San Juan Skyway

WOW! 
That pretty much sums up our drive on the San Juan Skyway.  The loop is around 270 miles long and has some of the most beautiful scenery you can imagine.  The drive passes through the towns of Telluride, Ridgway, Ouray, Silverton and Durango. 

While driving between Telluride and Ridgway, we remembered an Oprah interview with Ralph Lauren, at his ranch in Ridgway.  Oprah mentioned the miles and miles of rail fencing.  So, when we came to a long stretch of rail fence, we wondered if it could be his.  Then, we finally came to the entrance and there was the name - The Double RL!  (I wonder if he is sorry, that everyone knows where his place is??)


The China Clipper


The town of Ouray has been a favorite of ours for many years.  We once spent the night there in the cutest bed and breakfast.  So, we just had to drive by and see if it was still operating- and sure enough it was! 

Driving around the few streets of Ouray, we found a nice campground, the 4J +1+1 RV Park, which was located right in town.  We had earlier visited Ridgway State Park, which also had some nice campgrounds.  (My choice would be Ouray, as I love being able to walk around town and enjoy the shops and restaurants!!)  We hope to someday come back and  spend some time here and explore the many jeep roads located in the  surrounding mountains. 

It was just an AMAZING day and I could say more about the drive, but "they" say- a picture is worth a thousand words....

Ouray, Colorado

Ouray, Colorado

Anasazi and Cliff Dwellings

We learned lots of interesting information about the ancient pueblos and the Indians who lived in them this week. Visits to the Anasazi Heritage Center, Lowry Ruins and Mesa Verde National Park to see the dwellings and many artifacts, left us wanting to know so much more about these ancient people that lived here more than 700 years ago!  These sites were definitely worth a visit!

Just a word to the wise....before deciding which dwelling to visit at Mesa Verde, be sure to find out how much climbing  is involved.  If we had visited Cliff Palace, I would probably still be stuck on the 100 feet of ladders that must be climbed to exit!!!!  It could have been even worse, if we had chosen Balcony House, which included "climbing through a 12 foot long tunnel and climbing up a 60 foot open cliff face with stone steps and two 10 foot ladders to exit".   Whew!

View of Spruce Tree House from trail

Spruce Tree House

I look like Gulliver in the Land of the Lilliputians!



Gorgeous day- gorgeous sky!







On our way into the park, this mother bear and her two cubs crossed the road in front of our truck.



Dolores, Colorado

September 21, 2011 

Arrived at McPhee Recreation Complex, which is located a few miles northwest of Dolores, Colorado.  We were greeted by the camp host and informed that the campground was closing in five days.  That put a definite kink in our plans, as we had intended to stay here for the next 14 days!! The campground was very quiet, with very few campers and had tons of wildlife.  Mule deer were everywhere and we also saw coyotes and HUGE rabbits.

September 22, 2011

We checked out the town of Dolores and found a nice rv park to move to, when McPhee closes. 

Also, took a side trip to Cortez and had some yummy Mexican food.  We asked several people for a recommendation of a Mexican restaurant and everyone asked, “What kind of Mexican food do you like?”  Never could figure out what that meant- just give me Mexican food!

September 24, 2011

A trip to the little town of Mancos to see what was happening at their balloon festival was on the agenda.  When we arrived, they were giving balloon "rides" and I was all set to take one.  Then, the wind became too strong and they deflated the balloon. (Actually the balloon was tethered and only went up about 40 feet- but that’s my speed!)  We did visit some great art galleries and some cute festival booths.  Later, we enjoyed a picnic in the park and a little music.

George playing at the park!

September 26, 2011

Moved from McPhee to Dolores RV Park today.  Lizzie made a new friend.  Well, I don't really know how the tortoise felt, but Lizzie wanted to become better acquainted! 

Lizzie and the Venezuelan Tortoise, Mrs. T.

September 27, 2011

Enjoyed a trip to Durango today.  We walked the historic downtown area and browsed some of the shops.  We came across this adorable kid, as we were waiting to cross the street. 

Storm clouds brewing over the San Juan Mtns.

Moab, Utah

September 18-20, 2011 

Wow!  We weren't sure what to expect on our way here. In fact, I even suggested that maybe we would just keep going until we got to Colorado.  We weren't disappointed.  You could easily stay a week and never see it all!

We had planned to stay one night in an rv park and then move to the BLM campgrounds along the Colorado River.  Since we couldn't find a spot, we decided to just stay at the Portal RV Resort, which was a wonderful park.  Lizzie especially liked the dog park!!!

Portal RV Resort  Moab, Utah

We got up very early the first day to visit Arches National Park.  I'm not an early riser, but it was well worth it- the colors were amazing!!  We checked out the campground inside the park- Devil's Garden- but unfortunately there were no spaces that we could fit into.  It would be a great place to camp and explore the park- beautiful setting and close to several viewing points.  In fact, it's right beside Devil’s Garden Trailhead, which was so popular that we couldn't find a parking place, so we kept on going.  (We also didn't want to deal with the crowds.)

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Arches National Park

North Window @ Arches National Park

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This was my favorite- Turret Arch.  It seemed to constantly be changing, depending on the angle from which it was seen.

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Me sitting underneath the North Window

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Arches National Park

Since the colors were so good the first day, we got up early again and visited Canyonlands National Park Islands in the Sky and Dead Horse Point State Park.  Both of these had great vistas of the canyons and the Colorado River and Green River.  As usual, I made George drive through all the campgrounds.  Horsethief, a BLM campground, had several spots for big rigs.  Might be worth staying at, if you wanted to explore more of these two parks, but about 20 miles from Moab.

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Buck Canyon Overlook

Green River Overlook @ Canyonlands National Park

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George @ Green River Overlook

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George @ Shafer Canyon Overlook

Really wanted to rent a jeep and drive along the lower canyon rim.  After seeing this entrance into the canyon, we changed our minds!!

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Dead Horse Point State Park Overlook

Later that evening, we walked around downtown Moab.  It's a cute tourist town with some interesting shops and lots of restaurants. 

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Lizzie

Heading for Colorado!

Between Boise & Moab

September 17, 2011

We happened upon these flags in Jerome, Idaho.  We thought there was some big event going on, but evidently it was just to draw attention to a hotel/resort opening....

We spent the night at Wal-Mart in Harrisville, Utah.  This probably doesn't sound too exciting to most, but we have been in Wal-Mart withdrawal most of the summer!!  It did give us a chance to stock up on supplies AND it was in a beautiful setting- lots of green grass and a view of the Wasatch Mountains.

On the Road Again

September 15-16, 2011
It seems like we've been working for months to get ready to go again- oh wait, we've only been home a few months!  Actually, it has been a busy summer and getting ready to hit the road was always in the back of our minds.

We spent the first few nights in Boise.  This gave us a chance to say goodbye to the grandkids and kids and do a little last minute shopping.

Lila posing for Pops and his camera!!

The foothills view from our rv park- Mtn View RV Park.

I'm not sure if the orange shoes make him faster, but Bennett definitely gets around well on the field!