Durango and the start of school

With a new school year approaching, we did a last minute trip to Durango a couple of weekends ago. We tried a new campground, Lightner Creek, about ten minutes outside of Durango, off the road to Mesa Verde, on a quiet rural road. It was the sort of place we like, with a pool and clean showers and bathrooms. This time we packed a bit lighter, and left some things behind.

We got a nice tent site right on the stream bank under the shade of trees--cottonwoods, box elders and willows. Our only neighbors tenting were two couples using the campground as their base for bicycle rides. Across the stream were some RV spots, and here and there were some small cabins and one larger one that looked fully equipped. A woman sat outside the closest cabin, playing a guitar, with her dog.

Just as we got there it started to rain. For a while the trees kept us dry, but the rain would not stop, and even briefly hailed; no use trying to make camp, so we drove into town, strolled around the main street, had a nice lunch, and then drove back. The rain had stopped and the ground was only slightly damp. Jackson helped me set up the tent. Rylee, too. First we laid out a heavy tarp on the stoney ground; then, we laid the tent atop it. The boys pounded in the stakes, Jack inserted the roof support, and together we raised the side poles. Cyndi and Jackson set up the mattress and bedding inside, while I put on the fly, set up a cover over the picnic table and unpacked our "kitchen." Finally, the chairs were set up around our site.

The boys had fun playing in the stream. Rylee first explored the stream, stepping from stone to stone, until Jackson began building a little stone bridge across the stream. Exactly what I would have done, I thought, as I watched them from the bank. There were some other kids around, and Jackson, Rylee and Cyndi rode their bikes around the campground during the early evening, along with all the others. Cyndi made some summer sausage sandwiches, which we ate with beer and juices and some snacks. We lit the lantern for a short time in the evening, locked up the bikes to a tree, stored the food in the back of the truck, away from critters, and went to sleep early.

Saturday morning, I managed to coax them early into the truck to drive to Mesa Verde, but only after making coffee and hot chocolate on the stove. As at home, Rylee was up early with me. About 20 easy miles away was the town of Mancos, and just two blocks off the highway was a wonderful local restaurant, called Absolute Bakery, very homey inside with mismatched tables and chairs. A popular spot, as people continued to stream in as we were there. One of the best spots ever for breakfast and coffee.

From there, it was only a ten minute drive to the Mesa Verde entrance, but then there is a steady climb up for almost 15 miles until you reach the visitor's center. That's not much of a stop, as I guessed, but it's where you'd get tour tickets. I just wanted to breeze around for the morning, so we headed to the old museum and a self-guided hike to one of the cliff dwellings. In retrospect, that's probably not the way to see Mesa Verde. The more spectacular cliff dwellings, which I remember visiting as a child, must be on the tours.

We got back to the campground, and it began to rain gently again, and for a while we just huddled inside the tent, listening to it. We drove into town later. Cyndi went off on her own for a bit, while Rylee got a comic book--another Sonic--and Jackson got some headphones. We bumped into some of the boys' friends. Cyndi and I tasted some local wines and bought a bottle for later that night. That was fun. When we got back the boys went swimming, and I decided not to start the charcoal at the community grill (I didn't bring the propane grill), so we just made brauts and pinto beans on the stove, and then had another early bedtime.

Sunday was a full breakfast day, and I started to pack away the camp. The boys played in the stream again. Cyndi tried to sneak in a few minutes of quiet. Jackson helped me, while Rylee found a hill to skateboard down. The campground crew was nudging us to get out by 11 and we did manage to leave by noon (with much more room than usual inside the truck, what with the bedding bag up on top and no grill). We had another stop in Durango, this time for the boys to try the local skateboard park, while Cyndi rode the bicycle trail in town, along the Animas River, and then the boys joined her for another short ride. We promised the day before to stop at the candy store on the main street, Cyndi found some shirts for all of us, and we also got some sandwiches in town before driving home.

Jackson wants more movie making for his birthday. He especially wants a special effects software program, but it is quite expensive and now he is researching alternatives and even a student discounted price. He will get a camcorder of his own, but we've told him that he will have to be much more resourceful, save his money for any accessories (like microphones, lights, and a green screen, not to mention more software), and lower his expectations for Christmas. I also want to make sure he has some direction, and so I drafted a bunch of technical questions. At first he was very excited, then a bit overwhelmed, and now quite proud to display his knowledge.(His teacher from last year, who retired, wants to tutor him to prepare for applying to the Academy; it hardly seems like an opportunity to pass up, although I haven't seriously considered him going to the Academy.)

