Fall in Pagosa

Sunday after church we had lunch and hung out with Nick, 

then hugged him goodbye as we headed to the airport to meet the Jankes and Howells 

to go to Pagosa.

Matz and KT brought a cooler full of home-grown food:

Fresh tomatoes and peppers, apples and grapes. 

Zucchini and Squash for shishkabobs. Homemade pickles for sandwiches.

Dried plums, pears and nectarines for snacking. (Grown on their trees.)

Fresh pressed apple cider made from apples they grew and pressed on a machine Matz built.

Seriously. They spoiled us, and we loved it!

We've been wanting to bring Lance and Kathy to Pagosa for a while

and Matz (and KT) when he didn't have to work 

(he built the bunkbeds and kitchen hutch up here last fall)

but didn't have time to just relax and enjoy.

It was a great combo with lots of laughs, discovering friends in common,

philosophical discussions and learning we like playing the same games.

When we arrived we drove through town and Main Street before coming to camp.

When we were getting close (past Jack's Pasture), we met several ambulances and firetrucks

finishing putting a fire out on the side of the road and a car that was absolutely torched.

I've never seen a car that burned and sadly we learned later the two passengers inside died.

Very sobering to think of a couple heading into the wilderness for a beautiful day

and perhaps going a little too fast on the dirt road becoming life changing for

everyone who knew and loved them.

I love that every time we arrive at camp (the ranch!) we are struck all over again at how beautiful it is.

Never gets old.

We took Lance and Kathy through the property and down to the river.

Since Matz and KT had seen it before, they prepared shishkabobs for dinner.

We ate outside, but by 6:30 the sun was going down and it was pretty chilly.

We sat by the campfire for a while, and I kept thinking my necklace was getting hot and burning my neck, and kept forgetting I wasn't wearing one. 

We played a new card game -- Sevens -- that Lance taught us,

and in the middle of the game, KT noticed I had a rash on my neck.

Now I knew why I kept feeling a burning sensation.

Cortizone cream cleared it up, but I woke up lots of times during the night imagining the rash had spread and wondering if my lips were swelling, ha! 

I was just fine.