Anyone Game? 2 Castles and a Road Trip TR! Last Day and TR Wrap Up! #2796; 10/01

[Aussie Wendy]

*forgot to include the EB quote"

 

[PrincessInOz]

Me too and my DD inherited a love of Enid Blyton especially the Faraway Tree - I immediately thought of it when you said Wisha Wisha. My favourite Enid Blyton series however, was the Five Findouters and Dog-not as popular as the Famous Five and the "of Adventure" series. I also still love Arthur Ransome and a less well known author Malcolm Saville whose books are mostly set in Rye or in Shropshire. I wasn't into the school series as much. Around the time I was 8 or 9 I made up a whole mystery with clues to follow for my best friend and he believed it - it was great fun. Hiding the clues beforehand in various parts of our locality in London was not the most sensible thing I have ever done though-my adult self shudders at where I ventured by myself at such a young age! (old WWII fortifications, oak trees by the canal, parks, alleys).

YAY! Looks like we are definitely confirming an Aussie/English sweep of Enid Blyton.

The Five Findouter books were released in the shops here; about a year ago or so? I had a great time just browsing and flicking through.

I don't think I ever read Arthur Ransome and I'll have to hunt him and Malcolm Saville out. Although, I suspect that their books are no longer in print and no one has them anymore.

The things we do as kids.....the things we do. And then live to tell the tales!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Ice Caves Ridge Trail



We drove to the Piedra River Trail parking area. There were a number of cars parked there and give the mountain scenes around us, I would have been happy to stay there for the rest of the day.






But X and Y had other plans for us and we started on the Piedra River Trailhead.







We were taking the high road.






I wasn't too disappointed with the high road. The view was pretty decent about 10 steps up. I believe that we’re at the Williams Creek campground here.







We headed into the forest area.







It didn't take long for the forest to surround us and I lost all sight of the snow-capped peaks.







There was a baby Aspen along the path. Oh yes, we were definitely about a week too early for the autumn colours this year.







About the only reds and oranges I was to find were in funghi. I think this is a Witches Hat. I've never worked out if it is poisonous or not; but my general rule of thumb when it comes to mushrooms is that if it is highly coloured or exudes a liquid that is coloured, stay away. It's likely to be poisonous. Call it a legacy of a mis-spent university youth.







I guess X and Y knew what they were doing and where they were going. There were Ice Caves along this way.







The Ice Caves are really giant cracks in the ground that accumulate snow and ice in them over the winter. The snow and ice slowly melt over the summer, but they are always nice and cool down inside them.







We looked; some were really deep but there was no ice in them. But they did feel cooler. I’d hate to fall down one of these.







In total, we probably walked about half a mile in this direction. I suspect that we climbed up some 300 - 400 feet. It wasn't steep; but it was a constant walk up.







Towards the top of the ridge, the trees cleared and we could see the giants again. Some of the mountains here were 14,000.





And then we stepped out to the clearing at the top and the overlook.







It was a view of the Piedra River on one side.







And the canyon to the other.







Loved the snow-capped mountains!






We're at 8,300 feet here and it's nearly one of the rooftops of the world. (That's the sweatshirt I bought yesterday)







Check out the pine trees here.







Y gave me a lesson on how to recognise a spruce from a fir. Apparently you shake hands with it. When you shake hands with a spruce, the sharp needles jab into your fingers. When you shake hands with a fir, the needles are not sharp at all and it feels friendly. Of course, it assumes that you can reach the needles in the first place!







I could have kept going on this walk; but Y wanted to head back. I suspect DS was happy with the direction.







I couldn't resist another picture of the Williams Creek on the way back.






Especially when taken from the river’s bank. Looks like a great place to camp in the summer months.








Wish I had more time to walk this area!


And with that, we headed back in the car and drove back to town.





(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)



Nello's Lunch and our Pagosa Shopping Haul




On the west side of Pagosa, near the brewery and where we had Pizza lunch, there are a group of stores. The supermarket is here; as are a bunch of other stores and chain restaurants for everyday living. There are also some restaurants here that are not part of a chain; and X and Y knew exactly where we were having lunch.






Nello's Bistro seemed to be your typical American restaurant with non-descript tables, chairs and unremarkable décor inside.






But we weren't here for the ambience. We were here for lunch!

