5/16 - I had wanted to go to Pagosa Springs and even though it was out of my way from Santa Fe, I made it a point to go and I am so glad I did. WOW!!! The town is OK, but the views driving and hiking are just so incredible! We arrived in a hail storm that dropped the temps from 65 down to about 42. Brrr.
We walked on the river walk in town and felt the hot springs that come out right there. There is even a pool that people use for free.
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| You can see the steam across the river |
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| This is just on the side of the path |
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| The free pool is in the middle of the photo (didn't realize it was there when I took this picture) |
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| On the right is a resort with tons of hot spring pools. Very pricey! |
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| Amazing lamb burger at the Riff Raff Brewing Co. Onion rings were excellent too! |
I sat at the bar at the brewery and started chatting with a super nice local couple, Kelly and Eric. They are into dog rescue and have fostered over 100 dogs! They were telling me how beautiful their home location is and invited us to park in their driveway. They said that people don't usually take them up on it since it's so far out. I'm much more about seeing the beautiful country than being close to town, so I followed Kelly to their amazing home.
On the drive. Just WOW!
From their porch
Kelly took me and Zoe for a tour in their ATV so we could explore the area a bit
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| Somehow Zoe ended up on my lap... |
More evening views from their house
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| The outer two are theirs and the middle is a foster. So freaking cute! |
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| This bad photo is Hercules, the other foster. OMG, what a sweetie!!! |
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Awww
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5/17 - Morning views
Zoe and I went exploring and did the Piedra River trail, but only did about 2.5 miles of it.
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| Resting at our turn around spot |
Then we went onto Williams Creek Reservoir. Everything is just so gorgeous around here. There is a lot of dispersed camping around and I could have camped here. It's about 20 miles of dirt road, but recently graded and in pretty good condition.
Kelly and Eric cooked up a yummy steak dinner. I supplied appetizers and salad dressing. Oh and the beer I bought at the brewery. I didn't plan for this, so I offered what I could! We played a card game, but I don't recall what it was.
5/18 - Before heading out, Kelly and I did a hike and left Zoe behind with Eric. Unfortunately, she spent a lot of time barking and he tried to walk her, but she wouldn't leave the van. 😕 It was nice for me to think she was safe and cared for, but I wonder if she would have been better just left in the van. Oh well. I'm glad she didn't come because it was hard for me to keep up with Kelly. She's an avid bike rider and hiker and is training to climb Longs Peak, 14K footer, with her 80+ yo dad! The hike didn't end up being that long - a little over 3 miles, but it was mildly up and we went fast. I realize how out of shape I am with the hiking I do with Zoe.
5/20 - Zoe is having some funky colored diarrhea and I am worried about her. After hanging around at the Boondockers Welcome home until about noon, we went into town and walked around. She is still interested in sniffing, but definitely low energy. She didn't ask for breakfast this morning, but did this evening and all I gave her was a bit of chicken broth. Poor baby. She's drinking a little, though not too much. I'm pretty concerned and scheduled an appointment with a local vet for 8:30 tomorrow morning. I had sent photos of her stools to Anja and she thought it would be good to have her seen. So today has been a very mellow day of hanging around Salida and me worrying.
I had grabbed a breakfast sandwich from a place that was highly recommended, but found it to be less than great and cost almost $19! I also really struggle with this 15, 18, 20, 25% tip options for counter service. I am happy to tip, but not at the rate that we tip servers who do a lot more work than taking the order at the counter and delivering it. I'm sure it's spread among all staff, but still. I really wish we would just get rid of the whole essentially required tipping thing and pay staff appropriate amounts. And, yes, the prices would go up to cover their wages. I'm ok with that! Anyway, it seems that I'm 0/2 for getting good food in this town. No, really 0/3 since I got a soft serve ice cream yesterday in a sugar cone. The ice cream seemed a bit crystallized and tasteless and the sugar cone was tasteless too. I guess it saved me some calories as I threw it out. Zoe had had her own, so I didn't feel bad about throwing it out. The ice cream probably wasn't good for her belly.nord
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Morning shot through my window.
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| This tree is huge. Cottonwood? |
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| Popular spot! Surfers take their turn on the wave. |
I had found a campground that didn't have many people there, but you had to reserve online and the site said there was nothing available. I didn't believe it, so tried to call, but it took them 3+ hours to get back to me and in the meantime I decided to go to Walmart since there are views here. I could have gone back to where I stayed last night, but I didn't want to leave behind more of Zoe's messy poops.
