Thayers in Colorado, Part 2

Mark and I were not able to take too much time off of work to spend with my family, so while we were back in Fort Collins during the week, Mom, Dad, Kev and Andrew took off for a few days in Fruita, Colorado. They then drove leisurely southeast towards Wolf Creek Pass. They stopped to camp along high mountain reservoirs, and took the tram to 11,000ft above Monarch Pass.

Due to a little mix up, we decided not to stay at the campground where we had reservations for the long holiday weekend. Instead, the fam headed west towards Pagosa Springs. We managed to score a great campsite at the base of Wolf Creek Pass (at the Bruce Spruce Ranch) for two nights, and then grabbed the last two rooms at The Springs Resort & Spa in downtown Pagosa Springs.

Our two nights at Bruce Spruce were wet and rainy, but absolutely beautiful. I highly recommend this little campground and guest ranch to anybody looking at a stay in the area.

Kevin and Andrew had a great hour long trailride through the mountains. We found some beautiful geodes in a local rockhounding site. We hiked up to a great view of Treasure Falls. And we hung out under the awning at a rainy camp, eating mom’s great dutch-oven meals and enjoying vacation.

On our last morning in the area, we met up with a local guide outfit for a morning of fly fishing lessons. While my Mom and Dad have been fly fishing for years, and I’ve grown up around fly fishermen, I’ve never actually cast a rod myself. Neither has Mark. So this morning, we went out to a local stocked pond and learned the basics of fly fishing.

It was pretty entertaining at first. Mark lost a few flies to the grass behind him. Kev and Andrew were both happy to be wearing hats every time the fly bounced off the brim. But we eventually got the hang of it, and even managed to catch a few fish that morning!

It was a really nice morning, and a great few days in the mountains.