Rio Grande River

A couple of shots I liked of the river. It is the 5th longest river in North America and the 20th longest river in the world! Everywhere I encountered it along my trip was an amazing view!

random pics

Just some more pictures I liked. The first is near Del Norte. The second picture is at San Luis Lake State Park. The third picture is here on the ranch. The fourth picture down is a valley near Pagosa Springs. The meandering river is the Rio Grande. The last picture is of a center pivot, irrigating an agricultural field near Del Norte.

The Sand Dunes

Memorial Day Julie and I went to the Sand Dunes and did some hiking. The highest peak is a little over 700 feet above the valley floor and it is a difficult climb as the dry sand constantly shifts out from under your feet making each step a struggle. But the view from the top was worth it. These are the tallest and largest dunes in North America. You can see them from the north boundary of the ranch and with the mountains behind them they are pretty spectacular. When we got to the top a couple was there, and the guy was getting ready to "sandboard" down! You can see him in the last picture at the bottom of one of the crests.
Coming down is the best part because you can run down the entire way. The sand was really hot by the time we descended, which made running seem like a good idea to us in our Chaco sandals!

Pagosa Springs

I highly recommend checking out Pagosa Springs if you are ever in south central Colorado. It is a quaint little mountain town that manages to provide all the amenities you would want without the neon lights and "city" facade. It is set off the San Luis River and it just has a really good vibe with it's sidewalks and simple architecture. It even has a public swimming pool that is actually a converted hot springs. So if the smell of sulfur in the air doesn't make you sick, check this town out. Way better than Alamosa, which is like every other homogenized city in America. The falls picture is Treasure Falls, right outside the city.

The Window

The Sunday before Memorial Day I drove out to Del Norte and hiked around. It was gorgeous there and one fascinating thing I saw was this natural arch which eroded out of a volcanic dike. It is a short hike up to the "window", as the locals call it, but straight up and the very last stretch requires you to use your hands to reach the top. Quite the view! One of those little white dots in the second picture is the Taurus!

The Inn

Here are some pictures of the Nature Conservancy Medano Zapata Ranch Inn. Pretty swanky, huh? It was actually decorated by a Japanese business man named Ito who opened the ranch as a golf course and spa several years ago. Unfortunately, no one wanted to golf in the middle of nowhere, go figure!, so TNC bought the property. They reseeded the golf course back to native vegetation, but they left the inn. They use it now for workshops and to pamper their legacy groups. These are people who have donated more than 5,000 but usually 10,000 dollars to TNC in their will ( oh, to be wealthy!). Anyway, they did have an inground pool which they cemented in. Our office used to be the sauna and massage building. The hot tub they left functioning! You can bet that after a long day killing weeds I will be climbing into that baby!

Fata Morgana

Hey All! So here is a little info on something kind of cool about the valley. They call it Fata Morgana and it is a mirage that results from a temperature inversion usually in the early morning. They are superior mirages, as opposed to inferior, so they make everything in the distance look twice as tall! It occurs because the valley is a cold sink and so the air below the level of your eyesight is colder than above. Kind of cool. Their are several books written about the valley hinting at UFO's and witchcraft (Melissa!) in part because of this phenomenon.
I have witnessed it a few times so far. The trees off in the distance look like redwoods and the town of Alamosa looks like New York City!

Just some pictures I really like. Only the first, Brian at the falls, and the last, a picture of the view from the little mining town of Creede, were taken by me. The rest, that would be the good ones, were all taken by Brian as he is a far superior photographer. I am still learning with my camera so as the summer progresses and I post pictures hopefully they will get noticeably better! The beautiful lake picture is San Cristobal Lake. The picture of me in front of the icy lake and snow covered mountain was taken shortly after Brian and I ventured into the mountains from the front range, somewhere near Gunnison. The horse picture was taken right here on the ranch.

A wonderful man...

This is me and Brian at a scenic river we found during our trip to the ranch. Just wanted to post a picture of my wonderful boyfriend for those of you who haven't got to meet him yet!

The House

This is the house where I am staying. We are set back away from the inn so it is pretty quiet. Don't let the seemingly idealic white picket fence fool you though. Inside that fence is a dusty mess of horse scat and dead mice. I saw two just this morning. Go Carl, Go! (he's Blake's cat!) But the house does boast beautiful views of both the mountains and the prairies behind it.

The First Week

I have one week under my belt and it has been a pretty slow start. I have met a lot of interesting people though. I think ranch life in general attracts people who are easy going and friendly. A Nature Conservancy ranch attracts people really concerned about sustaining the land and biodiversity. Put together, everyone here is very down to earth and interesting so in that regard I have already learned a lot!
The ranch is an amazing landscape with mountains and sand dunes off in the distance and prairies and wetlands all around. We have deer right outside our front door each morning and last night we heard coyotes howling. The bison herd has baby calves!
I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks. Training in Boulder, cattle round up on horseback, and some hard work hopefully. This weekend I am venturing out for some hiking and photography. Both of which may be disastrous. The hiking because I am not conditioned to the altitude yet, and the pictures because I spent 2 grand on a camera with usage I have yet to master.
Ranch life is a pretty solitary existence, which takes some getting used to. It is a little frightening to be alone with all the crazy thoughts in your head as your only distraction. It will be good for me though. Maybe if I pay those thoughts some attention they will be more organized and I will have a better idea of how to accomplish all the things I want to do in life.