And the Fish
The owl
“He who postpones the hour of living is like the rustic who waits for the river to run out before he crosses.” — Horace
Travel’s With Maggie
Today’s drive took me from Southern Utah’s red-rock high desert to Colorado’s San Juan National Forest. I spent the night at an RV park just outside of Pagosa Springs parked next to the Blanco River. It doesn’t get much better than this, I thought.
The Blanco River as seen from my RV window. -- Photo by Pat Bean
Our early September afternoon arrival left plenty of time for Maggie and I to take a hike along the river bank and among the wildflowers. Maggie kept her nose to the ground in search of exotic smells to follow, while I looked to the sky. A circling red-tailed hawk overhead drew my attention, as did a couple of chattering magpies in a nearby cottonwood tree.
I pity the poor person whose heart doesn’t skip a beat at the sight of this hawk’s red tail spread wide and flashing in the sunlight. On the other hand, I think some people pity my love for the playful but loud, long-tailed magpies they consider nuisance birds. Being a Texan not known for her quiet ways, I always feel these birds and I share a connection.
This would be the fourth time I had stayed at this Blanco River RV Park off Highway 84. It’s a welcome and convenient spot for campers traveling between Utah and Texas, a trip I’ve made annually since becoming a full-time RV-er. Each visit here has left me enchanted with both the setting and the little touches the campground owners have made to make the place special.
Modern day rock art -- Photo by Pat Bean
I consider the rocks someone has painted and scattered about the park as fascinating as I find the pictographs and petroglyphs of earlier cultures.
As I watched the sun disappear at the end of the day, a feeling of contentment oozed from my pores. I realized I didn’t miss at all the fact that I had no phone, internet or television connections. Tomorrow would be soon enough to hook back up to the world.
Soon after, Maggie and I crawled into bed and went to sleep to the music of the river rippling over rocks.
There’s no better place and no better way to fall asleep than to have the music of a river or stream burbling in the background. Instant relaxation! A gentle rain on the roof comes close.