Call of the West

I do believe the west is calling to me. I am thoroughly enjoying the beauty of this place, the wide open spaces, the mountains, the lakes, the wildlife, every bit of it. I wish I could post pictures so you can see a glimpse of what I am seeing every day, but alas, the downside of being here is a very slow internet connection and limited phone service. Trade offs.

Yesterday I walked to Colorado. Ok, it was only a four mile walk from where I parked my 4 Runner, but still I can say that I walked to Colorado. Most of my walks have been on roads; there aren't really any trails to hike, yet the hiking is limitless. I was off on Sunday and Monday, so I packed up my truck and set off to have an adventure. I drove up to see Costilla, the smaller more exclusive lodge on the property. Wow! It's beautiful. Made entirely of wood harvested from the property, it sleeps 16 and has it's own staff of five to take care of the guests. Just below Costilla in a field near the reservoir I saw the bison herd for the first time. I also saw four turkeys on my drive out.

From Costilla I drove up to the Glacier Lakes. Actually I parked two miles below the lakes and walked up to them. The last two miles is a very rough four wheel drive road that I didn't really feel ready to tackle, plus I wanted to hike. It was very much like a trail actually, only wider. I don't know if the lakes are actually snow fed, which a glacier lake would be, but they definitely have a different look and feel than the other lakes. It was cold up there, and the lakes were clearer and seemed barren compared to the others. The only wildlife I saw on this hike was a grouse. Just a single grouse, bigger than the ones I see in Virginia. When I got back down to my truck it wouldn't start. Great. What could possibly be wrong? I put a brand new battery in it in November when I got it. It didn't even try to start, not even a click, and I was far away from everything. So, I put it in neutral, took off the brake, turned the key on, and with the door open I gave it a push then jumped in and popped the clutch. Low and behold it worked! I was up and running. Or, down and running since I was heading down a mountain. Kind of a crazy thing to do considering the truck could have just as well knocked me over and continued down the mountain by itself. Although I had wanted to stop and have my lunch beside a small stream, I decided it best if I continued driving back to Costilla Lodge to figure out what was going on mechanically. Aaron, one of the guys who works at Costilla looked at the battery and one cable was completely loose. I should have known. I'm the one who installed the battery and I knew one cable wasn't very tight. It wasn't a problem though so I forgot to fix it. Forgot all about it. Apparently the rough roads caused it to loosen even more. I haven't had any more trouble since Aaron tightened the cable.

After doing a lot of driving around exploring, I drove down the "red road" (as it is called because it is actually red in color) to a place along Ricardo Creek I was told was a good spot to camp. And, it was! What a sweet spot alongside this babbling little brook. I pitched my tent, then set out a blanket to sit upon and read. While sitting there reading I was visited by a bear. She came down the hill on the other side of the creek I suppose to get a drink. She saw me and stared quizzically. I softly said "go away." I was glad to see her, but didn't feel like sharing my blanket. Still she just stared at me. I slowly stood up thinking that maybe I could get my camera, but as I rose she turned and ran back up the hill from where she came. I kind of thought I may see a bear since there were many signs in the area, ie: bear scat and recently upturned rocks. It was a special moment.

I didn't sleep well in my tent. Only because it takes me a few days to get used to it again. I only spent the one night out though, and boy did I sleep well last night back in my bed. When I left my campsite, I drove to another little traveled road where I parked and hiked to Colorado. It was about an eight mile hike, very easy because it was mostly flat, but I was tired from not sleeping well and decided to make a short day of it. I stopped at Merrick Lake and laid in the sun for a bit then had my lunch and headed back "home." There was a small, scroungy looking bear at Merrick Lake. I did get pictures of that one which I will post once I get to town and a "real" internet connection.

Animals I've see here so far:
Bison, Mule deer, three of which were big bucks with huge velvety antlers, turkey, grouse, lots of prairie dogs and chipmunks and squirrels, bear, fish jumping in the lakes, lots of birds of all kinds, including woodpeckers and ducks. I haven't seen any elk yet except for one dead in a field. I couldn't tell it was an elk (someone told me later). It was being consumed by vultures, crows and coyotes.

I'm heading down for a wonderful lunch now; the food here is exceptional!

Meditation

I went out for a meditative walk today. I've been tired I think because of the elevation here, so I'm going to wait until next week to tackle any real hiking. Still, I'm getting some good walks in anyway.

