Friday, April 1
This became our Southern Colorado day, driving Hwy 160 along the southern tier of the state. This drive took us through golden fields of grasses and grazing cattle to a winding route through and with views of the majestic purple mountains that grace that great classic, “America, the Beautiful.” This truly must be the part of our expansive land that the songwriter glimpsed when penning those heart-lifting lyrics.
I crossed the south fork of the Colorado river as I spelled Duffy as he napped. While it's harder to see all the scenery when driving, it's also necessary to keep eyes on the road, not on the laptop screen as I type away on this blog, so I truly enjoyed the views around every turn. Along this drive we climbed from 4,000 feet on the plains to nearly 10,000 feet over this pass. Then down again on the other side and into Durango for the night. In fact, the whole of the great basin area or the High Plains, as they're often referred to, are a minimum of 4,000 feet in elevation.
April 1 – the AAA guide indicated that three campsites we considered in Durango were open on this date. It began to seem like a day of a series of unfortunate events when the first two campgrounds in Durango we elected to check out were still closed for the season. To complicate driving, the “Closed for the Season” signs were not posted in places that made it easy for us to get out of or turn around. We entered Durango from the east, and missed the KOA on the east side of town along Hwy 160 before we realized we had. Duffy decided to try the campground on the west side of town along the Lightner River. That's when we made a right turn off 160 before seeing the sign. Every time we need to turn around, we are so glad we have a Casita trailer – it is so easy to maneuver and turn around in small spaces. We headed back to the KOA, across town.
Now, Durango isn't that big of a town, but it is a popular resort spot that also hosts a college, so lots of cars, bicycles, and pedestrians were on the roads through and in town. Up the hill to the KOA. Turn right into the entry way off busy Hwy 160. “Oh no, can't be.” The swinging gate was closed and the sign indicated that was so. To get out, Duffy needed to back up onto the Hwy 160 shoulder before he was able to turn us around. Not as easy as it sounds with traffic coming and going along the highway.
“Okay, what now? Drive to the next town?” Duffy was tired of driving and we both were getting testy. In our youth, we drove for hours on end, but we're not able to do that anymore. A five or six hour day, several days in a row, is enough to wear us out. I'm pleased to say that we decided to call the third campground situated to the north out of Durango up Hwy 550 in the direction of Silverton and Telluride before driving there through town. What a pleasant surprise it was when someone answered the phone! The time was 5:30 in the evening and the campground, Alpen-Rose RV Park, just opened that day! The hostess said she would put up a list of available camp sites before she closed at 6:00pm. What a gift.
Now all we had to do was stop at a market for some dinner supplies (turned out to be City Market, a 'Kroeger' store that accepts Fred Meyer Rewards cards), and negotiate our way through Durango. We felt blessed. Not only was there a place to spend the night; Alpen-Rose also had a WiFi connection plus a comfy Rec. Room where we could work. We arrived too late to get the WiFi login ID and password issued by the park, so I typed up several days of blog logs without posting them, while Duffy fixed dinner (tuna sandwiches and avocado slices). Another good thing about the City Market? They actually had gluten-free bread from Colorado, Rudi's, one of my favorite brands that is totally edible straight out of the bag without toasting. Blessed, I say, blessed!
Until next time,
Pam
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