Fall 2020 – Colorado – Mesa Verde National Park, Pagosa Springs Colorado, & Great Sand Dunes National Park…
- Mesa Verde National Park – The San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway…
10/4/2020: On to Mesa Verde
The drive to Mancos, CO – the entry to Mesa Verde NP is beautiful. We stop along the way to take a few pics but it is a pretty short drive. As we drive along this road another motor home passes us in the opposite direction at a pretty high speed and we get a rock in the windshield that makes a pretty good indentation. We are hoping it doesn’t crack across the windshield before we get someone to fix it! Because it is Sunday no glass shops are open but we do leave messages at a few. The Mesa Verde RV Resort is a really nice campground and their exceptional reviews are definitely well deserved and it is very close to Mesa Verde NP. In fact the first day we headed into Mesa Verde National Park Joanne forgot the binoculars and because the campground is so close we just turned around to go back for them!
Welcome to Colorful Colorado…
10/5/2020: Mesa Verde National Park
This has always been one of Joanne’s favorite national parks. Maybe because of the human connection, or because it is one she remembers so vividly when she went across country with her family while growing up. First stop is always the visitors center to get the passport stamped! With Covid still out there most National Parks have gone to having an outside area, under a tent, with rangers handing out stickers with a stamp for Covid safety.
Mesa Verde National Park…
Departing the visitor’s center we begin the drive up to the top to see some cliff dwellings. In 2001, with our kids, we were able to take some tours with rangers down into the dwellings; but with Covid all the tours are closed and no one can get down into the dwellings. No matter- we were still able to see them from a distance along the scenic drive. Some of the dwellings we saw were: Spruce Tree House, Cliff Palace, Balcony House, Sun Temple, and several others that we saw from pull outs along the way. It is amazing to think of this as a thriving community so long ago and that people actually built and lived in these dwellings built into the cliffs. As we drive the Mesa Top Loop we listen to some history of the people that lived here and built the communities here. The history is amazing. As we do the drive we are both surprised at the fall foliage we are seeing! It was totally unexpected but a pleasant surprise! We were both kind of missing the fall we had always experienced in New England and it was so nice to get a touch of it here!
Cliff Dwellings…
Pictures of our day driving thru and stopping in Mesa Verde National Park…
Descending down the mountain from Mesa Verde the phone rings and its one of the glass places regarding fixing our damaged windshield in the RV. The tech said he could meet us at around 3:30pm so we head to the campground arriving just as he was pulling in. The tech does a great job and the fix seems to overt a bigger problem in the windshield. It was a big ding but the tech feels confident in the fix! Taking a walk around the outside of the RV, while the tech is preparing the windshield Mike discovers something is wrong with the bike rack. As he investigates further he notices that some of the brackets are bent and we are so lucky we didn’t lose the bikes onto the Mini while we were driving!! One more thing to take care of! On tomorrow’s A list of things to do; locate a hardware store to find the parts to repair the bike rack… We were lucky!
When we checked into the park we did look at the laundry facilities here and while the glass chip guy works on the windshield Joanne gets the laundry started. Good teamwork on projects today… As the sun is setting we relax with a glass of wine knowing our laundry is done, the windshield is repaired, the bike rack tragedy has been avoided, and we were able to enjoy an incredible day in Mesa Verde National Park!
10/6/2020: San Juan Skyway (scenic drive)
As we noticed the leaves changing in Mesa Verde yesterday we discussed looking further into either driving the San Juan Skyway or taking the train from Durango to Silverton. As we discussed the challenges of being inside an enclosed train with Covid concerns we opt instead to do the scenic drive in the Mini… The decision was clinched also when we called to ask about it and it was completely booked for this day!
Departing Mancos, CO for the (232 miles) drive, we are so happy we made this decision. We feel like we are in New Hampshire seeing the fall foliage! Gorgeous! The drive takes us through Durango, Silverton, Red Mountain Pass, Million Dollar Highway, Ouray, Ridgway, Telluride and back down through Dolores, Cortez and back to Mancos.
Although we had done some of this drive last year while in the area near Black Canyon of the Gunnison, we were there in August and the colors were just not that brilliant yet! It was a spectacular day enhanced by a stop at the True Grit Cafe in Ridgway, CO for a late lunch of sandwiches and beers. The pictures Mike got are amazing. Another great day on this Revolutionary Journey!
San Juan National Forest Scenic Drive…
Spectacular Fall Foliage and the changing Aspens…
Spectacular Fall Foliage and the changing Aspens…
A stop in Ridgway, CO just past Ouray….
10/7-10/9/20: en route to Pagosa Springs CO
The drive to Pagosa Springs should be an easy one- almost the entire way on Rte 160. Right after the main intersection in Durango, where we turn right to follow 160, there is a Super Walmart. It is the first one we have seen in quite awhile and we had pretty much depleted our freezer stash! We did the “divide and conquer” with Mike detaching the toad to drive a few miles to the hardware store on Main Street in Durango. We had driven past it yesterday and knew the parking lot and surrounding area would be too congested for the MH. Joanne did the grocery shop while Mike did the hardware store. We finished at just about the same time! That Walmart is fairly new and very nice.
A little further down the road also on Rte 160 is a Speedway gas station that has propane. Easy in / easy out so we filled up in case we need to run the furnace. The Fall nights are definitely starting to get colder…
The drive over Wolf Creek Pass was gorgeous! It’s October and prime leaf peeping time in southern CO. The drive over the pass was not bad with two lanes in our direction for most of the drive. The MH handled it well. As we came down off the pass we followed the river for quite awhile and it was an absolutely gorgeous drive. Made us feel like we were in NE.