DS was very happy to see lasagne on the menu. You know.....I think this might be the first time I've seen him eat pasta with a little bit of parmesan; rather than his standard parmesan with a little pasta on the side. But then it may be because the cheese was actually pecorino rather than parmesan and he wasn't really that sure about it when the server grated it over his meal. LOL!







DH was feeling particularly unadventurous this day. He ordered the very bland Eat Your Green Salad.






I was with the locals and took my lead from them. This was the caramelised pear spinach salad with goat cheese and walnuts. We also included the grilled tiger shrimp add-on. WOW! This was a great salad.








Over lunch, we talked about what our plans were for the rest of the day. As it seemed a little early to head out to the next location X and Y had wanted to take us, we figured we would take the opportunity to head back into Pagosa downtown to pick up a few items.







I think I promised to share the boots that DH bought.

The cowboy variety.

 





The moccasin-style.







I had looked at a jewellery store near the Pagosa Museum and had debated about buying something there the day before. Having slept on it, I had decided that I wanted the item. I think it matches the necklace I bought in Jerome.







Shopping all completed and leaving no regrets behind for this part of the trip, we headed back to the cabin to prepare for our afternoon/evening.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Those ice caves sound fascinating and the scenery is so beautiful. The cowboy boots look very impressive. I love your earrings. I can understand why you went back for them and lunch looked delicious.

Corinna

 

[ejud]

1) Nice boots.

2) DS seems to be smiling a lot more now... reminds me of a Ford commercial running now on TV... kid starts all like, dad, leave me alone and let me play my e-games... and dad drags him out to the wilderness and on and on, and eventually the kid sees the stars and gets happy.

3) The ice caves. Fascinating. You realize what you are seeing there is the beginning of the end? The long process that will turn the Rockies into so much sand...



Jud

 

[mvf-m11c]

The Ice Caves look very interesting to see in person and you walk a lot that day. The scenery look very amazing and your picture with sweater looks very nice.

The goodies look very nice.

Very nice update.

 

[jedijill]

Beautiful hike. I like the ice caves... I haven't seen anything like that around here.

Jill in CO

 

[scottny]

Glad the rain stopped.
The grizzly looked like “let me out”.
Gorgoeus pics.
Beautiful sunset pics.
Gorgeous fireworks pics.
Beautiful pics from your drive. I feel like I am repeating myself. LOL
You know what I will say about the hike. LOL
Your meals looked good. Nice purchases.
All caught up again.

 

[franandaj]

Lunch looked very... Light. The scenery was beautiful and the hike looked fun. I do love the earrings. They will pair fabulously with the necklace you got.

Looking forward to your last of this part of the trip, but getting excited to hear about the part of the trip where we meet back up again!

 

[zanzibar138]

What an awesome walk! Loved the photos from all the viewpoints - amazing! And I know it was a disappointment not to see the autumn colours, but I think you were really lucky with your snow-capped mountains

And I'm not a salad fan, but your lunch looks delish! DH's... not so much

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I love that first pic of the campground. Those mountains are beautiful.

I agree with others. Your husband's lunch looked decidedly unsatisfying

 

[LegoMom3]

Yknow, lady, you are REALLY making me miss CO!!!

Gorgeous pics as always! Seems like you really got to experience the countryside out there.

.

 

[Pinkocto]

What a lovely day enjoying nature

Glad DH found the shoes he was wanting. And your earrings are beautiful.

 

[dgbg100106]

Colorado is so beautiful...

That camp ground is the kind of place my Dad was at for a month in July/August, but we had so much rain while we were there. The hikes turned into mud hikes...

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Wow I love this TR parts of Colorado I have never seen. What a hidden gem. Thank you for photos of the boots and shoes loving them! Did he get a hat? Lovely jewellery for PIO also!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Those ice caves sound fascinating and the scenery is so beautiful. The cowboy boots look very impressive. I love your earrings. I can understand why you went back for them and lunch looked delicious.

Corinna

Thanks. I love the earrings too.

My lunch and DS' was delicious.

1) Nice boots.

2) DS seems to be smiling a lot more now... reminds me of a Ford commercial running now on TV... kid starts all like, dad, leave me alone and let me play my e-games... and dad drags him out to the wilderness and on and on, and eventually the kid sees the stars and gets happy.

3) The ice caves. Fascinating. You realize what you are seeing there is the beginning of the end? The long process that will turn the Rockies into so much sand...