Today as I sat eating my lunch in the shade of a tree alongside the meadow I was walking through, a humming bird came to me. She hovered right in front of me, not even an arms length away. I first took it as a spiritual experience, because here was this one lone humming bird seeking me out, out on the desert plain. Then I realized there were more humming birds and they were enjoying the nectar from thistle blossoms. Because I was wearing a bright pink shirt, this one probably mistook me to be a giant thistle flower. Poor thing, what a disappointment. For the humming bird, not me; she was still a blessing to me : )

Thought for the day:
"If you don't know where you are going, get there by a way you do not know." ~ Confucius

Quite fitting for me right now!

Virginia to New Mexico

Wednesday July 18, 2012

I am all settled in at Vermejo Park Ranch in northeast New Mexico. I’m happy to be here but feeling exhausted. I don’t know if my activities of the past month plus have caught up with me or if I’m being affected by the elevation of this place. It’s something over 7000 feet. Oh, and it’s so nice here! It’s beautiful, and it’s cool. I had my bedroom windows open last night and I was getting cold by morning. I put a fleece on to go down and get my coffee at 7:00 am.

I spent five days driving across the country (1800 miles), so I really took my time about it. I had a bit of a hard time leaving Virginia in the first place, so I got a late start, then I went on a little side track in Allegheny County before heading further west. It was hard to leave Thomas again, and hard to leave home. I kept feeling a bit of anxiety as I traveled. I spent a couple of days with my friend Ken in Columbia, Missouri, and that was refreshing. I couch surfed with a 70 year old woman in Wichita, and then a 30 year old man in Raton, New Mexico. Raton is the last town before the ranch; Vermejo is another 40 miles west of Raton.

It feels so good to be here. The people are wonderful, the food is fantastic, and I have almost 600,000 acres to explore. The past two mornings I’ve gone for walks down the road, and I just can’t tell you how good it makes me feel to start my day with a walk and some stretching. There are roads and trails and wide open spaces to wander. There’s a lake up the road a bit, and many more on the property. On Saturday nights there’s a B-B-Q at the lake up the road (Merrick Lake) for lodge guests. I’ll be working the B-B-Q this Saturday, so I’ll get to check it out. At some point I’ll go swimming in the lake too.

It’s really quiet around here right now. Last night was my first dinner service and there were only 24 guests. Tonight there’s the same. The work is easy. Hopefully things are going to pick up. I’m planning to be here until the end of October. By then hunting season will have begun, and I’m told this is a different place once the hunts begin. I’m told it’s all very family oriented right now, but all the guests last night were men.

Well, that’s about it, I just wanted to let everyone know what I’m up to. I’ll post again when there’s something interesting to report.

~Melanie

Leaving Virginia (Again)

I've left Virginia again. Back for only a couple of weeks, I found another job on the other side of the country, so now I'm heading to New Mexico. I'm driving this time so I will have my own wheels and all the freedom that comes with that! I'm currently in Columbia, MO visiting my friend Ken. I'm so excited to be here. I was here in March and that was the first time in four years, so it's really nice to be back again so soon. My job starts on Monday and I'm taking my time getting there. I'll be working on a ranch: http://www.vermejoparkranch.com/. It looks really cool~ the biggest ranch in the country. I will again be waiting tables and bar tending. And, hopefully doing a lot of hiking in my off time. Also hoping that it works out for Thomas to fly out in the fall to meet me and drive back to Virginia together, having an adventure together on the way. I've just posted some pictures and that's what got me to update my blog. There are a few pictures of Kelly and me on a hike that we did while I was in Virginia. We hiked up White Oak Canyon and down Cedar Run Trail. We had the water slide to ourselves and then shared the big swimming hole with a few others. It was a great hike in spite of the heat. Especially since we had the wonderful river to cool off in. The rest of the pictures I posted came from a little detour I took on my journey out of the state. I was driving on 64 West and getting close to West Virginia when I saw the signs for Hot Springs and Warm Springs and I veered off the highway to see where I was on a map. I looked at the map and then decided to drive for a bit. It was so beautiful, I drove all the way to Warm Springs! Allegheny County is amazingly beautiful! I almost couldn't leave Virginia. I came upon a beautiful waterfall right on Routh 220 and got out to take pictures and walk around a bit. There were three teenage boys enjoying a swimming hole above the falls. I hope to continue updating my blog as this summertime adventure continues.... ~m