Catching Up - Part 5 - July 2017 cont. - Family Trip to Durango

We had a plan to take Greg's parents up to Grand Mesa in Colorado to meet a couple of Greg's sisters for a family camping trip.  We were taking our van and Greg's parents camper van.  Greg's parent's camper stalled on the way up the million dollar highway out of Durango. Greg was able to get it started again and we didn't want to take a chance continuing high up into the San Juan Mountains. We turned around and headed back to Durango. Karen was able to call United Campgrounds of Durango and reserved a couple camping spots for us all. We called Greg's sisters and told them where to find us.

We very much thank United Campgrounds of Durango for being so accommodating and flexible in getting us spots and later letting us move to the grass tent area when there were no more RV sites available. (The grass ended up being much more pleasant than the gravel RV area.)

Our first gravel spots at United Campgrounds of Durango

We were able to move down to the grassy "tent" area at United Campgrounds, which we all liked better.

Greg, Liam and Sock Monkeys relaxing. Liam was Greg's parent's dog (RIP).

Each morning and each evening two classic tour trains go through the campground. We loved seeing and hearing them.

Here is a video of the train going through the campground:

V I D E O 

Karen enjoying frozen yogurt at Top That Frozen Yogurt in Durango.

Beautiful flowers we saw on a hike in downtown Durango.

Karen with the train bridge over the Animas River in Durango (kayakers below). Durango has a fantastic bike/walking trail along the river.

A display at the Durango wildlife museum.

Greg next to fish artwork along the Animas River Trail.

A raccoon got into Greg's parent's cooler and ate or destroyed absolutely everything.  We laughed because the raccoon ate an entire package of prunes, several Boosts, V8, orange juice and milk. We are sure he or she had quite the belly ache. 

Karen and Greg's Dad soaking at Trimble Spa and Natural Hot Springs in Durango Colorado.

The large warm pool at Trimble Spa and Natural Hot Springs in Durango.

Yummy nachos at Nini's Taqueria in downtown Durango.

Greg's parents enjoying our propane fire pit. We love this fire pit which is great if there are fire restrictions and even if there aren't restrictions.

I use a telescoping ladder to get up to the Thule on top of our van.

The Animas River viewed near the United Campgrounds of Durango

Liam taking the low-cost city trolly from the Campground to downtown Durango

Greg's sister, Mom, and Karen enjoying the campground's pool.

The view from the campground.

Next up:  Trip to Yosemite via California Highway 395

Catching Up - Part 4 - June July 2017 - Valley View Hot Springs - Aspen - Independence Pass

In mid-June, we took a quick weekend trip to soak our bones at Valley View Hot Springs in Colorado.

One of the Apple Tree Pools (The cooler temperature one).

The waterfall pool

The "Party" pool.

Pavilion and Grill area.

Then in early June Greg took a road trip around Colorado.

First stop was an overnight of dry camping and soaking at Orvis Hot Spring just south of Ridgway, Colorado. Then I looped up to Aspen, Colorado and hiked around the town that was packed full of people in preparation for the Four of July holiday.

Aspen Airport packed with 1 percenter private jets.

Aspen Water Feature

Here is a short video I call "clean out your kid's diapers" at Aspen's water feature:

V I D E O

Art sculpture near the John Denver Memorial Park / Sanctuary.

Tesla has a shop in Aspen. Have a meal, buy a purse, pick up a Tesla while you're at it. 

After a good long hike all around Aspen, I headed east up to Independence Pass.  I parked in the parking spaces at the top that serves as a scenic tourist stop and a trail head for hikers. I had no problem sleeping there overnight. In the morning, I found a couple other cars had stopped and there were folks sleeping in them. I took a hike a ways up a nearby ridge.

Trailhead boondocking at the top of Independence Pass 

Beautiful hike at Independence Pass up a ridge

Next, I headed to Orient Land Trust / Valley View Hot Springs for a soak and a camp over.

