~Saturday, October 17, 2020~
Day 125 (Travel Day)
Time to leave the ultra quietness and peacefulness of the forest and head north to the desert. Pagosa Springs, with a population of 2,100, is definitely our #1 contender now as a possible new abode for us. The median price of a home is a little higher than we were expecting. The more we do this trip, the more I’m thinking rural, but not too rural would be a desirable setting. You can be urban but not too far away from town and with the four seasons, the outdoor recreation is limitless. Definitely four seasons. The only deal breaker….no Trader Joe’s (kidding). But I guess the City Market will have to do.
As we departed our site, we were crossing our fingers that the temporary pin that Jeff put in the hitch will hold the sway bar in place. We stopped to check it several times with all things good. One pleasant surprise along the way to our next campground in Alamosa, CO, was the beautiful scenery on our climb over the San Juan Mountains on Wolf Creek Pass. This pass falls right along the Colorado Divide between Pagosa Springs and the town of South Fork. With a steep grade of 7%, it was quite a climb and a LONG one. I think all in all it’s about 35 miles of climbing until you reach the summit at 10,857 feet where there is a small rest area and picnic tables if you so choose to use. Jeff had a hard time keeping his eye on the road, as the scenery was breathtaking all around, especially with the Fall colors.
And I couldn’t stop taking videos and photos of this amazing landscape.
Once we got over the pass, we could certainly see a difference in landscape. Definitely more open, desert like, still with mountains in sight. As we stay at our campsite called Base Camp Family Campground (full hookups), our plan is to visit the Great Sand Dunes National Park. When we arrived at our site, it had to be in the low 80’s and full sun. So there had to be a little adjusting to our surroundings. Forget the beautiful evergreen and aspen tree forests that shaded us. You are in the high desert at around 7,500 feet with only low lying shrubs and grasses. But the sites are quite large and spread apart. No frills but really well maintained. And it’s close to where our sightseeing will take us.
After dry camping for 4 days, it was nice to run the fireplace to our heart’s content and watch a college football game while doing so.