Saturday July 6, 2024 Blue Water Lake Campground (NM) to Bisbee AZ (home)

 

It was up in the air this morning if we wanted to camp another night between here and home or just go for it and get home. Spoiler alert, it was really too hot to camp anywhere so we did a long day and made it home by 7pm.

The bonus today was that the shortest way included the crooked piece of RT 191 that is about 80 miles long and really high and really crooked and devoid of guardrails.

We left the campground and Deb got everything cleared up with the Ranger who was emptying the pay box. Some sites are reservable and some are first come first serve. It turns out if we had not reserved, there were a couple nice sites that were empty when we walked the park last night, so we would have had a good chance at getting a site without the reservation.

We got back on I-40 and headed east a few exits and then took Rt 117 south. We stopped at the El Malpais BLM office and chatted with the ranger there. There was nobody there but us and we agreed that there were probably days when the ranger saw nobody. El Malpais is a huge area filled with cooled lava. Much like Craters of the Moon if you have ever been there. It looked like pretty rough hiking over the lava mounds so we continued on our way, turned on Rt 36 to Quemado where we take Rt 60 west. We saw a couple side roads to Pie Town but one was gravel for 25 miles and the other did not even show up on the map. So we could have gone 50 miles out of our way for pie, but decided to save it for another day.

Rt 60 took us into Springerville which we have been to before and stopped for nd early lunch at Booga Red’s Restaurant. Very slow service but the food was good. 

From Springerville we took good old Rt 191 all the way to I-10. It is one twisty windy road but lots of great vistas and lots of dirt side roads with trail heads and camping spots. This might be a good place to come back to to camp and hike.

From here home is robotic since we have been this route many times and just wanted to get home before dark. It was 108 degrees in Stafford when we stopped to get a few groceries.

We got home just before 7pm and did the old “dump everything in the driveway” routine. Unpacked everything and quick supper, showers, then bed

Friday July 5, 2024 Ridgway State Park (CO) to Bluewater State Park (NM)

 

Deb here. Great sleeping once again. After coffee and tea we decided to take off and head into Ridgway for breakfast. Ridgway is a charming little mountain town with great views in every direction. We found Kate’s Place right in town and had a tasty breakfast there. After breakfast we started the drive on Rt 550 (aka the Million Dollar Highway). We’d been on this road before and I remembered it being pretty terrifying in spots and yep, my recollections were correct! The stretch between Ridgway and Ouray was relatively flat and easy, and we stopped briefly in Ouray to look around. I love Ouray, even busy as it was on this holiday weekend. What a setting, and endless outdoor possibilities.

Following Ouray the road became twisty and steep with sheer dropoffs on our right and no guardrails. This time around I was driving and I think poor Milo was the more nervous one since there wasn’t much between us and the drop off! On up we climbed, first reaching Red Mountain  Pass (11,018 ft) before dropping down into Silverton. It had been quite awhile since we’d been to Silverton, and we thought that it seemed more developed than our last visit. It was busy, so we continued on up and over Molas Pass (10,970 ft). We scored one of the last parking spots at Molas Pass and took in the gorgeous views. The CDT and Colorado Trail both pass through there, and some parents had set up a full breakfast for their son and his friend who were hiking the Colorado Trail. Very sweet.

After finally leaving Rt. 550 in Durango, we then headed west on Rt. 160 and then south on Rt. 140, which turned into Rt. 170 at the New Mexico border and followed that to Farmington. We then took Rt. 371 all the way down to Rt. 40 in Thoreau, and then turned off the interstate shortly after to take the one-way road to Bluewater Lake State Park. All good roads and not busy once we left Durango.

I’d made us a reservation at Bluewater Lake SP but it was all a bit confusing since no one was there to check us in. We found our campsite, set our chairs up in the shade, and enjoyed some snacks before taking a walk around the campground. It was in the 80’s, but the temperature cooled off nicely as the night wore on.

Ridgway SP in Colorado spoiled us and we quickly learned that Bluewater Lake SP could use some TLC. Pit toilets, with a main bathroom near the gate that had showers and running water, but everything just seemed a bit run down. On the other hand, a campsite is $10/night as opposed to CO’s $40/night fee. Maybe you get what you pay for?

Lots of families out enjoying camping and using the reservoir. Pesto grilled cheese and soup for dinner, reading and bed. 

Thursday July 4, 2024 Gunnison, CO to Ridgway State Park, CO

 

Deb here. We enjoyed a hot breakfast at the hotel and had a fun chat with 2 Australian men who are in the US for the International Boomerang competition. Who knew?! Apparently they’re 2 of the 6 Australian team members and they’re competing in L.A. in a couple of days. We’ll have to look up the results in a few days and find out how they fared.

Last night we were conflicted about whether to go east or west, over mountain passes either way. After thinking it through we’d settled on the western route, going north to Crested Butte, then following the West Elk Scenic Byway up and over Kebler Pass and down into Paonia. 26 miles of dirt road, but the road was in pretty good shape.

