mountainborn

Just putting a tarp over the table when you finish a meal isn't much of a bear deterent, as these campers will soon findout. Their neighbors shot this video as the damage was occouring: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBPZvw7ks5Q Note how easily the bear just kindof casually clears off the whole top of a 54 quart marine ice chest, even though it is held on with two hinges and two latches.

Then we will have to ford a river. Our blog has been updated with a jeep trail video. Here is the link: http://mountainborn.blogspot.com/

Blog update, link below:

Not ! It requires the same old hard labor as at lower elevations, but the right soap for the hard water does make a difference.

The coordinates are on the Upper Rio De Los Pinos which feeds Trujillo Reservoir. Here is a photo of the reservoir, much lower, it is 10,022 elevation at the surface, and off in the distance.

Beautiful trout fishing primitive campsite location. Blog update with campsite coordinates and two videos of the site: http://mountainborn.blogspot.com/

Blog update with Bear photos. http://www.mountainborn.blogspot.com/

I guess that a good side benefit of that would be should your tow vehicle alternator go out, You could just start up the generator, to keep the tow vehicle going until you got to a place that could make tow vehicle repairs ! I don't think that the imposed electromotive force upon your tow vehicles battery would be sufficient to cause a problem, because the batterys in your Oliver are charged and protected by a "smart charger".

Welcome to Trujillo Meadows to the O'Briens, Cathie and Terry ! Here is a video shot from over the hood of the Jeep: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijpbNxsoVaY

Blog update at: http://mountainborn.blogspot.com/

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m7Jg6fglKI There's not much available on the internet about this campground so I shot a quick video and posted it to You Tube. This is of the upper loop of the campground.

An endangered species story. Blog update at: http://mountainborn.blogspot.com/

Our 08' v6 3.7 litter doesn't have the same torque available as our 05' straight 6, but does an adequate job. Having said that, it will not do what some drivers might expect. for example, if traveling at 70 MPH at the bottom of a long steep grade, out west, it may be traveling only 45 or 50 at the top, instead of the 70 MPH speed limit. We accept that it will loose some speed on a steep grade, and we know that when we drop our Ollie at our base camp, we will be able to do what many other tow vehicles cannot, drive jeep trails, ect. Our last towing challenge was Colorado's La Manga Pass, a 3000 ft climb in five miles, with the summit at 10,300 feet of elevation. A Spring time Chuvosco, soft hominy snow suddenly fell with an accumilation of 1/2 inch on the highway. We pulled over, shifted into 4x4 high range and topped out at 47 MPh in third gear. It is the ideal tow vehicle for us and our camping style. From the sound of it, it may well work for you guys as well !

Cumbres Pass Colorado Elevation 10K plus, the Keifer's arrive by steam engine. Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqW9KpS8B9U

Wow, that's great. I didn't know they were headed your way! Please tell them hello for us, and let them know that they're missing August heat in June here in Florida. They picked a great time to go to the mountains! Are they camping with you and Betty at 10,000 feet tonite? Sherry Yes they spent two nights with us and left out this morning for telluride. We just saw them off in Chama new Mexico. We shot another video of their train arriving in Cumbres Pass that morning, but it is 184 Mb, too large for photo bucket, I will try You Tube next, so others can see it.

Now, talk about your dedicated railfans, the Keifer's drove thousands of miles, climbed thousands of feet and got caught in a rain storm up in Ossier Pass ! Here is a short video of their passing through Cumbres Pass on their way back to Chama, Nm. Thats them in the next to the last car, waving at us:

When cooking at high elevation, it doesn't take one long to figure out that things loose their temperature very quickly. So, Butcherknife Betty's delima was, how to keep the golden brown biscuits hot until everyone could get to the table. Here is how she went about it this Father's Day. a. Set the baking pan full of cathead biscuits, fresh out of the oven, into a pre heated cast iron skillet and then cover. The cast iron skillet will give off it's heat slowly keeping the biscuits warm over an extended period of time. However, if you don't like your biscuits with a golden brown and slightly crunchy bottom, you will need a spacer between the baking pan's bottom and the skillet. We have used a horseshoe as a spacer in the past. Setting that hot skillet on the tablecloth can cause a problem if it isn't isolated from the cloth with a spacer such as below.

Happy Father's Day !

Blog update with video and photo. Just click the link below:

The local propane delivery service is focused on home delivery and there is never any one there. They retrieve their voice mail delivery orders from their answering machine and will not come back to the office all day. So, getting a refill there is next to impossible. A sign in the window had an emergency number to call, but, that always seemed to incurr additional costs. The Blue Rhino exchange at local stores is marked $27.95 . And, we know that they now have 2 pounds less in the exchange cylinder at that inflated price. We went to Eddies Chevron, one block west of the Visitor's Center at ther junction of 84, 64, and 17 highways, Eddie filled two of our cylinders until the liquid sprayed out of the vent ! Not weighed or measured by the gallon, but instead filled chock full ! The total cost for the two fills, including New Mexico taxes, came to $23.08 !!! Oh, Yeh ! Thanks, Eddie, you know we'll be back !

Tables today, firewood tomortow. Blog update with photos. Click the link in the signature line please:

Where are you exactly. My wife and I will be heading for Telluride, CO next Wednesday. We are at Trujillo Meadows Campground, in The Rio Grande National Forest of Colorado, located just off of highway 17 ( 2.5 miles of all weather, wide gravel road ) which runs from Chama, New Mexico and Antonito, Colorado. Stop in for a visit, your free campsite is waiting for you.

Aubrey, dude, you are ever soooo bad ! You figured it out immediately ! Though it ain't EXCALLIBER, it is bubba's equivalent !

At 8 am this morning

Seems like some one in a post somewhere thought that three ollies in one campground constituted a mini rally. So, following that logic, I declare a micro rally ! Here's the video: