WestTrip 2013 - Part 5

Day 6 - October 10th

Although it had been a long week (physically) for the kids, it had gone by quickly.  Now it was Thursday, and time to start making our way back to the Denver Airport.  On the drive 6 days prior we stopped at a gold mine in Idaho Springs, CO that we wanted to stop at again to let Trey take the tour and pan for gold.  This turned out to be probably his favorite day of the trip, as he loves to pretend like he is mining for gold and gemstones.

The first 30 minutes or so was a classroom setting where we learned of all the various items that were mined for in the area.

Trey holding a real gold nugget

Trey volunteering to help with the demonstration

Next was a self guided tour of a small mine, followed by the old refinery.

First one off the bus and up the trail!

Posing for a photo at the mine

Next up was the big event, Trey got learn how to pan for gold.  While Trey was taking lessons, sis was more interested in riding the "wittle howsie".

Papaw and Trey panning

Sissy wanted to try

Trey analyzing his pan contents

Yep!  Looks like gold to me

Trey was excited about his gold find, and next we his gemstone attempt.

Anything in there?

I would say Yes!

A proud boy with his find

What a wonderful trip this was.  Our family likes to try and find unique vacation ideas every year, other than just going to be beach every year.  Not that there is anything wrong with beach trips, as we still try to take one every other year.  We have been blessed with jobs and opportunities to expand our children's experiences and knowledge via these vacations, kind of like "field trips".  I encourage other families to break out of the routine of "summer beach trip", you might just be surprised how much you will learn and enjoy.  

I also must mention how thankful I am that my dad was able to go on this trip with us.  He has wanted to visit the Rocky Mountains for years, and he thought his time and opportunities were drawing to a close.  So, we were more than happy to have him along.  This was a vacation our kids will remember for years, and even more importantly are the memories that they formed with their papaw during this time.

I hope you have enjoyed this recap of our adventure and photos.  Please check back often for other entries that may include fishing/camping/hunting trips, gear reviews, etc.  You never really know what you will see on The Fishing Fanatic!  

God Bless,

Travis

WestTrip 2013 - Part 3

Day 3 - October 7th

Day 3 promised warmer weather, and with us now settled into the condo for the week we figured it was a good opportunity to make the drive over to North Park and State Forest State Park.  This is considered to be the "moose capital of Colorado", and with the snow hanging on in the higher elevations we figured it best to take advantage before the 60 degree weather melted it away.  On the drive over from Steamboat Springs, Clark Peak slowly grew larger as we made our approach until we were in the park with it as our backdrop.

North Michigan Creek cut the path through the park that we followed, and it was a beautiful stream.  One that I would love to return to with a rod in hand to fish the many stair stepped beaver ponds.

North Michigan River

The kids were desperately needing a break following the drive over, so we hopped out to walk up the road listening for elk and soaking in the sights.  We hadn't been out of the vehicle more than a couple of seconds before Amy noticed a group of mule deer walking through the woods about 150 yards from us.  Unfortunately, the cover was so thick I was unable to snap a decent photo.

Dad taking a little stroll along the road

A short distance upstream was a small dam and lake, when we crested the top we were greeted with a stunning view.

Here the kids ran and played for a while on some vacant campsites.  Occasionally they would stop for a photo...

Trey just wanted to sit down and look at the mountains

I even got my dad to stop running around and playing in the snow long enough for a photo.

It was nearing lunch time, so we kept on moving upstream beyond the lake.  I was really expecting to see some moose or elk upstream of the lake where the creek meandered around forming a kind of swampy area, perfect moose habitat.

Unfortunately no moose to be seen

Beyond this point the roads began to get a little sketchy as all of the snowfall had begun to melt and was creating some wonderfully sloppy mud roads.  Thankfully we had an AWD vehicle that eased the confidence driving back through the sloppy stuff.  Eventually, the kids started getting hungry so we chose to head to the little town of Clark nearby.  Shortly, after pulling out onto the main highway headed to town, dad did it again....  "MOOSE!", he yelled!  I looked over to see a large moose walking right through the middle of a pasture field, however this time there was a vehicle behind me and I couldn't stop.  So, I had to go up the road a little ways and pull a U-turn and come back.  I managed to snap a few long distance pictures before he disappeared into the creek bottom undergrowth.

Trey managed to be awake to see this one, which I was excited about.  He managed to sleep through the first moose of the trip, and he was bummed out that he missed it.  Then we continued on to our original destination for some lunch.  There is where I got to cross off another item from my must do/see list.  There I saw what I couldn't find on my previous trip to Colorado just three weeks earlier.... Rocky Mountain Oysters!  Oh yes, when oysters are on the menu, thou shalt consume!

They were quite tasty, and before long both my wife and son were giving them a try...  Those of you who know my son, understand that this is by far not the most exotic thing he has eaten.  My little mini-me has quite the adventurous taste.

After a very filling lunch it was time to return to the condo.  On the drive back, a herd of antelope presented too good of a photo opportunity for me to pass up.  