Rylee has been drawing a lot lately. He really has a talent for it. He draws cartoon characters and animals. He's making up some of his own. One is yellow but goes by the name of Red. And I really like his comic book phase. We've managed to find some age appropriate comic books, and it's a fun way to read. (Some are better than others. The old style comic books have complete sentences; the newer ones have that staccato, exclamatory style, usually full of references to a toy or game, that I hear the boys listening to while watching anime cartoons.) He's a big reader, however, and he enjoys it when he's not running around, or riding his scooter or his skateboard. He falls asleep next to me at night. He always asks, Will you put your arm around me? Since there will come a day when we will no longer be able to do that, I love those minutes next to him before he drifts off to sleep. We bought a crate of peaches, and Ry's pretty much devoured those.

Cyndi has kept the boys very busy this summer. Lots of playtime with friends. One friend came over the other day and he and Ry spent the afternoon on the fort deck. Cyndi took them to Cliff's last week, too, got them haircuts, and bought school supplies and new day packs and shoes. Jack's soccer should start soon, and Ry plays fall baseball.

So this morning was their first day at school. They were both excited, dreading the end of summer a bit but I think anxious to be back. Ry was especially anxious to impress his new teacher; and Jack, well, I'm having a hard time reading him. I know he loves school, but I think he worries about having friends in class. The boys took the bus with Loren in the morning of their first day, with the idea that the bus may be an afterschool alternative so they can go to their cousin's house.

Ariel and Chris moved into a new apartment. It sounds very nice. It's in a tower along the East River, a bit isolated from a bustling neighborhood, still small, but it sounds like they got a good discount through NYU, where Chris starts his doctorate program in the next week I think. I got the impression they were pretty upbeat about the move. They are planning to be here around Thanksgiving, and I just heard that Mom & Dad are thinking of an October trip to see us.

Durango 2011

We went to Durango again for Father's Day weekend, along with many of Cyndi's family.

We began packing the day before. The boys packed their duffel bags with toys and games and a book or two. Jackson rounded up the ipad, walkie-talkies, and the DVD player for the car. Rylee selected some of his Pirates of the Caribbean Legos and put them in a plastic container so they wouldn't get lost. Cyndi washed the bedding and packed all the boys' clothes. I tried to winnow some of our gear, bought some last minute food, and started the car packing.

Janey planned to come with us. On Friday morning, I had a client meeting at 8 and then came home after getting some ice, while the boys were still at a summer bible school and Janey had just arrived. Most of the camping gear fits in the back of the Dodge Durango: our tents, camp kitchen, food bins and cooler, a water container, and bedding, along with all the duffel bags of clothes, fishing poles, pool toys, and a bag of shoes. It always looks like we'll manage to fill the back so I can look out the rear-view mirror, but inevitably last-minute bags, hats, snacks, clothes, and blankets fill up the space. I'm just thankful that the passenger areas are not filled up, too. Once the back is packed, I throw on a car-top carrier for the odd-sized items (a grill, camp chairs, baseball bats, a bicycle pump, rugs, an extra sleeping bag, and, this year, the boys' big tumbling ball). I strap the bag down and by the time I am mounting the bicycle rack off the back, the boys are piling into the car, anxious to go.

So we're off! But then there's a stop for cash at an ATM. Then filling up the gas tank at the Bien Muir station on the Sandia reservation. Then through the construction on the way north out of town and finally through the local traffic of Bernalillo, until finally we are on the highway that heads towards the Four Corners. At this point on our trip, there's miles of blue skies and mesa tops and white puffs of clouds ahead of us. The radio is playing a classical station. I have my shuffle ear phones on, the boys are watching a DVD in the back with Janey between them, Cyndi is reading a magazine and taking short cat naps, and Jackson is assembling some new flashlights. Janey brought some birthday gifts for Rylee, including a book, and they're opened and assembled and read.

Before we know it we are close to Cuba and we're thinking El Bruno's for lunch. I haven't packed a lot of food for this trip. Don and Elley and Nicholas and Lauren arrived at the campground on Thursday, and Pete and Dorie and Brendon and Jordyn stopped overnight in Farmington and may be checking into the campground about the time we arrive in Cuba. There was some thought, since we were leaving later in the day, as opposed to a pre-dawn hour that the boys prefer for these longer trips, that we might go into town for dinner after setting up the tent so that I would not have to set up the kitchen, cook, or clean up the first night, but Elley told Cyndi that they'd plan to have some hot dogs for us this first night.

