2023 Colorado
In June, 2023, we took a trip to Colorado with my sister, Susan, and her husband, Dave. They live in Camas, WA, and Colorado is about halfway between Washington and Tennessee. This map shows the total trip of 3886 miles, not including daily trips to see the sights. Total mileage for the Jeep was 4555.
While in Colorado, we visited 3 National Parks and one National Monument, and rode one train, the Durango and Silverton Railroad. The map below (and above) was made with APRS and Google Maps, and I didn't take my radio on the train. I don't think it mattered as I don't suspect there were APRS I-Gates (receivers) in the canyon we traveled.
Colorado National Monument
This national monument, overlooking Grand Junction, CO, is little known and this is too bad as it is fabulous. How do I describe it? It is the edge of the Colorado Plateau left after most of it eroded into the valley below where Grand Junction is. You can see many layers of the rock left after so much of it was removed by time and water.
Rim Rock Drive follows the edge of the plateau that is left on the upper part of the Colorado Plateau. As you drive, you can see the rock formations and valleys of the monument. When we arrived in early June, they had gotten a lot of rain during the winter, so there were spectacular wildflowers along the drive. They were particularly great as we climbed from the valley through the east Grand Junction entrance to Rim Rock Drive. Flowers included Yucca and Cactus, and a lot more. We didn't realize as we entered that we would go along almost the entire Drive to reach the Saddlehorn Campground where we camped for 2 nights in site 10. If you look at the map above in the upper left corner, you can see the rim drive as well as the much straighter I-70 path.
As you go along the Rim Rock Drive, there are numerous turnouts to view the canyons and formations that make up the monument. The southern part of the drive goes along the edge of the canyons of that area. As you go north, you find the many named formations of Monument Canyon, including the Coke Ovens, Kissing Couple, and Independence Monument. We spent a full day following the Rim Rock Drive, including stops at the visitor center and walking along part of the Canyon Rim Trail. Along the way, we saw Bighorn Sheep which have amazingly large antlers. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of them as I was driving.
Rim Rock Drive follows the edge of the plateau that is left on the upper part of the Colorado Plateau. As you drive, you can see the rock formations and valleys of the monument. When we arrived in early June, they had gotten a lot of rain during the winter, so there were spectacular wildflowers along the drive. They were particularly great as we climbed from the valley through the east Grand Junction entrance to Rim Rock Drive. Flowers included Yucca and Cactus, and a lot more. We didn't realize as we entered that we would go along almost the entire Drive to reach the Saddlehorn Campground where we camped for 2 nights in site 10. If you look at the map above in the upper left corner, you can see the rim drive as well as the much straighter I-70 path.
As you go along the Rim Rock Drive, there are numerous turnouts to view the canyons and formations that make up the monument. The southern part of the drive goes along the edge of the canyons of that area. As you go north, you find the many named formations of Monument Canyon, including the Coke Ovens, Kissing Couple, and Independence Monument. We spent a full day following the Rim Rock Drive, including stops at the visitor center and walking along part of the Canyon Rim Trail. Along the way, we saw Bighorn Sheep which have amazingly large antlers. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of them as I was driving.
Mesa Verde National Park
We left Colorado National Monument and drove to our next stop, Mesa Verde. Our GPS suggested we go via Moab, UT, which seemed a little out of the way, but it avoided the high mountain passes of the "short" way. It was a great drive as we saw fields of wildflowers along the way. We stayed in Morefield Campground in Mesa Verde, as we had reserved full hookup sites which are rare in national park campgrounds, but this campground is managed by the park vendor. We stayed in site 157.
Susan booked us on the 700 Years Tour and we visited sites along the rim of the mesa and cliff dwellings below the rim. We got a ranger led tour of Cliff Palace. Climbing out of Cliff Palace required climbing three 10-foot tall log ladders, a bit strenuous. Recommended.
Current thinking is a lot different from what we heard when we first visited Mesa Verde about 50 years ago (Was it that long ago??). Back then, we were told about the Anasazi who had left the cliff dwellings, never to be heard from again. But now, they say that the ancient dwellers moved on to other southwest locations and their descendants are still living in the area.
