Rex and Nancy's Travels - "ALL WHO WANDER ARE NOT LOST" - JRR Tolkein

September is here and it continues to rain every day! Rex will take over the Docent Coordinator position for the month of September.   Besides his regular docent duties he will be responsible for scheduling the docents and taking care of any problems as they arise.   He has to open the docent office every morning before the train leaves and then again every afternoon when the train from Antonito comes in. We enjoyed a Labor Day cookout with the campground providing hamburgers and hot dogs and everyone bringing a dish to share.   There was lots of great food and good company.   This was the first day since we arrived here that it has not rained – YEAH!    The weather continued to be beautiful after Labor Day - sunshine and very little rain. Nancy’s sister, Carol and her husband, Vince, visited us the middle of the month for a few days.   Carol, Vince and Nancy enjoyed a wonderful ride on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. ...

Friday we drove the Upper Loop through Mammoth Hot Springs and into Lamar Valley.   We stopped at Gibbons Falls. This big buffalo was not concerned at all with all the people watching him. A short way down the road traffic was stopped once again and lucky us – another bear.   This one was sitting in a tree. Our next stop was Mammoth Hot Springs where we walked around the hot springs terraces. After Mammoth Hot Springs we drove to Gardiner, MT where we stopped at the Wild West Corral (formerly Helen’s Drive In) for a great buffalo burger. After lunch we headed toward Lamar Valley and took a side trip on the Blacktail Plateau Drive, a 6-mile dirt road loop.   About half way through the loop we came upon two vehicles stopped beside the road and – lucky again - another bear.   This guy was sound asleep in the tree and was totally unaware that he was being watched. ...