The Long Road Home ... to Canon City

It was a fond farewell to our dear friends, Danny & Robin Burton at the Durango Riverside RV Resort.  Sadie is once again giving you one of her famous butt shots.  She had seen a bunny rabbit in that area so she was obsessed with finding it again!

This is our last photo together before we headed off in different directions.  I'm wearing my Silverton t-shirt in memory of our trip :)  The Burtons were heading back through Silverton on their way home to Gardnerville, NV to visit a friend in Montrose (north on the 50) and we were heading east on the 160 back to Canon City.  We had to be back at work the next day to work, so we were going to do an "all the way in one day" road trip.

The scenery in the San Juan National Forest was, once again, fantastic and the day was beautiful. 

 

 

We stopped at this nice roadside area to unhook the Jeep for our trip over Wolf Pass.  What a place to stop--Treasure Falls--right off the highway!  The waterfall cascades 105 feet into Falls Creek which connects with the San Juan River.  The San Juan, which begins at  the top of Wolf Creek Pass, flows west all the way to the Gulf of California.  The name Treasure Falls came from Treasure Mountain, which as the legend goes, holds buried gold.  There is a well-maintained dirt trail that backs up the side of a densely-forested hill.  It's about a 1/4 mile trek to the falls with an elevation gain of over 300 feet--about a 30-45 minute round trip, which we did not take since we were on the fast track.  I still got some nice pictures though.

 

 

Further down the road before we got to Wolf Creek Pass, there was more beautiful scenery.  Once we got to Wolf  Creek Pass my picture taking time was over because now I was back in the RV with Gary driving instead of the Jeep going at my own pace and stopping wherever my little heart desired!

I had to stop here to take a picture because following right next to the highway, down the gully, was this cool little creek.  It's the best shot I could get because the availability of turn-outs was limited.  You can see the road I had just traveled to get to this stopping place.  My last picture of our journey home!  From then on it was drive, drive, drive and I drove about one-third of the way so no camera in hand (you don't say!).

Isaiah 44:3-4
For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants; and they will spring up among the grass
Like poplars by streams of water.

Mesa Verde National Park--Cliff Dwelling at its Finest!

History Lesson!
Today I'm going to start off with the history lesson before you see any pictures.  This will give you some basic background on this fascinating area of the country and the people who inhabited these cliff dwellings.

Mesa Verde, Spanish for green table, offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people. For more than 700 years they and their descendants lived and flourished here. Today, Mesa Verde national Park preserves a spectacular reminder of this ancient culture. The park contains over 4,000 known archeological sites including cliff dwellings and the mesa top sites of pithouses, pueblos, masonry towers, and farming structures.

The cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde are some of the most notable and best preserved in the North American continent. Sometime during the late 1190s, after primarily living on the mesa top for 600 years, many Ancestral Puebloans began living in pueblos they built beneath the overhanging cliffs. The structures ranged in size from one-room storage units to villages of more than 150 rooms. While still farming the mesa tops, they continued to reside in the alcoves, repairing, remodeling and constructing new rooms for nearly a century. By the late 1270s, the population began migrating south into present-day New Mexico and Arizona and became today's modern pueblo people. By 1300, the Ancestral Puebloan occupation of Mesa Verde ended.  The best guess as to why they migrated from the cliff dwellings is a harsh drought which would have severely impacted their farming and thus their food supply.

Here we are at the southern entrance to the park.  There is only this one entrance off Highway 160. You know I love those National Park signs!  And in this photo you can see the Burton's little pupster, Sophie.  I guess we left Sadie in the car!

Right at the entrance is this stunning sky-piercing mesa.  As you can see, it was a beautiful, clear day--perfect for exploring Mesa Verde.  But, you can also see the clouds rising in the background, and we did have just a touch of precipitation, not much to worry about, though.  I must be getting used to the ever-changing Colorado weather since a little bit of drizzle doesn't even affect me anymore!

