First stop Pagosa Springs – first I will say that I have forgotten what a harrowing drive it is up Wolfe Creek Pass especially pulling 16 tons. Very slow go uphill, lots of twisties however we reached the top (10,000+ feet in elevation) and oh boy that is where the fun begins. Wanda just pushed us down the mountain side, there were numerous hairpins turns to maneuver not to mention the “runaway” ramps to remind you that brakes do fail! I was white-knuckle, my sides of truck brakes don’t work and I don’t think I breathed all the way down! Ty on the other hand was Joe Cool. Good job. After 11 hours’ drive, we pulled into Pagosa Riverside RV camp; we haven’t been here for 10 years. Place is the same, right-on river, small, full hook-up and friendly staff. Here for 4 days just hiking.
- Piedra Ice Caves: spectacular views once we reached the top of the 1.5 slow grade up. Passed numerous fissures which are the ice caves (deep fissures in the ground). A couple of these you wouldn’t want to fall into, too deep. Hike was relatively easy reaching an elevation of 8,000+, looking over the cliff, we could see the trail we would take the next day.
- Piedra River Trail: flat trail that extends 12 miles following the river; we hiked out and back 4 miles. Just an incredibly beautiful hike, spring flowers were out, weather was cool but actually good for hiking. We found a downed log for lunch, and end of hike I had to cool off my feet! End of trail for us we saw where we hiked the day before – way up there!
- Butler and Hurst Lakes: This hike had a lot of potential, 3/4 mile in we came upon this beautiful lake, so desolate so beautiful and a stream crossing that was too wide to cross. End of hike.
- Piedra Falls: last hike here in Pagosa Springs. We don’t normally hike in such remote areas, but in PS there doesn’t seem to be much of an option. This hike was only 1 miles out and back, but a 17-mile drive on a rough dirt road! As you can see from the video it was worth it.
Mesa Verde National Park: it has been years since we have been here. First time was in 1985 when we took a 3-week vacation with the girls. Back again several times once we moved to Colorado – one of those times was to bike ride in the park (which was not too easy). Now, we are here for the hiking. Camped in the National Park, which is normally full but this time of year was easy to get last minute reservations. Only water and electric, but nice and a few sites that can accommodate big rigs. Unfortunately for Ty, he got out of the car when we were parking the rig and his right knee just buckled – blew out. So, no hiking for the poor guy as he can barely hobble around. If you really can’t hike, this is a good place to be right now since touring the ruins is not open yet, so you can only go to the overlooks to view. What kivas you can walk to, Ty remained in the car.
RV note: it has been pretty cold here at night, has gone down into the low 30’s every night of our stay. I have these aluminum sheets that I have used in the windows to deflect the sun; decided to put them in the deflect the cold and it made a considerable difference in the rig! We are pretty cozy with the furnace, fireplace and space heaters going at night, and when we sleep it is only the furnace – we arise to 52 degrees in rig!
Another thing to consider if you stay here is that there is no cell or wifi service in this National Park. We mainly had to go into the town of Cortez to make a phone call. UNLESS a satellite is going over, then the phone goes crazy with texts but too late to answer. Three days here is enough.
- Mesa Verde Loop drive: If you were to drive non-stop probably takes about 2 hours max; if you stop at all the stops like we did it is a good afternoon of sightseeing. It is amazing the Ancestorial Puebloans lived in these cliffs for hundreds of years. They use to be nomads (hunters and gatherers) but transitioned into mesa top farming. Very interesting to explore their transition from pit houses to stone masonry. As well as, the evolution of their pottery skills, hunting tools, farming techniques. This area is a must see if you are into the ancestors.
- Four Corners: this is where Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado all touch borders. A bit of a drive; now we can say we stood in all four states at the same time! Check that off the bucket list. FYI if you go there it is just what you see in the picture. Middle of nowhere, nothing around.