Pagosa Springs, CO is world known for their famous hot springs. Even with Covid concerns the establishments, restaurants, beer gardens, and very quaint downtown seemed to be alive with activity. (Probably not as busy as it would have been pre-civid.)
We arrive at Pagosa Riverside Campground about mid afternoon to set-up. The campground is convenient to downtown and is right on the Pagosa River. Before we sit for a glass of late afternoon wine, Mike reaches out to get the lowdown; fees, access, and availability the next day at the famous Pagosa Springs Resort & Spa.
While no spa reservations are available we can get a day pass for all the spas and adult areas including towels, showers , and changing rooms. The spa is practicing safe protocols with limited capacity and advises us to arrive early for entrance. Our original plan was to go to the spas early, then walk through town, and return to the spas again later afternoon. Our change of plans after arriving in the morning… This place is amazing, the weather is beautiful, hardly anyone here, so lets just spend the day in and out of the 28 different spas at this complex! They had pool side service all day and we just had the most relaxing day in a very long time….
Our view from one of the many Spas…
The spa-side service was great!
Around sunset we decide to shower and change and walk the foot-bridge from the resort to outside seating at Tequila’s Mexican Restaurant on the River which was an incredible way to finish a special day. We loved our day in Pagosa Springs ultimately never leaving the Spa. We will need to come back here to walk the town and shops in a post Covid world. We will no doubt be back here!
Tequila’s for dinner…
Sunset over Pagosa Springs Spa from our dinner table at Tequila’s…
10/9-10/12/20: Great Sand Dunes National Park
The drive to Great Sand Dunes is not far and the terrain changes significantly from mountainous to more flat/arid climate. Our reservation is at Great Sand Dunes Oasis campground. As we pulled up to the campground we almost weren’t sure we were in the right place! Great Sand Dunes Oasis is the only thing in the area for camping outside the National Park with hook-ups.
Great Sand Dunes National Park…
(Note: we did notice a small BLM boondocking spot at MileMarker 3). This facility has a lodge, campground, store, gas, restaurant and the place to rent sand boards/sleds… It was more than packed!! The line to rent the boards wrapped around the side of the building! Thankfully we had a reservation and the window for check in was easy. The road up to the campground was not good. It was full of many shape/large rocks and other obstacles. We disconnected the car to make it easier to dodge the rocks! We are on site #9 which should work well for our stay. This is a basic campground on a gravel lot with pull through sites that are pretty close together. Fortunately we do have a great view of the sand dunes out our front window. The bathrooms are Covid-closed but there is a porta potty that many people are using. (Glad we have a Class A with all the necessary amenities!) It is VERY quiet here at night and the star gazing is amazing!
Our camp-site…
The view of the dunes out our front windshield…
Sunset Night 1… Wow!
10/10: Today we headed into the park. Mike tries to warn Joanne not to expect much- it is a very small park! Before we depart we reach out to our son, Sean, and make plans to meet him tomorrow in Colorado Springs. It is a last minute decision so we plan to park at Bass Pro Shop, as we did last year, where he will meet us. Once we meet up we may try a hike and find an outside eatery before he heads back to Loveland, CO.
We head into the park where Joanne is surprised at the size of the park but she gets her sand fix in- feels like the beach only without the waves/ocean! We walk up onto some of the dunes and have fun watching the children and others sled and “sandboard” down the dunes. We had talked about getting a board but the line was so long, even as early as we headed out. We are happy to walk in the sand and look about. We walk about 3 miles total in the park then head out. Surprisingly the line to get into the park as we leave is more than a mile long!! So happy we got in when we did and didn’t have to wait in the entrance line!
Visiting Great Sand Dunes National Park…
Joanne definitely got her beach fix albeit no salt water…
Still having a lot of the day left we decide to drive into Alamosa, CO. Mike and Sean stayed in that town on the way home from their camping trip in May. It is a cute old town with shops and restaurants all along Main Street. Mike suggests stopping at a pub for a bite and brew but since we will most likely eat out next day with Sean we decide to head home for some home made chowder instead.
As we are relaxing late afternoon at the camper another camper a little smaller than our pulls into the site two down from us (the site next to us is open). Neither one of us can believe how many people are camping in that camper! There are 3 couples (6 adults) and at least 5-6 children (all girls between the ages of 5-11). That is crazy and although they pitch a tent, there are still the 6 adults that are staying in the camper! And where are they all sitting when driving??!! We have seen many other rigs in our travels this year with many newbies RVing due to Covid.
A very quiet night and the stars are amazing again!
Sunset Night 2… Double Wow!
10/11: Today is supposed to be our day to meet up with Sean. So disappointing that at 4:30am we both woke up to high winds and the MH shaking. We had read about the high wind warning but thought we would be able to manage driving up to Colorado Springs. As we laid there talking about the options we decided that we just didn’t feel it would be safe to try to drive in winds that are 20-30 sustained with gust to 50 mph. We are so disappointed and text him early to see how he feels. He absolutely felt the same way as he was awakened to his patio awning on his apartment blowing around.
We call the campground office to see if we can extend our stay and luckily we can stay right on the same site. So now we have a day to catch up on journaling, cleaning, straightening, and resting because it is just too windy to do much else! We also hope that the RV paint isn’t damaged by the quantity of sand constantly blowing against our rig for much of the day… Hoping tomorrow is a better day for driving so we can get back on track and continue this Revolutionary Journey into New Mexico….