There are two main roads in the park--the Wetherill Mesa Road and the Chapin Mesa Road.  The Chapin Mesa Road has the most sites so we opted for that one.  It is a 20-mile drive to get the end, but there are a few overlook stops along the way.  We weren't all that interested in them as we were most interested in the actual cliff dwellings.  We also made the decision to only do the self-guided tours because we had the dogs with us.

 

Our first actual stop was the Spruce Tree House which is the best preserved cliff dwelling in the park. And, lucky for us, it offered a self-guided tour.  We walked down a paved trail to get to the actual ruins.  Here are photos of both Gary and me on the way down.

And here are some photos of the Spruce Tree House taken from the rapidly descending trail.  And believe me, I was thinking about the ascent the whole time we were descending!

 

 

Now for some close-up shots ... Houston, we have landed!  Aren't they amazing?  The blackened areas on the ceilings and walls are from their fires.

 

 

 

 

Here's a great shot of both Gary and Danny hanging around at the Spruce Tree House.

This photo is looking up at the Visitor's Center from the Spruce Tree House trail.  I did make it back up without having to get CPR or an emergency vehicle called in!  It definitely was a slow, methodical climb though and I was definitely out of breath.  A little deep breathing never hurt anyone :)

We continued on the Mesa Top Loop road for our next stop which was Navajo Canyon Overlook.

 

At this nice overlook Danny Danger's glasses fell off his shirt on the other side of the railing.  But that didn't stop him.  He vaulted right over and retrieved his errant glasses.  He completed what I am calling a very vibrant victory vault!

This little side trip off the Mesa Top Loop gave us views of the Square Tower House.  You can see from the scaffolding that they're working on ensuring the longevity of the structure over time.

We made a stop at the pithouses and villages which didn't warrant any photos (from my perspective anyway) but we did make it our own pit stop.  Once again, this National Park had excellent facilities all along the road making it convenient and easy to stop and get refreshed ... even for the dogs.  You can see the success written on Gary's face as he's flying Sadie's victory baggie!

They had these beautiful plants that reminded me of Yucca, but they weren't tall like Yucca plants.  I'm not sure what they are, but they had these beautiful white flowers and they were blooming everywhere.

 

Here are views of even more cliff dwelling ruins.  According to the sign at this stop, the Ancient Puebloans spent most of their time (about 600 years) living on top of the mesas and only lived in the actual cliff dwellings for their final 75-100 years (between AD 1200 and 1300).  Just think they did all that work for only about three generations--you, your kids and your grandkids!!

 

 

 

 

The Sun Point View offered more cliff dwelling observation opportunities.

 

 

The Sun Temple stop had this area that showed no signs of habitation. The central pit was too large for cooking fires but held layer-upon-layer of ashes.  Its size and carefully crafted symmetrical features suggest community-wide ceremonial gatherings.  This picture is looking through one of the hallways or entrance portals.

This is a spout on the outside of the circular pit.  You can't really see it from this photo, but the spout is wooden with some sort of cement adhering it to the wall's structure. 

 

Our next stop was from an overlook on the Mesa Top Loop and it is the Cliff Palace.  In the first and third photos below, you can see the people who are taking the special tour that involves climbing four ladders.

 

 

Next stop on the Mesa Top Loop was the House of Many Windows.  Can you guess why it's called that?

The Hemingway House was our next stop.  It was quite a bit smaller than the others and I really had to zoom in to even get these photos below.

 

On our way out of the park, we did stop to get some pictures of the valley below.  It was still a beautiful day so we had perfect scenery.

 

Isaiah 58:11-12
"And the LORD will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.  Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell."

Durango and Silverton

This sign is the entrance to the RV park we stayed at during our Durango expedition.  It was situated right on the Animas River, about 15 miles outside of downtown Durango.

The Animas River looked a lot like the Rio Grande in South Fork.  Doesn't this picture look similar to the Rio Grande?  I took this photo right across from our campsite--just like in South Fork!

