Vacation Day 6 - Wednesday

We wake up somewhat refreshed after sleeping the entire night with no kids in our bed (since they stayed in Grandparents’ room). Enjoy the peace for a bit, then eat continental breakfast. Meet up with GP’s and kids and go out to find a campsite. We will camp and we will not wait until almost dark to find a place tonight! We try for an entirely different campground and are rewarded with a lovely site at Cottonwood Lake. Colorado’s federal land and parks system is great, but the state parks could use some work. We set up camp with “help” from the kids. I offer frequent reminders: “No food in the tent!”

With camp all set, we can resume mineral collection activities. Our next site is Joe Dorris’s Smoky Hawk claim. Steve has been in contact with Joe who has given us permission to collect amazonite and smoky quartz from the tailings piles on his claim. We drive in according to Joe’s directions, realizing that Joe forgot to mention one crucial bit of information: you really need 4 wheel drive to get there. We end up backing a considerable way down the hill that our Expedition refuses to climb. Meanwhile, in the car behind us my mother is screaming. We get to a relatively safe parking spot and eat lunch and regain composure. It’s only ¼ mile to the claim, so we walk in. Did I mention that it’s a steep hill?

So, I’ll pause now for the quote of the day from my mother:
“If I die climbing this hill, take me back to Texas.”

We make it to the claim and find plentiful amazonite, and a few smoky quartz crystals. Kids really get into and both start trying to shove little fistfuls of assorted rock and dirt into my collection bag. Also they enjoy picking up the biggest rock they can and throwing it as far as they can. I’m not sure why this is so entertaining to guys, but I’ve seen grown men do the same thing. After a bit, Grammy smells rain, so we head back down the mountain. We make our daily stop for ice cream in Hartsell at a small shop that, in addition to ice cream, sells espresso, rocks and minerals, silver jewelry, meat, and native art, small stone carved birds and more. Grandparents are pleased to see $5-$10 samples very similar to the stuff we just collected.

Back at camp, Grampaw, the fire master gets the campfire going and we dine on hotdogs and s’mores…before dark! GP’s head back to their motel and we attempt to stay warm and avoid attracting bears, although someone has forgotten Moma’s warning and taken a s’more into the tent. Sticky marshmallow goo and graham cracker crumbs are now affixed to our sleeping bags.

Steve & Jackson sleep on an air mattress and Matthew and I in sleeping bags.