- Trail of the Ancients – Anasazi Museum: 80 mile loop trail in nowhere land. Beautiful scenery and we did see wild horses (at least to us) but that’s about it. Anasazi Museum you could spend a lot of time there viewing the many many artifacts and their history. Plus, they have a recreation of a kiva which gives you the real feel of the lifestyle. Also, a ½ mile hike (Ty no) up to view the Escalante Pueblo. It was the only pueblo that you could actually enter, although it is mostly filled in with soil but the outline is still present. I wonder just how long it will be until it is cordoned off like the other pueblos we went to.
Ridgeway State Park – Ouray
Main objective was to revisit Ouray, “The Little Switzerland of America”; because it is the most spectacular place in the North America. Been very cold here at night, lows in the 30’s so we have disconnected our water hose every night and have the furnace running to keep the underbelly of the rig, where all the pipes are, warm. Woke up one morning with ice cycles hanging from the water spot where we connect up – it was dripping a little and froze overnight!
- Telluride: Funny story here. We were not planning on going to Telluride but we had some difficulties with our bank account where an unknown had withdrawn a considerable amount of money from the account. Nearest bank to resolve (we called the fraud department however because we are not in FL had to go into a bank to fill out paperwork) was equal distance from big towns. We choose Telluride. Just a beautiful town with Bridal Veil Falls at the end of town. So, we drove the 30 miles and when we got to the back Ty gets a phone call from his health provider saying he has been approved (he switched providers) and the company successfully made the withdrawal from our bank account. OMG – just an hour ago we declared that a fraudulent withdrawal and to find out it is legit. Two hours of talking to many different agents finally got it straightened out. We really only saw Telluride from a parking lot. When leaving took a pic of the falls.
- Ouray: First thing we did was go into town to be tourist while we waited for the snow to melt from the Million Dollar Hwy before we went up there. Very few places are open, real tourist season starts May 31 – but the town was buzzing with saws, hammering and lots of construction fixing up stores. After we bought socks and shirts, we headed up the very twisty, turny not recommend RV road. MEERS constructed the 12-mile road back in the gold rush days, he charged $5 a wagon and $1 each for cattle. Cost him $10,000 a mile to build, so the math doesn’t add up but that’s what all the signs said.
- Kentucky Derby – had drinks at the Hotel Ouray which has upscaled since our last visit in 1995 – gone are the dollar bills hanging from the ceilings replaced by fancy tables with candles and flowers. Drink of day was a Peach Bourbon Julip in keeping with the Running of the Roses. My horse, Great White, got spooked while being loaded into the gate, reared up throwing off the jockey and did a backflip. Fortunately, no one was injured, just scratched from running. Darn, he was rearing to go, too!
- Million Dollar Highway – the scariest 12-mile ride you will ever take! Hairpin turns, no guard rails and built right on the edge of the mountain. Plus it is at 9,000 feet – WowWee!
Back to Boulder
Wandering time over, drove back to Boulder while we wait out our time to go up to Estes. Actually, have a lot to do while we are here. Friends to visit, places to go etc. The time will fly by quickly or so we thought!
- Boulder County Fair Grounds – so we decided to back here and chance that they won’t discover we will be going over the 14 day camp stay PER YEAR since we stayed here before heading south and now back again. Total stay was about 16 days – not to terribly over the limit. Nice place but they still haven’t turned on the water and staying in our rig for 7 plus days with no water is annoying to say the least.
Played cards one night with Sally and Gary, they look great and it was fun to play Texas Hold ‘Em. - St Vrain State Park – after our stint at Boulder County we moved to SV where had a lovely spot on the lake and they have water. But it was cold and the furnace is acting quirky, hope to squeak it out. Speaking of water, the sink faucet was barely squirting out any water, and Ty keeps turning it on and off while I am playing games on computer. I look down on the floor and we have about an inch of water everywhere. Hose to faucet had a split in it. Off to Home Depot Ty goes, 4 times finally he gives up and just buys a whole new faucet.
Weather has been the craziest, snowed for 24 hours 6 inches and by the next day went up to 60 degrees and all the snow melted.
Finally! The wait is over and we make our way up to ESTES PARK to get retrained and start work. Park open May 22, Memorial Weekend.
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