We didn't plan much for the few days we'd have: probably some pool time at the campground, probably one meal downtown, maybe some fishing down by the river, maybe a hike, probably some bicycling within the campground, and maybe some baseball. Mostly, I imagined spending the day Saturday around a big breakfast and a big dinner, while the cousins played and the adults talked over coffee and wine. There was some talk about rafting after the boys, Cyndi and I went last year. Surely, the girls would want to go into town for shopping. There wasn't much talk about Thomas the Train, which had started this annual pilgrimage years ago.

El Bruno's burned down a few years ago, and then they opened across the street. Over the last few years, they've been under construction and expanding from the original drive up they moved into. It looked completed this time, and there was a nice, cool patio in the back where we had lunch. Good New Mexican, a tad over-priced for lunch. The boys had their usual whole bean burrito. As usual, Jackson ate his up. Good chips, good sopapillas, great chile.

Back on the road, heading north out of Cuba, here the sky is blue and the land rolls out in a semi-arid cover of grass and shrubs. We have left the Jemez mountains behind and entered the vast plateau of the San Juan Basin. This is also Navajoland, and along our way there's a road that leads to Chaco Canyon, the Anazasi civilization. This is a good time for Travel Bingo, and we each take a card and a pencil and look for a bus, a mailbox, a gas station, a stop sign. Our cards last for the next few hours. We search in vain for an airplane. We find small mission churches here and there. Past Nageezi, we find a water tower at the complex oasis of school and health clinic. It's not until Bloomfield that we find a bridge, a stoplight, and more flags than we can count. In Aztec, we find a bird on a wire. After entering Colorado, along the mesa top known as Florida above the Animas Canyon, just before the highway winds down to Durango, Cyndi shouts, "dog!" Almost a full-card bingo. Jackson jokes about finding a dog on a wire. It's not until we arrive downtown in Durango that we find a railroad crossing.

We grabbed a six pack of a local microbrew, a bag of ice, and a carboard box on the way to the campground. At the campground, we find everyone is already there and find our tent site under the cottonwoods between Don & Elley's pop-up and two bicyclists from the Netherlands touring the region. We put the beer on ice in the cardboard box while we set up our camp, Cyndi finds the tablecloth for the picnic table, and I begin to unload the car. Jackson helps me lay out the tent and stake it down. Once it is up, Jack pumps up the air mattresses and Cyndi readies the beds for the night. I also set up

a smaller dome tent, which we use as the boys' play area, and the boys dump their stuff inside it.

All this while, Elley is making hot dogs, Nicholas is making "hobo meals", Pete is setting up another tent, and Jackson is blowing up the big red ball. The tent sites are full, and there's lots of children eyeing the ball as Jackson inflates it. Soon the ball is rolling on the grass behind the tents, one child tumbling inside, while the other children run into it, bounce off of it, and push it in unison.

At some point a circle of chairs forms in the middle of the tents and the pop-up. The children light their glow sticks. I light the lantern. I offer a beer to our bicycling neighbors. There's juices and Capri Suns for the kids. The bota box of wine is opened. Pete orchestrates S'mores. The stars are out. It is very cool. We all go to bed about 10. Pete and Dorie go up to the little RV parked above the tracks, and Rylee sleeps with Brendon in the tent Pete put up. Jackson and Lauren sleep with Janey in her "bedroom" in the big tent.

The next day is easy. I set up the kitchen and boil water for instant Starbucks. The kids are up before most of the adults emerge from beds or showers, and I make them hot chocolate, sausages, and pancakes. I offer some to our Netherlands neighbors, who are grateful since they are living off one-burner backpacking stoves and are taking a day of rest before tackling the mountains ahead.

The girls go for walks and runs and bike rides and showers. The younger kids are playing with the big red ball in the grass or watching the trains go through or playing quietly in the small dome tent. Don is doing work on the internet, parked in a camp chair beside his pop-up. Pete and I are still drinking coffee, just sitting, while Brendon talks about rafting.

I wasn't sure but there was so much talk about rafting that I thought I should call and see what was available, how were the conditions. The spring runoff had been very gradual this season and still the river was running very high. I heard it was running at 4500 cfs, which seemed high, and indeed the Class III rapids at the south end of town were reportedly flipping rafts. The adults conferred, and it was decided we would do the one-hour "float" and take out before the Class IIIs. We had to get to the rendezvous place in about 40 minutes.

There were about a dozen of us and we got into two boats. The float was faster and higher than the year before, and once in a while the guide could steer into a wave sufficient enough for a good bounce and a cold splash for those who were sitting in the front. The children were more than happy, and the adults were glad to have no worries for their safety.

