Saturday, July 17, 2010

Thirty Mile Campground Mule Deer Doe

8 X 6 Oil on canvas board $115

Includes Shipping and Insurance

We are at 30 Mile Campground, 6 miles from the headwaters of the Rio Grande River. We found this place 2 summers ago while camping near Creede, Colorado and came back to camp here last year. I fell in love with the remote location, the extreme peacefulness and the opportunity to hone our fly fishing skills in a river that is still relatively untouched. There is no electricity or phone or water hookups here. There are latrines and water faucets (you fill your own containers and haul them if you don’t have an RV tank, like we do). An emergency phone is available for calling out, but there is no calling in. We have a small generator which we use for a limited time during the day to charge the RV batteries and to turn on my desktop computer for storing the photos I take (doesn’t REALLY sound like roughing it, does it???)

We have fished every day and have caught enough to feed us and the dog. Anything over what we can eat here we release. Two days ago, we our catch resulted in a lovely assortment: a brown trout, a brook and a rainbow – all over 14 inches (the brown was 16) and all supremely flavorful cooked over a wood fire with no embellishments but the smoke. I eat fish for every meal….

This Mule Deer doe is a camp regular – she loves saltine crackers. Rattle cellophane in her presence and her ears perk up (even higher), and she’ll cautiously approach you. She doesn’t trust Georgia, so we haven’t gotten her to stay around very long – but long enough for me to get an image to paint!

Creede, Colorado is 30 miles down the road (hence the name of the campground) - half of it a one lane winding dirt road with blind hairpin turns and steep dropoffs. We journeyed to Creed today to do laundry, pick up a few supplies and let me catch up on the internet stuff. I may be back on-line in about 5 days....God willing and the Rio Grande don't rise!

Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.


Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $115 USD
Or, send me an email