Walking in the rain... just waaaalking in the rain.

Katie and I took a walk on a trail today.  This is the first time since I've been traveling that I've taken a "trail" walk.  We took the one that starts behind the restroom near our site that has all the resting benches.  It's a well defined trail and was a very easy walk.  We got to bench five or six, the one past the Indian ruins/sign, and it started sprinkling.  We kept going anyway, I was hoping the rain would stop, and I wanted to see as much as we could.  Then it started really raining, big drops, and we had to turn around.

I was surprised to see a little sign describing an old rubble pile from the home of some prehistoric Native American Indians.  Not much left, but you could easily make out the "Tower."

 Rocks from the Tower

We jogged part of the way back. I was really surprised I was able to jog, considering there are times I still can't catch  my breath in this 7,400 foot elevation, but I was fine.

When we started out on our walk, we caught the trail behind our site, going through the trees until we met the trail, instead of walking down to the restrooms and starting at the beginning at the first bench.  We were soon at the second bench and I realized this part of the trail really isn't very long.  I guess it gets harder past the spot we turned around.

Katie doesn't like rain, but she just kept walking, shaking off the water, walking, shaking off the water.  Where we caught the trail behind our site is in the middle of the trees, no trail or anything, and I had no idea where it was, so I figured we'd just walk to the beginning and go back out by the restroom, right down the road from our site.  As we were walking along, Katie suddenly turned of the path into the trees.  There was nothing familiar that I could see, but I thought I'd follow her and see where she took us.  I started recognizing tree stumps and other things, and she took us right back to The Palms, exactly the same way we had gone into the forest to catch the trail. I thought that was pretty cool. I guess she has a good nose!

This afternoon I was pouring some Jelly Bellies into a little jar and dropped one on the kitchen floor and it rolled down onto the rug where she was. (No comments on how level ARE we, anyway?)  She looked at me and picked it up in her mouth.  I never give her any of my food.  She has kind of a delicate stomach, and I don't want her begging or grabbing my food off the table if I walk away.  She knows she's not supposed to eat anything except what's in her bowl.  She just sat there and looked at me with her mouth closed tight around that jelly bean.  Then she came into the kitchen and sat at my feet.  I reached down and tried to open her mouth, she wouldn't open her teeth, but I could see the jelly bean.  I told her she could have it, and she ran back to her blanket and ate it.

It sounds silly, but I felt she was asking me if she could have it.  I guess it didn't hurt her, because so far she's okay.  I was pretty stunned, though, that she didn't just gobble it up while she had the chance.

WOW, am I ever glad we came back when we did!  As I'm writing this, it started raining again, then hailing!  The rain was so hard it came into my MaxxAir vents, the first time that's ever happened.  I had to close all my vents.

 Really neat hail storm.

 Hail on the ground and my chair with the umbrella in the background.

Thunder, heavy rain, hail - I love it!

We met a full-timing couple who are also bloggers, Gayle and Jim, shown below with their gorgeous Lazy Daze RV.  They have been traveling in Colorado for a little while, and we e-mailed back and forth a few times about this park I'm at now - McPhee.  They decided to stop at this campground for a few days, and I'm glad they did.  It was really nice meeting them, and we've chatted the last two days, and taken some short walks together.

They are traveling with another full-timer, Debbie, who has a really nice Lazy Daze RV, too.  She also has a really cute dog, Elliot.  Next time I'll have a photo of Debbie and Elliot and her rig, too.

They all went to Mesa Verde yesterday to see the Indian Architectural Ruins, and said it was really interesting.  Check out Gayle and Jim's blog for info and photos on that, I didn't travel up the mountain to see them, so I'm going to enjoy their post on that outing. The post about Mesa Verde isn't up yet, but it should be the next one. :)

After we got back from our walk, I put Katie's muddy feet into the sink and cleaned the mud off, and wiped her down with a towel.  She was so hyper after that, running around back and forth in the rig, playing with her "baby," and wanting to play ball.  Notice another smiley face!

