Distance = 11 Miles; People Met = 15
The Utah Edition of our newsletter will come out on September 1.
This short stretch included a rest day at Mesa Lakes Lodge, more on that later. The first few miles in early morning brought us to Carson Lake. Along the way we found stuff either jettisoned or lost by horse packers, including a saddle bag with a pistol and a bag of tomatoes. One of the tomatoes was in perfect condition and we ate it. Carson Lake turned out to be a genuine lake, unlike the wilderness “lakes” we encountered in Utah. We met a family from Grand Junction fly fishing there.
Charleton at Carson Lake
The route brought us up to CO 65. While taking a break at a lookout three men drove up in a truck. One brother from Grand Junction (Rico) was hosting his brother (Rudy) and father (nicknamed Pee Wee) from Texas. Rudy was a gregarious sort that greeted us right away. He also gave us two pops. The father was a lovable sort who was having a little trouble breathing at the high altitude.
Our destination was Grand Mesa Lodge because Ky was staying there thanks to a connection made by a Grand Junction Lion. Or at least we thought she was staying there. It turned out that the connection owned Mesa Lakes Lodge, and since we needed to resupply for the next five days across the Grand Mesa Ky had to come get us. While waiting at Grand Mesa Lodge we met the owner, Rose, her right-hand employee, Janine, and a close friend up visiting, Suzanne. Rose and Mike bought the lodge in June in a move to get out of the rat race now that their youngest was out of high school. She was very kind to us as we waited, including giving us some snacks while we were waiting. I hope she does well with Grand Mesa Lodge.
Suzanne and Rose
Mesa Lakes Lodge has been owned by Steve Stiers for the past 3 1/2 years. He has two dedicated helpers, Ron and Jackie, along with a new employee, Holly. Holly has had trouble finding a home and she was willing to share her story with me.
Steve treated us royally. We stayed at one of his cabins for the two nights we were here. The lodge has wifi, which meant I could catch up on a lot of the web stuff I was unable to do while at Colorado Mesa University. In the evening we would break bread together. While we were there Lisa Lingo provided music for the guests. She is quite accomplished as a musician, which the following video will reveal.
Hey Guys ….that is a great video and it was a pleasure meeting and playing music with you..Whats my favorite song?????lol ..We are sooo lucky to have Mesa Lakes and Steve and Jackie and Ron and Holly …If everyone went out of thier way just a little like they do ,the world would be a much better place..Oh and how do i put this on my facebook..Good luck on your wonderful journey..I will keep in touch…I really enjoyed your music..Thanks again Lisa Lingo
Thanks Lisa. You are a great musician. It was a pleasure meeting you and listening to you. Say “hi” to the Mesa Lakes Lodge gang for me.
Hi, guys, we are back on the ADT and hiking Morrison ((we were there 8/29) to at least Leadville before stopping for the winter. It occured to us that we might actually pass each other on the trail! We’ll be watching for you. Karen and Jerry
That’s exciting news. We will be in Leadville on 9/11; Crested Butte on 9/5; Breckenridge on 9/15. Hope to see you somewhere along the way.