Friday 7-26

We all need a day of rest, well we did kind of. We had a leisurely breakfast then I went outside to clean and polish the chrome on the truck and to clean the bugs and tar off the truck and front of the trailer. Most of which I could do sitting in my chair. I washed all the truck windows while Karen organized inside and swept the trailer. It was a nice sunny day with a cool breeze even though the outside temperature is in the 90s. We sat outside for lunch and I posted more on the blog while Karen read. We are now relaxing inside as we plan our next day’s travel.

Thursday 7-25

We had a nice morning with blue skies and sunshine. We took another drive into Mesa Verde and unlike yesterday when we drove in the valleys and passes with high mountains on each side, today we drove a very windy road on the high mesa where the road drops off dramatically on each side and up and down. At the end of this road we took a tram ride to several dwelling sites and hiked to one. We headed out and had lunch at Far View Terrace, the name says it all because the views were indeed far views. While at lunch we saw a couple of black bears at the edge of the road and a ranger stopping traffic. Of course I did not bring my camera in so no pictures.

 

View of Mesa Verde from our campsite

 

A very curvy and steep road

 

Reminder of a fire

 

Kodak House

Longhouse

This was a one mile loop to Step House

 

Reconstructed to show a pit house would have looked like

 

Petroglyphs

Later we went into Cortez to a hot spot to upload pictures because the campground Wi-Fi is too slow, and then had ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, took the truck to a car wash, got gas and bought groceries.

Wednesday 7-24

The San Juan Skyway drive today was 245 miles (9 hours) is one of the most scenic drives in America spanning elevations from 6,200 feet to 11,008 feet. The morning started out overcast and some rain which did not interfere with the fantastic views. We traveled in the valleys and passes of several 14,000 foot mountains and through the towns of Cortez and Delores, where a replica of the Galloping Goose sits outside the historical museum then through Rico, Telluride then Ridgway, where we had lunch at the True Grit Café and they say John Wayne ate there when he was filming the movie and when we came out after lunch the sun was shining the rest of the day. Ouray is known as the “Switzerland of America” and Silverton still looks like an old west town with dirt/gravel roads (one street down from the main highway) then to Durango and Mancos. The views on this drive were too big and awesome to capture it with the camera.

The "Galloping Goose" Delores, CO

 

 

San Juan Skyway

 

Ridgway

 

This waterfall drops over 100' from under a bridge

 

This deck hangs out to view the water fall and you catch your breath

when standing at the end

 

Silverton

 

Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

Tuesday 7-23

Early morning drives to Four Corners Monument took us through some very desolate countryside with high buttes and mostly tan in color. It was overcast, hazy and very comfortable temperature with a breeze. The monument is where four state lines meet at one location: Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.  The last time we were there the local Indian tribe used small wooden shelters to sell their art and today there are very nice stone structures.

We then drove to the Hovenweep National Monument Colorado/Utah. This stop was not on our original plan but we decided to see what it was about. It is another archeological site where the ancestors of today’s Pueblo Indian tribes lived. Unlike Mesa Verde these structures were on the plains and in a canyon. We walked along a quiet primitive trail to view the remains of several structures. A very nice relaxing walk with temperatures maybe in the 70’s with a breeze.

 

Cliff Rose

Then we drove through Canyons of The Ancients National Monument with green tumbleweed as far as you could see across the high plains.