Rocky Mountain High - Colorado

23 June


An early start as we wanted to get to the camp at Mesa Verde National Park before it filled up.

We did not need have worry as the camp was huge with only a few sites occupied. The camp was, however expensive and quite run down. $28US for a dry camp site. After checking in we bought tickets for two tours tomorrow. In the afternoon we climbed up to a view point giving us views of the 4 corners area, the Mesa (plateau) and the San Juan Mountains. We also spent some time planning the next few weeks of our trip.

24 June

This is the day we will explore the cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloan People. We drove down the scenic drive (20 miles) along the mesa to Cliff Palace. We had booked a 10:30am tour of this site. The ranger escorted us down the trail into the cliff dwellings. The tour was 1 hour long and the ranger gave a very interesting description of the life of the inhabitants. The native Indians lived here around 550AD and farmed (corn, squash, and beans) on the mesa. At some stage around 1200AD they moved from their homes on the mesa and started building in the caves in the cliffs below the mesa. Obviously the living conditions

were better here. The buildings were very sophisticated with water and many rooms much like apartment buildings with each extended family living in several rooms. The dwellings are built from local stone and the craftsmanship is fantastic considering they had no metal tools. Each family also has a Kiva. This is a spiritual area but was also used as a living room in the winter. The Kiva is a circular room below ground level with access from the chimney hole at the top. A fire provided warmth and a sophisticated ventilation system provided air. Around 1350 the climate changed and they abandoned these cliff dwellings and were forced to move on. Here endth the history lesson! We then were booked for a second tour of the Balcony House. This took us up a ladder into a cliff dwelling that we could explore in more depth through the various rooms. The rangers are very good at their description of the life of these Natives. The last cliff

dwelling we visited was Spruce Tree House which was a self guided tour but included a restored Kiva which you could climb down into. We drove back to our camp for the night. The sky was overcast for the first time.





25 June

We have decided to extend our trip thru this part of Colorado. We headed north up a fantastic mountain road following the Dolores River toward Lizard Head Pass. We are now in the foothills of the Rockie Mountains. We stopped at the very picturesque town of Rico

before finding our camp in the San Juan Forest. We are in a Fir tree forest with views up and down the valley. The mountains ahead have patches of snow on them. The camp is 9400ft so although the sun is hot the air temperature is cool. We have been on a two laned road for months. We try, wherever possible, to use the scenic byway routes indicated in our map book. Most of the roads have a smooth surface with nice sweeping curves and relatively gentle inclines with up to a 65mph speed limit. It all makes for very pleasant driving. “Ernie” is a real gentleman cruising these roads with no fuss.

26 June

Over the summit of Lizard Head Pass at 10222ft, our new altitude record, passed some ski resorts and down into the Ridgway State Park. The park is expensive ($33US) but we had full hook-up. (power, black and grey drainage and water) After lunch we decided to ride the “Enchanted Mesa” trail along the edge of the lake formed by a dam above the camp. The brochure said this was the best bike trail in the area. The first mile was uphill with many steps. Hard going. (pushing) The rest of the trail was OK but we did not get as far as we thought we would go. We ended up at the next camp and after talking to the

rangers in the visitors centre decided to ride back via the road. Much easier! In the evening we walked around some small fishing lakes below the dam where some people were catching!

27 June

A short drive to the city of Montrose where, for the first time, we had trouble getting propane. Eventually, after 5 different places, we filled the propane tank and headed up a steep road into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We easily found a nice camp site at the south rim. We walked a spectacular trail along the rim to the visitors centre to suss the N.P. The young ranger we spoke to had studied geology at Otago Uni! This is another canyon which we look into from the rim but unlike the Grand Canyon the rocks here are schist and very hard. This makes the canyon very narrow with cliffs dropping 2700ft to the Gunnison River.

The canyon is called “black” because the sun does not get to the bottom. After lunch we relaxed and read in the shade of our camp site and watched the wildlife, deer, birds and chipmunks. At sunset we rode to back to the visitors centre, booked a boat ride for 29 June, and walked a nice 2 mile trail down below the rim.

28 June

We had decided to bike the 7 miles of the rim road. We set off at 9:30am and enjoyed the easy ride long the rim stopping many times to walk out to various lookouts. At one view point a ranger had a spotting scope set up to view some Peregrine chicks on the cliffs opposite. The ride back to “Ernie” was hard work as we are at 8500ft and most of it was uphill.

We had not taken our lunch (a bit of a mistake) and did not get back until 3:00pm. There was supposed to be a ranger programme at 9:00pm with some big telescopes for star gazing but the skies clouded over and lightning was in the area so it was cancelled.

