Day 4

It was quite chilly overnight. The kids awoke early and thus we did too, quickly made breakfast tacos and headed into town for our hike. The hike today was on the first part of the Colorado trail. This trail begins here in Durango and spans 470 miles all the way to Denver through the mountains. The first few miles which we hiked is relatively flat with only a few climbs and courses along a river. It was very relaxing with the sounds of running water and mountains in the background. The trail is somewhat heavily used. There were lots of mountain bikers and runners with dogs. This could make for some potentially dangerous situations around blind curves and the like with the children. It seems like people here just really like to get out and enjoy nature. A couple of miles in, the children got pretty tired and wanted to stop for lunch. This was our turnaround point. Baby Nate actually hiked a good percentage of this himself but was worn out and rode back on Amy's back. The trail was teaming with birds and other wildlife. Grant even spotted a few snakes. We got back to the car feeling pretty good. A good hike to break the kids in. We then drove back into town and visited the Durango fish hatchery. Here, they raise trout for release into area streams and lakes. We happened to arrive at feeding time and the worker gave the kids handfuls of feed to throw to the fish. The children loved throwing the food and watching the water roll with greedy hungry trout. There was also a museum attached with mounted local wildlife and several pelts that the kids could touch and handle. Since they had done so well on the hike, we decided to treat them to ice cream. There is a locally sourced ice cream joint in downtown Durango, so we headed there. They had some interesting flavors. The children all enjoyed it and it was great to see the ecstasy on their faces as they gulped it down. I had a prickly pear and jalapeño flavored cone. It was actually quite spicy! We left and Amy stopped to pick up some local buffalo meat for tonights supper at the Natural Grocer. I stopped at a local coffee shop for some coffee. Durango is a very dog friendly town. There ere dogs everywhere. In the coffee shop, the bank, everywhere. As we headed back to the campground the weather was perfect and afforded great views of the snow capped peaks North of town. We arrived at the trailer and the air leak with the water pump has gotten worse. Hardly any water came out of the faucet. I decided to attempt repair. I got out the tools and opened the access panel under the sink. It was quite filthy work as years of camp grime had accumulated there. I located the pump, and after some maneuvering was able to get my hand on the fittings. I ran my hand along the fittings and finally found a spot where I felt my hand get sucked against it. Got it! I squirreled the wrench in and tightened this fitting. Score, the pump and water is again working as it should. Next we added more water to the tanks. This requires walking a distance and filling a 5 gallon water container with water and filling it up. For some reason Nate thinks this is great fun. He has also decided to change his name to "battery". For some reason he calls himself "battery" and speaks of himself as such in the third person. So when he saw me withe the water container he screamed "battery wa wa" meaning he wanted to go and help fill it up. Despite getting soaking wet he was determined to help. We added about 10 gallons of water and arrived at camp to find supper ready and we ate a fine meal of buffalo taco salad. We explored the area behind the campground afterwards and followed a small stream for a good ways. Nate for some reason, insisted on dragging the camp shovel the whole way. The resulting noise guaranteed we saw no wild life. We arrived back at camp, got the fire going and roasted marshmallows and told more stories. The kids were exhausted and went to bed in no time. Tomorrow we hike further up in the mountains. The kids are hoping for some snow.