Sunset at Valley View Hot Springs

The large swimming pool (naturally heated) being cleaned.

Afer a good soaking and a sound sleep, I headed back home.

Next up: Family trip to Durango.

Catching Up - Part 3 - Late May 2017 continued: Taos NM, San Luis CO, Creede CO, Waterfall, Pagosa Springs CO

For this trip in late May, we were traveling north to Creede, Colorado and specifically to see the North Clear Creek Falls.

Our first stop was at the top of Taos Ski Valley near the Bavarian Lodge & Restaurant. We had planned to hike up to Williams Lake, but there was more snow on the trail then we expected so we canned that plan. After a hike around the area, we thought we might try to stealth overnight, but there was a lot of snow and it was pretty mushy on the dirt at that elevation. So, we went back down towards the Twining Campground at the base of the Taos ski area.  There are lots of empty parking areas and we thought we could stay overnight, but it was still early in the day.   Being early in the afternoon, we decided to continue north.

Hiking under a ski lift near the Bavarian Lodge & Restaurant.

I know about a little recreation area with a pond in Northern New Mexico called the Sanchez Stabilizing Reservoir that had a little free primitive camping area with some cement tables.  It's a fishing lake.  After a nice dinner, we stayed overnight. It was a very pleasant spot.

Greg at our pleasant boondocking spot at Sanchez Stabilizing Reservoir: 37.1683083,-105.5187944.

Dinner in the van on the new table. It worked out beautifully.

The next morning, after breakfast by the reservoir, we headed further north on Highway 159. In San Luis Colorado, which is just over the Colorado state line, we stopped to hike up to Shrine of the Stations of the Cross, in the center of town. We've pasted this trail on many trips to Colorado and it was time to hike up!

One of the stations of the cross on the trail up the hill to the Shrine in San Luis, Colorado.

Karen near the Shrine at the top. 

One of the Stations near the Shrine.

Here is a link to a video that was taken at the Shrine in San Luis, Colorado:

VIDEO

Inside the Shrine of the Station of the Cross in San Luis, Colorado. Beautiful.

Outside the Shrine.

There was a short additional hike with many Martyr Priests busts.

Another Martyr Bust with the Shine in the background. San Luis, Colorado

It's a nice hike to the Shrine, even if you're not all that religious.

After heading back down to our van, we drove the rest of the way to Creede, arriving mid-afternoon. Creede is a very scenic old mining town turned tourist town that is at the entrance to a high walled canyon. We toured the town. It reminded me a lot of Silver City, Colorado. The same sort of old mining town feel with interesting old shops.

A creek ditch runs through Creede Colorado.

Creede has a Mac and Cheese food truck spot. Karen loves Mac and Cheese!!!!

After Karen's snack, we continued on Highway 149 to North Clear Creek Falls Observation Site.

North Clear Creek Falls, Colorado

Here is a link to a short video taken at the North Clear Creek Falls Observation Site:

VIDEO

After enjoying these beautiful falls, we took a bit of a dicey dirt forest road into the backcountry find a good boondocking spot. Boy did we find a great spot!

A nice boondocking spot at: 37.8217806,-107.1459222

The Sock Monkeys liked this beautiful spot and wanted to stay.

I was a bit worried about the weather and wasn't sure about how difficult it would be to get out of this spot if it got muddy, so we headed a bit further down the forest road to an official forest service campground ($16) called Bristol Head which was near to the highway.  Turned out that the storm never came. I wish we had stayed here! We had a nice overnight at Bristol Head campground. It was not crowded at all with maybe two other campers and the camp host.

The next day we made our way to Pagosa Springs, Colorado and had a nice hike around town. We stopped in at The Springs Resort & Spa for a selfie. (We didn't soak this day.)

At The Springs Resort & Spa. It's the Disneyland of hot springs resorts.