After our adventure, we went into town and ate at the Steamworks, where we had microbrews and rootbeers, pizzas, grilled cheese sandwiches, hamburgers, portobello mushroom sandwiches, and I had a wild Alaska salmon BLT. We dispersed a bit after that, the girls going on a shopping stroll with the idea of taking the trolley back to the camp. Pete and I and our kids went back to the camp to go to the pool, and Don and his kids opted for a short visit to Thomas the Train.

Cyndi and the girls returned to the camp later than expected, after getting on the wrong bus in town and taking a tour of Durango. Dinner became a free-for-all, with grills and stoves putting out potatoes and corn and sweet peppers, hamburgers, hot dogs, bratwursts, and steak. More S'mores that night as the camp chairs were circled again, the kids roasting the marshmallows over the flames of the Coleman stove. As things wound down, Jackson went to sleep with Cyndi and Rylee curled up on my lap outside the tent and fell asleep in my arms. Later, I put him with Janey and turned out the lantern.

In the morning, it was Father's Day. I called my Dad before we left and also talked to Mom, who was recovering from a dislocated hip. She seemed in remarkably good spirits, though I'm sure she's uncertain about any movement. She was just bending over to tie her shoes when it happened. I had talked with Ariel before she left to Costa Rica with Chris and she left me a message on Saturday when they arrived. Jackson and Rylee and Cyndi gave me a cool shirt that I wore that day, a nice card, and a journal.

Before anyone woke up, though, I was feeling so grubby I had to take a shower even though it was still very cool in the morning. My plan was to keep breakfast simple so I could relax and take my time tearing down the camp. I rinsed and cut some strawberries. I boiled water for the instant Starbucks. I toasted English muffins and had a schmear of cream cheese & strawberry jam. That was my plan.

Pete was next out of bed, and we drank some coffee as the sun came up over the mountains and the campgrounds began to stir. A woman walked by on her way to the showers. She stopped to talk with us, and asked jokingly what was for breakfast. She said she had watched us all weekend, preparing these great feasts. She was on a two-week drive that would take her and her daughter and her grandchild to the Grand Canyon and eventually to the Dakotas before returning to the Midwest. It didn't sound like they were having great meals on the road. She seemed glad for a muffin and schmear.

Pete left and came back with bacon and cooked some eggs at the tent site. Janey cut up kiwis and mangoes to add to the strawberries. As a special treat, one they had anticipated long before the trip, the boys got to walk up to the store to buy boxes of cereal for breakfast. By the end, it was another pot luck brunch.

While the kids played with the other kids at the campground, chased the trains, and even went swimming, I began to slowly, methodically tear down the camp. Cyndi packed the clothes and the bedding. Jackson deflated the big red ball and the mattresses and helped me fold away the tent and the footprint. Rylee packed up his Legos and toys right away. Somehow it all got done. Pete and Dorie and Brendon and Jordyn pulled out about an hour before we left; Don and Ellie and Nicholas and Lauren about 15 minutes before us.I took a last minute shower and put on my new Father's Day shirt.

We all met up again in town. There were some last minute stores to see. One, a candy store that sold Lego candy bricks. Another, a toy store, where Rylee got a toy pistol from Janey for his pirate get-up. I went down the block and ordered some espresso iced frappes and some fruit smoothies and we drove away.

We went a different route home, going through Pagosa Springs, where there's a geothermic spa of hot pools along the river and highway. We stopped. It's set up very nicely, but the boys did not like the pervasive earthy sulphur smell.

We continued on through the forests to Chama, where we grabbed a good bite at a local hamburger stand, then through "Georgia O'Keeffe country", then toward Santa Fe. There we saw another plume of smoke drifting from a fire in the Sangre de Cristos, north of Santa Fe. On the relief route around Santa Fe, looking toward Albuquerque, you could see the smoke from the Wallow Fire in Arizona. It was very windy in the Rio Grande valley.

These trips end about the same. The gear gets unloaded quickly. Jackson always helps. Cyndi put things away. There's maybe some time for a bite to eat, for taking a bath, and then an early bed. And some very tired kids and sore muscles.

slideshow: Durango 2010

There's a slideshow from our trip at www.durango.bleichers.net. Click on Photo Gallery. I plan to add the rafting pictures others took of us. Enjoy.

vid: Durango trip 2010

There's a video from our trip at www.durango.bleichers.net. Click on Videos. Pictures are still to come. I hope I can add the rafting pictures others took of us. Enjoy.

Durango 2010 report

There's a long narrative about our trip at www.durango.bleichers.net. Click on Journal and read today's entry there. Pictures and video are sure to come. I hope I can add the rafting pictures others took of us. Enjoy.