29 June

Off to a very early start as we have a boat trip booked on the Morrow Point Reservoir at 10:00am. We walked down to the river/reservoir and then followed the old railway track to the starting point of this trip. It is at the other end of the Gunnison Canyon. The Gunnison River is a tributary of the Colorado

River and has been dammed at various points to ensure enough water flowing down the Colorado River in dry seasons. The boat trip is run by the National Parks Service and was a 40 seat slow boat with a great ranger explaining the natural features and the old railway system now drowned by the damming of the river. The cliffs were shear out of the reservoir on either side. Very enjoyable and well worth the $16US. Back to “Ernie” and along the shore of another reservoir to our camp at Elk Creek with great views. This area is now a bit like Lake Dunstan with families set up for the holidays mostly boating. Unfortunately a strong wind got up but there are some nice beaches and few people swimming. We may stay here tomorrow if the weather improves. At 9:00pm we went to a ranger presentation on astronomy including a look thru their telescope at Saturn.

30 June

A lovely morning but we had a committee meeting (not hard to get a quorum) and decided to drive on. We have discovered that many people extend the 4 July holiday for the weekend so we need to plan for this. We thought it would be good to be in a town for 4 July and have booked 2 nights in a camp at Grand Junction. We returned down the road along the shore of the reservoir and then on to another beautiful road up along the north rim of the Gunnison Canyon. At one stage we stopped at a view point. The ranger that had presented the astronomy programme last night was there with her telescope looking at the sun.

We could easily see sunspots and solar storms. We continued north away from Gunnison Canyon and are now camped at a state park at Crawford Lake. This is another local holiday spot with a few boats and water skiing etc. We walked to the lake shore and enjoyed a couple of swims before thunder and a few spots of rain drove us back to “Ernie”. Everything has cleared and it is now a beautiful evening.

1 July

We drove through some nice rural towns before turning up the valley of the Gunnison River. We passed 3 huge coal mines before climbing again into the Rockies. We had decided to stay in a forest on the Crystal River at Avalanche Creek. After turning off the main highway we had a very rough narrow 2 mile gravel road. Not the best choice but a nice quite cool camp at the end.



2 July

We have decided to go to Aspen today as it is only 35 miles off our intended route. As we were driving the rough road we met 3 vehicles going the other way which involved a bit of backing etc. Near the end of the road I decided we either had a flat rear inner tyre or a stone between the rear duals. It turned out to be a huge rock jammed between the duals. I climbed under but could not budge it. It was about 5” by 3” . Two ladies who had been walking their dogs suggested that we could cross the main road and go to their house where there would be more tools to do the job. We thumped our way to the houses and attacked the rock with a hammer, tyre lever and crowbar with no success. A large plumber joined the fun and insisted on having a try. He managed to loosen it a bit. I made the comment that letting a tyre down would help but was reluctant as we had no method of re-inflating it. No problem came the reply I have a compressor. That made all the difference - the rock came out and we were on the road again. Thanks to Marcia, Cheryl, Shannon & Nellie the plumber! We took the turn towards Aspen and immediately we were on a busy 4 lane road.

We drove thru Aspen to a forest camp 5 miles away. We rode back to Aspen along a great cycleway passed posh homes and a golf course. Aspen was great. It is a bit like Queenstown with the beautiful people strolling the shops and bars. The ski runs and lifts come right into the town. The centre is a pedestrian area with many trees and a stream. We sat in the shade and enjoyed an expensive but delicious ice-cream. After a short sharp shower of rain we rode back to “Ernie”. A funny old day really!

3 July

Tomorrow is Independence Day so we have gone to a RV Park in Grand Junction. This involved a quick 130 mile trip down the I 70. The altitude is now 4500ft and it is much hotter. Today is our half trip (3 months gone) and Val is doing a huge wash of towels bedding etc. This RV Park has a nice pool which we used to cool off. At 6:00pm when it cooled down a little we walked across the road to a restaurant/bar and enjoyed a beer with the locals.

4 July

This is American Independence Day and a public holiday. The Grand Junction Parade is at 10:00am. (before it gets hot) We drove 8 miles into town and easily found a park for “Ernie” The Parade was on Main St in the centre of town. We sat on a wall with a growing crowd, a bit like a Santa Parade feel. Eventually the three flag bearers marched down the street with everyone standing and removing their hats. There were a few floats but it mostly consisted of community groups, youth groups and a few political parties (Republicans, Democrats, Gun Lobby, and the Daughters of America. The biggest cheers were for the Vets from WW11 onwards. They were in beautiful Corvettes. All very patriotic. It was an enjoyable insight into American society.

We wandered thru the centre of town before returning to our camp for lunch. The afternoon was spent cleaning and fixing a couple of things and an extended swim at the pool.