. One might wait years to get on such moment let alone have one in focus.

I decided to concentrate my photographs to the open area species such as Western and Eastern Kingbirds, the Western Meadow Lark and especially the Horned Lark. Since they were accustomed to campers, they were very willing to pose.  I have included a few photos of their posing.

One of the reasons we made reservations is so that we can pick up Jude’s Granddaughter Mia.  She is flying into Denver and the park is just a few miles north of the airport.  Having a 13-year old for five weeks in our RV should be an experience for all!

After we picked her up, we drove the toad to Rocky Mountain National Park for a day’s visit. Similar to Pike’s Peak, there was a highway to a really high pass with a grand view!  It was spectacular driving through the canyons up past the tree line. It reminded me of the many times I wandered above the trees in my Wyoming home.  Maybe that’s why Forget-Me-Nots grow there.

Then the next day, we packed and organized the RV and headed to South Dakota to do our residency programs with some tentative plans to spend the 4th of July at Mt. Rushmore.

Personalizing the Sea Eagle 375fc FoldCat

Fishermen are tinkerers. They are always pushing the envelope of what is there, hoping to reform what is in front of them into a more personalized or customized thing.  This engineering is also pragmatic-based. It is revising tools, lures and especially boats to customize them into a machine that fits their fishing style.  While the 375 FoldCat is a well-designed fishing platform, there is room for improvement. As a tinkerer, I gaze on the Sea Eagle with a critical eye for personalizing!

The hard-sided boats I was used to before the Sea Eagle FoldCat were equipped with both bow and rear transom power packages.  The transom motor is usually gasoline and designed to move the boat forward with more speed.  It is designed to travel to locations on the lakes or reservoirs.  The bow mount was generally an electric motor that could guide the boat into more shallow depths and do it with precision. This electric motor receives its power from an on-board battery.  From the factory, Sea Eagle provides a Minn Kota electric trolling motor.  I open the Sea Eagle manual to the FoldCat’s specifications.

There I discover that the 375FC would support a three-horse power outboard motor. Great! I could move the transom-mounted Minn Kota electric trolling motor to the front of the boat. All I need is a new transom on the front of the Sea Eagle. The new wooden front transom would easily attach to the front floor aluminum cross slat.  The front transom would provide support for the electric motor leaving room on the rear transom for a small outboard motor.  I begin the search for that motor.

The Sea Eagle 375fc FoldCat has these aluminum slats that provide structure for tying the two inflatable pontoons together.  Underneath the slats is a thick vinyl fabric running the full length of the boat that resembles a floor but has a warning on, “DO NOT STEP UPON!” I need to step wherever I want.  I need to supplement the slats with a floor that will allow me and my passenger to step wherever without concern of a misstep.

Measuring the distance between the slats, I easily conclude that the distances between the slats are easily filled with custom-cut plywood sections.  Since all plywood sheets are 4 feet wide and 8 feet long, they are perfect to construct a permanent floor in the Sea Eagle 375FC that would support me and my feet! Wow!!! What a transformation.  The Sea Eagle now has a floor that allows me to place my weight anywhere.

After constructing the floor, I turn my thoughts back to the transoms and their motors.  When I moved the electric motor to the front of the FoldCat, I realize that when mounted on that front transom, the directions the motor would go was reversed.  On the rear transom, turning on the power forward would move the boat forward.  On the front transom, turning on the forward power would move the boat in reverse.

The solution to this issue was very simple. I discovered that if I disconnected the head of the electric motor and turned it 180 degrees, that would resolve the reversal direction.  If I applied forward power on the electric, it would move forward.  Yeah!! Now the selection for the rear motor.

After a thorough search, I located a 2-½ hp Yamaha outboard.  I was blessed as a Marina in Florida had a new Yamaha that was last year’s model.  They were very willing to turn over their unsold inventory.  As a result, the price was well below many other listings I had seen.  I quickly purchase and arrange shipping.

My new Yamaha is a perfect fit

Soon after arriving, I attach the Yamaha to the Sea Eagle 375fc FoldCat.  It is a perfect fit. The motor starts easily and is capable of moving the FoldCat at a whopping 5mph – while providing 67 miles per gallon! The FoldCat has a great stance on the water and is totally stable. With ease, I can transfer myself from the rear pedestal seat to the forward seat. I can stand or sit in the rotating pedestal seats and cast in any direction. When you start with a well-designed inflatable pontoon, personalization from there is easy and produces a wonderful fishing boat.