The next day, we drove to Durango, CO, where we boarded the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and traveled via steam engine to Silverton, CO, where we had lunch. The track parallels the Animas River which was really flowing with the spring current. We then returned to Durango via bus which took half as long as the train and covered a different path which was interesting in its own right along the Million Dollar Highway.
What to do now? It was easy to return to the Mesa and visit the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum and to view Spruce Tree House which is currently closed to tours. The Wetherell Mesa is also closed due to road construction. It is disappointing to not be able to visit all parts of the park, but it is great that the park is getting some needed repairs.
Susan booked us on the 700 Years Tour and we visited sites along the rim of the mesa and cliff dwellings below the rim. We got a ranger led tour of Cliff Palace. Climbing out of Cliff Palace required climbing three 10-foot tall log ladders, a bit strenuous. Recommended.
Current thinking is a lot different from what we heard when we first visited Mesa Verde about 50 years ago (Was it that long ago??). Back then, we were told about the Anasazi who had left the cliff dwellings, never to be heard from again. But now, they say that the ancient dwellers moved on to other southwest locations and their descendants are still living in the area.
The next day, we drove to Durango, CO, where we boarded the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and traveled via steam engine to Silverton, CO, where we had lunch. The track parallels the Animas River which was really flowing with the spring current. We then returned to Durango via bus which took half as long as the train and covered a different path which was interesting in its own right along the Million Dollar Highway.
What to do now? It was easy to return to the Mesa and visit the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum and to view Spruce Tree House which is currently closed to tours. The Wetherell Mesa is also closed due to road construction. It is disappointing to not be able to visit all parts of the park, but it is great that the park is getting some needed repairs.
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
These sand dunes are massive. We wanted to go again as the last time we were here, the creek had dried up for the summer. We picked the busiest day of the year to visit. We arrived about 8 am and there were still parking spots in the Dunes Parking lot. We walked across the creek, getting our feet wet even though it seemed shallow. But never mind. We climbed the nearest dune only to discover that there were many more dunes than we could see from the creek, and many more people climbing them. It is a popular activity to climb a dune and then sled or roll down it. Yes, they get steep enough to make this work. Then we went back to the creek to observe the waves that are generated there as the water builds up sand ripples then breaks them when enough water comes along. This year, they had not gotten a lot of snow so the water was shallow. In better years, you can float down the creek on a raft.
We drove a little bit up the Medano Pass primitive road past the "point of no return" where they discourage all but high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicles. We observed one stuck vehicle who had neither 4 wheel drive nor high clearance. It was fun to actually use low range 4 wheel drive and to feel it work.
After returning to the visitor center and then starting back to our campsite, we saw that it was indeed busy. Thee must have been several miles of a backup of vehicles to get through the entrance station, and once they got in, where were they going to park? The place was jammed. We did get to see Medano Creek doing its wave thing and to hike a short distance up the dunes. We don't really try to hike long distances anymore. It's fun to play in the surf and sand, even when it is at 8000 feet in the middle of the desert.
We drove a little bit up the Medano Pass primitive road past the "point of no return" where they discourage all but high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicles. We observed one stuck vehicle who had neither 4 wheel drive nor high clearance. It was fun to actually use low range 4 wheel drive and to feel it work.
After returning to the visitor center and then starting back to our campsite, we saw that it was indeed busy. Thee must have been several miles of a backup of vehicles to get through the entrance station, and once they got in, where were they going to park? The place was jammed. We did get to see Medano Creek doing its wave thing and to hike a short distance up the dunes. We don't really try to hike long distances anymore. It's fun to play in the surf and sand, even when it is at 8000 feet in the middle of the desert.
Rocky Mountain National Park
RPNP is just glorious. We stayed at a KOA just outside the western entrance. We had site RV22 which was just power and water, but that was not a problem as they provided "honey wagon" service so the waste tanks were not too full. The site was unlevel and our 4" risers were just barely enough to get us close enough to level. Fortunately, the weather was cool enough that the refrigerator was not strained.