Jud

Don't be fooled by DS, Jud. He's going through that phase of not wanting to smile on camera. He's a pretty happy, easy-going teen....most of the time. About the only three times he wasn't truly happy up to this point on this trip was when the devices went 'searching...searching...no service', at the 9th creek crossing at Sedona and when we were talking about walking down the Grand Canyon in the early morning. Aside from these incidents, he pretty much loved the trip so far.

No, I didn't know that I was looking at the beginning of sand creation at the ice caves. Thanks for clueing me in.

The Ice Caves look very interesting to see in person and you walk a lot that day. The scenery look very amazing and your picture with sweater looks very nice.

The goodies look very nice.

Very nice update.

Thanks Bret. It was a little walk; in total, we probably did a little over a mile.

Beautiful hike. I like the ice caves... I haven't seen anything like that around here.

Jill in CO

I haven't seen anything like that either. I was really fascinated to see them.

Glad the rain stopped.
The grizzly looked like “let me out”.
Gorgoeus pics.
Beautiful sunset pics.
Gorgeous fireworks pics.
Beautiful pics from your drive. I feel like I am repeating myself. LOL
You know what I will say about the hike. LOL
Your meals looked good. Nice purchases.
All caught up again.

Thanks Scott. Those are very kind, gorgeous and beautiful comments for you to make about my TR.

(But I'm glad you feel that way. Hopefully the pictures continue to deliver when we get to WDW.)

Lunch looked very... Light. The scenery was beautiful and the hike looked fun. I do love the earrings. They will pair fabulously with the necklace you got.

Looking forward to your last of this part of the trip, but getting excited to hear about the part of the trip where we meet back up again!

The light lunch was part of a 'cunning' plan.

Yes, I thought they would go well with the necklace without being too matchy-matchy.

Almost there.
(And I might take it slower on the WDW component. I've kinda been racing to get there; given that we are on a Disney forum and none of the road trip has been about Disney.)

What an awesome walk! Loved the photos from all the viewpoints - amazing! And I know it was a disappointment not to see the autumn colours, but I think you were really lucky with your snow-capped mountains

And I'm not a salad fan, but your lunch looks delish! DH's... not so much

I was happy to roll with whatever Mother Nature dished up on this trip. Yes, I was very glad to see the snow-capped mountains.

Agreed. My lunch was delish. I can't comment about DH....I didn't eat any of it.

I love that first pic of the campground. Those mountains are beautiful.

I agree with others. Your husband's lunch looked decidedly unsatisfying

Thanks.

Lucky for me, DH ate his lunch. And I ate mine. DH had order envy that day.

Yknow, lady, you are REALLY making me miss CO!!!

Gorgeous pics as always! Seems like you really got to experience the countryside out there.

.

Colorado; or the part of Colorado we saw, was really amazing. We had such a great time here and it definitely made me want to come back. The air is just so sweet here and the countryside is just beautiful.
I'd love to see it in winter and go skiing. Maybe next time.

What a lovely day enjoying nature

Glad DH found the shoes he was wanting. And your earrings are beautiful.

Thanks Pam. The morning drive and walk was fantastic. The best part was spending quality time with X and Y. I could have done a longer walk but we were just happy to go with what X and Y wanted to share with us.

Colorado is so beautiful...

That camp ground is the kind of place my Dad was at for a month in July/August, but we had so much rain while we were there. The hikes turned into mud hikes...

Because of the rain the day before, the bottom part of that walk was really muddy. I would hate to be there after a couple of days of rain or when it is flooding.

Wow I love this TR parts of Colorado I have never seen. What a hidden gem. Thank you for photos of the boots and shoes loving them! Did he get a hat? Lovely jewellery for PIO also!

Glad to share the hidden gem!

DH didn't get a hat. He likes hats and wears hats; but he didn't get one on this trip.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Beautiful pictures of course and looks like a nice hike. I especially like the earlier one of the campground, stream and mountains. Ice caves were interesting - wouldn't want to fall down one after dark. Love the boots but think I love your jewelry more!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Beautiful pictures of course and looks like a nice hike. I especially like the earlier one of the campground, stream and mountains. Ice caves were interesting - wouldn't want to fall down one after dark. Love the boots but think I love your jewelry more!

Thanks Wendy.

I love the jewellery more as well. I did look at the boots myself and was tempted by a pair of beaded moccasins. In the end, I couldn't see myself wearing them much so I left them. I know I made the right decision. No regrets on that front.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

On reflection do you feel that it was the right balance of time is each place? Would you have liked more time/less time in Colorado for example? Or was it about it?