An awesome drive today from Monument Valley KOA to Ouray KOA in Colorado. Waze and two GPS's took me through the San Juan National Forest and the views were spectacular, the roads clean and dry. l have not yet finished or posted my blog for the Monument Valley Tribal Tour so that will materialize at some later date. This blog will take you with me on the visual trip, so sit back with a glass of wine and enjoy the views including Red Mesa, AZ, Four Corners, NM, Ute Mountain Reservation, along the Dolores River, a stop in Rico, CO for a bite to eat at the Fireweed Cafe and Mercantile, and Uncompahgre National Forest.
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| Good bye Monument Valley KOA... |
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| ...won't miss the sandstorms, but... |
...the strong Colorado winds provided "tumbling tumbleweeds" racing across my path and a "Dust Devil."
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I had to take a double take at my first stop at the Four Corners Monument.
The rocky terrain was surely going to make the young lady sorry for her choice of shoes. |
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| Being on Navajo land, there was a $5.00 entrance fee as well as the mask mandate. |
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| Once again on the road, the scenery with its eroding mesas dotted the landscape. |
Still, the spectacular scenery provided me "picture post card" photos that I'll have forever. These were taken while driving...yes, with eyes on the road but arm extended hoping for the best. Enjoy. |
| Ears already clicking but another 2,000' yet to come. |
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| Dry roads, bright sunshine and fantastic sights...that was the journey. |
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| The highest point and now, a very long ride down. |
Stopped in Rico, Colorado and treated myself to a hot cup of coffee. Read about this terrific little gold mine in southwest Colorado...lots of skiing. Fireweed Cafe and Mercantile.
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| Cinnamon Bread Pudding Strudel. |
I couldn't resist leaving without picking up a loaf of artisan Blue Grouse Bread. |
| Chelsey & Matt |
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And finally, I arrived at 5:30. With the "big" storm that was to sweep into the east,
dumping 6-10" to the west of Denver, I was in regular contact with Harlan here at the
Ouray KOA. He kept be abreast of the forecasts, road conditions and the timing of
any periods of snow. Their 3-6" ended in the morning. When I arrived the temp was 47º,
the site slushy and muddy. Tonight it'll go down to 18º by 7 a.m. tomorrow. |
I ended my long day, my long drive with an Irish Malibu cocktail. With that goes my best wishes to all the Irish (today) that celebrated. Hope you enjoyed the slide show. The upside is you weren't stuck in someone's living room watching the slide show. Tomorrow a few phone calls to the Pikes Peak RV Park in Manitou Springs, CO, the Pikes Peak Cog Railroad (for Saturday's ride...if it's open) and the CDOT for road conditions. See you there.