I am blessed that Sea Eagle manufacturing has engineered such a quality boat that partners easily with my nomadic life style.  It is a totally comfortable platform for fishing. The FoldCat 375 is easily stowed away on the mothership. The FoldCat is so well constructed, extremely tough and can easily handle the conditions lakes and reservoirs can dish out.  It is so easily transformed into a complete fishing package machine.  I recommend this Sea Eagle FoldCat 375 for not only full-time RVers, but anyone who desires a fishing boat that is versatile, lightweight, transportable, and tough as nails!

Rocky Mountain High

We traveled north out of Albuquerque on I-25.  Its steep grades and climbs held our traveling time down.  Our next destination was Trinidad State Park just inside the Colorado Line!

Our camp site was made for a tent camper, so it set up some challenges to fit in our 31 foot coach.

Those years of truck driving experience as a Beer Distributor paid dividends as with just some back and forth adjustments we were able to find the best angle that we could find the best coach position to get it to level.  Our replaced leveling motor preformed handsomely, and it was just a short time that we were settled in and ready to explore, and fish!

Trinidad Lake is held captive by the drought that seems to have no state boundaries.  The ranger reported it was down about half way, but I noticed its waters were clear most likely direct from the towering Rockies off in the Westerly direction that still held their wintery snow caps!  Maybe some of that snow pack will find its way to this shinning blue Gem of a lake!

Just as we began to make plans, Jude became victim to an intestinal bug. I stood by offering condolences and sympathy while symptoms peaked and waned.  Jude is the healthiest person I have ever known and when she goes down, it is rare but that being said, it is that health and the resilience it provides that soon had her feeling fine and ready to explore our new surroundings.

highway of legends

We took a drive on what was called the Highway of Legends.  It traveled west of Trinidad for a while passing through old turn-of-the-20th-century  coal producing towns that provided fuel for the railroads that were the arteries for the newly blossoming Industrial Revolution sweeping America and the world!

Suddenly we were in the Front Range climbing higher and higher past geological formation such as the Dakota Wall that rose vertically for over two hundred feet.  We did not know that this formation was a totally unique feature of the Rocky Mountain and was present throughout its traverse as the spine of America!

We traveled over a 10,000-foot pass.  I remembered that is was well over a decade ago that my travels in Wyoming and its neighbor states took me that high. Jude and I both noticed the pressure difference but our slow ascent in altitude over the past month spared us any altitude adjustment problems such as headache or fatigue.

The highway wandered through summer homes built by their owners to effectively escape whatever urban confines their winter residences held.  They ranged from the anointed to simple in style but my mind could not stop thinking of the drought and seeing these dream homes completely surrounded by bug infested forests.

The Legends Highway found its way back to I-25 but not until it wondered through golf courses, bedroom communities, and resorts dotting the eastern front range.  It was a pleasurable journey of a hundred miles where we were blessed with a plethora of Juniper and Pine foothills, dotted with small Alpine lakes fed by snow melt and framed by crystal blue skies against snow-capped towering mountains!

One look at Trinidad Lake led me to believe that the Rainbow Trout that lived there would seldom see hand-flies from anglers. They would be fed a never-ending menu of green, yellow, garlic Power baits by its visiting anglers.  I pulled my fly tying box and in a short time produced a dozen Double Renegades flies.

Rattle Snake Kindgom

I tie one fly on my fly rod and headed in the direction to the lake near the campground. I ended up scrambling down a steep bluff to the water’s edge.  All the time going down bouncing from rock outcropping to another, I was thinking that I may very well be in Rattle Snake kingdom, but the water called!

A dozen casts produced a scrappy Rainbow!  In Quick succession, four more Trout followed.  We feasted on fresh trout that evening.

The next morning when we were on a Trinidad State Park sponsored bird walking tour, we came across a coiled Western Diamondback Rattle Snake sunning itself in the morning sun!!  The very area I bounced down the previous evening was indeed snake kingdom and that forays off steep rocky inclines was not really the smartest thing to do!  I revised quickly how to present a fly to those willing Rainbows.

Our sea eagle fold-cat (“the meal ticket”)

One of the toys we have is a Sea Eagle Inflatable Pontoon style Fold Cat boat with a  Minkota 30 pound thrust motor.  It is equipped with two seats and is quite comfortable and very stable.  It was a perfect platform for Jude’s continuing fishing lessons.

As an adult, Jude has never caught a fish.  As her mentor, I hoped to use that comfortable boat and fly rod to catch her first fish.  It is always special when a beginning angler can say that their first fish caught was on a fly.

We set out early the next morning.  Within a few hundred yards, Jude’s first fish was a reality.  We released it and I was proud of her.  I went on to catch more trout and some Walleye that I was targeting.  I had always heard that they were excellent table fare. We found that they were as we had them grilled on coals that evening.  There is nothing like fresh fish.

