Saturday, September 7, 2019
We were both awake at 4:00 AM this morning, our bodies still being on Eastern Time. Of course we were asleep by 9:00 PM last night, having had a long and busy day. We were up, packed and had the car loaded by 6:30 and then went to breakfast in the Sandhill's lobby. The breakfast was surprisingly good and very substantial. The conversation was also nice. We met a gentleman from near Denver who was in Monte Vista for the "Potato Festival". I guess that might have been why rooms were so difficult to come by. He said the San Louis valley was the second largest producer of potatoes in the US, behind Idaho. We also spent some time with the manager, Stan. He was married in, and lived in Charleston for 5 years before moving west. We learned a lot about the local area talking to these two gentlemen. For us, that is part of the joy of travel, meeting and interacting with locals.
When we left Monte Vista headed for Durango, it was about 7:45 AM. We actually saw where they were setting up for the Potato Festival. If only we had another day in Monte Vista...
Our travels today were along U.S. route 160 the entire way to Durango. The scenery was breathtaking. We followed along the South Branch Rio Grande River for miles and miles. When we had an opportunity we stopped and hiked down to the river and enjoyed the morning air.
Farther down the highway we reached Wolf Pass, which is where the route crosses the Continental Divide. The photo below is just as we started our decent from Wolf Pass at 10,640 feet. Kay was kind enough to do all the driving today, so I was able to get some photos.
On our way to Durango, we passed Pagosa Springs. It also looked like a nice place to visit.
Farther down the road we saw this mountain in the distance. We didn't know what it was until we passed a sign and realized it was Chimney Rock National Monument.
We did not stop at Chimney Rock, but after reading about it, I wish we had. (and we might go back, its not that far). This housed approximately 2,000 ancient Pueblo Indians between AD 925 and 1125 and there are over 200 preserved homes there.
We arrived in Durango about 9:30 AM, got checked into the Durnago Wyndham and decided to go hiking. We selected one of the dozens of trails near Durango, the Animas River Trail. This trail starts in Durango and runs along the Animas River for a little over 11 miles. We walked about 2.5 miles down the river, turned around and walked back. We almost got caught in a thunderstorm, but fortunately made it back dry.
After our walk, we found a Walmart to acquire some basic supplies and headed back to the condo. After refreshing a bit, we went looking for a late lunch and got in a little more walking.
We ended up at the Steamworks Brewing Company, and it was a good choice!
I had a burger from fresh, local Black Angus and polished it off with their Backside Stout. Kay had a gyro, made from fresh on-sight cooked lamb. She said it was great too.
The beer was fresh because it only had to travel a few hundred feet from the tank to the table!
I am posting this at about 7:00 PM and I think we are going to try to find some live local music. I'll see you tomorrow...