From Me and My Dog, have a great Tuesday, everyone!  :)

Baby Pictures

This morning I saw one of the does walk across the street and she was acting different.  I watched for a minute and suddenly out of the trees bounds a little fawn - running and jumping and prancing across the street to it's mom.  It was so cute!  The mom would move forward a little and then the fawn would prance to catch up.  It was just darling.  I grabbed my camera and was able to get only one pretty good shot of the fawn as it was crossing the street. Then there were too many trees in the way to get a clear shot.  So cute.  I hope I get to see them again.  I just talked to the camp hosts, and they said a camper in the group camping area saw the fawn being born last week, so this little critter is only a week old! :)

Fawn running across the street.

When Katie and I were walking yesterday, I heard lots of chirping and rustling in the grasses along the road.  We waited, and out popped a baby Black-headed Grosbeak.  It looked too big to be a baby, but I'm pretty sure it was.  It tried to fly when it saw us, but couldn't and hopped back into the grasses where it hid. It was making a lot of noise. We finally walked on so it wouldn't be afraid.

Can you see him hiding in there?

 

He saw us and then he went back into the brush. 

When we got back from that walk, I put out my bird feeders, the seeds and hummer feeders.  We already have a hummer that keeps coming by, but he's fast!  Not a particularly pretty guy, pretty much brown, unless maybe the sunshine will bring out more colors.  I haven't been able to get a picture yet.

This morning I heard a tussle coming from the tree where I hung the seed bird feeder.  There were a couple of Blue Jays and three Black-headed Grosbeaks on the various branches chirping away.  They finally flew away. Venita said at her feeders there's one Grosbeak that rules - if any other birds come by, he scares them away.  This is the one left in my tree when the rest flew away, but I didn't see anyone getting seeds from the feeder.

I also put up the little finch feeder, but I don't think there are any birds in the forest that will try it out.  The only place it worked was in the Distant Drums RV Resort.  They  had lots of finches and that's where I bought this feeder.  I keep trying it in other places, but so far, no takers.

Lots of rain and thunder yesterday.  So far this morning it's been cloudy and cool, perfect. The sun pops out once in a while.  I really like this weather, and I don't have to feel guilty loving the thunder and lightning as long as there's rain with it.  Just in case lightening strikes and starts a fire, hopefully the rain will put it right out.

From me and Katie, have a great Sunday, everyone!  :)

Enjoying McPhee Campground

WELCOME to our new Followers, Sandra and Crystal!

Sandra has two blogs, one is in another language that I can't read, I and the other is about quilting.  The quilting blog is in English, and then again in the other language that I don't think is Spanish, but looks like it might be one of the romantic languages.  [NOTE: Per Bob and Gypsy, it's Portugese. That's where my maternal grandfather was born - on the island of Pico in the Azores. :)] If you scroll down through the posts, there are some interesting things to read other than quilting, one is how to easily stretch tight shoes.  So easy, but I wouldn't have though of that method.  Thanks for joining Me and My Dog, Sandra!

Crystal doesn't appear to have a blog, but from her Google + page, is definitely a dog lover.  Katie and I are happy you are traveling along with us, Crystal.

Welcome aboard to you both!

This morning I woke up to sprinkles on the roof.  Such a nice way to wake up.  When I go to bed at night, at least lately, Katie is in her bed and it's too warm to cover her up.  Usually when I wake up she's sitting on her brown and white blanket right below me, looking up waiting for me.  I usually ignore her and she goes back to sleep on her blanket.  I think she's a little cold, so after I've felt guilty for a little while, I climb down and cover her up with a corner of the blanket, and she'll sleep for another hour or two, nice and warm.

This morning after her potty walk, she snuggled right back up into her blanket and I covered her up again.  She is now sound asleep, warm and snugly in her blanket.