5/21 - We went to the Animal Care Center in Salida and saw Dr Sarah. She was great with Zoe. She was super gentle, patient, and slow, so no need for the muzzle. Ultimately, Dr Sarah didn't find anything wrong. No bacteria or parasites in her stool. She gave some Endosorb and probiotics and some GI canned food. Zoe seemed to recover quickly with those items on board.
We left Salida and headed for Buena Vista. It was fairly cloudy, intermittent snow squalls, and super windy and cold - again...
After talking to the police about staying in town, I went to a BLM spot. This was down low, so less wind, and the road down was scary. It had some good ruts, but was also only wide enough for one vehicle. If encountered another vehicle, one of us would have had to back up. It was nice here, except for cactus. They were pretty prevalent, so I ended up keeping Zoe leashed most of the time.
5/22 - Started in Buena Vista
And headed to Fairplay, CO
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| Burros get special attention here. They played a big role in the mining days. |
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| Gotta have a distillery in town |
I decided to tour the South Park City Museum, since Zoe could come along. I'm not sure it was a great idea for Zoe. How much more boring could it be for a dog??? I really enjoyed the museum.
"
The year was 1859. Gold was discovered in South Park, a 900 square mile basin surrounded by Colorado's majestic Rocky Mountains. The gold rush was on! Hordes of gold-seekers spilled into the Park. The mountains were dotted with mining camps sporting names like Tarryall, Leavick, Eureka, and Buckskin Joe within a few short months. These camps grew to become thriving communities on the edge of the frontier. Gradually the mining dried up, and the people moved on, leaving their towns and camps to the elements until all that remained were decaying ghost towns.
South Park City is a remarkable representation of these early towns, preserving the history of our Nation's frontier while it educates and entertains the present. Located in Fairplay, Colorado, the museum accurately represents a mining town between 1860 and 1900. Forty-four authentic buildings are filled with over 60,000 artifacts. They portray most of the economic and social aspects of boom town life. Seven of the buildings are on their original sites. The other buildings were moved from abandoned camps and ghost towns in the South Park area. They contain period room settings and exhibits that illustrate the professions, trades, and industries that contributed to life in a 19th century Colorado mining town. "
If I didn't have Zoe, I probably would have spent longer there, but it was enjoyable anyway. I really enjoy museums where I can be in the scene and see how things really were in that time. To make it more tolerable for Zoe, I often dropped the leash outside the door of a building and went in on my own, while Zoe soaked up the sun. It was very quiet so I could do that.
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| Parked on the street (after moving ahead) |
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| Went for a walk at Washington Park |
I had scheduled an appointment for my Schedule A service for the van. I had 14k miles, but wanted to be sure to get it done before finishing my travels. Scheduling this is hard for me as I never know where I'll be, but this worked out well.
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| Zoe and her friend, Winston |
After the van service, I headed to Boulder to visit with Emily. We met at the Family Dog Mediation course at Wolf Park in Indiana in 2021. Emily works really hard at dog rescue and sadly is getting a bit burnt out, which seems to happen to everyone in the rescue world.
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| Yummy Indian!! |
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| Emily |
I parked on the street in front of Emily's house, which worked out perfectly. She let me shower and do laundry - always a treat!
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| This deer was chill, walking towards me and Zoe |
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| Pearl Street in Boulder, much like Church St in Burlington, but bigger. |
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| Went for a short hike |
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| Zoe being a trooper |
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| 😆 |
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| View from the park by Emily's house |
5/25 - I drove up to Nederland, CO, up the Boulder Canyon, which was gorgeous with the river flowing heavily along the way. Emily drove up separately and we met at her property. Unfortunately there wasn't anywhere good for me to park at her place, but it was really fun to check out her place. She bought the property about 30 years ago and built and earthship on it. She was such a hippy! 😀 It has a crazy steep driveway, but the house and property are super cool. It needs a lot of work, but hopefully she'll get back into it.
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| View of Barker reservoir |
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| Emily and Piper |
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| She had a garden inside |
After Emily toured me around looking for a good place to spend the night, she headed back to Boulder and Zoe and I walked around Barker Reservoir on a really nice trail.
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| Barker Reservoir |
I grabbed a beer and wings at a brewery in town and then went to the park and ride to sleep.
