Colorado to Utah

Our last day in Colorado was spent in Pagosa Springs, a town about an hour from Durango known for its geothermal activity.  For us it meant an afternoon of soaking in hot spring pools varying in temperature from 97-112 deg.  We found our favorites at about 102 degs, soaked out all the travel knots and absorbed all the healthy minerals all while wearing our own swimming suits.  It was incredibly relaxing and we returned to the rig feeling like wet noodles .  Dinner was carryout from a Durango Himalayan restaurant.  We passed on the yak dishes but enjoyed a variety of lamb, chicken and veggie dishes.

Road delay-or dinner on the hoof

The Road Not Travelled

Yesterday we pulled out of Durango having uneventfully dumped and hooked up Toad.  We’re definitely getting better at this stuff (knock on wood) and headed for Bluff, UT.  Distance – 120 miles, time – about 3 hours.  We’re learning that miles don’t give us much indication of how long trips will take.  Topography, gas stops (it takes a while to pump almost 100 gals.), construction and other delays make the trips considerably slower than a comparable car trip.  However, the joy of having no deadlines is that delays really don’t matter.

Our first choice campground in Bluff was full but luckily, just down the road was our 2^nd choice that we actually like better than our first and so we’re hooked up at the Cottonwoods RV Park.  Lots of open sites, 50 amps, water and only $28 a night.  RVers heaven. 

Gooseneck State Park - Utah

We’re in Utah to see the wonders of topography and geology and we got started right away.  Our campground manager sent us to Gooseneck State Park – an amazing chasm carved by the San Juan River as it’s eroded the land over millennia.  This little known spot is free and amazing.  From there we entered the Valley of the Gods.  You drive through this Bureau of Land Management area on a gravel road which seems to work to keep the traffic down.  We encountered only 4 or 5 other vehicles as we travelled the loop.  It took us about 2 hours to make the drive, but we stopped to take over 30 pictures so you could probably do it in about an hour if you wanted.  I promise I won’t make you look at all the pictures.

Valley of the Gods is indescribable, though I’ll try.  There are skyscraper-sized rock formations eroded into shapes that remind you of temples, pagodas, towers and other man-made structures, yet they’re all carved by nature.  The rocks are varying shades of red and rise out of the ground all around you.  It’s silent and eerie and wonderful and, I don’t use the word lightly, spiritual.  I couldn’t help but think about the ancient people that walked the valley and must have wondered, like we did, the source of the valley’s monuments.  This is just our first stop on a tour of Southern Utah’s marvels, but it will be hard to beat. 

If you can enlarge the picture, look at the bend in the road at the base of the rock and you'll see a red car.  The scale of these formation is amazing.

Today, on to Torrey, UT.  More soon.

Durango-Silverton-Ouray-Telluride-Durango

I confess that until I met our friend Jen, I didn’t know anything about Durango, CO.  Located in southwest CO, it is far from my previous stops in Aspen, Denver and Carbondale.  But having spent 3 days here now, I really like this town.  According to the city’s website

            Founded in 1880 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, historic Durango is perched at 6512 feet above sea level and is the county seat of La Plata County.  Located in the southwest corner of Colorado near the Four Corners area, Durango is nestled in the Animas River Valley and surrounded by the San Juan Mountains. This diversity of the surrounding geography and ideal climate provides for a veritable playground of endless recreational opportunities and attractions.

I agree.  It’s nestled into the mountains surrounded by amazing scenery.  There’s a river running through it, a college in town that provides the young, artsy vibe and a main street alive with restaurants, bars and shops catering to tourists and residents alike.  And, small herds of mule deer that wander the streets of town unmolested.  We saw a spotted fawn nursing in front of the local library the first evening.  We’ve also seen several “Welcome Hunters” signs in town.  We’re rooting for the deer.

We started our visit to Durango with tours of the local organic grocery store and pet supply store followed by stops at those attractions called WalMart and Bed-Bath-Beyond.  Yes, even we rugged campers must occasionally re-provision our covered wagon with cat food, cat litter, water, milk and a new mattress topper for a bed that was turning out to be uncomfortable.  Nothing like 2” of memory foam to take the rough out of roughing it.  That night we cooked dinner for Jen in the rig making full use of the great kitchen space.
Yesterday, after a long, hot shower in the nicely tiled bathhouse (we do have to walk about 50 yds to get there so we’re still roughing it you know), we hit the road with Jen for an all-day drive, Durango-Silverton-Ouray-Telluride-Durango.  

roadside hot spring

 Durango’s best-known tourist attraction is the Durango-Silverton railroad:  a steam locomotive that carries folks up the valley retracing the route the ore trains ran when mining was king.  We opted to parallel the train on the road allowing us to stop along the way.  First stop, James Ranch:  a family run operation that milks cows, makes cheese, raises beef and pork and packages it for sale, raises chickens and sells eggs and organic vegetables and runs a grill where you can buy lunch.  All this and amazing scenery.  Lunch was the best burger ever eaten while overlooking the farm valley.   Then on to Silverton, first passing a roadside hot spring just sitting there casually spurting water alongside the highway.  We’ve learned there’s a lot of geothermal activity in the area.

The town of Silverton is geared towards the visiting train travelers who have 2 hours there to absorb the history and scenery before returning to Durango so we drove through, took a look and headed on to the next town, Ouray.  Ouray calls itself the Switzerland of America and has alpine-themed restaurants and hotels.  It also has hot springs and spas.  Out of Ouray we headed to Telluride.  Telluride is a ski destination and big money is spent there which was evident in the well-preserved Victorian houses, expensive boutiques and $5 tap beers.  It was fun to see but didn’t hold us long.  Then on back on the highway  to Durango.   

