Those lazy days of summer ... where are they?

We've been on the run with family. Saturday began with pancakes by Tom (the first in more than a year) and a trip to the Cortez Farmers Market ... not early enough to get one of Bessie White's pies or Rosie Carter's tomatoes, but we still loaded up with fresh vegies and neat little muffins purveyed by a gal of about 12. And Ranger Rick and "Swamp Thang" were serenading the crowd with a friend on the accordion.

The rest of the day was pretty well taken up with the train, after a brief stop in downtown Mancos to gallery-hop. There was a special outing called "The Lone Ranger Rides Again," a first-time offering by the Durango-Silverton Railroad. A special excursion went from Durango to Hermosa (still in the Animas Valley) and back. Along the way they were stopped by "bandits," who went from car to car demanding money until the "Lone Ranger" and "Tonto" (one of our neighbors here in the Mancos Valley!) rode up and saved the day! Hokey, but great fun for Sandy's seven-year-old grand-niece and the rest of the many little half-pints on board. And the train ride ... about an hour out and an hour back ... was plenty long enough for young-uns.

During the turn-around, there was a mini-amusement park to entertain folks. The singer Sandy and her sister Vel are watching was good enough, and he was great at interacting with the kids. The Hermosa stop was just beyond the Animas Glider Park, so there was the surreal sight of a tow plane and glider taking off above the tops of the old-time railroad cars.

And the kids got to have their pictures taken with a beautiful lady in Victorian dress ... although the outlaws in the hoosegow and the Lone Ranger and Tonto seemed to be favored for photo ops.

We were all pretty bushed and sunned-out by the time we got back and Vel treated us to a nice meal at the Millwood.

Sunday was a relaxed day, starting with breakfast at the Absolute Bakery, which is our favorite place to eat in Mancos ... good, healthy food (as long as you stay away from those sinful macaroons!), nice ambience and good company! Seemed like half of the Artisans of Mancos membership was in there, plus the Mancos Times editor, celebrating her birthday (I'm still worried about why Vel went over to talk to her!).

Artisans is open on Sunday morning, so we were able to share the co-op's wares with the family in a leisurely manner. Then it was back home to get ready for the annual Bauer Lake Club picnic. The potluck buffet was a true "groaning board," with lots and lots of main dishes and desserts to choose from. Sandy's sopaipilla cheesecake went over big ... lots of requests for the recipe!

There's a fishing contest for the kids in the afternoon and Mazzie won a prize (actually, none of the kids caught anything). Mazzie actually had two strikes and one of them looked to be 12-15 inches long when it broke the surface near the dock before it broke the line. I had hauled out fishing tackle that hadn't been used in at least five years, but at least Mazzie got the feel of a big fish on the line!

Friend Janice Hall was kind enough to do massages for Brandon and Vel on a Sunday afternoon, so that made up for not getting a nibble at the lake.

And now it's Monday ... time to get folks moving toward the airport and then catch up on things and get ready for my son Drayton's arrival on Thursday and the combined Mancos Days/Mancos High School Centennial celebration, with the 81328 photo exhibit thrown in, too. If we make it to August, we're thinking about doing some relaxing! tv