June 7, 2014. Spearfish, South Dakota.

You never know what you might stumble upon....

D C Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery Museum

While looking for the Spearfish City Campground today, we came upon the DC Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery, which was established in 1896.  While there we toured a replica of a "fish car", which was used to transport fish across the country from hatcheries on the east coast to rivers and streams on the west coast.  The first rail shipment was made around 1874 and continued for another 66 years.

Fish Car #3

Home of D C Booth and succeeding superintendents

We were also given a tour of the former home of the first superintendent by a volunteer from Texas.  It was a gorgeous home- I could definitely live there - or at least be a volunteer.  

Unfortunately, this hatchery along with several others is on a list of possible closures.  I am so glad that we happened upon it today and hope to have the opportunity to visit it again in the future!

More pics from Spearfish...

Spearfish City Campground

Cochiti Lake, New Mexico

October 3-6, 2011

Pleasantly surprised! That describes our feelings about our new campground- Cochiti Lake COE, which is located 30 miles north of Albuquerque. We were prepared for it to be somewhat ugly, but it is really pretty- in its own way. It is a dry landscape, dotted with sagebrush and juniper and the lake doesn't compare to many, but the distant hills/mountains and the cloud dotted sky, all together, make for some very nice views. Also, the campground has to be one of the best laid out designs we've encountered, especially for longer rigs.

View from top of Buffalo Grove loop

View of Cochiti Lake from Ringtail Cat Loop

October 4, 2011

Today's weather didn't promise to be the best, but we decided to go ahead and visit Santa Fe. We walked around the area surrounding the square and saw many interesting buildings, parks, people and shops. There was so much to see, that it was a little overwhelming.  Did I mention that George isn't really into shopping?? 

We also walked over to see the New Mexico State Capitol, which is on our "to do" list- seeing as many state capitols as possible. It didn't seem as grand as many capitols.  We're not sure that we even saw the front of it. (Hmmm... maybe that's why it seemed a little plain.

We enjoyed lunch at the Bobcat Bite. That was probably the largest burger I have ever been served- 10 ozs! It was served covered with green chiles and cheese- yummy!!!

Just a pair of ...  (Just kidding!!)

George @ Cathedral Park

George at New Mexico State Capitol

October 5, 2011

On Wednesday, we checked out Tent Rocks National Monument, which is located only a few miles from our campground. The hoodoos (rock formations that look like spires) or tent rocks were formed about 7 million years ago, when around twenty volcanoes erupted repeatedly.

The stormy clouds made a wonderful backdrop for the rocks.   Luckily, it didn't rain and the clouds kept it fairly cool.  We enjoyed the hike and didn't see any rattlesnakes! (Signs were posted everywhere to warn about rattlesnakes.  George thinks the signs are just to keep people on the trails!)

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!