Our Mountain Towns Vacation...

We had a trip all planned out... we would drive to a location in the middle of Wyoming, enjoy an evening and the following morning in a state park and then continue on to the Grand Tetons for two days followed by four nights in Yellowstone National Park.

I had been watching closely the air quality predictions for the area since the fires in Montana had been getting increasingly worse and the jet stream had been pushing smoke as far south as we are in Southeastern Colorado.  For days the haze hung in the area and my allergies had flared up.

They began reporting that there was a storm moving into the Pacific Northwest that was pushing moisture and cooler temps in the direction of Montana and Wyoming.  Good news for the fires and the fire fighters!

At first we were undaunted by a few days of rain/overnight snow.  We were prepared... we had purchased rain jackets and pants so that we would not get soaked through.  We added our winter coats, boots, hats and gloves.

As the day that we were scheduled to leave drew closer, the weather showed increasingly more chances of moisture and lower hi temps for the days we were to be there... even more so than the shot shown above.  I'm talking 90-100% chance of rain/snow and highs not even in the 40's! And some days only in the upper 30's.  

It was early on Saturday, September 16th, as I was preparing to leave for a day long meeting two hours away that Dave said, "How about if we change our plans and go somewhere else?  Somewhere that it won't be raining or snowing."

Ok... where do you want to go?  He suggested the Southwest Colorado, and possibly Utah.  I left for the day, with plans to meet up with him at a wedding that afternoon.

As we met up, I was anxious to hear what plans he had made.  Dave came up with a few days in Ouray, CO, onto Mesa Verde (and possibly the Four Corners) and Pagosa Springs.  OKAY!  Let's go!

We "re-packed" added some clothing so that we would not have to dress as Nanook of the North - we left all that was packed already...  (We never did actually wear any shorts, but certainly could have enjoyed a few afternoons in them, but we were away from the camper...)

As we pulled out of Trinidad it was cloudy and misty...  We headed just a bit north and then west with a destination of Ouray, CO.  By the time we arrived in Gunnison the sun was shining!  Yay!

As we approached Ouray, we were watching for places to land with our camper.  We passed up a State Park and continued up the road until we reached a KOA Kampground.  Dave has never favored KOA's but this one was just right for us.



We enjoyed their hot tub, our happy hour, dinner and a campfire.  Ahhh, day one done.  It was dark, the free wi-fi was sluggish and uncooperative and it was cool out so we headed in to the camper at about 8 p.m. to read... as we did most every night! 

Of course, this means we were early risers as well!  Coffee & tea were the first items on the agenda each morning...
(Notice the "real" mugs rather than the small wimpy ones that are often associated with camping gear...)

That first morning we threw some water into a backpack and jumped on our bikes... we weren't really sure where we were going, though it was in the direction of Ridgeway (6-1/2 miles north of the camp site) on a well maintained county road, with some great views.  Ooops, we didn't have a single camera... But this was not far from the KOA in the direction of Ridgeway... You will simply have to trust me on this one. ;)

We enjoyed some coffee and tea at a local shop where we discussed that we needed to plan a little better for the next day and include extra water and a snack or two.  We wandered through some of the other local shops and then headed back to camp. 







As Dave napped after lunch I sat and enjoyed the little chipmunks and hand stitched on an English Paper Piecing project...















We had visited with a local resident while on our ride to Ridgeway about the road that led to Ouray.  She assured us that once we ascended the very steep 1/4 mile road we would enjoy the remainder of the ride to Ouray.

She was NOT kidding when she said that it was steep!  We walked our bikes up 90% of the way and we were still huffing and puffing from the strain of it! Once we reached the top, yes, it was a very pleasant ride to Ouray.  Short in comparison to the day before...

Because we were a bit stiff and sore from the previous day's (longer than planned) ride, we had decided that if there was a long descent into Ouray we were turning around to return to the truck and drive in.  We were not in the least bit interested in another uphill trek to return...

We were pleasantly surprised by a few things along the way...

A serene pond...  




















This basketball hoop that was mounted to the side of a rock wall... and the court was actually the one lane road that passed by!






And there was no other long hill!  Whew!












We enjoyed the shops, lunch at the Ouray Brewery...


















and our little souvenirs... 

And the ride home was an easy coast... ALL THE WAY!



As I edited pictures upon our return home, I realized that this shot (or something close by) had to have been the inspiration for the quilted card I purchased.

As we pulled up camp the following morning and wound our way through Ouray to the Million Dollar Highway and over the pass to Silverton, it was spectacular!  The colors continued to be more brilliant and wide spread.

After wandering the streets of Silverton and its shops for a short stretch of our legs... still a little stiff and sore from the bike rides... we happened upon the arrival of the Narrow Gauge Train that travels between Durango and Silverton.

