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.