August-September 2007
There was much excitement when we arrived in Colorado to help with Bridget’s new baby but also a lot of waiting for the day. We borrowed Mark and Bridget’s pop-up camper so that we could go camping with Gail and Tom.
Our first trip was to Taylor Park over the Cottonwood Pass and we set up camp close to the Taylor River where we could indulge in trout fishing. Much to my surprise we used worms not flies. A number of fish were caught including one by the skipper. All were small and put back for further growth.
Gail’s sister’s husband was the only one to fall in but there were other near misses as the marshy ground around the river had huge holes in it covered by apparently solid vegetation.

The Taylor River meanders down through Taylor Park to the large reservoir - it offers endless backwoods camping wherever you can find a spot
The skipper putting on a fresh worm to try for another trout
We remain astounded that we own a huge Aspen grove of which this is just a sample!

Back at our cabin we decided the time had come to improve the forest close to the house where there were many dead Aspens and overcrowded small Douglas Firs. We bought a small utility trailer to transport the thinnings to the local burn pit. Here the local fire service burns huge quantities of waste wood once a year in safety. The fire risk here is huge and part of our effort is directed at fire safety.
Fed up with poor internet access while up at the cabin we have finally installed satellite internet. We now have a much more useful link and feel in touch with the world again. Sadly it won’t cope with Skype but you cannot have it all in the mountains.
With due date approaching we went back to live with Bridget and Mark and await the new baby. Fortunately our timing was perfect and before long Aspen was left with us and Bridget and Mark went to the hospital with Bridget in early labour.

Sunset over Mount Evans viewed from Bridget and Mark's deck in Evergreen

We were soon rewarded by a beautiful new grandson called Christopher just like our son. He was in fine condition but was given oxygen like many local babies because of the high altitude. Aspen was reassured once she had seen him and even better when the family returned home intact.
We stayed on for a few more days while Bridget found her feet and then left them all to settle into a new set of routines. Christopher is a wonderfully placid baby and quite unlike his older sister. Often the way with second babies! We had great fun having missed Aspen’s birth with our Atlantic crossing in 2005. Certainly mad up for it to some degree - not that we would have missed the ocean voyage!

Christopher at one day old...
... and when he came back to Evergreen
A mule deer eating Aspen leaves from some of the felled trees - we only fell live aspens where we need access to fell the huge dead ones

While near Denver we had arranged to purchase a pop-up camper of our own. We are of an age now where we like the idea of hot water, a fridge and heated mattress pads. We were lucky to find just what we wanted in an end of season sale in Denver and took it back to the mountains to try out.
The local mule deer were thrilled with our forestry efforts and came closer to the cabin to eat grass and the aspen leaves on some of our felled trees. They are not very afraid of us and often allow us to take good photos if we move slowly and are patient.
The tree felling and thinning continued and we gradually reached a stage where only the most dangerous trees remained. These comprised about ten large Aspens that were long dead, close to the cabin and even leaning that way. Tom and Gail were visiting the UK but we knew we would need their help to do much more.

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