Day 23: Mon, 7/4: Vallecito Reservoir, CO

Ryan and his 5 lb, 19 inch rainbow trout he reeled in!  He's wearing a helmet because he was so excited to tell mom and Sarah that he rode all over the campground looking for them.  This is when he got back.

Day 23:  Mon, 7/4:  Vallecito Reservoir, CO

Andrea cooked eggs, sausage and pancakes under blue skies right next to the river.  After breakfast, we mountain biked along a single track and dirt road for 6 miles round trip (at 7,700 feet elevation).  It was beautiful seeing the large blue lake, green trees and mountains (a few still with patches of snow on them), blue skies and big white clouds.  At the turning point of the ride was a ranch with a cute white donkey named Poncho.  We enjoyed trying to pet him but he was a bit shy.  Andrea and the kids turned back and Sam continued the ride making it a 10-mile roundtrip scenic journey along more streams and great vistas.  Back in camp we all rode the kayak and the stand up paddleboard.  One of our favorite things to do is go up the river about ¼ mile to a bridge where there are some rapids and rocks.  Then, we try as hard as we can to paddle against the current, up the rapids and to get all the way under and past the bridge.  We’ve been doing this daily but only the kayakers have had any success.  But it is fun trying. 

The wind really started to pick up in the early afternoon as another storm moved in.  Sam on the paddleboard and Sarah on the kayak decided to ride out of our protected bay and into the unsheltered lake where rougher waves were rolling in.  Sam fell twice into the lake—making Sarah laugh really hard both times.  Since he’s the worst of the 4 at standing up on the board, Sarah loves to ride the kayak behind him to be ready to see him fall into the cool water J.  After the afternoon rain, Ryan rode his bike for over an hour around the campground while Sarah fed the ducks and geese.  She also went with Andrea to take pictures of the beautiful flowers growing here.  After dinner, while Sarah and Andrea were taking a walk, Sam threw a fishing line into the river for Ryan.  Sure enough, the tip of the pole was dipping hard as a fish was biting the worm.  Sam yelled for Ryan to grab the fishing pole and reel in the fish.  This fish was huge—a 19 inch, nearly 5 lb rainbow trout.  Ryan seriously struggled to reel in the big strong fish for about 5 minutes.  It was so exhilarating watching Ryan’s excitement.  Ryan’s was saying that his arms were hurting but there was no way that he was going to give up (Sam wouldn’t have let him quit—he was going to bring in that fish!)  Ryan finally got the fish onto shore and had the biggest smile on his face.  He was proud and happy.  We took pictures with the big fish and Ryan got his hands, arms, shirt, and pants all slimy.   Ryan and I really had an incredible father and son bonding experience that we will never forget.  But we are bummed that Andrea and Sarah missed Ryan successfully landing the biggest fish on the trip.  Ryan was so excited to share his experience with them that he changed out of his slimy clothes and got on his bike searching all over the campground for them.  He finally found them and was proud to show them his catch.  Sam especially loved seeing Ryan’s pure joy and pride in bringing in this catch.  Sam cleaned the fish and we will eat trout again tomorrow.  There seriously is more meat on this one fish than the 4 we ate yesterday.  Today was one of Ryan’s best days of the trip and we all had fun.  And tomorrow night, Ryan can proudly say that HE fed the entire family—and then some.

Riding a single track trail along the lake.  Beautiful mountains, sky, clouds, etc!

Ryan with fish slime all over his pants, shirt and hands.  Look at that pure joy--he hauled in this HUGE fish all on his own.  It was a 5 minute fight!  So fun to watch.

Just over 19 inch trout.  About 6 inches tall and nearly 5 pounds.  HUGE!!!

A bonding father/son moment.  I sure had fun getting to be there for Ryan's awesome fishing experience.  Look how happy he is :).