Pagosa Springs: Conquering Fear

Today, we went to Mesa Verde National Park. Our driver and guide for (most of) the day was Tom -- a long-time resident and retired Forest Service Hot Shot who was very knowledgeable about the area. We left the resort at 7:30 AM, just the three of us and our guide.

Along the way, Tom told us a little about the history of the area and pointed out some of the local landmarks. A little more than two hours after leaving Pagosa Springs, we arrived at the visitor center at the entrance to MVNP. This bronze sculpture is one of the first things you see when you enter the area.

The tour originally planned to have us do the Cliff Palace tour, but it was sold out until 5: 00 PM. That was a little late for us, so instead we booked the 1:30 PM Balcony House tour. We had time to drive around the mesa top and stop at the Spruce Tree House visitor area for a bite to eat before we took the tour. From this area, you can look across the canyon and see the Cliff Palace dwelling.

After lunch, Tom drove us around to the Balcony House and left us in the capable hands of our cliff dwelling guide, Ranger Pete. Now, even though these are all cliff dwellings, each one is different. They were built around matrilineal clans. The cliff dwellers didn't stay in the cliffs long -- less than one hundred years -- but what they left behind is amazing. 

As Ranger Pete began to describe the physical difficulty level of the tour, both Donna and Lin started to get cold feet. I talked them into at least walking with the rest of the group to the point of no turning back and let them decide from there. They agreed, and by the time the strenuous part came, they decided to go for it. (It didn't hurt that there was a 72-year-old woman on the tour also -- Donna figured if that woman could do this, so could she.) Before they had a chance to change their minds, Ranger Pete and I had them up the ladder.  

From here, we could only go forward. We climbed a short ladder and some steps that had been carved into the stone, and squeezed through a narrow passage into the kiva area. At this point, Ranger Pete gathered everyone around the kiva and described the clan structure to us.

The next -- and biggest -- challenge was the 18-foot long tunnel we had to crawl through to get to the dwelling exit and back up the parking lot. The entrance and exit of the tunnel (three or four feet long each) were only about 18-inches or so wide and two-and-a-half feet tall. The center area wasn't any wider, but was much taller. 

After crawling through the tunnel, we had to take a few to calm our nerves. Donna also had to make an adjustment to her leg. While we rested, we took the time to pose with Ranger Pete.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the ladder up, but it was quite a climb. By the time we made it back to the top, we were shaking. 

The drive back to Pagosa Springs was much more subdued than the trip out this morning. We made it back to the resort around 6:00-ish. Once again, the temperatures had cooled by about 15 or more degrees and the shorts and tank tops we wore for the tour were woefully inadequate. We put on as many clothes as we could and had a cold ride back to the condo. 

By this time, we were all starving, so we changed into warmer clothes, hopped back on the bikes, and rode a couple of miles to a place called The Buck Stops Here. It is a deli/restaurant that came highly recommended by the resort staff. We decided it was time to try the place. 

The food was amazing. The steak was cooked just the way we like it (Donna and I shared the thing, it was huge), and was seasoned perfectly. In fact, Donna mentioned that it tasted like we could have cooked it. 

All in all, it was a good day.

Addendum 6/30/16: Although we didn't get a picture of the final climb out of the cliff dwelling (my phone had died hours ago, and Donna's and Lin's phones were screaming battery warnings at us), our friend, Lourie Strasburg, has kindly granted permission to use her photo that was taken when she and her friends came here in the past. This is the last part of the Balcony House cliff dwelling tour.

(Photo used with permission of Lourie Strasburg)

Pagosa Springs: Hot Springs and Cold Rides

This morning we ventured out to the Hot Springs. After a light breakfast and coffee at the condo, we put our suits on under our clothes, hopped on the bikes, and headed headed for the springs. The weather was beautiful, but we could see the clouds build up over the San Juan mountains to the east.

After a couple of hours of moving from one pool to another -- each pool with a different relaxing water temperature -- we looked at the skies to the east and decided it was time to leave -- along with everyone else. By the time we had showered, dressed back in our street clothes, and reached the bikes, the rain started. It wasn't heavy, but what fell out of the sky were big, fat, semi-solid chunks of rain that were not quite hail.

Luckily, it barely began before it stopped again, and we were able to get in our rain gear as we left the Hot Springs and headed back to the condo. Of course, that was when the steady light drizzle started. We stopped for linner (dunch?) to wait for the rain to pass.

Just our luck, the rain quit almost as soon as we walked into Wolfe Brewing. (Of course we would stop at brewery for dunch (linner?), wouldn't you?) We ate and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was pretty quiet for a brewery, but it was still fairly early -- not even happy hour(s) yet. About the time we finished our meal and paid the bill, it had started sprinkling again.

The cold ride "home" after the relaxing hot mineral water, was certainly a shock to the system. We had planned to make a couple of tourist shopping stops along the way, but bagged that idea when the sky turned liquid. Don't get me wrong, I like when it rains, it keeps the fire danger away. But I really don't like riding in the stuff. A lot of drivers are stupid enough around motorcycles on a good weather day, but when the weather is bad, it's even more dangerous for those of us out on two wheels.

When we got back to the condo, I hesitated to take off my chaps because they were keeping my legs warm -- I had worn shorts anticipating the stroll around Pagosa Springs. Instead, I pulled my clean jeans and socks out of the dryer and put those on. Ah, warmth.

Last night we had talked about heading out to one of the local casinos with Donna's friend Denise, but between the hot springs, the cold ride, and the overall malaise of the day, we pooped out early and will part with our hard-earned money later in the week.

Tomorrow we are off to Mesa Verde National Park bright and early. We opted for the bus tour that leaves at 7:15 AM instead of riding out there. This way, we don't have to stress about traffic or worry about the weather. We can enjoy the park and relax as we travel back and forth to the park.