The major reason for the drive is the scenery which is indescribable.  It’s the peak of fall colors and the golden aspens mixed with the green pines with red rock and blue sky and white clouds….wow .  Thank goodness for digital photography because we would have run out of film before we got very far.  Several times we went over 10,000 ft. passes with the weather changing as we went up and down.  

 At one point when we stopped high in a pass to take pictures and the snow was blowing in our faces, I realized that I may have pushed the sandal-wearing days a bit too far as my toes turned blue.

We got back to Durango as darkness fell and had dinner at another excellent restaurant in town.  Today is our turn in the hot springs.  We’re going to spend the afternoon in Pagosa Springs soaking in the mineral pools.  According to the website they offer free loaner swimming suits.  Luckily we brought out own. 

Get Outta Dodge

Sunday morning we left the Gunsmoke RV Park and headed west again.  The plan was 300 miles through western Kansas and eastern Colorado to a well-reviewed state park outside Walsenburg, CO.  We were slightly delayed wrestling with the tow bar and Toad once again, but prevailed and, for a change, things went pretty much according to plan.  Those parts of Kansas and Colorado have the advantage of being populated mostly by cattle rather than cars, the highways were good through the plains and we arrived in late afternoon at Lathrop State Park. 

Sunset from our site at Lathrop State Park

I’m a big fan of Wisconsin State Parks, but Lathrop S.P. gives Wisconsin parks something to aspire to.  The roads through the park were well-paved and twisty enough to give every site privacy.  Every site had newish picnic table and fire ring.  Every site was pull-thru, a big plus for us weenies who hate to back up, and every site had a view.  There were clean, spacious, handicap-accessible restrooms and showers readily available but not obtrusively placed.  It is a gem and inexpensive.  Lots of birding, fishing and even a golf course.  Definitely a place we’ll stay again if we’re in the neighborhood. 

Git!

Monday was on to Durango, CO., where our friend Jen lives and our stop for at least 3 nights.  We hadn’t disconnected Toad so there were no connection issues and we dumped successfully (you knew I had to tell you that) as we left the park and head west across the high plains.  Our route would take us across the Sangre de Cristo and southern Rocky Mountains.  Lathrop State Park was about 3200 ft. above sea level and we climbed steadily as we drove west.  Chuck was up to the challenge, his big 360 hp Cummins diesel engine keeping us moving.  Sometimes size does matter.  The scenery went from nice, to beautiful to incredible.  Leaves are changing here and the colors are brilliant.  Wildlife appeared including magpies, turkeys and a pika.  At one point a mule deer doe appeared on the side of the highway, threatening to dash in front of us.  I can’t comprehend the chaos hitting a deer with Chuck would cause.  A short blast from the dual Hadley air horns on our roof convinced her to move back into the woods. 

We crested the Rockies at 10,856 ft. above sea level at Wolf Creek Pass and started downhill.  Now, I’ve driven mountains before, and seen the signs warning big trucks about grades and gears and runaway lanes before, but this time, it was meant for us!  Yes, the warning sign said, “7% grade, trucks over 30,000 lbs use low gear, truck speed limit 25 mph”  And then, just a bit further on, “Runaway Truck Lane, ¼ Mile”.  Chuck weighs about 32,000 lbs, has a truck engine and a truck chassis, ergo, we were in a truck pointed downhill and away we went.  I’ll spare you the details of downshifting and exhaust braking, not to mention the intermittent thunder storms that accompanied us over the mountain and am happy to report that we made it to Durango safely.  We are now comfortably settled in the AlpenRose RV Park, fat and happy with 50 amp electrical service, good water hookup and amazing scenery.   

More about Durango next time.

Dodge City, Kansas

Dodge City is full of surprises, the sort of happy surprises we in the Chucklewagon (eating and laughing our way across the country) enjoy.  We’ve found really good food including Vietnamese spring rolls and bunh at the Saigon Café Bistro and burgers and tacos at Kate’s and an amazing wine store.  All this and some fun touring.

 

We found the wine almost accidentally.  From the outside the Commanche Beverage Center looks like an old fashioned beer depot, heavy on half-pints and 6-packs of Bud Light.  We stopped in hoping to find one of two OK white wines to re-stock our supply depleted by entertaining.  We were blown away by what we found:  a great selection of wine from all over including some of our favorites and a very knowledgeable owner who steered us to some new and fun bottles.  Then she told us that we’d get a 20% discount if we bought a case and the die was cast.  We should be in good shape for the next 1000 miles or so.   It was pushing lunch time as we checked out and the staff at the wine store suggested Kate’s for good food.  How could we go wrong with a place so perfectly named? 

 

Interior of Kate's

Kate’s is the sort of place you’d probably never go in unless you were a regular or someone sent you.  It’s a concrete block building in an industrial neighborhood with a small sign and a back door.  We girded our loins and entered and stepped into the sort of neighborhood tavern that was all over Milwaukee in my youth.  Sort of dark, sort of crowded, low ceilings, lots of beer signs, a bar, pool table and friendly people drinking beer out of schooners and hugging each other.  The burger tasted like beef!  Yes, the real meat, especially beef, is here in Kansas.  Great homemade fries, tater tots and a taco that, while not authentically Mexican, was really good.  A beer and a lemonade and a nice tip for under $20. 

We were feeling pretty bodged (our friend Simon’s term for feeling overfull) but set off touring anyway.  The downtown tourist area includes Boot Hill, famous for cowboys, gunfights and Texas longhorn cattle.  It’s attractively presented and on a beautiful day like today, it made for good touring.  After a couple of hours of playing tourist we headed home to Chuck for a nap and dinner of leftover Vietnamese food.  Tomorrow morning we continue west and will (hopefully) end up in Colorado.  In the meantime, drool over the photos.