Day 94, 95 Tues. and Wed. Sep. 5th and 6th From Poncha Spring to La Junta CO
Teh Arkansas River canyon in Colorado west of Canon City
These two days saw only one trailer move as we stayed two days in LaJunta Co. (Reason coming below). Tuesday morning in Poncha Springs at 9,000 feet was leisurely spent watching for the birds in the higher elevations and especially at the bird feeder the park owners had set up. Hummingbirds (Black Throated and Rufous) were everywhere. So was the BEAR that wandered through the camp ground that night making a mess out of a steel trash bin that wasn’t locked. It knew how to get into it. he also left a calling card in the park road.
The drive was quite flat with many curves especially through the very twisty and rocky walled Arkansas River canyon. This opened It into a wider valley and then the cities of Canon City, and Pueblo. The latter is a city now of more than 100,000 population and really booming. The area is heavy with ranching , cattle (lots of holding pens) , truck crops and lots of veggies and some fruits. All of this area through La Junta is irrigated land from the Arkansas River water source. The Royal Gorge is near Canon City and it is a heavy commercial tourist stop now. We did not stop for that. Many horse ranches all through this part of SE Colorado. This time of the year there are many fruit and veggie stands and we did stop to buy at one of them. Our camping was at a KOA just outside La Junta.
Fruit and veggie stand in Canon City Colorado. Peppers anyone?
The following day we had two objectives in this two night stand. First was to do some birding near a reservoir in the area of the town of Las animas called Martin Reservoir. The town of Las Animas’ name comes from the “Purgatoire (sic) River and the River of Lost Souls”,. That was too long for the spanish words so ‘Las Animas ‘ was selected. We did many of the side roads in that area and did get the most birds we have had in many weeks. As there is more moisture here the bird habitat is better,. They are still in a drought situation as many trees have died as a result. See this web site for an animated map of the drought in the USA. http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/12_week.gif One road was a haven for hawks as in one spot we watched 5 hawks (three different kinds)at the same time, in flight and soaring above. (Swainson’s, Red Tailed, and Northern Harrier.) The day was mostly cloudy and one of the few we have had in the last month. The morning was cool at 60 degrees and you could feel the crisper air. Remember we had been in 90+ F heat for three weeks.
That afternoon was my turn to select a venue. I chose the home of the Koshare Indian Boy Scout troop right here in La Junta. This troop is more than 75 years old and specializes in Indian Dancing. They have been all over the world. (see their web site) They have a kiva, and a Museum with millions of dollars in art collected along with Indian artifacts that have been donated over the years. When I was a teenager three men from the Koshare Indian Troop came to Detroit to teach 200 boys how to do some basic Indian dances for the 35th scouting anniversary. They stayed three weeks and we did put on a program that year. As a result of that experience and the men’s instruction a Boy Scout Post was formed that specialized , in Detroit, in Indian dancing, I was a member of that Post as was my brother and about 20 other young men. We toured the midwest in the style of the Koshares for many years. So my trip there was a nostalgic one and it was worth the “look see” for my Indian dancing roots. The Koshares are a well established an funded organization.
The Koshare Museum and headquarters in La Junta ,CO
That as it for these two days, and tomorrow we go from in Indians in La Hunta to the Cowboys in Dodge City Kansas.
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