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| Mud Lake |
Drive north to Rocky Mountain NP and Estes Park. I walked at Lake Lila, but dogs aren't allowed so I had to leave Zoe behind. There is a timed entry until 2 pm, but there was no one checking, so I just went since I found a parking spot. I didn't end up going into the park to the visitor center, but I should have. Sometimes I wonder why I skip things. I think it was the timed entry and just not wanting to deal with it. Also, I had been there before, so I didn't feel the "need" to go this time. When I looked into the park, it also seemed a bit confusing since there are parts you just get to from the road, like Lake Lila, without entering the official park.
We went into downtown Estes Park and walked along the river and then thru a great market with so many beautiful creations. I really enjoy just browsing that stuff. Zoe got to meet many dogs there and sniff lots of things, so I think she enjoyed it too. And it was cool. I ended up staying in Mary's Lake campground, which wasn't ideal and was pretty expensive for no hookups at $55, but being that it was Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, I was happy to find a spot.
5/27 - After a morning walk, we left Estes Park and drove to Loveland. It might be a cute town, but we didn't stop. The drive was beautiful along the river the whole way and downhill, so my gas mileage was up to 30 mpg at one point. I think I ended the day at about 24 mpg. On the way to Nederland I got about 10 mpg since it was uphill the whole time.
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| Lake Mary |
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| Big Thompson river that flows from Estes Park to Loveland. It was a beautiful drive! |
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| We went to a trail in Loveland and got this beautiful view |
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| To the Faces Bridge |
I wasn't inspired to stop in Loveland in spite of the fact that I was starving. It seems like a cute town, but I decided to move along to Fort Collins.
Downtown Fort Collins. I really liked this town and could stay a while. They really like their flowers! Not all places/restaurants are welcoming of dogs, which is always a bummer, but it's a cute downtown. I like checking out cute towns, but because I don't shop and often I'm not hungry, I don't always know what to do. I do like walking around and checking out the homes.
I stayed at a HH outside of town. They have alpacas, llamas, pigs, goats, chickens, and peacocks. Mostly they are about Alpacas and I got a tour and got to visit with the girl alpacas. Several of them are due to have babies, but I was a bit too early to get to say hi to the newbies. I finally know the difference between llamas and alpacas! Llamas tend to be bigger and their coat is less woolly. Also, the alpacas have a tuft of "fur" on top of their heads. Alpacas are cuter and more timid. Thankfully, there was no spitting going on!
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| llama on the right, others are all alpacas |
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| the teef! |
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| view from the van |
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| the pigs really like being pet and scratched |
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| Now, the boys, who are kept separate and I didn't go in with them because they might get to arguing... |
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| they are so curious! They came running across the field to check us out. I think maybe it's Zoe? |
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| Just a couple of horses we saw on our walk |
5/28 - I called around to get an alignment done on the van and found a place in Fort Collins. When I got there, they said they couldn't handle the length of my van, so they called another location and they said they had an opening now, so off I went. I got there and nope, no opening, so I booked an appointment for the next day.
So I went into Fort Collins and found a place that would allow dogs on the patio. I had a salmon salad that was fairly tasteless, but oh, well. After that I went to a park and Zoe and I chilled out in the grass.
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| overheating in the sun |
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| the ear! |
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| nice back scratch in the grass |
I was planning to stay on the street there, but looked up the ordinances and Fort Collins doesn't allow sleeping in vehicles. I think they are targeting the homeless, and since my van is new and a Mercedes, I probably could get away with it, but I knew I wouldn't sleep, so I found a Harvest Host outside of town. I got some good produce and over priced homemade canned goods, but had an amazing light show from a lightning storm many miles away. It was probably one of the busiest storms I've ever seen. There was lightning every second (on average) and it was fun to watch being so far away and having no personal concern. I was a bit worried about the folks experiencing that storm! Next day I learned that it went on for 4 hours and caused flooding and large hail. I'm not surprised based on what I saw.
5/29 - I went for my appointment for the alignment. It took a looong time and I learned that they were trying to figure out Mercedes error codes... I saw the guy take the van for a ride, then come back and put it back in the shop. I was pretty anxious that I should have somehow (not sure how) found a shop that was experienced with Mercedes Sprinters. Anyway, after 2 hours it seemed that they got it all done. I don't like getting service and then moving on. What if something is wrong? I think it's all good. 🤞🤞🤞
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| good morning! |
After the appointment, we left Fort Collins and headed to Cheyenne, WY.
