Thursday, August 12, 2004
Aspen Glade NFS CG, Antonito, CO - Aug 12-14
While there is an unmistakable harsh beauty in the desert, there is also something to be said for high-mountain forests, especially when you're situated by a gentle river. Aspen Glade is a beautiful cg that has been recently updated by the NFS. Its location at 8500 ft guaranteed the cool nights that we had missed at Chaco and Abiquiu. Recent rains provided an abundance of wildflowers of every color. We picked a spot that offered good sun (for our solar panels) from around noon to 4pm, plenty of time to recharge the batteries, and still be beside the lovely Conejos River. Unfortunately, the pattern every day was to cloud up at about 12:30. Still, we received sufficient power for a 4-night stay. We are enjoying birding here, seeing lots of "old friends" absent from our viewing for several years, and saw one "lifer" -- Dusky Flycatcher.
We drove to Chama, NM our first day. We stayed in Chama 2 years ago over July 4, and everything (NFS campgrounds and the train) was shut down due to extreme fire danger, so Chama itself was pretty deserted. This time we arrived just in time for Chama Days, so things were hopping. We strolled Main Street, ate (again) at Viva Vera's, an excellent Mexican restaurant that may have actually been better than before, went to the grocery store for a couple of items, and headed back. Viva Vera's far outshines El Bruno, in Cuba, NM, and a favorite of many Chacoans. We ate there once with a group from Chaco and were seriously disappointed. We highly recommend Viva Vera's in Chama! The drive over Cumbres Pass and La Manga Pass has fantastic scenery. We also went into Antonito to eat at Dos Hombres Mexican restaurant. Antonito has none of the charm of Chama and the food is not as good.# posted by Doug and Willie @ 6:22 PM 