Not a cloud in the sky today so a perfect day for a drive through the mountains. It turned out to be a gorgeous drive, through aspen groves, wildflower covered hillsides and snow capped mountains. Just the scenery one thinks of when thinking about Colorado. We saw people camping everywhere there was a dirt pull-off or a side road, so I guess no camping restrictions. There was one campground, Lost Lake, that’s a Forest Service Campground, and I followed the 2 mle dirt road to see what that campground was all about. It turned out to be a spectacular spot, right on a lake with 19 sites, all full. We had an informative visit with the caretaker, who gave us some tips on timing to get a spot if we wanted to stay there in the future. Lots of hiking trails nearby and a real gem of a campground.

We’d managed to score the last campsite at Ridgway State Park, so down the mountain we went. Paonia was one of the first towns we came to, and we drove through the cute town. Turns out that cherries are in season, so we stopped by a roadside stand and picked up some delicious cherries. On down through not so interesting and dry terrain, skirting Delta and ultimately stopping in Montrose for a good old McDonald’s coffee and diet coke. We ate our late lunch in the parking lot and headed the short distance to the campground.

Nice campground, complete with free showers. Colorado State Park camping fees are stiff ($40 plus a $10 day fee) so good to know they have decent amenities. 

We found our campsite and decided to go on a hike. The volunteer who checked us in had given us a trail map and recommended the Enchanted Mesa trail, which ended up being a winner. John tested his knee again with a 350+ foot elevation gain on a switchbacking trail up to a mesa and then along the upper bank of the Ridgway Reservoir. The temperature was in the low 80’s but a nice breeze kept the hike bearable and the views were awesome.

Back to our campsite by 5:30 for happy hour outside of our van in the shade, followed by dinner and showers, along with route planning for tomorrow.

Wednesday Jul 3, 2024 Creede CO to Gunnison CO

Another quiet night in Marshall Park Campground. We made coffee and tea and drove over the mountain to Lake City and had breakfast at the Breakfast Hangout and Euphoria since the line at the Lake City Bakery was out the door and across the driveway. Turned out Breakfast Hangout was wonderful and it was staffed by 4 or 5 J-1 students here for the summer from Bulgaria and Dominican Republic and Slovakia. We had a nice chat with a few of them and the coffee was bottomless and the pancakes and frittata were delicious.

We then walked to the bakery and there was no line, and the couple from Oklahoma  that we had met the day before were there, so we stopped and got a mid-morning snack (cruller) and chatted with the OK folks again. They gave us even more tips for getting through the mountains.

We continued on the Silver Thread Scenic Byway which was not very populated and not much traffic. Beautiful sunny day with big white clouds and in the 70’s. Deb had lined up a Wingate Hotel in Gunnison (with points) so we could do laundry and get showers.

We discovered that the Pioneer Museum in Gunnison is a pretty big museum and so we stopped. Wow was it huge! And very nicely put together. We spent close to two hours there and it’s so big, they let you have a return pass for the next day which we got. I think I made it through the entire thing but only by taking quick looks through each building. Wow.

Gunnison is not what we were expecting. It’s a pretty normal working town, not a big resort town at all. Big enough for a small Walmart but we did not see any other box stores.

We then decided we would drive the 30 or so miles up to Crested Butte and back just to go to the visitor center there and ask about the roads over the mountains. Crested Butte is a big, resort town with lots of fancy stores and a big Arts Center. Kind of richy-rich stuff. The visitor center volunteer said either road to the east or the west over the mountains was fine for our two wheeled drive van. So we have options tomorrow.

Then back to Gunnison where we found a car wash our high top van would fit in, and hosed most of the 100 pounds of mud that was caked on the sides of our van from yesterday's travels. Then to the motel and did some laundry.

Later we walked downtown and had a good taco salad dinner at El Paraiso Mexican Restaurant. After a stroll around town back to the hotel for reading and bed.

Tuesday Jul 2, 2024 Noodling around Creede CO

 

Marshall Park Campground was full last night. We talked to a man who went to Middlebury College in VT and he said he pulled in at 4pm and got a site first come first serve. Deb says 8 of the sites are reservable and 7 are first come. So it’s busy but not crazy busy. Today reinforced the thought that this area is not that popular, or has not been discovered yet so there is plenty of room in cafes, stores, hiking trails and dirt roads. It rained pretty hard last night so everything will be soggy today.

Breakfast in the van, cereal, and then the 11 muddy dirt road miles to Love Lake. About half of those miles were very wide, albeit muddy, nicely graded road since there is a large development out here where it appears that a lot of people live. Every house seems to be a log cabin or looks like a log cabin with big windows facing the mountain views. The road gets narrower and narrower and then it’s single lane with wide spots that you negotiate with the few people you meet coming the other way. Love Lake is a reservoir at 10,500 ft. in elevation, and there was a young man and his grandfather fishing. They told us that it was trout they were fishing for and that all the lakes around here are stocked. There were two rigs set up for camping and a couple of more trucks came in with fisherman.