It feels cool in The Palms this morning, although it's 72 degrees.  I actually had the heater on for a few minutes to take the chill off.  It's raining really good outside right now.  I'm in heaven. The weather forecast for the next four days is for thunderstorms and at least 30 percent chance of rain.  :)

I was so sorry to hear that Donna and Russ's wonderful dog, Rusty, died yesterday.  He would have been  15 years old this month, and was one of those super special dogs that made their lives a happier place.  I was lucky to meet Rusty when I visited Donna and Russ at their home last year.  I was in tears at the end of Donna's blog post about Rusty's last day - I was very stoic when I put my last dog and cat down, but for some reason Rusty's death really affected me.  Rest in peace, Rusty, and my best wishes go to Donna and Russ.

Here are some photos I took yesterday at our current location, McPhee Campground.

Lots of Blue Jay's around here.  I think this one is a Western Scrub Jay, a juvenile according to my bird books, because his head isn't blue yet (I think) :

Our first deer sighting - I think she was as surprised by us as we were by her:

There's just something about having deer in your yard, you know?

This is a bush with weird spirals growing out of it - not a flower, but...?  I've never seen anything like this.

NOTE:  Per Gayle on 7/15/12 this plant is Mountain Mahogany.  She saw it at the Anasazi Heritage Center, "where many of the trees and shrubs along the trail are labeled."  Thanks, Gayle! 

 Close-up of the feathery spirals.

We have taken a few good walks so far. Venita, our camp hostess, said our loop is one-half mile, so if we do that a few times a day, we're getting in a lot of steps for an altitude of 7,400 feet.  At least it's good for me.

There is a sign near one of the nearby restrooms pointing to a trail, so last evening Katie and I went that way for a little bit.  The sign said it's a one-half mile walk which doesn't seem like much, but it said it's a very strenuous walk, and it probably is.  It ends up at the boat ramp which this campground overlooks, so there must be some pretty steep areas.  There are four or five rest stops with benches at intervals along the way.  Katie and I only went to the first bench, which was pretty much right behind the restroom. :)  Really pretty views from there, though, of McPhee Reservoir.

Looking to the right.

Looking to the left.

This is the first bench.

Sunset walking back to The Palms.

From me and Katie, have a great Saturday, everyone!  :)

Settled again - at McPhee Campground, CO

We got everything necessary for our departure done yesterday, and I woke up early this morning raring to go.  I had to get Katie out of bed for her morning walk to the dumpster with our little garbage bag. That might have been a first. We were on the road before 8 am and stopped in Cortez at the Walmart for some food, a tall Cosco 3-step stool and lots more chew-toy treats for Katie.

We were soon on our way to McPhee Campground, which wasn't a very long trip.  So far I like this campground; it has lots of trees and bushes.  There is a lake nearby that we saw on our way in, but I can't see it from the campground. There are some electric only sites, some full hook-ups, and lots of dry camping sites, which is what I have.

 View from my kitchen window of our picnic table area

I drove around one of the two loops, then the other and chose a site.  Good Verizon here, The Palms is pointed West for my solar panels, and pretty much in the open.  Our picnic table area is behind us, with a nice tree west of the table, so if it's hot, the table will be in the afternoon shade.  Lots of Restrooms and water spigots around the loops.

We got settled and paid for four days (in this loop, you can only pay for four days at a time in the "open" - not reserved - sites.  I like that best, anyway, because if I want to move, I've only got four days in the site.  The Camphosts' names are Venita and Spanky Bear, they are the only bears in the campground.  They said no problem, they are slow this summer and there will be lots of empty sites.  If I DO have to move because someone else wants my site on the fifth day, I'll just find another one.

Female Black-headed Grosbeak

I can receive UPS packages here, so I'll see if my daughter can mail my Sirius XM radio here.  They don't have US Mail service, though, just package shipping companies.  I need to get the mailing address from Venita.

Female Black-headed Grosbeak

There are deer here, I've already seen one walking through the neighboring campsite, and the birds above that I snapped at Venita's bird feeder.  She said there are doves, pigeons, hummers, lots of birds. When I saw the Grosbeak, I knew what it was because of the one I snapped at Mesa Verde, but this one looked a little different, so I looked it up, and yesterday's was a male - black head - and this one with the white on her head is a female.

