It Takes A Team

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Wagonteamster

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5/31/10, Rowdy Lake, CO - I awoke to another gorgeous day here in the Cimmaron Mountains. Since I’m camped at 9200 feet above sea level, the temperature got down in the mid twenties last night, but it warmed up quickly as it got later in the morning.

Since I’m so high up, the grass has just started to grow, so I have to move the electric fence a couple of times each day so the horses get enough grazing.  They love the young sweet mountain grass, and during the night, had mowed their playpen down so it looked like a golf green.

After packing up and harnessing the horses, I hitched up and started down the road for Rowdy Lake, only 3 miles away.  It was well after 8 am before we started off, but I was amazed that all the other campers in the area still appeared to be in bed.

When camping as a kid, I know that I was always up and about at the crack of dawn.  All of the ATV riding and Nintendo games must have today’s youth sleeping in a little later then I did.

To start off the day, the team had their playpen in the woods.

After pulling abreast of the Silver Jack Reservoir, I took the turnoff to Rowdy Lake.  Not far in from the turnoff, the road went from bad to worse. In order to get back to the lake, I had to climb a steep, windy, rocky road, with a very uneven surface.  With a fresh team and lighter wagon, the team made it, but not by much. I would have converted to a unicorn hitch, if I would have had the third harness with me.

Once back at the lake, we had a perfect camping spot, with lots of grass, but set up against a grove of aspen trees. Since it’s Memorial Day, most of the campers that were here this weekend pulled out during the day.

I went down and tried my hand at fishing in the early afternoon, but they weren’t biting, so I held out until early evening. When I went back out later, I managed to catch enough Brook Trout for supper.  The fish in this lake are supposed to be stocked, but all the ones I caught had nice orange colored flesh, indicating that they were holdovers from the previous year.

Fishing in Rowdy Lake, in the Cimmaron Mountains

This was a very nice and relaxing day. Tomorrow, it’s 17 miles back to the ranch where we left the trailer. This has been a great ‘Vacation From a Vacation.