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Tue |
Black Canyon NP to Mesa Verde NP (but didn’t make it) Camp at Ridgeway State Park |
Park rangers said I had to go buy a pie at the little camp store some 15 miles back the other way. So I did, the Pleasant Valley camp store in Cimarron makes fantastic pies. Now I have dessert for the rest of the month. Turned around and visited the Blue Mesa Lake dam in the Curecanti National Recreation Area and then headed toward Mesa Verde. Stopped at Ridgeway State Park to do some fishing – it looked too good to pass up. The state parks are positively phenomenal, clean, in ideal locations, and well laid out. The fishing yielded nothing but I got to try some fly in the Uncompahgre River and some casting in the little ponds at the park. Finally headed off again towards Mesa Verde. Just getting underway I realized the scenery was going to be beyond spectacular (I am just about at the Million-Dollar Highway portion of rte 550) and it was late afternoon, so I turned around back to Ridgeway to camp. I wouldn’t have gotten to see the best of that highway if I continued in the dimming light. At camp I did some roller blading around my hilltop (a $2 premium surcharge on the $10 camp fee) campsite with 360-degree views of all the spectacular sharply rugged mountains. This camping stuff can get expensive! Tee-hee. The stars have diminished to about Richmond quality for some reason. |
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Wed |
Ridgeway State Park to Mesa Verde NP Camp at NP |
Ridgeway is the crown jewel of the Colorado Park system and it certainly lives up to its reputation. Superb facilities on par with most of those in New Zealand. Drive the Million Dollar Highway. It is worth more than that in scenery. Many historic mining areas nestled in breathtaking scenery along the entire route. Town of Ouray (almost rhymes with hooray) is especially quaint and the highway south of town is the most spectacular. The Molas Pass near Silverton in the San Juan Mountains has the cleanest air in North America. Visibility can exceed 170 miles. Arrived at the park in time to visit an ancient abode and catch a very colorful sunset. |