May 1 – October 4, 2018, Chama New Mexico

We are one of three couples working here at Rio Chama RV Park and a fourth couple is expected any day.  Customers started coming on opening day and we have been kept busy.  Unfortunately, the fourth couple did not come and one of the couples suddenly left on May 21^st so we are even busier trying to cover their work shifts.   We helped cook and serve a breakfast on Memorial Day and hamburgers and hot dogs on July 4^th and Labor Day.  We continued working all summer with only two couples which kept us all busy.  A lady who stays in the park all summer helped in the office and a couple of friends of the owners helped with the outside duties.  The hot dry weather kept the grass from growing much so the mowing was minimal which helped.

The hot dry weather also kept us on a fire ban most of the summer.  There was a major fire about 100 miles north of us and another about 100 miles northeast but we were fortunate to not have any fires near and not much smoke from these two fires.  We finally started getting some rain the end of August and it cooled off.

Tacky is really coming out of his shell – he approaches strangers with tail wagging and really enjoys meeting and playing with other dogs.  He loves taking walks every day and exploring every corner of the park.

We took him on a hike on the Continental Divide Trail on Cumbres Pass in July and despite the dry weather the wildflowers were beautiful.

We stopped for a rest and Tacky found a nice shady spot among the flowers to lie down – notice his tongue hanging out - he was one tired pup!

Our timing was perfect and we got to watch the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad train passing in the valley below.  We had a great hike and really tired Tacky out – he slept in the back of the Jeep all the way back to Chama.

One day while out walking with Tacky Nancy saw something on the railroad tracks just behind the park – it was a small black bear.  We do occasionally have bears come into the park and one evening while we were on duty one came walking down the driveway.  Rex kind of herded it away from the occupied sites until it finally went over the fence.

We always see deer in the park and was really excited to see a doe and her triplets this year.  They came into the park a lot to graze on what little grass we had.

Rex was the Docent Coordinator for the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad for the month of September.  He managed the docent schedule and took care of anything that needed attention in the docent program.  Each day he had to be at the train station for the morning train and again in the afternoon to meet the train as it returned.   He was unable to be a docent on the train as the swaying of the train caused him problems.  He was disappointed as he has been a docent for over 15 years.

We had a good summer and enjoyed working in the park and being in the Rocky Mountains but were glad when the season ended.  We closed the park on October 1^st and spend the next few days getting everything closed up for the winter.