Drove 255 Miles in 6-3/4 hours.
Started our cloudy this morning and it was cold last night, 52 when we woke up but turned out nice and sunny by afternoon and reached 75. We decided to get back on I-25 via route 64-The Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway, a road that comes back full circle to Taos but we only did the lower part and then connected to the interstate. I couldn’t talk Harry into going to the Great Sand Dunes Nat’l. Park because he thought 64 would be a better road and we’re both tired of blowing sand.
The road we took was one lane each way, very curvy, steep and scenic. Ponderosa pines and a creek that seemed to follow us most of the way, rushing down the mountain. Fishermen, campers, log cabins, ski resorts, elk crossing signs, walls of rock. We went through the Sange de Cristo and San Juan Mts., through the Rio Grande Valley, up and down through the Carson Nat’l. Forest. And some of it on the old Santé Fe Trail. Feel like explorers again, I don’t know how they did it. We went up over 9200’ and then plunged back down again into a valley, lots of state parks along the way, very woodsy. We passed through Angel Fire Ski Resort, then Eagle Nest to Cimarron, NM advertised as “Where the Rockies Meet the Plains”.
And that’s what happened. All of a sudden wide open space on either side, golden grasses and now we start to see elk, antelope and mule deer (and the occasional kamikaze prairie dog). The plains are so vast the animals look really small. We still see mountains in the distance, some are snow capped, and as we turn west we head right into them, again different from the other mountains, these have almost a purple haze to them.
Got to the campsite about 5:30, it’s across the street from Royal Gorge which I’m sure we’ll visit. Our site is at the top of a hill and we overlook plains all around and we can see the snow capped mts. In the distance. Not very busy here, the gas crunch is hurting travellers (and in NM the fires and winds), but it’s good for us because we’re getting “gas discounts” at campgrounds, usually 20% off.
We’re in Canon City, CO, where my sister, Sharon, lives. I haven’t seen her since we were here 16 years ago and before that it was 25 years. She came over tonight and we talked forever. She’s coming back tomorrow evening and I’m sure we’ll continue.
Oh, and the camera works again. I was gonna call Nikon tech support so we put the battery back in and ,POOF!, it closed and seems to be working. But I’m sticking with the old one, I’m getting used to the spot in the middle.