A visit to Electra

We are made a trip to Electra Lake, north of Durango. Marianne's sister Eileen has a cabin on the lake. The occasion was a concert by Eileen's trio.
On our way to Electra on Wednesday, we stopped in Glenwood Springs and had lunch with our friends Charlie and Gail at the Pullman restaurant, near the train station. A good lunch and a good visit.


Grand Junction was very hot, 103 degrees, but cool in the mountains. We did run into some rain as we got closer to Electra. The drive was uneventful, but of course slow on the Million Dollar highway.

We had a nice dinner with Eileen. Pat and Stacey arrived after we had gone to bed.

Thursday midday Pat and I took the boat out on the lake to do a little fishing. Richard caught a 17 inch rainbow trout, which we kept for dinner. Stacey later caught a 13 inch fish off the dock, so we had trout for dinner.

Friday was a quiet day. Pat and Stacey went into town for the day. Eileen went to practice for her trio. Richard fished a bit after dark, no luck.
Friday and Saturday Richard and Pat did some repairs on the boathouse stairs, as well as the boat, tightened up some loose steps, etc. Nothing big, but things that needed to be done.

Saturday was all about the concert. Eileen went to practice in the morning, and we headed over to the clubhouse for the 5 PM concert. The concert was very good, and well attended.

Sunday we left at 8:30 AM. Traffic was light, so we easily made it to Montrose by the 11 am mass. This was the Spanish mass, well attended. The priest seemed like he didn't want to be there, speaking indifferent Spanish.

We picked up excellent fruit and vegetables in Palisade. The rest of the ride home went smoothly, with rain and lighter than expected traffic.

North Park Colorado

Fishing Delaney Buttes Lake

On Friday, we headed off fishing for the first time in 2011. It took a while to gather all the pieces for the boat, etc. When we hitch the boat to the 5th wheel, the entire rig is 62 feet long! The drive over was routine, although the traffic was heavier than usual, due to those leaving early on Friday afternoon.

We were hoping to see a moose, but no luck.

We bought our fishing licenses in Walden, where Richard talked about going out with a guide to try to learn to fish better. The guides suggested that we come back in the fall for a day of guided fishing.

South Delaney Butte Lake was a little more crowded than usual, but we found a decent campsite overlooking the lake. Richard went out in the boat in the evening, but no bites. He chatted in the dark with a fishing bum, sleeping in his van, with an unusual tiny ten foot boat, fully equiped, just big enough for one person on a small lake.

Saturday morning we slept in. Richard did a little midday fishing (it's called fishing, not catching). We headed in to Walden to go to mass; Richard saw an American Avocet on the way. There were about 25 people in the small church. The priest was one we recognized, he used to be in Boulder. There are now two priests covering two counties and five churches. We chatted with an couple after mass. He was a serious ice fisherman, a two time winner of the local ice fishing championship! They had lived in Walden since the 1940s.

After dinner, and around sunset, Richard went out in the boat, and caught a 14 inch trout on the first cast! He caught two more similar fish in the next 15 minutes, then nothing, but good to break the jinx. The fish were right at the legal limit, and Richard did not have an easy way to measure the fish, so he put them back. Marianne wanted him to keep some fish for her friends. Unfortunately, he also broke one of his fishing rods, but we have extra rods.

On Sunday morning we slept in again, and awoke to find the camper cold and the lake glassy. The thermometer says that it got down to 42 degrees overnight. Richard went out on the lake, but got off the lake around noon when the winds picked up. The winds later got strong enough to shake the camper. Richard went out in the evening, but no luck.

On Monday morning, Richard went out on the lake, and caught a couple of trout, one 15 inches and one 13 inches. The photo is of the smaller fish, which we kept. The day started out calm, but the winds returned by the afternoon.

Richard went out for the evening fishing and found himself in a hatch, with groups of fish slurping down something on the surface. Richard had a fish on with the first cast, but the fish headed to the bottom and wrapped around the weeds, so Richard only caught a clump of weeds! He had lots of bites, and some fish on, but only got one fish in his net. Richard found watching the fish activity to be quite entertaining. He never figured out which hatch had the fish so excited.

On Tuesday we drove back to Boulder, making a stop in the Wildlife refuge to go on the wetlands hike.