Fishing at Delaney Buttes

We slept in. Richard went out on the boat and fished for an hour and a half, with no success. We spent the afternoon reading and relaxing. We also went out for a short hike.

It was a stormy day, so there was lots to look at in the sky.. The radio from Laramie says that the high for tomorrow will be unseasonably cool, in the 50s.

After dinner, Richard went out on the lake again. After trying scuds and pheasant tail flies at 10 feet down without success, Richard changed to a Kastmaster spoon. He soon caught a large rainbow, who had swallowed the lure deep in his neck. Richard released it, only to see a cloud of blood, and then that fish kept coming back to the surface. Richard decided that it would die anyway, so he netted it and brought it in for dinner. We measured it at 18 inches, a big fat fish. We cut off the head and tail, and then cut what was left in half, as we figured that we could not at the whole fish in one meal.

Richard went back out, and caught another large rainbow, 16 inches, which he released. It was well dark when he came in off the lake.

Boulder to Delaney Buttes

Marianne exercised in the morning, while Richard sprayed a couple of his sculptures, and got ready fro the trip. For this trip, we are bringing the RV and the boat, a 62 feet long rig. We left Boulder midday to drive over to Delaney Buttes lakes, near Walden. The drive over was uneventful, over Berthoud Pass through Winter Park and Granby. The beetle kill is amazingly large, in some places dead trees as far as the eye can see.

The fly shop in Walden said that we need to go deep at the lake, maybe 10 to 12 feet down, with a scud or a pheasant tail. For the rivers, try a hopper and a dropper. We set up at South Delaney Buttes lake. Richard was a little under the weather, so too tired to fish in the evening. He hopes to feel better tomorrow and get in some serious fishing.

Durango to Boulder

We had breakfast with Eileen, and headed down the hill. We saw the train headed up the valley, and Richard stopped to take a picture.

After a stop to return some carpet to Home depot, we headed east. The drive through Bayfield and Pagosa Springs seemed slow, with somewhat heavy traffic. We stopped in Pagosa Springs for coffee and bread, and crossed Wolf Creek Pass to South Fork, where we stopped at the quilt and gift store. The quilt store there sells completed quilts, not fabric. Then we went to the quilt store in Monte Vista, where Marianne bought some fabric on sale.

While we were at the quilt store, Richard's cell phone rang. It was the guy who left the fly rod at Delaney Buttes. He saw the note we left and called. He said that he got talking with his friend, who was fishing from the dock, and just forgot the rod until a couple of days later. He was very happy that the "right person" had picked up the rod. Brian said that the reel was what was important to him, as his grandfather gave it to him. That made sense, as the reel was kind of a collector's item. He lives in Vail, but will have one of his relatives in the Denver area come pick it up.

The rest of the drive was more heavy traffic, some rain, and even a bit of hail.

We arrived at home to find Jim relaxing, waiting for Karen to come back from her class. They are staying here for a few days, although they left to spend Saturday night with friends in Fort Collins. We had dinner with them before we left for Durango.

A Day at the Lake

After breakfast, Richard drove into Durango to buy material to pad the concrete column of the boathouse, to protect the ski boat. He also picked up a WIFI router for Eileen, so that she could share her internet connection with visitors. Marianne and Eileen went for a walk.

After a nice lunch, Richard and Marianne went down to the boat house to install the padding, indoor-outdoor carpeting strapped to the column. A successful installation.

Late in the afternoon, Eileen and Marianne went to the practice of the Electra Trio. Eileen plays the violin. Marianne reports that it was very beautiful.
Richard went for a quick spin on the lake, in the fishing boat.




We all went to the clubhouse for a nice dinner. The mountains were very beautiful.

Trail maintenance, and Anna to the airport

In the morning, we had a good breakfast, and then did some maintenance on the trail leading from the cabin to the water. We removed stones, and set a few stepping stones into the ground at strategic points. All three of us were out there with rakes, brooms, shovels, pruners, sledgehammers, you name it. It was tidier and safer when we were finished.

Around lunchtime, Anna came back from a sleepover with triplets her own age, 9 years old. She was very tired, took a shower, and then went to bed.

Around 4 PM, we left for the airport. Anna's flight back to Phoenix and her parents was scheduled to leave at 6:15, but when we got to the airport we found that the flight was delayed. Because Anna was an unaccompanied minor, Eileen needed to stay until the plane took off. Anna is a very experienced traveler, as we could see when she went through security. The plane took off around 7:45 PM, and the tired crew went to the Doubletree Hotel restaurant for a bite to eat, with a view of the Animas river flowing strong.

Boulder to Durango

We got up early and got on the road around 7 AM. We took the car, since we would be staying with Eileen. We took the US285 route, through the San Luis valley, Del Norte, and Wolf Creek pass.

The drive was straightforward, with relatively little construction delay. We had a picnic lunch at the highway rest area between Del Norte and South Fork. The rest area is very tidy, maintained by a couple who work for the Department of Transportation. The decor was a little quirky and homemade, with horseshoes and cowboy cartoons in the bathrooms. The lady who maintains it said that they are more or less allowed to do their own thing. This time of year, they have lots of flags, for the 4th of July, since the VFW ladies use it for their picnic. They have other decorations for other holidays.

Eileen was happy to see us. We sat and watched the sky and the lake, cool and pleasant.

More fish, and then home

We fished in the morning. Richard caught a couple of good fish.

We left around noon. We went home via Granby, Berthoud Pass, and I-70. The traffic on I70 was bad, typical for a Sunday afternoon.

All in all, a good trip. Nice to get away from the city.