Cowgirls and Cowboys

 

Madi and Parker are just loved the mountains.  They are both begging for dad to buy them both a horse.

Neither one of them had even spent much time around horses until about three weeks ago.  But to see them with the horses now is so different.  Chris even looks like he fits right in to the ranch lifestyle, well kind of.  You wouldn't know it to see him at work but he really did fit right in on the Lost Trail Ranch by the end of the week. 

Madi was just working so hard to show Chris that she could take care of a horse.  Walking, brushing, and helping to saddle the horses.  One evening she even put Dusty in hobbles all by herself.  She was so proud.  She left the poop scooping to Parker, Chris, and I though.  She said that it really should just stay where it is!  She said it doesn't hurt the ground, "It's just good fertilizer!". 

Maybe there is a chance for a horse in the future!  We'll see!

God's Creatures

  

Nature is alive in the Valley!  Hummingbirds, Stellar Blue Jays, Chipmunks and of course Horses.  I'm in heaven.  The mares had two colts within the last month or so and they are adorable.  You can't imagine how tame they are.  Their names are Elf and Cricket.
 

Elf is the darker one, he is about two weeks old.  Cricket is the rusty brown one and he is about 5 weeks old.  I am so sad that  tomorrow is our last day.  Time here is definitely different.  It is so serene.  I wonder if I could just adapt to a different life style and just stay here.  No pressures, no phone ringing, no television blaring.  Life here is so simple. I find it hard to imagine going back to the world we live in after a week here.  I understand why people come here and never want to leave.  

Hiking in the Wilderness

On Tuesday, the kids and I went hiking in the Weminuche Wilderness.  We left the campground and headed across Ute river.  We hiked along the Ute trailhead.  We had a good time.  Didn't see much wildlife but I really didn't expect to with Parker and Madison making so much noise.  We hiked for about three hours.  We stopped up in the mountain long enough to eat lunch.  

When I say that we crossed the river, it isn't as easy as it sounds.  The river is colder than cold.  The water comes from the melted snow in the spring.   Water continues to flow down the mountain throughout the year.  The kids had been begging to go swimming in the afternoons when the temperature gets up to about 80 degrees.  They really thought that it would be just perfect for swimming.  To change their way of thinking, I decided that it would be a good experience to cross the river when we were hiking.  As we approached the river, they kept asking, "Mom,  how are we going to cross the river without a bridge?"  I told them maybe we can cross by using the rocks and stepping across, knowing that there wasn't any way that the kids would make it without getting wet.
 

Parker wasn't as brave as he always talks.  He made it about half way without crying.  He started crying and saying "my feet are freezing off. Mom you shouldn't have made me do this, I'm never doing this again."  After that, I knew going back home would be more of a challenge.  I could hardly keep from laughing.  He was so mad. 

When we got back to the river from our hike this is what happened.   

Parker made it to the first big rock and sat for the longest time.  He kept waiting and begging me to come out there to get him.  He was refusing to go any further.  He wanted me to go back to our cabin and get Chris to go get him.  I just kept encouraging him to come across.  Finally, he put on his boots and waded across.   We made it back to the cabin and laid out all of our clothes to dry.  After walking and laughing so hard we all needed to rest.  A moment to remember!

Life in the Rio Grande Valley

 

 

Life is good here.  We're loving our time in the mountains.  Quiet, Beautiful, Relaxing, Restful.  On second though maybe not so restful.  I say this laughing.  The first night Chris was restless.  Tossing and turning, and keeping me awake.  So we played a little musical beds the second night.  Parker and Chris slept in the living room on the two sofa beds.  Madi and I slept in the bedroom.   I thought oh, this is going to be better.  I am finally going to get to sleep.  Nope,  Parker woke me up in the middle of the night with a stomach ache.  He startled me out of a deep slumber to my disliking.   When he turned on the lamp, I discovered that there were bugs in my bed.  Can this get any worse?  (LOL)  I finally got them all out and got back to sleep.  I did sleep well for awhile but woke up cold.   I could practically see my breath in the cabin.  Chris quickly got the fire going to appease me.  I hate to be cold.  The temperature was 32 degrees yesterday morning.  It was so cold that the guys had to break ice  on the horse's water.  The guys got off a little later the second day.  After the guys left the kids and I left for fishing a little before noon. 

We headed back down the valley to 30 Mile Campground, to catch a little fish.  We had no luck.  The trout evaded our hook every time.  They are hard little rascals to catch.  Parker said that he had several little nibbles but he is the ultimate fisherman.  A story to tell every time.  He enjoyed every minute of it.  We hit several areas.  We also fished the Rio Grande Reservoir.  It is hard to believe ho high the water level gets during the runoff season.  We headed back to the cabin about 4:00.  The guys got back late, it seems that the tour guide (Jerry) took a wrong turn up in the mountains and they went farther than they had planned.  They rode about 9 hrs.  They were beat when they got back.  The horses were sure glad to see camp.  We cleaned up, had dinner, and headed to bed.  After getting things ready for bed, I realized that the bugs were back!  Oh no!  Tina and I quickly began extermination and moving the beds around.  After this I decided that I would be sleeping on the couch!  First nights rest!! Yeah!!   Chris was even so sweet by setting an alarm to get up this morning and start me a fire at 5:15 am.  I slept until the sun came up this morning. It was wonderful to sleep in! 

Happy Trails!

Day One: August 8th

We left Cordell, Ok. at 3:30 am this morning to drive to Colorado.  When we left Oklahoma it was already 80 degrees and humid.  We finally arrive in Colorado to Lost Trail Ranch this evening at about 6:00 pm.  We unpacked and had a wonderful dinner with an unbelievable view from the dining table.  So far so good.  Loving the beautiful scenery God has layed out for us here.  It is breathtaking.   We were all really tired by bedtime from the long days travel.   As we lay down to sleep you can't imagine how quiet and still it is.  It was so quiet Chris could hardly sleep!

Day Two:  August 9th

We got up early this morning to freezing temperatures.  It was 30 degrees on our front porch and not much warmer in the cabin until Chris and Tina got the stove going with a big fire.  Waking up to such cold weather made me question the shorts I packed.  I don't think I'll be needing them now.  So thankful for the firewood the caretakers have left for us to use.   As we sat eating our breakfast, I was thinking about how grateful for the opportunity we've been given this week.   This is the view from our front porch.  It is indescribable!  There aren't words to express the beauty of this place. 

 

After breakfast the guys started gearing up to head out on the horses for the day.  They left about 10 am and were gone for about 5 hours.  While they were gone the kids and I walked down the pasture to see the Rio Grande river that lies just below the mountains. The water is crystal clear.