After our hike and a light dinner in the van, overlooking the mountains, we headed to the Junction Restaurant at the edge of Pagosa Springs to overnight among the truckers.

Our light dinner at Tractor Supply where there is a great view of the mountains.

We parked against the hillside overnight near the truckers and another RV at the Junction Restaurant. 

In the morning, we planned to have breakfast at the Junction Restaurant. We like to patronize places where we park for free in order to pay them back for allowing overnight parking. We went in and waited and waited and waited. There were hardly any customers and the waitresses were not very busy, but for some reason they just completely ignored us. We finally just left and headed to our favorite breakfast cafe in Pagosa Springs, The Rose.  Oh Yum!!!!

By the way, if you are in Pagosa and want to soak, we recommend the Overlook Hot Springs. The overlook is much calmer and more relaxing place than nearby Springs Resort & Spa. The Overlook has some indoor tubs that are really nice, some rooftop tubs overlooking the river and some new single tubs out in a back courtyard that just opened recently (that we have not tried yet). They also have fantastic showers.

After our breakfast, we head home.

Next up: Valley View Hot Springs and Greg's trip around Colorado.

Catching Up - Part 2 - May 2017 continued: Up to Ridgway Colorado Area

After Greg got back from his Zion - Angel's Landing Trip, we decided to head up for a soaking trip to Orvis Hot Springs in Colorado.

On the way, we stopped in Durango to check out the La Plata County Fairgrounds RV spots that have electric connections for about $16 bucks (but you have to reservations).

La Plata County Fairgrounds RV spots with Electric at 37.292174, -107.871509

Next, we headed up the hill to a nice boondocking spot about 27 miles north of Durango.

Karen enjoying a fire. Boondocking at 37.654212, -107.802134

We watched an awesome lightning storm roll in and enjoyed listening to the raindrops on the roof of the van. In the morning we drove over the Million Dollar Highway to Ouray. In Ouray, we checked out the reconstruction of the public, city hot springs [Ouray Hot Springs Pool and Fitness Center].

The Ouray Hot Springs Pool under re-construction in May 2017. It is completed now, but we haven't tried it yet ... but we will soon!!!.

We had a nice soak at Orvis Hot Springs and overnighted in one of their dry camping spots. They have a really beautiful large natural looking soaking pond that is a great place to view the stars from, late at night, after the yaking crowds have left. One problem we have found in the last couple of years, Orvis cranks up the heat just after dark and makes the big pool nearly unbearable. SAD, as Trump would say.

The next morning we headed just north to Ridgway for a great breakfast at Kate's Place restaurant. I always get the Huevos Rancheros there. Fantastic!!!!

Kate's Place - Fantastic Breakfast in Ridgeway, Colorado.

After breakfast, we took a walk around nearby Dennis Weaver Memorial Park.  There is a very large and majestic eagle sculpture that looks like it's flying in the park. Also, there are nice hiking trails to explore, which we did.

Humongous flying Eagle Sculpture at Dennis Weaver Memorial Park.

After our hike, we went back to Orvis Hot Springs for another soak and to stay overnight in their dry camping area.

The next morning we headed back over the Million Dollar Highway to Durango and stopped for a late breakfast/lunch at Kassidy's Kitchen. Kassidy's specializes in wheat-free selections. Another great breakfast!!!!

Greg's half-eaten Huevos with wheat-free pancakes at Kassidy's Kitchen in Durango.

Karen had the Tuna Sandwich at Kassidy's Kitchen in Durango.

After a very nice meal at Kassidy's, we headed for Pagosa Springs, Colorado on our way home. We like to stop in Pagosa for a nice hike around town and for some yummy frozen yogurt at a new place there.

Here is a short video from our hike in Pagosa Springs:

VIDEO

Greg getting frozen yogurt at Pagosa Springs Frozen Yogurt and Tea Room. 459 Lewis St, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147

Catch up continued in next post....  Trip to Creede Colorado.