This nice buck actually peaked my interest in a return hunting trip, as a buddy of mine made a trip out here to kill one while I was in Boulder recently.  Very tempting prospect....  Maybe in a few more years on that "guys trip" Trey was asking for.

WestTrip 2013 - Part 2

Day 2 - October 6th

The second day of our trip we awoke to a temperature of 18 degrees and a heavy fog all around.  Due to some issues with our lodging arrangements, we chose to stay near town since we would be carrying all of our luggage with us until our other room was ready.  So, we chose to head over to Stagecoach Lake State Park and do some elk spotting in hopes that they had already started their annual migration to lower elevation wintering grounds.

Very Elk-y Landscape

Unfortunately, our search for elk proved to be fruitless, although the scenery was still beautiful.  Somebody had recommended that we take a short hike in town to Fish Creek Falls.  This trail is located in the Routt National Forest, and we were met with a sign stating that the park was closed due to a lapse in federal government funding.  However, numerous people were venturing up the closed roadway, and we elected to follow suit.  The snow covered roadway was hard packed with snowmobile tracks and and footprints.  We didn't bring gear for snow hiking, but chose to give it a go anyway.

The scenery was beautiful along the way.

The trail

The baby girl was giving it her best shot.

When we got there the view was spectacular.  The picture doesn't really do it justice, but way in the back there is a 283 ft waterfall.

Dad was mesmerized by the view

After spending some time here just soaking in the view and warm sunshine it was time to head back to town for some lunch.  After lunch we wandered around town while thinking about what to do after lunch.  We chose to head north to another state park, Steamboat Lake State Park.

This was also a beautiful 30 minute drive to the park, where we spent some time wandering around the visitor center.  We elected to go for a little hike behind the visitor center after talking to the ranger, however this one was much more muddy than the one earlier in the day.  So mommy and sissy turned around and went back to the car while dad, Trey, and I hiked the 1.2 mile short trail.

Hahns Peak in the Elkhead Mountains (10,839 ft)

Hahns Peak Reflection in Steamboat Lake

That wraps up day 2, as these posts just seem to grow much longer than I originally expect them to be.  Stay tuned for days 3 through 5....

Travis

Return to the Four Corners 2011 - Part 2

Part 2 - The fishing part

On our last trip to Durango, we took a float trip with Animas Valley Anglers on the upper San Juan above Navajo Dam. Amy and I both had a blast on that trip, and we caught a good number of quality fish and saw some amazing scenery. So, prior to this trip I called up Will Blanchard, owner of AVA, and he said that he thinks we may as well complete the San Juan float by doing the quality water below the dam. I agreed, and we made arrangements to go on a Monday in order to avoid the typical weekend masses that flock to this world famous tailwater for large trout.

Weather the first two days of our trip was not very favorable for a float, thankfully the conditions changed by the morning of the float. Will picked us up at the hotel, and we made the one hour drive to the tailwater. After getting my one day license for $17, we drove on over to the launch point. While sitting there gearing up the shuttle guys came by and told us that there were at least ten boats currently fishing in the quality water section. The quality water is four miles long, and basically the boats just follow a rotation routine so that everybody has a chance to fish all the good runs. Upon hearing about the quantity of people on the water, Will and I just looked at each other. Will, knowing that I am not a fan of crowds, recommended that we try something a little different. You see, he also doesn't like crowds, and we really wanted to avoid them if possible.

Will's proposal was that we shift gears and float the lower tailwater. The only catch was that the lower tailwater was typically a later season float, and he had not done it since sometime back in the fall. Not only that, but the shuttle guys had told us that they had not ran a shuttle down there in months either. So, it was a little bit of a gamble, but Will thought he could put us on some quality fish. Also, this lower float was 14 miles compared to the 4 miles for the quality water.

We all agreed that it was worth the gamble and shortly took off downstream. It wasn't long before we were into some fish using baetis nymphs:

Most in this first run were about this size

We caught a good number out of this first hole before moving on downstream in hopes of finding better quality fish. The next run we came upon was a beauty, and once again it wasn't long before I hooked up:


The quality did get better here, and we found ourselves pulling a lot of fish out of this run. Plus the browns began to start showing up in the net at this point.




We picked this spot to stop for lunch, and the scenery was quite appealing too:




After lunch, we hesitantly left this spot since we still had a lot of water to cover. Just downstream at the next run we hooked into possibly the best fish of the day. Well, that we landed anyway:


After this fish we switched to large streamers in hopes of turning some big browns. We weren't disappointed as we had several over 20" give chase. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a decent hookset on any of them, and therefore no pictures of big browns to show for it.

It was a wonderful day on the water. A little longer than we originally planned, but the fishing, scenery, and guide was spectacular. We definitely made the right choice by going with this lower section float.

Amy and I are anxiously awaiting our next trip to Durango, and highly recommend Animas Valley Anglers to anyone who is looking for a guide in the area.

I would like to thank my lovely wife for taking the majority of these photos, and the video also in a separate post on the blog.