But enough about our camp. We planned to stay five nights as Susan and Dave wanted to visit the area in Colorado where their ski condo was before joining us here two days later. That gave us extra time to explore the park, which was good because the weather was not great. The first day we were there, we drove to the Alpine Visitor Center and saw some great views, the best of the week. We experienced rain and fog, and some snow that fortunately melted as it hit the windshield.
RMNP has implemented a timed entry system so we had to work around it. I tried to make some reservations before we left but could only get inconvenient times. They release more passes at 5 pm the night before so we used that on one occasion. There are two types of passes. One is to get into any entrance, and the other also gets you into the Bear Lake area. We had one for Bear Lake on Thursday at 2-4 PM, so we used it. We were told that the afternoon is not as crowded at Bear Lake and it turned out to be true. You must enter the park no earlier than 2 PM and also enter Bear Lake area by 4 PM, which was a challenge since we were entering at the west. It took us about an hour and a half to get from the western entrance to the Bear Lake entrance so it worked for us. The signs said that the Bear Lake parking was full and to take the shuttle bus but we decided to drive on anyway, to find that there was plenty of parking at Bear Lake. We took the stroll around the lake which included a little careful walking over snow that had not yet melted.
We saw just about all of the park as we had 4 days to drive around. The difficulty for us is that we are at 9000 - 12000 feet so we couldn't do all the hiking we wanted because of our shortness of breath. We made do by taking lots of short hikes and not stressing ourselves too much. We thoroughly enjoyed what we were able to see. The timed entry system allowed us to enter any time before 9 am or after 2 PM, so we generally entered the park before 9 am. We were still on Eastern Time so we got up early, usually by 6 am, which is quite unusual for me but it worked on this trip as the sun was helping us get up.
One day, we got up early as usual and drove up to the Alpine Visitor Center. We were there around 9 am just as they were opening and we had learned that there is also a gift shop and snack bar at the other end of the parking lot, so we went exploring. They have the best sticky buns, highly recommended, as we sat and looked out over the snow pile onto the view of the mountains.
But enough about our camp. We planned to stay five nights as Susan and Dave wanted to visit the area in Colorado where their ski condo was before joining us here two days later. That gave us extra time to explore the park, which was good because the weather was not great. The first day we were there, we drove to the Alpine Visitor Center and saw some great views, the best of the week. We experienced rain and fog, and some snow that fortunately melted as it hit the windshield.
RMNP has implemented a timed entry system so we had to work around it. I tried to make some reservations before we left but could only get inconvenient times. They release more passes at 5 pm the night before so we used that on one occasion. There are two types of passes. One is to get into any entrance, and the other also gets you into the Bear Lake area. We had one for Bear Lake on Thursday at 2-4 PM, so we used it. We were told that the afternoon is not as crowded at Bear Lake and it turned out to be true. You must enter the park no earlier than 2 PM and also enter Bear Lake area by 4 PM, which was a challenge since we were entering at the west. It took us about an hour and a half to get from the western entrance to the Bear Lake entrance so it worked for us. The signs said that the Bear Lake parking was full and to take the shuttle bus but we decided to drive on anyway, to find that there was plenty of parking at Bear Lake. We took the stroll around the lake which included a little careful walking over snow that had not yet melted.
We saw just about all of the park as we had 4 days to drive around. The difficulty for us is that we are at 9000 - 12000 feet so we couldn't do all the hiking we wanted because of our shortness of breath. We made do by taking lots of short hikes and not stressing ourselves too much. We thoroughly enjoyed what we were able to see. The timed entry system allowed us to enter any time before 9 am or after 2 PM, so we generally entered the park before 9 am. We were still on Eastern Time so we got up early, usually by 6 am, which is quite unusual for me but it worked on this trip as the sun was helping us get up.
One day, we got up early as usual and drove up to the Alpine Visitor Center. We were there around 9 am just as they were opening and we had learned that there is also a gift shop and snack bar at the other end of the parking lot, so we went exploring. They have the best sticky buns, highly recommended, as we sat and looked out over the snow pile onto the view of the mountains.
Trip Details: We drove a total of 3886 miles pulling the trailer, spent 20 nights on the road, used 253 gallons of gasoline at an average mileage of 15.4 MPG, and have put 38040 miles on our Escape 19 trailer in the last 8 years.