After we left Durango we discussed our options for camping that night... Mesa Verde had no sites available with electricity so on a whim we opted for the Mancos State Park - a small park (also no electric hook ups) for a much lower cost.  We would find out if the truck battery that been replaced prior to our trip could sustain the furnace for the night...


We enjoyed a very short ride, but mostly enjoyed the view from our site... (You may notice that we have "real" beer and wine glasses - another "comfort of home" that we opted for rather than the plastic cups we have had in our camping gear for years)  The woodpeckers were in a nearby tree pecking away, and we viewed an actual sunset - you see, when you are in the high country, unless you are situated on the peak of a mountain, you don't really see the sunrise or sunset...  

And, no, the battery did not last all night for the furnace.  Thanks to the warm sleeping bags we had, we survived.  We had an early wake up call from a nearby donkey - that we giggled at - that then set off the coyotes.  As we made our way out of the camper we discovered that we had some visitors - Oh Deer...

Mesa Verde was on our agenda for the day.  What a fascinating place!  The fact that people actually built houses and lived IN the cliffs was amazing.  

We enjoyed the Balcony House Tour that included several ups and downs and throughs...  



Down a set of stairs, up a ladder, through a small opening... Up another ladder, through an even smaller opening and then up a final ladder!











You can see that the second opening is not very big at all! 










As we left Mesa Verde we arrived at an RV Park and settled in for the night.  ONLY because we needed the electricity to be warm as we slept...  

We quickly concluded that we prefer Campgrounds... NOT RV Parks. Oh, and there IS a difference!

Campgrounds have trees and dirt and offer a little more privacy and solitude.  RV Parks are like gravel parking lots with very little space between sites.  We kept repeating to ourselves... "It is only for one night."  And once we went to sleep, we really didn't notice... and we had heat. :)

Everyday we checked the weather forecast and each day it was predicted to be partly cloudy and a chance of rain.  But when in reality, we had sunshine... and lots of it, every day!  Until we pulled out of Mesa Verde, that is. Chimney Rock shown...

It was overcast, but no rain, at least.  As we passed through Pagosa Springs we saw several RV parks, but had decided we would see what the Bruce Spruce Ranch had to offer for camping...  

SCORE!  The pine tree setting that we enjoy, and electric hook up.  We were set!  We got settled, went for a walk as it sprinkled and explored the San Juan National Forest.  But we didn't let the weather dampen our pleasures.  As we called it a night the rain really started.  




And, did you know the sound of rain on a metal roof, just inches from your head, gets on your nerves after a while?  We didn't sleep well. At. All.

But it was Saturday and we wanted to visit the farmer's market in town and do some exploring of Pagosa Springs. 



As the day progressed, the rain never really let up... Thank goodness we had purchased the rain coats in our plans for Yellowstone!  (Each day I had checked in with what was going on in YSNP... snow!  Not just a little snow... enough to close roads and require chains or snow tires!  Boy, were we glad we changed our plans!)

(Dave's youngest brother, Chris, had one of these monkeys... Zippy!  And while I was picking up a vintage quilt to look at a chipmunk jumped out and ran across the store!  It certainly made me jump!!!!  Oh, and the owners of the store were well aware of its presence and were in the process of capturing it...)




After checking out some gift shops and antique shops and two breweries, 

we headed back to The Ranch which was located at the base of Wolf Creek Pass.  The weather was calling for clearing overnight so we extended our stay.





To pass the time that evening we played Mancala, read and did some sewing...


















It finally stopped raining as we turned in for the night.  YAY!  A quiet night was so welcome! Oh, notice the snow capped peak we saw the next morning... 

We investigated two trails, the one in the morning was a nice 3 mile ride that wound its way along the west fork of the San Juan River.  The afternoon ride took us up a trail that was headed to near the summit of Wolf Creek Pass.  We learned that it was the original pass from around the 1920's... we were just below the overlook...











As we walked up the incline, we humorously came up with two rules for our bike rides....


Rule #1 - Never begin a ride by going downhill


Rule #2 - Never be afraid (or too proud) to get off the bike and walk


So far, so good!

As we chatted we enjoyed the views and surrounding foliage... 

And we could not help but ask, just how long does a tree take to grow around an obstacle such as this one did???

When we approached a couple downed trees on the road we decided it was time to make our descent... 

As we headed home the next day, we were a little sad that our week of "tiny house living" was done and that we needed to return to our normal routine...

But we were sooooo grateful for making the change in our plans and that we were able to enjoy so much sunshine, fresh air, exercise and time together...

And we look forward to planning our next trip... Hmmmm.... where should we go next?  Leave your suggestions in the comments. 

Thanks for tagging along on our vacay!  Hopefully I didn't bore you too much. ;)

Blessings,

Melva


PS... I didn't get very far on my EPP project, but I did get the second round completed.