The Ponds at Warm Springs Ranch

One of the nice features of Warm Springs Ranch are the several stocked ponds on the property. Sometimes it is surprisingly difficult to catch these fish due to the preponderance of many insect hatches that provide an abundant natural food source. Other times, you can figure them out and have some great success. After our day on Fourmile was shortened by yet another thunder and lightning display, we had Charlcie join us on the ponds after the front had moved through. The fish were very active, cruising and feeding just under the surface, creating wakes that looked like torpedoes cruising through the pond. Jeff soon figured out that a black wooly bugger fast-retreived just under the surface elicited strong strikes. He caught large fish after large fish and put on quite a show. Seeing the torpedoes stalking his fly and striking convinced me to join the party, and I had a some success also. We're talking Kamloops variety of rainbow trout, none of which were under 15",and fat, healthy, and in a fighting mood. I turned the rod over for Charlcie to land one of the largest, a reward for her many hours of tough fishing.

Fourmile Creek

Fourmile Creek runs through Warm Springs Ranch (where the cabin is) and on downstream before it joins the South Fork of the South Platte River near Hartsel. The South Park Area Promotion organization has teamed up with local ranchers to provide fly-fishing access to private streams - in return the local ranchers receive some compensation as well as stocking and upgrading their streams. Fly-fishers pay a very reasonable fee for the opportunity to fish these private waters. Jeff and I had arranged to fish a mile of stream frontage for the day - on the ranch across from Warmsprings. Again, the stream was out of it's banks and off-color, but we figured out how to hook some very nice fish - rainbows 17"+, primarily on pink san juan worms. Good thing we didn't take our very light rods, because the size of these fish surprised us! Notice that nearly all the fishing posts include wildflowers and/or wildlife and scenery pics - proof that you've gotta take time to enjoy the spectacular surroundings that make fishing out here so special! On this day, Heather and Jaden made their trip to the Denver Zoo, while Charlcie enjoyed a personal day at the cabin - reading and relaxing.

Tomahawk Wildlife Management Area

We were able to enjoy a couple of hours fishing the Middle Fork of the South Platte River as it courses through the Tomahawk WMA. The river was swollen and off-color due to the heavy rains and so our fishing strategy had to change. Rather than fishing the typical terrestrials with a dropper, we had to change to something flashy to catch their attention - welcome back wooly buggers! Before the next storm moved in, we were able to catch many fish, but they were all small stocked rainbows. Better than being skunked, but having never caught a tagged fish in this stream, it was somewhat disappointing. While Jeff, Charlcie, and I fished, Jaden climbed the mountain that overlooks the stream - she is one adventurous young lady!

A week with Heather, Jeff, and Jaden

After a very enjoyable week with Ben and Myka in Fairplay, we were fortunate to spend one more week at the Boyd Metals cabin. Our niece Heather and her husband Jeff, and daugher Jaden invited us to spend their vacation week with them, so we willingly obliged. Are we special or what? We thoroughly enjoyed the week, visiting many of the special places that we enjoy out here with them. Familiar fishing, sightseeing, wildlife viewing, and wildflower viewing were all part of the agenda. We were on the go from sunrise to sundown - it goes without saying that they are much younger and Charlcie and I had a hard time keeping up sometimes, but we had a very good time. Heather and Jaden managed to spend a lot of girl time together shopping, going to the Denver zoo, and a massage day, as well as joining Jeff, Charlcie, and I for most of the outdoor activities. I am going to break down the photos into separate activities, rather than trying to post them all together.

Colorado Rockies vs. Chicago Cubs

July 30, 2010 We've had a great week with Ben and Myka. They fixed a very tasty pasta dinner for us one evening, a real treat. We also had some spirited games of Farkle and Apples to Apples. This was the last day for them at the cabin. We capped the week off with attendance at the Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs baseball game in Denver. We rode the light rail to the stadium, which sure beats fighting game traffic. There seemed to be as many Cubs fans as Rockies fans - it made for a great atmosphere. However, the Rockies issued a severe beatdown to the Cubs, 17-2, and in doing so set several team records. Eleven straight hits and 12 runs scored in the eighth inning. Fun game for a spectator (unless you are a Cubs fan). We sure hate to have to take our kids back to the airport today, but are looking forward to future road trips with them.

Georgetown Railroad

Most of our fishing opportunities were dashed by unusual rainy days and nights. So we filled in the days with shopping and sightseeing. We decided to take the Georgetown Loop railroad ride. After having taken a train trip through the Royal Gorge Canyon previously, the Georgetown trip was disappointing. Although the scenery was very nice,the trip did not offer anything unusual or differing from what could be observed from the highway. In fact, the ride was 15 minutes to Silver Plume, sit idle at the station there for 30 minutes, and then 15 minutes return on the same track as the ascent. But, with Ben and Myka along, we had an enjoyable day nevertheless.

Snowball??

For the past few years, we could always count on a visitor at the cabin every evening around dinner time. We missed her the first couple of nights, but last night after dinner was finished, we heard her calling us. We were happy to see her and know she was OK. "Snowball" is the given name from one of the group sometime back - we don't know her real name, but know that she permanently resides a couple of cabins down the road. We will have to be sure to save some table fare for her for the rest of our time here.