It's cloudy and there has been a lot of thunder, and we just had a nice rain.  I'm hoping for more.  I was told the Mancos Fire, the one I drove past on the way to Mesa Verde, has been put out, so I think the area I'm in is safe, fire-wise.

With my Senior Pass I'm paying $8.50 per night, a much better rate than the $14.63 per night at Mesa Verde.  There is a 30-day limit.  I don't know if I'll stay that long, we'll have to see how it goes. 

Here's the recipe for the croutons, it's a great way to use up the end of the loaf of bread:

Homemade Croutons

6 slices bread
¼  cup olive oil plus a little more
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

Slice your bread into 1/2” pieces. (Or into quarters if you're doing snack squares.)

In a large skillet, heat your olive oil. Add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute, or until the garlic has started to brown. Add the salt and bread to the skillet, making sure each piece has plenty of room. (If you crowd the bread, it won't brown correctly.) Let cook 2 minutes, gently shaking the pan every once in a while.

Turn each piece of bread over and cook an additional 1-2 minutes, or until golden brown.  (The oil never seems to be enough for me, so I always take out the bread, add more oil, and put the bread back in, trying to make sure they are all turned over.  You could toss the pieces in a bowl to coat both sides before putting them in the pan.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread the coated cubes onto a baking sheet and bake until golden, about 10 minutes.  (I usually then turn off the oven and keep them in there a while so they get pretty crunchy.)

This doesn't make a LOT of croutons or "crispy toast squares," so I usually make two batches.  I keep them in a sealed baggie in the cupboard. 

From me and Katie, have a great Thursday, everyone!  :)

Happy 4th of July!

 

We are getting ready to leave – today I’m taking care of tanks and doing the laundry.  Tomorrow morning we are leaving, heading north toward Delores, CO where there are many camping spots. We're going to leave early, do a little shopping in the closest town, then head to a couple of places that I’ve found through blogs and Forest Service websites that look good.

I have various wrap-up photos that I want to post – lots of different subjects.  Since I haven't posted much, they are piling up. 

I’ve taken a lot of bird photos, these are the best, and I think I’ve got the correct names:

 Black-headed Grosbeak

 Isn't he beautiful?

These Whitebreasted Nuthatches, there were a lot of them, caught my attention because they were running up and down the trees in front of The Palms, singing away, pecking at the bark of the trees.  They were very busy.  In reading about them, I learned they were pecking at the bugs and larva in the crevices of the bark.  They were fun to watch, and very pretty little birds.

 

This first little Thrush was minding his own business when the second one came along and started dive-bombing him, then they were flying at each other. 

It looks like he has something in his beak?

My little Katie, as I’ve said before, doesn’t usually have a lot of expression on her face, but this is her “just back from a walk and now I get a treat” face:

 Just look at that big smile!

The way she is laying here makes me think of a deer – and she is at least part Deer Chihuahua:

 This is an interesting plant – I thought it was pretty. 

Squirrel that came through our campsite:

Butterfly (moth?) on flowers.  There are a lot of black butterflies and white butterflies here. 

And finally, I’ve been making my own croutons; I can’t believe how good they are.  Whenever I make a salad, I eat the croutons before I’m done making the salad.  Then I thought, instead of cutting the bread into little squares, why not cut each slice into quarters?  So the other day that’s what I did.  They are such great snacking crackers, and twice now I’ve made them into a dinner.  I put each square on the plate, slathered it with mayo, and added sliced tomatoes and ripe avocados.   OMG, they were sooooo good.  This is a photo, I didn’t make it pretty or cut the tomatoes and avocados evenly, it was already made when I thought about taking a picture.  I got the crouton recipe from the Internet, tried a few and settled on this one – so easy and super delicious!

 Crouton toast treats with watermelon balls - so good. Notice the bite, I couldn't wait.

From me and Katie, Happy 4th of July everyone!  :)