The next morning, we were moving on deeper into Colorado but since Memorial Day weekend was upon us and that traditional mile marker of summer meant everyone with a trailer, tent or coach was out seeking what we were seeking. Adventure!

We found eight days at another Colorado State Park named John Martin and thanked our lucky stars as it only had one reservation left when we called.  We packed the coach and set off again.  There is something thrilling about being able to do that.

We found our spot at the Lake Hasty (just below John Martin Dam) to be outside the rows of shady spots nestled with rows of Cottonwood trees at the Lake Hasty Campground.  With temperatures pushing 10 degrees above normal at 87, we knew that without some quick action, our coach’s air conditioning would run 24 hours a day.

We contacted the staff with hope of moving to a more benign spot.  We just happened to inquire at the same time a Ranger was at the front desk.  He knew exactly what to do.  He okayed us to stay in the Camp Host spot that was adjacent to the Lake and blessed with shade most of the day!  Jude and I realized that through constant checking with reservation staff, we could benefit when often online reservations present a different situation.

After visiting a local tackle store, we went armed to the lake with that local insight to catch two species that I had little experience with in my history of fishing. One was called a Wiper (a hybrid between a Striped Bass and a White Bass) and a Crappie.

Jude had become fond of my ultra-lite spinning rod I had that featured 4-pound test line. When I was a professional fisherman, I used that rod to win over $1500.  It just catches big fish being that it presents lures in such a finesse way.  Well, two days in a row, she caught the largest fish. One was over five pounds.  Not bad for four-pound test line.  She is on her way as an angler!

The one thing I can say about this part of Colorado which is in the southeast corner is that the wind does blow and blow hard.  Two evenings in our stay at the Campground had winds that I estimated to be over 50 mph and wiped out at least a dozen tents.  I am not sure any tent could make it those gale winds.

Being from Wyoming, I have some experience with wind, but I am used to wind that comes and goes. The wind here is constant.  I can tell you that wind of that duration and intensity is hard to sleep through in our coach.  A couple times I told Jude that we needed wind tie-downs that mobile home owners use.  I laughed but those gusts shook our coach pretty good.  It also limited our boating/fishing to just a few hours in the morning because the wind would come up and literally blow us off the water.

miller migration

In Arizona, I was always surprised at insect migrations that would suddenly occur.  Tarantula, Sphinx Moths, Praying Mantis, Lubber Head Grasshoppers were some of the insects I noticed in Arizona. After spending one night in the campground, I moved one of our camp chairs and between 30 and 40 little Millers flew out!  Over the next few days, we noticed more and more Millers/Moths in the RV.

I quickly realized that they could not have traveled into the coach in the number that was present primarily through the door.  They were in fact coming up from underneath the coach. They would seek refuge from the wind and daylight by roosting in the sanctuary that the Mirada provided.  When it became dark, they would climb up through the smallest spaces or cracks and enter the coach and then flutter about trying to escape the coach’s cabin.  We were constantly trying to keep them under control inside the camper.  There is something annoying when you are watching TV and a Moth is crawling or fluttering on the screen.

We then started to notice the birds.  Every day we would see birds line up on the campground’s bathroom, showers and laundry sidewalk.  What they were waiting for was the staff to sweep the interior rooms and then sweep the pile of moths outside.  It was like free food for the Western Kingbird, Robins and the Grackles. It was quite a scene watching the birds wait for the staff to open the door.

We spoke to the staff and they said that this was a mild year for the Millers!  Last year they were refunding people’s camping fees because of the thousands of the moths entering travel trailers, and when the owners would open a cabinet, hundreds of them would flutter out!

Jude and I are constantly reminded to the blessings that this life has.  The scenery, the fishing, the freedom and now we are blessed with only have five or ten moths a night and it was fun watching the birds line up for a buffet or chase the moths in a 20 mph wind!

Our version of ‘Centennial’

One thing that surprised us about this part of Colorado was the historical part it played in the development of the West.  The Arkansas River was once an International boundary for Spain, Mexico, France, the U.S., and Texas!  Kit Carson is buried here in his home at Boggsville.  The river was part of the Santa Fe Trail which eventually led to the statehood of New Mexico and Arizona.

I was impressed at Bent’s Fort, as every room was chocked full of authentic tools, buffalo robes, furniture, clothes and other authentic era artifacts. It really added to the experience and I have never seen a National Monument so authentically dressed.

We are off to the Denver area tomorrow, so back to civilization.