Pagosa Springs: Old Friends, New Friends

Today was our typical first day at the destination. Slow start, shopping, and just plain hanging out. We started the day with a trek to lunch followed by a stroll through the grocery store to pick up a few food, beverage, and snack items.

Our brunch today was chips and (excellent) salsa, followed by a Shrimp Fajita plate at Chato's Mexican Restaurant. We were surprised that more people weren't in the place enjoying the tasty food. After we ate, we rode over to the grocery store and bought way too much food and snack items, while forgetting some of the things we really needed -- like food storage bags.

Back at the condo, the air conditioning felt so good, that we all kind of collapsed into our respective "lazy" modes -- Donna laid down to read her book (and fall asleep), Lin sat on the porch and watched the geese and golfers, and I took some time to practice a new yoga routine.

Donna has a friend from her high school days that lives in this area, and tonight her friend came to visit with two of her children and grandchildren. We had a very nice visit with Denise and her family (Angelo, Christina, Carlos, and Larry).

  

While we talked, we watched the sun go down. It's amazing how the sky seems to light on fire when the clouds build up. 

 

Tomorrow is casino day. Time to break even on the trip. Wish us luck!  

Pagosa Springs: Long Days, Late Posts, and Leg Cramps

I'm bad. Here we are on another riding adventure and I haven't started the story of this adventure yet. And we left Fort Collins yesterday morning.

This year, Donna, Lin, and I have traveled to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. So, here is the story of the last two days.

Pagosa Springs is only about 350 miles from Fort Collins -- totally do-able in a car in one day, but not so much on a motorcycle (for us at least). We decided to make the trip in two days and made motel reservations in Salida -- a mere 200 miles from the Fort. Good thing, too.

We packed up the bikes, backed out of the drive, and pushed the starter buttons. Of course, my bike decided not to start. I had to jump-start her on my first ride this year, but she had started the night before when we rode from the garage where we park the bikes to Lin's house across town, so I wasn't expecting issues first thing in the morning. Surprise!

After push-starting the bike, we made our first stop the Honda shop for a new battery. Lin and I pulled the seat off and replaced the battery. Before we put the seat back together, we made sure the bike started. Success!

As I packed all my stuff back on the bike, we watched the interstate and the southbound lanes had stopped. Hmmm. Time to rethink our route. One of the employees came over to tell us that a motorcycle accident had occurred in the southbound lanes, hence the traffic backup. Knowing our way around the area, we quickly chose a route that would keep us off the highway until we were well past the accident.

We had originally decided to stop at Johnson's Corner for breakfast, but scrapped the idea when we had to make the detour to fix my bike. We thought about Mickey-D's, but circled back around and decided that we needed a good start to the trip -- so off to Johnson's Corner we rode.

After a good breakfast and three full tanks of gas, we were off to Pagosa Springs -- at the crack of noon, of course.

We watched traffic on the highway as we ate and gassed the bikes, the southbound lanes crawled along, while the northbound lanes zipped by at normal speeds. Change of plans, instead of the taking the interstate to Denver and US Hwy 285, we headed for US 287 to Denver and US Hwy 285. Either way, we were looking at slow-and-go traffic. Finally, we reached US Hwy 285 and pointed the bikes south.

The ride down US 285 was uneventful until we tried to find the motel where we had made reservations. The address was in Poncha Springs, it was really in Salida. The room was small and by the time we had found a place for dinner, unloaded our luggage, and settled in, there was barely space to walk in the room, let alone break out the computer and try to make a blog entry. Not only that, I'm not sure they had WiFi.

Last night was a long night of leg cramps. Donna suffers from muscle cramps, as does Lin, and my legs are trying to take lessons. No amount of water, Gatorade, or leg cramp pills helped. All Donna could do was walk them out and hope they wouldn't come back. She's had worse nights, but last night was bad enough.

This morning, we packed up and had to pick a few things up at Wally-World before heading out. We asked a local about a breakfast place and got an excellent recommendation -- the Patio Pancake Place in Salida. According to Lin, the pancakes are very good. I liked that I could get a 1/2 order of Eggs Benedict (I can't eat a full order any more and I hate to waste food).

Once again, it was the crack of noon before we were fully on the road and headed to Pagosa Springs. Today we only had to ride about 145 miles, but that ride included the ever-dreaded Wolf Creek Pass. This pass has never been kind to us. We have ridden it three or four times in the past 10 years, and it's been cold and/or rainy every time. Today was the best ride we've had over Wolf Creek.

Our delays caused us to miss all of the rain that fell throughout the last two days (who says delays can't be beneficial?), and possibly an accident. When we left South Fork, we made sure we were dressed for cooler conditions -- jacket liners, sweatshirts, heavy gloves, face protection. Sure enough, it was pretty chilly by the time we reached the summit. Five miles later, we were melting -- but we missed the rain (by minutes apparently, the road was still very wet).

At the first opportunity when we reached Pagosa Springs, we pulled into a parking area to pull off the extra clothes before we passed out from heat stroke. As luck would have it, the Malt Shoppe serviced the same parking lot, so we slid in out of the heat and sat down for an ice cream and a pit stop. Our timing (as usual) was impeccable. About 10 minutes after we walked in, the Sunday afternoon ice cream rush was on. By the time we walked out, the line was out the door and half-way down the sidewalk.

Fifteen minutes later, we were standing in line waiting to check in at the resort. Twenty minutes after that, we were sitting on the patio outside our home for the week looking at the San Juan Mountains.

After much-needed showers and an awesome meal, it's past time for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, a week of new adventures begins.

((Correction 6/29: Our view is not of the Collegiate Peaks, they are the San Juan Mountains, my apologies for the misinformation.))