It all becomes the same. NOT!
There is much to report since the last entry! The camp is now buttoned up and probably cloaked in a coating of pure white. But on our trek south after closing, Old Paint (AKA the f-150 Ford truck with 240k on it) came up lame! The transmission bought the farm as it were in North Bay. It still had the original clutch, throwout bearing, and slave cylinder so it was no shame on the truck. The slave cylinder went and then the transmission broke up. I stayed in North Bay for four days waiting for it to get fixed – but it would take longer. My cousin Earl and Beth and Hanna came to get me and the cargo that couldn’t stay in the truck and got me back home. Then Janet and I left for our long planned visit to Pat and Carol’s place in northern New Mexico the next day. We drove out! Luckily Janet prepared a very comfortable bed in the back for me and Baxter. I drove for about 4 hours west then pulled over to sleep. Janet took over and I slept for the next 8 hours! Janet did wake me to see the arch and Mississippi river at St. Louis. Very cool! But I finally awoke in Kansas. Gee Toto I don’t think we’re in Gowganda or Pennsylvania either! My turn to drive, but I was refreshed and ready to go! I spent the next many hours spotting tumble weeds and rating them on size, density, spherical nature and overall conformation. Hey there weren’t any trees!
Here I am pictured with a prize winner. However we did skip the Tumble Weed Awards dinner and drove on. It took us about 31 hours to get to Pat and Carol’s place near Chama in New Mexico near the boarder with Colorado. We went through two snow covered passes too – they were quite refreshing after the plains and desolation of eastern Colorado and western Kansas!
Here we are at Pat and Carol’s place. The place is high and dry and off the electrical grid with a beautiful view. And best of all its owned by perhaps the nicest people on earth! They put up with our shit for nearly a week! We got in late and drank beer to the wee hours of the morn. But thanks to the time difference Janet and I woke bright and early (local time) and were rarin’ to go. And away we went. The week is a blur of great fishing, great scenery, great places, great times and great fun. We saw scrub jays, stellers jays, western chickadees, flycatchers, water ouzels, magpies, prairie dogs, mule deer, elk and heard elk bugling every night, and saw the biggest bear tracks I have ever seen! Speaking of predators we had to be careful not to be attacked by the wild Chama River Dog!
This wily predator is known to lay in wait for unsuspecting fishermen and then to jump out and bite their asses or at the very least run across your blanket with sandy feet!
We also got to see some voluptuous geologic formations!
I believe this was Mount Pam Anderson! I wonder how they got that name? The plaque said it had been recently renamed from Mount Mae West. Aww the wonders of the age of silicone.
We also had to be careful of the wild dog of the upper Rio Grande – for it is very elusive and is reputed to bring vast quantities of sand and dirt into your car if you aren’t ever vigilant!
On one of our day trips we went to the continental divide at the Wolf Creek pass so that Baxter TWD could boldly stand astride the continent!
We also went to beautiful Pagosa Springs – but wild dogs were not permitted into the hot springs! Can you imagine that – I tried to inform them that according to the endangered species act that they should support their population of Pagosa Springs Wild Dogs but to no avail! So Baxter just got to gaze at them from across the San Juan River.
Our time was all too short with our hosts Pat and Carol but we had a great time and will certainly be back. That is if they can put up with us! At the end of the week the moon rose gracefully over the Chamas as if to bid us goodbye.
We reconfigured our route back and went north along the rockies in Colorado. Janet had never been out west so wanted to see as much of the rockies as possible in our short time. So we got to see Pikes peak, the Golden dome of the Colorado state house in Denver and turned east to cross the plains this time in Nebraska. We paralleled the Platte River so the scenery was far more interesting than Kansas. Nebraska is sort of like Ohio “on steroids”. The changed and slightly lengthened route only added about 35 miles to out trip too and from New Castle!
Once we were home I heard that the truck was fixed and off to North Bay I went. Janet took me to Toronto where I stayed with a friend overnight and then took the CN Northland train to North bay the next morning. I got to see what Halloween is like in downtown Toronto! The best costume I saw was a pit bull dog dressed in a pink tutu, wings, sunglasses, and tiara (His 6′ 4″ tall red haired owner was dressed identically)! The dog did many pirouettes!!! And did “kiss – kiss” on demand! What a hoot! Unfortunately I was traveling light and didn’t have my camera. The train trip was great – beautiful scenery and comfortable seats. Then I drove the truck home. Wheeeyyoow enough driving already!