Today it never rained and was mostly clear all day. We hiked around the little lake enough to stretch our legs but there is no trail per se.

Back down the muddy 11 miles and the poor van is encrusted with thick mud that hardened up over the day.

We went to the historical museum in Creede and they were open today. Yesterday they were closed due to a doctor’s appointment. The place is run by an older man who must have been okay medically speaking since he was there today! The museum is your typical collection of old late 1800’s stuff and a lot of old black and white pictures of the late 1800’s. This town boomed for 4 or 5 years and then went bust. But tourism bailed them out.

Following the museum we stopped at Coffee on the Fly for some iced coffee drinks (Deb said “best iced chai ever”) and people watching. We then strolled down to the actually pretty nice grocery store and bought a loaf of bread since we just ran out.

Next stop was the trailhead at Shallow Creek a few miles out of town. The hiking brochure we’d picked up had one of the mileages wrong so we got a little side tracked trying to find it. We were on roads that were very single lane but fortunately there is little traffic so we only had a couple pull off negotiations. The fields of wildflowers along the way were beautiful. We finally did find the trailhead and we hiked about 3 miles round trip on my new knee, which is about all I want to push it for now. There were beef cattle we had to negotiate at one point but other than that it was a mild up and down trail.

Then back to the campground to chill and rest the knee and re-up on ibuprofen. Tonight Deb got us the last two seats at Creede Repertory Theater’s rendition of Young Frankenstein. We reserved a spot in the Creede Hotel for dinner at six and what looked like everyone who was going to the play next door was getting dinner there. So the kitchen was slammed and we ordered a simple salad and bowl of soup and still waited 45 minutes to get those, but enjoyed sitting outside and listening to a musician as we waited. We got to the theater at 7pm and we had two separate seats in the very nice Creede Repertory Theater (rows A-O, 1-14). Very professionally done show and we enjoyed it very much. They started this theater in 1967 which seems hard to believe for this tiny isolated town.

Then back to the campground and lights out in our tiny filthy van.

Monday Jul 1, 2024 South Fork to Marshal Park Campground (Creede CO)

Another quiet night at the Silver Thread Basecamp RV park. Silver Thread refers to the name of the scenic road that stretches from South Fork, CO all the way to Gunnison, CO. There was a lot of mining activity along this corridor in the later 1800’s.

We topped off our water and used the dump station before leaving and stopped at the office to ask about breakfast somewhere. She said Tiny Timbers Coffee Bistro and Cafe was the “only” good place for breakfast in South Fork, which isn’t bragging so much as it is true.

She was right. It had food somewhere between diner and foo-foo so something for everyone. There were the usual assortment of “old farts” solving all of the world’s problems, again. A group from Sierra Vista, AZ saw our Bisbee license plate so we chatted for a while. A very social place with good coffee and hot tea and good simple breakfast.

After breakfast  we went up to Big Meadows Reservoir and hiked the Big Meadows Loop Trail, which was Milo’s test on the 6 week anniversary of his new knee. After 2.6 miles of fairly flat but soggy, root and boulder infested trail, Milo survived and celelbrated back at the van with some ibuprofin and hot coffee. It was drizzly all morning but we had lightweight rain jackets so were fairly dry. Deb wore her camera out snapping pictures of wildflowers.

Deb taking over for the rest! We decided to drive to Lake City for the afternoon, traveling further on the Silver Thread Byway (Rt 149) than we’d been previiously, up and over Spring Creek and Slumgullion Passes. Our first stop was at the parking area for North Creek Falls, where we made lunch and enjoyed the clearing skies at a picnic table. We had a long chat with a couple from Oklahoma, who are staying in a cabin in Lake City but have a Travato van at home. 

Following our lunch break we drove up and over the passes, first Spring Creek Pass (10,000+ feet) and then Slumgullion Pass (11,000+ feet). Both the Continental Divide Trail and the Colorado Trail go through Spring Creek Pass. Magnificent vistas and country.

Down and into Lake City, another historic and charming town complete with wooden sidewalks. Our new Oklahoma friends pulled up behind us and offered us a spot in their driveway on the night of July 3rd if we needed it. So sweet, since after we leave our current campground on the 3rd we don’t have any reservations.

We then drove to Wupperman Campground, a county-run campground up above Lake San Cristobal, to check it out and see if we might have any luck getting into that campground on the 3rd. We had a fun chat with the campground host Dan Bell (his wife’s name is Tinker, seriously) who said if we decided to camp there he’d find room for us.

Back down to Rt 149, up and over the passes and on to Marshall Park Campground by 5:30 pm, our home for the next 2 nights. This is a lovely Forest Service campground right on the Rio Grande river, with 16 sites total and decent pit toilets. At $17/night the price is pretty hard to beat.

Milo made a rice and chicken sausage dinner with salad and we enjoyed talking with a few of the campground guests and listening to the river.