Music, Valle Vidal, Bears & Rainbows

Thursday evening we were treated to homemade ice cream and music at the park pavilion. Marti provided the ice cream and several people staying in the park provided a night of entertainment.


Yesterday (Friday) we took a drive through Valle Vidal, almost 150 miles round-trip including about 70 miles of dirt road. Roger and Mike rode their KLRs, I hitched a ride with Bobby and Melba, and Bob and Linda followed in their car. We packed a picnic lunch and headed out at 9 a.m.

From the RV park we drove to Cimarron, then north to Hwy. 1950 and the 70 miles of dirt. The first 20 miles or so runs through Ted Turner's property, then into Carson National Forest. We'd driven about 10 miles when we saw a HUGE black bear running across a field and toward the trees on the other side of the field! Roger had stopped ahead of us, but I had the camera and was on the wrong side of the truck to get to the window for a picture—the bear was far enough away that I could have gotten out, but didn't think of that in time. He was moving fast and even though we could see him very clearly, I wasn't able to get a shot of him before he reached the trees. He was incredible to see--and the biggest any of us had ever seen!

Then a couple of miles up the road we saw another animal right on the side of the road (on MY side of the truck this time!). At first we thought it might be a large dog but soon discovered it was another BEAR! Bobby stopped the truck, and we all grabbed our cameras as he ambled up the embankment not 20 feet from the truck. He didn't seem the least bit intimidated by us, but there was quite a bit of brush at the top of the hill. He moseyed across the top of the embankment for probably 10 minutes as we eased our way along with him, taking pictures every time he came back into view through the bushes. And, yes, he was so close we all stayed in the truck and took pics out the windows! Here are a few of the best shots I got of him:


After a long day on the road, we gathered around the fire ring at our site--no fire as it was still a bit too warm until the sun went completely down behind the mountains after 8:00. We watched the clouds surrounding the valley, lightning in the distance and felt just a few sprinkles but no rain where we were. But we DID see the most fantastic rainbow over the canyon at sunset! The pics don't do it justice, but here's a sample:


Today our group (Bobby & Melba, Bob & Linda, Mike, Roger and I) are going to Springer, NM, for a Car and Motorcycle Show at the local truck stop...not sure what to expect or what else we may decide to do while we're out, but I'll be back soon to let you know.