Here's another shot of the river, on a different day, with the sun reflecting off the river and the surrounding trees.

Here's our rig set up under a nice canopy of trees which, by the way, obstructed our satellite reception.  This only became disturbing to Gary when the Stanley Cup Playoffs were in progress.  Thankfully, Danny & Robin let him watch the last minutes of one of the games so he was quite relieved!

We went to downtown Durango for dinner two nights and tried out two different Mexican restaurants.  Some things are just so predictable, aren't they?  Like us and Mexican food, for sure!  Here is a picture of the Strater Hotel which is on the main drag in town just about right in the middle of town.  This is just another of many old, historic towns in Colorado.  Love these towns!

Here are Danny and Gary, studiously studying the map getting ready for our day trip to Silverton. 



The drive to Silverton was beautiful, and we went over a number of high passes.  Gary was initially thinking we would drive home this route because Wolf Pass was so high.  However, Wolf Pass didn't hold a candle to the passes we traveled over to get to Silverton.  He quickly realized it would have been a HUGE mistake taking this alternate way back to Canon City!  We passed this waterfall right by the side of the road on our way there.

Here comes a history lesson!

When you visit Silverton, a National Historic Landmark, you step back in history. The Old Town Square invites you to browse shops filled with Old West charm and rare antiques. Visit the Grand Imperial Hotel, built in 1882--a perfect example of Victorian architecture. The atmosphere may have provided the setting for several Western movies, not only to take advantage of the historic look, but to capture the splendorous mountain magic as well.

Silverton is part of the Sun Juan Skyway (with the Million Dollar Highway connecting Silverton to Ouray), home to Animas Forks and the Alpine Loop, the summer destination for the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train ride, a recreational paradise in winter for snowmobiling, skiing, sledding, ice skating, ice climbing, and ice fishing; and in summer for rafting, backcountry touring, Jeeping, ATV and OHV riding, fishing, hiking, biking, rafting, horseback riding, hunting and camping.  Secluded at 9,318 feet, a visit to Silverton is a perfect combination of supreme natural beauty and magnificent Victorian charm.

Gold was discovered in Silverton in 1860. The greatest boom in the area was construction of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (aka the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad) in 1882. By that time, there were seven towns, including Animas Forms which is now a well-visited ghost town in the summer.

Silverton's main business section was built in the late 1800s. Unlike many other mining towns, Silverton never experienced a major fire, and most of the buildings are still standing. The "other side" of town was centered on Blair Street. At one time this notorious street was home to forty saloons and brothels. Almost half of these buildings are still standing today.

Silverton is now the only town left in San Juan County. Its year-round population of approximately 600 is supported by tourism rather than mining. People from all over the globe come to see the magnificent scenery and to experience the rich history of the area.

 

The pink BBQ place in the photo just above is where we ate lunch.  It boasted a visit by Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-ins & Dives.  However, Guy actually visited their other location, not this one in Silverton!  We still had a good BBQ lunch!

 

It was a good thing we brought our sweatshirts with us.  The weather up at that elevation was quite chilly and as you can see from the photos it was overcast and cloudy,

 

On our way back, the weather had improved somewhat allowing us these fantastic photos of the magnificent mountain scenery.

 

 

 

We stopped at an overlook on our way back and took a group photo.  Left to right:  Judy, Gary, Danny, and Robin.  Sadie is in front but unfortunately you can't see the Burton's little dog, Sophie.  Notice we all have our sweatshirts on!

Back at the campground, Robin is taking time out to relax and play with her iPad.

 Danny is getting the BBQ ready for a dinner of hamburgers.

And this is their trailer brightly decorated with these lively lights in the shape of trailers!  So cute!

Tomorrow's adventure?  Mesa Verde National Park!  Stay tuned for some great photos of another amazing National Park!

 

John 12:44-47

And Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me.  He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.  I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness."