Colorado Camping Pics

Snow on the mountains above Molas Lake by the end of the week.

South Mineral Creek CG

The hidden falls on the South Mineral Creek Road.

Heading up to Cinnamon Pass

Camper parked at Molas Lake, notice lack of snow on mountains early in week
Worthington Falls on the Lake City side of Engineer Pass, about 150 feet tall, mas o menos.

Fishing at Clear Lake , not catching, just fishing

Tamie in the Jeep

Colorado Camping

On Friday, September 5, 2008, Tamie and I left for our camping adventure in Colorado. We went through Waco and head breakfast with Alyssa, Avery, and Jordan at Lolita's. GREAT breakfast tacos. I also picked up some sweet potato empanadas for later!

We then proceeded to Weatherford to pick up the camper and we were officially on our way. Friday night we got in late to the KOA campground outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. Saturday morning found us shopping in historic downtown Santa Fe. After Tamie made a serious dent in one store's necklace inventory we had lunch at Coyote Grill. Great food!! They brought us stuffed jalepenos as our appetizer by mistake, so I got to try one. Tamie passed. Smart move, cuz I was sweating by the time I finished just the one. On our way to cooking class, Tamie made another score in a dress boutique. Gorgeous pink and brown number. Have to provide pics later, cuz it looks like it was designed just for her.

Spent two hours being taught how to make salsa by Chef Rocky Durham on the Santa Fe Cooking School. Teamed up with a couple from San Francisco. (Town famous for Rice a Roni.) Actually learned quite a bit and will be making more salsas for occassions in the future.

Sunday we got up, broke camp, and headed on the seriously "back" way in to Durango. Saw some pretty parts of Northern New Mexico. Also saw a new Rolls Royce Silver Shadow in Chama. After shopping for groceries in Durango, we headed for Silverton. As we went by Molas Lake, we decided to stop and camp while it was still daylight. Even got to do a little fishing and caught a nice rainbow flyfishing with a little grasshopper. Tamie fed the ducks and had them eating out of her hand.

Monday we reloaded and headed in to Silverton. Stopped and talked to the great folks at San Juan Back Country. We parked in the campground in the farthest part of South Mineral Creek. Had the place almost to ourselves all week. In fact, on Thursday night we were the only campers. Monday afternoon we put the truck in 4WD and headed up to Clear Lake. Hairy set of switchbacks had Tamie pretty white knuckled, but the drive was worth the trouble. Even though the fish didn't cooperate, we got some great pics and had a good time. Went back and cooked hotdogs over the campfire. Had the stuff for S'mores but were too full! (We never did get around to the S'mores.)

Tuesday we headed back to the guys at San Juan and rented trusty No. 2 from the Jeep fleet. We took the "Alpine Loop". Out past Animas Forks, over Cinnamon Pass and down in to Lake City. Coming down from the pass the generator quit working. Jeeps have an electronic fuel pump, so the Jeep died at the bottom when the pump drained the battery. Tightened things up on the batter and wiggled a few connections. After the 2nd jump, and a 45 minute delay, we were back on the way. Kept watching the gauge, but seemed to be working. Then, when we do get to Lake City, guess what?? Just before we got there, the electricity went out!! We were contagious!? Found a hamburger joint that was cooking with propane and only taking cash. Had a great Sloppy Joe Cheeseburger. We will be trying to duplicate these for a Thursday night dinner. Appeared to be italian sausage, cheese and grilled onions in homemade bread. No tomato sauce at all. VERY GOOD!! Well, we tried to call San Juan, but the tower was apparently also without power and we couldn't get a call out. Wanted to tell them to come looking for us if were late because the generator went out again. Oh well, nothing to do but head back. Turned out to be fine, never had another problem.

Our route took us back to Silverton by way of Engineer Pass. As we neared the top, the light rain turned to SNOW!! It wasn't cold enough to stick and didn't last very long, but was still fun.

Got in to Silverton in time to turn in the Jeep. Made arrangements to meet Grady at 9 a.m. the next morning to go fishing back at Molas. Hit Handlebars Restaurant for dinner. MUY EXCELENTE! Even better, Tamie got to take a shower in the facilities at Peaks RV Park behind the baseball fields. Say "Hi!" to Bob if you go there, he was a good friend to Tamie cuz she took several more showers there before we left and we also got to wash clothes there later in the week.

Rain fell all night Tuesday night, and it was still drizzling when I went to meet Grady. The temp outside the camper that morning was 37 F. Inside, it was a balmy 39 F!! Tamie was snug and warm inside her TWO sleeping bags. As I got to Silverton the clouds broke and we could see that the rain had been snow at higher elevations and Kendall Mtn. wore a white cap as did Silverton Mtn. It was about 42 F in Silverton when Grady and I headed for the lake. It was 37 F at the lake and rainy. Despite nearly freezing to death, we caught our limit of 4 each in just over an hour. Weather broke as we cleaned fish and by the time we left we had taken our coats off and the sun was out. So unfair.

After getting back to camp, Tamie and I headed out in the truck to explore the end of the South Mineral Creek road. After about two miles, we deadended at an old abandoned mine. The valley floor was flooded by a series of beaver dams. Took some pics of the dam and headed back. On the way, Tamie spotted a Yellow -Bellied Marmot. She got some good pics of him sunning on a rock. Had to back up the trail about 100 yds to let a Jeep pass going the opposite direction. Spotted an area that had to conceal a hidden waterfall. Tamie spotted a little walking trail. I grabbed the camera and got some pics of a gorgeous waterfall carved entirely out of red rock. Brought a piece of it home to include in our future backyard water feature.

Grady decided his wife, Margaret, needed to cook the fish for us. It was arranged for us to come into town at 7 p.m. for dinner. Brought Tamie in at 6 and she got a shower and was all cleaned up to go to dinner. Margaret cooked the skinned trout by coating them in mustard and then corn meal and frying them whole. They were wonderful and we had a great meal and a great visit.

Thursday, we drove up 550N to Ouray and then on to Ridgway State Park. Checked out the facilities and then headed in to Ridgway for lunch at the True Grit Cafe. Totally decked out in John Wayne posters and artifacts. Cool place with really excellent food. Try the onion straws, but only a half order so that you can save room for Mud Pie. Did a little shopping in Ouray and tried our luck at fishing in Ironton, but they weren't biting. Water was crystal clear. We could see the fish and could put lures and powerbait right in front of them. Could not catch a single one.

Tamie still wanted fish for dinner, so we decided to head back up to Molas. Fished Andrews Lake first, no luck. Fished Little Molas Lake second, no luck. Went to Molas and caught three fish right away. I caught 2 and Tamie caught 1. As she will gladly tell you, hers was the biggest. Took 'em back to camp and cooked them for dinner. Almost as good as Margaret's!

Friday, we decided to start home a day early due to Hurricane Ike. Stopped to fish on the way. Caught one at Molas and two at Haviland and put them in the ice chest. They are in the freezer now, saving them for a special occasion. Got to Waco in time for breakfast with the girls Saturday morning after driving all night. Had another great breakfast at Cappucino's ( or something like that) (Alyssa, help?) Ayla went with us and Jordan joined us before we left.

Got home around 2 p.m. and hit the sack for a nap before we even unloaded. No damage from the storm, only lost a few small branches. Tamie's brother Roy had already picked those up for us.

SO, WHO IS GOING WITH US ON THE NEXT TRIP??

Tropical Storm Edouard

Edouard turned into a non-event. Originally predicted to hit hurricane strength before landing, it made landfall this morning as a Tropical Storm. At that point it was predictied to pass right over Bryan as a TS. Instead, it was downgraded to a Tropical Depression. Sounds like good news, but we really needed the rain. Hoping for 3 or 4 inches, we have received less than 1 inch. As it slows down, we may get more. Hope so, we are already about 6 inches behind for the year.

ZIPLINING!!! or is it ZIP LINING!!! ?

Last weekend, Tamie and I met Tony and Alice Elkins in Austin, Texas, for his 49th birthday weekend. We stayed at the Barton Creek Spa and Resort. Five minutes after we got to our room, a storm descended on the resort. You can see from the pictures how the valley disappeared when the rain hit.

