Wednesday the only ride we had going out was a 4 person day ride in the Sangres.  Barb and I led a family of 3 and the daughter's college roomie up to Venable Lakes.  They were good riders and good people, and we all had an excellent afternoon.  Shortly after arriving at the lake we spread lunch, I tie on a fly, and promptly snapped it off in the shrubbery.  Ate my bagel, mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce and turkey sandwich, and tied on another fly.  Barb and the three girls went on a hike up the hill, Dennis watched me fish.  He fly fishes, was sad that he didn't bring his rod, and I kept offering him mine.  I caught 7 fish, he went off for a business call, I gave the rod to his daughter, she caught a fish, and then I finally talked him into fishing.  He caught a couple, I caught one more making the total eleven, and we headed back down the hill.  

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We made it back to the ranch around 6:30pm, I talked Barb into heading to dinner at the Feed Barn, and we drove straight there smelling like horse and fish.  Shortly after we arrived, Ladonna and Greg, the owners of Poag's, plus another friend walked in.  I invited them to join us, and within twenty minutes were were a group of twelve, loosely related eating and drinking on the back deck watching the sun set behind the Sangres.  From there we walked to Poag's, had a couple more beers, and then headed back to the ranch.  

We found more people and beer at the ranch than there was at the bar.  I'm still not sure exactly how or why those 5 recent college grad kids from the Springs belonged there, apparently one of their dads is part owner in the ranch or something.  Mike and I had one of their Pabst and we laughed our asses off at this one kid trying and failing at the ball and string into the can game.  Finally, sleep.

Thursday was a reasonably late morning, only a 2 hour trail ride going out at 10am.  I folded on that ride because I forgot to buy milk the night before and didn't have anything to eat for breakfast, and hungry Bryan is a grumpy one.  No worries I love breakfasts.  Things have started slowing down at the ranch lately.  Part of me enjoys the break to get out and do other stuff, but I'd really rather have things to do at the ranch.  Thus I had to suffer through an hour of sitting in a lawn chair reading Ayn Rand with my shirt off waiting for Dave and his Dad to come pick me up to go fishing after a delicious omelet with a biscuit and gravy.  

We headed to San Isabel reservoir, fished the tailwaters first, and the closest thing I came to catching was a snake.  No joke.  Up to the lake, same spot as last week, and we did a little more relaxin than fishin, and I only (lol) caught 6.  Dinner, drive home, early night to bed, read for an hour, wake up the following morning feeling great.  

Only a ranch ride for the day going out Friday.  Only a two person.  Looks like I have another day off.  I embarked on an adventure, not really sure where I was going to end up or for how long I was going to be gone for, so I brought a lot of my stuff, which isn't very much here.  Backpack with laptop, chair, cooler with the beer that we didn't drink yesterday fishing, wallet with $500, water, and fishing gear.  I headed into the hills intending on crossing Music Pass up and over to the other side, getting at least to the Great Sand Dunes.  Turns out that Music Pass hasn't gone up and over for 20 years.  It's Medano Pass that I wanted, several miles to the South.  At that point there was only one way out, an hour down the dirt road that I just came up, so I found my spot to hang out at.  

I worked for 2.5 hours playing online on Ultimate Bet until my battery ran out, and won over a dime.  I posted some sweet pics of my office today on Twitter (devopoker).  Read for a while, and then a lil after 4pm I headed downhill.  

Not too far into the drive I came head to head with a Toyota Tacoma towing a horse trailer.  What the hell are they thinking bringing a horse trailer up here?  Since they're headed uphill they have the right of way, there is no room on the entire road to pass side by side.  I back uphill to a turnout (bulldozed car sized strip of forest so y'all can get past each other), park, and wait.  ...   ...  Aw shit.  They're stuck.  Out of the truck, walk downhill, and sure 'nuff, they're stuck.  

"What in the hell were y'all thinking bringing a horse trailer up here?"

We've made it before.  

...

Their truck was in the trail and their trailer was cockeyed and twisted on the driver's side berm behind them.  There was no way to get around them.  

Can you help us get the trailer back into the road?  

...  FML.  

I walk back to my truck, put on my Chacos, turn around (which requires a 7 point turn, bulldozer aided), and back down the hill.  He throws the cable attached to the front of his truck to my hitch, and here we go, starting from a very steep, rocky, incline.  

My Ford kicked ass.  I drag his truck and trailer to the top of the hill, through the gnarly stuff, and he tipped me $10.  Thanks.  I would have refused $ from the lady whose flat tire I fixed, but from somebody who deliberately took their trailer up a rocky dirt road that was impossible for them to turn around on, get stuck, and then get bailed out easily, he should have given me $100.  But I couldn't get going until he got out of the way so I got him out of the way.  

Then I headed to town and rented my first shower.  I've never done that before, but I paid $5 to the Westcliffe Inn to take a shower.  It was fantastic.  Way better than the solar shower obviously, and I didn't have to drive back to the ranch.  Then to dinner, I had me some Cel Dor Asado again, place is amazing.  Mike came in at dessert, and here we are at the Feed Barn having a Bud Light.

Peace and good luck,

Devo