09-25-2010 The Rest of the Rockies

Today lived up to my expectations of what the Colorado Rockies would be.  I spent much of the time wondering if I couldn’t breathe because we were at 10,000 feet or because the views were just so breathtaking.  Again, we spontaneously rerouted and after visiting Ouray decided to go south to Telluride and then take the San Juan Scenic highway south to Dolores and into Utah at Monticello.

What a great choice.  Mo had camped in Ouray in the late 60’s and we stopped and walked through town to see if we could find the campground where she stayed.  No luck on the old campground, but the town was delightful, with galleries and shops filled with truly amazing art and some very expensive wonders. 

The aspens lit the mountains like yellow flame, accented perfectly by the dark green spruce.  I took a ridiculous number of photos, and with a small point and shoot with a normal lens it is impossible to capture that light and those vistas. 

Of course, I tried, and my photos will help me remember what it felt like to be in this part of the Rockies. 

After Telluride, and the last pass, the road followed the Dolores River, and within a very short distance we were over the mountains and on the Colorado Plateau, approaching Monticello from the east.  I knew of a small RV park in Blanding, a simple overnight stop when necessary, so we though maybe that would do if the state parks were full.

Just beyond Monticello however, on highway 191, Mo caught a sign on the west side of the road for the Devils Canyon Forest Service camp and the road even looked paved.  It took a mile or two to turn around, but it was worth it.  This campground has 42 sites, all spaced well, with campfire rings and water available.  After cruising the nearly empty campground, we settled on a pull through spot, and paid our five dollar fee for another night of dry camping. 

We walked a couple of miles through the rest of the campground before settling in to supper and a quiet evening.  One more walk around the loop took us past an RV all set up with  a solar oven, TV antennas, satellite dish, the works.  I saw a woman at the window and asked if she was getting TV.  She laughed, and said, “No, I just saw all the other people had theirs up so thought I would try it”.  We laughed too, saying that is exactly what we had done!

Kate was friendly and fun, and jumped right out of her motorhome to come and share with us all sorts of information, including her great solar oven, some nice small lightweight chairs she got from WalMart, and her blog, Cholulared.blogspot.com.  Being a full timer, she knew all the full time bloggers, and we laughed about what a small world it is.  Made for a fun evening.