Friday we spent the day ziplining - WHAT A BLAST! We had never been before, but we all had a great time. We had such a good time that we went back that afternoon for the more challenging course. During that time, we zipped with the Fluke Family from Beaumont, Texas. Come to find out, we are almost related. He is a lawyer. Their oldest son, not on the trip with them, is a JR. at BAYLOR, and he's pre-dent. The oldest daughter, Erin, is about to be a Fish at ATM. We invited her to join us for Thursday night dinners. Caroline, the younger daughter will be a high school freshman. Maybe we can influence her to follow her brothers better example. Friday night was dinner at Gumbo's. GREAT New Orleans style restaurant in downtown Austin. As long as you didn't look outside, you would thing you were in the French Quarter. The Blackened Shrimp was served over etoufee. Magnifique!

Saturday we split up. The Elkins went hiking on Barton Creek and saw Mama Mia. Tamie and I went to downtown Austin and hung out on SoCo, or South Congress to the un-initiated. Had a great lunch, did some shopping, and hit Amy's Ice Cream. Woohoo! ( you know Erratts and their ice cream) We found a shop called Ten Thousand Villages. It's a store that features fair trade articles from around the world. If you need a present for "someone who has everything", buy them a "singing bowl" from 10,000 Villages. I got two pounds of fair trade coffee and Avery's birthday present. Tamie found 4 necklaces she had to have, together with several sets of earrings. She also found a necklace for Alice. Which she wore to dinner at III Forks. Which was also wonderful. The rest of 'em had steak, but I had the Lamb Chops. Tamie and I shared a spicy Lobster Bisque which was quite different and very good. In case you wondered, yes we do travel on our stomachs.

After dinner, we took a walk down 6th Street. It was almost as much fun as Bourbon St., but much cleaner and not as many drunks. Found a good jazz bar and hung out for awhile. Tony's co-worker, aka the Camera Stealer, was in the bar and even had "my" camera. I'll explain later, if you're interested. The punchline is that I ended up with my Nikon D70 with 4 lenses for about half of what he paid for his camera and 3 lenses.

Sunday, we had a brunch buffet at the resort, packed up and departed for home. We picked up Mrs. Honea on the way and dropped her off in Hempstead with Uncle Sonny. Saved him a drive to Austin and back to pick her up. She and I had a wonderful conversation while Tamie napped in the back. We didn't talk about her, though. Just in case she was just pretending to be asleep.

Playing Catch-Up

So, I have been doing a lot of things...California last weekend, group of nine boys camping this past week, wreaking havoc upon Durango, and now headed back out to camp again this week. Needless to say, I am a little behind on the updates.


So, I will start with California:

My trip was great, a few hours of delay on the front end and switching airports, but overall it went pretty well. The night that I arrived, we went to the beach for some Bachelorette Party II. The group consisted of the bride, the bridal party, and me...strange, I know. So anyways, we had a great time on the beach with our puny little fire, roasted hot dogs, made smores, and just generally laughed a lot. After that, Ayla and I moved to our new hotel (she had stayed the previous night with some of the bridesmaids) and basically went to sleep. The next two days we pretty much spent all of our free time down at the beach, with a rehearsal dinner one evening and the wedding the next. The wedding was great fun (there were only about 35 people there including the wedding party). They married, we ate, danced, laughed and waved them off. On Sunday morning, Garrett came and picked Ayla and me up, and we went to see some of the LA sites. We saw Hollywood, the Walk of the Stars, Grohman's Theater (where all the hand prints and footprints are), ate at a famous little restaurant that I forgot the name of, and spent the rest of the day down at the beach. On the trip home, it was a little more interesting...I had to run to make my connection flight in Phoenix, because of delays in LA; my bag didn't make the connection; I got a speeding ticket coasting down the hill outside of town; and I didn't get my luggage back until Thursday of the next week.

The return trip home was only a piece of my troubles, however, because we also had a little bit of a rough start to our camping week, with Marquette leaving and me locking my keys in my car (all in the same very unfortunate morning). Things improved from there, however, and we had an amazing group with the boys. The staff working that week were: Lance, Jared, Garrison, Hannah, and me. The boys were a baseball team sent up by one of the guys' dad, who wanted them to experience God together in a way that would allow them to develop a different kind of bond that didn't revolve around sports. It was really different having only campers there without an adult sponsor, and also just having a group of guys that small. I really enjoyed it though, and the week turned out really well despite all of the distractions. The week ended with the boys planning on starting a weekly or biweekly Bible Study when they return to Dallas, and one of the boys prayed to accept Christ!


