Rio Chama 2011: roughing it on the river

Yes, we had another fun, exciting, scenic, well-fed, and companionable float down the Chama River in northwestern New Mexico this year. (See last year's postings here, under the Rio Chama label.)

Going in May instead of August means colder air and colder water. But we also learned that it means lots more wildlife, an added bonus on top of the great campsites, fun rapids, and wonderful scenery.

Geese, in particular, were quite numerous, in family groups with
adorable goslings as well as noisy flying bands like this one

I have a few more wildlife pictures that I'll include in my next post, along with some of the great scenery. Given that I'd gone somewhat overboard in scenic photos last year, I didn't take as many this time. Although we camped at different spots, including one that is really spectacular, even by Chama standards, so I'll be sure to show you that.

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For now, I thought my readers might be interested in some of the logistics involved in the trip.

You would think that spending three nights away from normal modern conveniences like heat, light, plumbing, and communications technology would be a rather onerous burden. But, the post title was meant sarcastically: we were definitely not roughing it.

Not with all the gear you see below (click on the image to enlarge and read what some of the stuff is). This was the porch of our cabin, very cleverly reserved at Cooper's El Vado Lake campground for the night before we took off. Especially given the iffy weather, it surely was nice to have a bed, a heater, a shower, a real toilet and space to organize our stuff. Looking at it like this, you might be right to wonder: how many barges are going on this expedition?

Somehow, we fit everything into our seven boats, along with some non-labeled gear, such as our portable toilet, various containers of tools for boating emergencies, tents for everyone, warm clothes, and drinking water (still needed, even given the beer).

Our camps were not only scenic...

first morning on the river

evening at our second camp

...but, thanks to all this gear, exceptionally functional...

In spite of it being a little chilly in the evenings, Jon's super-tarp kept us cozy and allowed the gourmet meals we ate to be prepared almost as easily as at home. Although our four-stage washing up process—involving river water, soap, and bleach—wasn't quite as convenient as the dishwasher.

At any rate, take a look at these sample meals we enjoyed...no wonder I gained weight on the trip!

Jon's chili in one dutch oven, with biscuits in the other

Gary's eggs Florentine breakfast (with some leftover tenderloin on the side)

Mike's King Ranch Chicken casserole in the dutch oven, ready to go on the fire

Mornings and evenings were cold, and it was sometimes hard to convince yourself to get out of the sleeping bag. Note the frost on the cataraft tube and oar in the photos on the right.

Although knowing the great breakfasts that awaited in the camp kitchen was a good motivator.

As was scenery like this just outside your tent, making it lots easier to leave the cozy confines and get out, about, and taking it all in.

Stay tuned for more of this amazing scenery...

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Henry's blog, with more detail and even more food photos, is now up.

Wordless Wednesday: view out the tent flap

Stress test

Yes. It's time for another big river trip. Life had just gotten too peaceful, easy, and mundane.

We're off for a repeat run of the beautiful Rio Chama in northwestern New Mexico. Click on the link to see what it was like last August.

This trip will be a little different, although we're going with some of the same people and on the same stretch of river. It will be colder, for one thing. And, in spite of most of the Rockies having a great snow year, the water will be lower. It seems that New Mexico is not seeing so much snowmelt this spring and so the reservoir that regulates the flow we'll be floating can't afford to let as much go downstream as we'd like.

<sarcasm>I mean, what could they be thinking? How is water for crops along the middle Rio Grande more important than our not having so many rocks to avoid in the raft?</sarcasm>

If we survive the stressful packing process (see partially-outfitted cataraft above as it sits in our garage, waiting to be loaded down by the family's master packer), I will eventually have photos, videos, and stories to share about our 2011 adventures (hopefully not too adventurous) on this great river.

But in the meantime, there will be a slight blog hiatus here at Hometown Tourist. See you again soon!

Wordless Wednesday: shelving unit

Low water

Yes. When the "official" rainfall for the year so far is 3 inches (and I think that's really exaggerated; the gauge must have been left near someone's sprinkler), then this is what the rivers start looking like:

Paddling trips become paddling, walking, and boat-dragging trips when the river flows head toward the lower double digits. The Guadalupe flow at Comfort, where we went last weekend, was 29 cubic feet per second.

Rocks that used to be comfortably covered, and easy to float over, become obstacles to avoid:

Which, in addition to making more work for us, also makes for more challenging runs that can still be fun. Lots of river-reading and steering practice, with pretty trivial consequences for mistakes.

Especially fun with a husband who's never outgrown his fondness for bumper boats. He thought I was taking a video here and if I'd thought of it, that would have been neat. I was about to be rammed amidships. By the "Piddle Paddle," no less.

notice all the obstacle rocks in the background

Also especially fun for paddlers in brand-spanking-new, shiny boats (that wouldn't look so shiny after all the scraping on this trip):


And there were still plenty of lovely sights, from the small and delicate, like this "garden" thriving on a downed log...


...to the panoramic...

As you can see there are still stretches where the water is fine and deep and the views are fabulous. Add in the congenial companionship, and even at 29 cfs paddling still beats most other weekend recreation options.

Little mysteries: how a simple idea got complicated

A few weeks ago, there was a dedication on my campus, of a historical marker commemorating the illustrious history of our institution. (click on the image to see a larger version if you want to read a bit about this history)

What a great idea for a blog post! I could write about this new marker, as well as the one that's always (since I've been here anyway) been on the wall of the Library. Here it is:


It would an easy post to write, because I'd just have to have pictures of the plaques, and then pretty much let them speak for themselves.

However, as soon as I began to look at this project more closely, it started to get complicated.

First of all, the "new" marker that was just dedicated has "2008" at the bottom. Had it been sitting in a closet somewhere for 3 years? Did it take that long to have its limestone plinth fashioned? This mystery is being pursued.

Then, a closer look at the marker that I've walked past several times a week for the past 30+ years (I'd probably only rate as a seventh- or eighth-class noticer, if I was lucky, in this friend's taxonomy) prompted another question. Why is this marker, whose text has nothing to do with our Library or even libraries in the abstract, in this spot?

Some of my colleagues and I speculated that perhaps the Library building was the best and newest structure on campus when the marker was put up. But I'm not sure about that. It probably wasn't newest, anyway. [Although we still think it's the best.] Since this marker is dated 1973 and our building opened for business in 1968.

Could the radio studio mentioned in the marker text have been located in another building on the site of the current Library? This theory is also being pursued.

Wanting to be sure that I included all markers on campus in my initially simple post, I asked around about any more that might be lurking somewhere. But what one of my colleagues remembered as a marker over at the Law School was only the unofficial one you see here on the right.

The address it refers to, though, brings up a whole new aspect to the complicate-ness of this once simple idea.

You see, our University hasn't always been where it is today. As you might be able to tell from the somewhat convoluted text on the "new" marker. (Here's more detail, and more clearly expressed, in the inimitable Handbook of Texas, should you be interested.)

The school the Brothers of Mary from France originally began, in 1852, was downtown on College Street. Where there are at least two more historical markers, as I learned from the official (but not completely accurate—it has the wrong address for the location of the 1973 marker, for one thing) Texas Historic Sites Atlas.

So.....at some future date I'll make a pilgrimage down there to get pictures of those markers for you. And, maybe, by then, I'll have these other mysteries solved. Stay tuned!

Wordless Wednesday: Sailing