Daily mileage: 280mi
Trip mileage: 2,375mi
State count: 9
After a VERY good night’s rest, we woke up ready to attack
the day. Took advantage of the
free continental breakfast offered by the hotel, then packed our bikes, ready
to go. We were thinking of going
to Taos Pueblo, but with the $10/person admission, $6/camera fee (including
cell phones), we opted to head straight out to Mesa Verde instead. We had been told the Rio Grande Gorge
Bridge was on the highway we were taking.
As we’re driving along the flats between the massive mountain ranges,
the ground opens up into an incredible gorge with a beautiful bridge over
it. We parked the bikes and took a
walk around. There were platforms along the bridge that you could walk out
onto. Such an incredible
site. Martinique couldn’t get over
the fact that it was very flat between the mountains, save for this insane
gorge cut by a thread of a river.
Rio Grande Gorge Bridge:
Rio Grande Gorge Bridge:
View from the bridge:
We continued through the mountains. Today was an easy, low mileage day
after all the long days we’d endured.
We were going to take every bit of it in. A Multistrada had passed us while we were observing the
bridge. A hundred miles later, up
in the mountains, we were parked at an overlook snapping some pictures (and
Larkin watered the plants) and the same Multistrada rode by and decided to pull
in. He was from MN, had been down
in AR and TX riding around, and was making his way back home. He also has a garage full of bikes (“No
kids, just bikes” he said). He suggested
a taco place in Pagosa Springs that was supposed to be very tasty, then headed
out. He had a lot of ground to
cover for the day.
Shot from the viewpoint where we met the Multistrada:
Shot from the viewpoint where we met the Multistrada:
We saw snow, and wanted to play in it, but there was a fence
in our way. It’s amazing how many
awesome jeep trails exist out here, all over the National Forests. Maybe next year we’ll truck some dirt
bikes out here and go from place to place riding them.
Snow that we could ALMOST get to:
Snow that we could ALMOST get to:
The lunch place, Kip’s Grill & Cantina, was
awesome. We had Fish Tacos and
some type of Barbacoa dish Larkin ordered. We intended to take a picture before we dove in, but… Didn’t
work out so much, lol. We were
starving! Highly recommended
though if you’re in the Pagosa Springs, CO area. They
had a great little porch to sit on for us to enjoy our lunch.
Some sheep that ranchers had feeding on the the grass between the road and fence line. By the evidence left behind as we went down the road, it appeared that they'd been herding them up the fence line for quite a ways. Larkin wasn't happy about the pellets on his tires...
Almost to Mesa Verde:
After lunch, we headed out to finish our last leg to get to Mesa Verde. We booked a KOA tepee during lunch so we could do laundry there. We wanted to book a normal tent sight, but when I called them, they said they don’t allow anything on the trees because they’re too fragile. We drove by the park on our way into town, but wanted to drop our gear before heading there. Checked in at the KOA, where they informed us that they last tours at the park go at 5, so we wouldn’t be able to book one for the day (it was 4:00 already). Our best bet would be to head there now, get some info, book a tour for the next morning, and maybe look around. And oh by the way, there’s a free wine tasting for KOA’ers across the street. SOLD! So we headed to Mesa Verde, booked our tour for 9:30 at the adventurous Balcony House site, then came back and did a little wine tasting. It was actually very tasty wine, and we bought a bottle for the evening, and a bottle to send home. Swung by the grocery store to pick up some cheese and crackers, and Snackables for breakfast in the morning, and we were set! Enjoyed the evening in our little site, relaxing and taking in the beauty that is CO. Absolutely love this state…
Dinner for the evening:
Our humble abode for the evening, just like Martinique used to camp in when she was a Venture Scout:
Almost to Mesa Verde:
After lunch, we headed out to finish our last leg to get to Mesa Verde. We booked a KOA tepee during lunch so we could do laundry there. We wanted to book a normal tent sight, but when I called them, they said they don’t allow anything on the trees because they’re too fragile. We drove by the park on our way into town, but wanted to drop our gear before heading there. Checked in at the KOA, where they informed us that they last tours at the park go at 5, so we wouldn’t be able to book one for the day (it was 4:00 already). Our best bet would be to head there now, get some info, book a tour for the next morning, and maybe look around. And oh by the way, there’s a free wine tasting for KOA’ers across the street. SOLD! So we headed to Mesa Verde, booked our tour for 9:30 at the adventurous Balcony House site, then came back and did a little wine tasting. It was actually very tasty wine, and we bought a bottle for the evening, and a bottle to send home. Swung by the grocery store to pick up some cheese and crackers, and Snackables for breakfast in the morning, and we were set! Enjoyed the evening in our little site, relaxing and taking in the beauty that is CO. Absolutely love this state…
Dinner for the evening:
Our humble abode for the evening, just like Martinique used to camp in when she was a Venture Scout:
No comments:
Post a Comment