The Nixnerd

Day Three: Saturday August 18, 2007

Hallelujah! Zaiden slept for EIGHT HOURS! I guess he was awfully tired, too. We got up and discovered mom was, again, making a feast of a breakfast — which is good because Paul and I both were kinda hungry. As I expected, a good night’s sleep brought him into better spirits (plus, I think he was excited to go fishing). That made me feel better — I hate that drive, too, when there is so much traffic.

Over breakfast we discussed what we were going to do that day. Paul suggested we head to Texas Creek on the other side of Cottonwood Pass. Paul and dad could go fishing while the rest of us hiked or what-not. It was settled and we started preparing for the trip.

During preparations, dad was fiddling with his reel — he got the line stuck in a rather precarious location. While he and Paul fiddled with it, I got a little jealous that they were going fishing and I didn’t have my gear. I had given up fishing b/c I don’t really like catch-and-release (it seems kinda cruel) and I don’t like to eat fish, either. As we were discussing things, I realized that I could give any fish I caught to mom ‘n dad. After further discussion, we decided to stop at Rocky Mountain (sports store) before heading to Texas Creek so I could pick up a rod ‘n reel and a fishing license.

Again, we packed a hearty lunch in the FJ and got all ready to roll. Paul, Marlin, and dad were going to rid in Paul’s truck while Nikki, mom, Zaiden, Moose, and I would go in the FJ. Mom just loves Zaiden and wanted to spend every moment with him she could — so she sat in the back with him.

We stopped at Rocky Mountain and bought a few things. While inside, Nikki tried a hand lotion that I said smelled really nice. She figured she would buy a bottle before we left. She picked up some rather tasty candies for the trip, too.

And up to Cottonwood Pass we go (again!). It was just as pretty this time as it was the day before. When we got to the top, we all stopped for some more photos. Zaiden decided he was hungry so Nikki got busy feeding him.

I was a little excited and worried about the drive to Texas Creek. Paul mentioned that the trail is a little rough (”4wd isn’t necessary. You could do it in a 2wd but it’s awfully bumpy.”) This reminded me of Nikki and my attempt to take Zaiden four wheeling and when we took him camping up above Cottonwood Lake. I figured I could go about 2mph if I had to to keep the FJ from jumping around (and in 4LL).

Off we went! The back-side of Cottonwood Pass is really pretty, too. It’s a dirt road, though. We drove all the way to the bottom, hung a right, and took off across the wild country towards Texas Creek. The bumpy road was quite bumpy, indeed. I put the FJ in 4LL and kept it in first. I barely stepped on the accelerator the rest of our time there. Slow and steady. Even under these conditions, it was a little too bumpy for Zaiden. He slept OK but we were concerned about his neck and brain (had I gone a “regular speed”, I could’ve given the little guy shaken baby syndrome). He’s OK, though, and we made it into the wilderness and back a.o.k.!!!

Once there, we ate the lunch mom prepared while the three of us (dad, Paul, and me) prepared our fishing gear. Zaiden was hunger, again, so Nikki fed him, again.

During this time, a park ranger and a sheriff showed up and checked our fishing licenses. I’m glad I didn’t try to risk going without one (not that I would ever do such a thing!). Whew! They helped us out by taking a group photo.

Then we were off to the crik (as my dad calls them). The girls, Zaiden, and Moose hung back under the trees because it was threatening to rain and the crik was surrounded by some thick brush (not good for the baby). Dad, Paul, and I hit the crik with excitement and vigor!

I caught the first fish, which turned out to be the biggest, which was quite pathetic considering the fish was only about 5 1/2″ (new pole — I didn’t mark it for measurments, yet). I think we all ended up catching 1, none of which were keepers. It rained on us at one point but that didn’t stop us. Ohhh no! I got to thinking while we were out there: I hadn’t been fishing with them for over 15 years. The last time I was going to camp with mom and dad was the time they rolled their trailer and Cherokee. I think that was ‘89 or ‘90 (I was in HS). Crikey!

After fishing for a couple of hours, we decided to head back. I was concerned I didn’t have enough gas to get back to Buena Vista (should’ve filled up before leaving — nuts!). I told dad ‘n Paul that I’d go back and take off with Zaiden, Nikki, mom, Marlin (if she wanted to), and Moose. Since we had to drive so slow I figured they would catch up quite quickly.

We didn’t leave right away, though, because Marlin had to give Paul his keys back. The three of them mosied down to do that and I hung back with Zaiden and Moose. Once they got back, we hit the trail (at a whopping 2mph!). The trip back seemed shorter. Zaiden threatened to start crying and need to be fed but we actually made it all the way back to the top of Cottonwood Pass before he needed to eat.

Since I was worried about not having enough gas, we were (jokingly?) talking about coastng the FJ into Buena Vista. Nobody wanted to leave Nikki, Zaiden, Moose, and me at the top of the pass with the possibility of running out of gas. So, we waited for Zaiden to eat before heading down the mountain.

It was VERY late at this point so we also decided to just hit the Pizza Hut in B.V. rather than having Paul and Marlin cook. We were all disappointed at this because Paul had found a good recipe that he was looking forward to making for us and we were all eager to try. It was just so late, though. We didn’t get to Pizza Hut until 10:00 or so — and they close at 11:00. Gas turned out to be no problem, by the way. The FJ’s gas light didn’t even turn on. Perhaps it’s time for some spare-tire-mounted gas cans?

We had a pretty good time at Pizza Hut, despite it being the worst Pizza Hut on the planet. The salad was kinda gross, the wings didn’t even have chicken in quite a few of them, and the drinks were … well, I guess they were OK. But we all enjoyed having a hearty meal after a long day of driving, fishing, hiking, et al.

We got back to our campsite around 11:30 where we had birthday cake to celebrate Marlin’s birthday (August 18) and Paul’s impending birthday (August 26). German chocolate — home made — just like the old days! YUM!

Nikki and I were absolutely BEAT and assumed the rest of them would be up until 2am playing cards. We hit the sack (only to find out the next morning that everyone did the same).