Blue Mesa Reservoir, Gunnison Colorado.

We are in a campground called Elk Creek. It is part of the Blue Mesa Resorvor about 20 miles West of Gunnison Colorado. It is high desert from what the ranger's say. We have been lucky as it stays around the 80's durning the day (82-87) and is in the high 40's low 50's at night. Perfect sleeping weather. Well, for some people. Lately Chuck has been pushing me out of bed (really!!!) and sleeping on my side. Being the sweet and patient wife I am,I just get up and go to his side. I told him tonight we are making his side the same as my side. We have an air mattress. He likes his side HARD, I like my side Medium soft. He says it is cause my side makes a Hole and he slides into it. Personally, I do not believe that, I think he just likes my softy side cause when I am on his( hard as a rock) side trying to sleep (cause my sides are feeling like there on concrete) I have no problem staying on his side. So Perfect sleeping weather for SOME people. Other people are wives who like there husbands to get a good sleep.


Ok, back to this country. It is very pretty. Yesterday we took a trip to the Black Canyon of Gunnison. It is a amazing Canyon. Even more so when you learn that it is Billions of years old. Billions. It lets one know how small we are to Nature as the vastness of the Canyon is great. We have pictures and Chuck is posting some so you can see them. The rock formations are incredible. Pictures do not do justice to being there. It was a sunny day and today I am sunburnt, so we are taking an easy day out of the sun. Tomarrow, we are going on a Boat Trip put on my the National Parks system into a canyon. So we say the Canyon by top, tomarrow we will see it from the water. No white water stuff. I am to much of a chicken for that.


My leg is doing great and this is wonderful as the hiking around here is worthy of us getting out of the truck. Just a little ways from our camp (ok, a long ways, but worth the drive) is forest, mountain streams and beauty beyond comprehension. Colorado is truly a beautiful state. At least on the West side. Chuck is still keeping me on a leash telling me not to overdo it when we hike. This is good as I tend to have a small problem knowing when I am doing to much. However, after we have dinner and dishes are done I am making sure we go for a nice slow walk around the "loop" of our camping area to help settle dinner and to say HI to all the dogs in the area. Chuck will talk to the people while I talk to the dogs so it is a good trade.


Our first night here I was feeding the Chipmunks seeds. I have since stop doing this as I was told that last year this park was closed because of the BlueBonic Plague. It killed all the Prarie Dogs last year but not the chipmunks. The Plague is carried by fleas and can affect humans also. It is treatalbe in humans, but who the heck wants the Plage anyway!!! With my luck I would be the one human to contact it. So I have since stopped feeding the little critters so they and there fleas do not get to near me. Unfortunally, these little critters know humans mean food and they are VERY bold. I was doing a watercolor this morning, not paying attention to anything else and a chickmonk decided to run onto my feet so I would know it was there. I jumped so high (it scared me) I scared us both. He left. Now he is back (Chuck has named him fatso) looking on the table and fireplace for any human leftovers. We also have a humming bird feeder out (they are allowed) and the humming birds are enteraining us for hours on end. We had seven here for a few hours and they were fighting over the bottle of nectar. It was so loud and nasty that it attracted the attention of a mom and two girls walking. I sat the girls in frount of the feeder so they could be close and told them to beware of the killer humming birds. They laughed as the humming birds dived at them to get them back from the feeder. These girls were about eight years old and very sweet. They stayed her for a half hour enjoying the humming birds and filling my brain with all kinds of information about them. It was very nice. I petted there dog Molly the Collie. Mom (Karen) was a real nice lady also. They will be back. The humming birds guarantee it.


We do not have cell phone service here, so anyone wants to contact us will have to do so by computer. I want you all to know we are thinking of ours friends and family. Those of you that have horses would love the riding in this area. Makes me wish Katie was still alive. Those of you who have ATV's would love the ATV trails out in the mountains. Once again, I would like to have ours here, but actually a horse would be better as the noise would not scare the wildlife. Then the rest of us who just have the feets know that any trail is open to us. Lots of hiking, fishing and swimming. Well, I guess I better close now. We will keep blogging and will post again later. We are here until August 4th and then head north. See ya all sooner or later.