That pretty much covers my life up to this point, and I am going to include a few pictures (including one from our summit of Engineer the week before last).

Hannah and me standing in front of Engineer Peak.

Garrison, Hannah, Jared, and me laying in the flowers just above tree line.

The view off the top of Engineer (12,972 feet).

Avery in Europe

This is the palace of King Ludwick II, the first place we visited on our first full day in Europe! (Saturday, 12th) It is crazy gorgeous on the inside. Everything is covered in gold, silk, and ostrich feathers. Unfortunately, they would not let us take pictures, so you will have to use your imagination. We went through the palace and then hiked about a mile through the grounds to see the King's personal underground opera house and his hunting lodge. It was intense. After that, we visited a small town famous for the 10-hour-long Passion play it puts on every ten years. Finally we topped it all off with a visit to a fancy church. It was full of paintings, gilding, sculptures:

Today, the 13th, we drove most of the day. We did, however stop in both Austria and Liechtenstein. Two more countries. H00ray!

This is Sam, me, Jordan, and Becca standing in the rain in Austria. The view was unbelievable, but it was so cold that we took a couple of pictures and jumped back on the bus. It's supposed to be summer! Good thing I learned from my experiences in Germany last summer: always pack warm.

Right here we are about to carry
Becca into Liechtenstein! Actually this was taken after we had already eaten lunch in the country, but I wanted irrefutable proof that we had actually been there!

Updated Colorado Pictures

Dad's favorite picture of Alyssa belaying at X Rock with our church youth group.

Durango Intro

I have now been up here in Durango for a month. It has been a really exciting first half of the summer. Our basic week, when working with a group, looks like this: The group arrives Monday night and we all grill hot dogs and then have a first worship session that night, after they're all settled in. On Tuesday and Wednesday we take the groups rappelling and hiking (we always make sandwiches for lunch and dinners vary a little bit). Occasionally a group will rock climb instead of rappelling one day. On Thursday we all go into town and play around in the field at Santa Rita Park and go rafting on the Animas River (which has a temperature averaging in the upper 30's and lower 40's right now). And every night Marquette gives a lesson and Lane leads worship for the group. On Friday most groups leave fairly early in the morning to get started on their drive home.

On the weekends we're all pretty free to do whatever we want. I try to go climbing at least once every weekend since I have such a huge selection of places to climb while I'm here in Durango. We also usually use the weekends to catch up on sleep and laundry. One of the most unique things about being a part of the camp staff is the amazing community that we are able to build. It's a huge blessing to have such a constant group of people investing in my life and holding me accountable on a daily basis. God has really been able to use the rest of the staff and our times of group devotion, learning and discussion to teach me a great many things about His character and His love for me. I know that I will really miss that aspect of this community when I return to school.

My other job while I'm here is to take care of the boys part of the time. Luckily it's a really easy job because they are both naturally good natured. Nash, the oldest (he's two and a half) is hilarious and always makes me smile.

Beck is about 10 months old and he is really sweet and loving with an adorable laugh. Both of the boys love to be outdoors so that is a blessing for me, so that I don't have to stay cooped up in the condo during the weeks that I watch them. Other than that there isn't too much else to say.

On Sundays we are going to a really great church in Durango called River Church, where we have already met a lot of people. The pastor and his wife have an amazing heart for God, which you can see reflected throughout the rest of the church membership, and they are in the process of adopting their eighth child. Last Sunday I wore the earrings that Avery made me for my birthday. You can see them in the picture. I got a lot of compliments on them, so thank you, Avery, and props to your craftsmanship!

God has already done some beautiful things in the hearts of many of the campers and even some of the youth leaders, and I can't wait to see what He has in store for the rest of the summer. We are continuing to pray for God's spirit to move in the hearts of all the students that come to camp this summer, as well as in all of our hearts so that God will be able to work through us in every situation. It's such a blessing to be able to spend the summer serving students by showing them God's love through my actions and through spending time enjoying His amazing creation.

First Blog

We now have a place where we can keep up with each others' activities and share what we're doing with all of our family and friends! The challenge is for us all to be diligent in actually updating the site...

I love you guys!

-Alyssa