Sunday, July 21, 2002
Riverside RV Park, Bayfield, CO - July 7-21
Bayfield is located about 20 miles east of Durango, and is also about 20 miles south of the southern part of the large Missionary Ridge Fire that devastated over 70,000 acres. Luckily for us, the fire was mostly contained just before we arrived, so the smoke had pretty much died down. This small cg is the most reasonably priced in the area and actually has grass & trees & water in the pond, stream & Los Pinos River, which are all adjacent. We were lucky enough to get the best site in the cg, bordering both the pond & stream, with some shade & lots of privacy. At our site we enjoyed our first sighting of a Lewis's Woodpecker. Plus there have been many hummingbirds (mostly ruled by a couple of Rufous), and a group (family?) of about 6 American Kestrels, who are often squabbling in nearby trees.
Mark & Susan, our friends from Boulder, arrived Weds to spend a couple of nights with us. We were happy to be able to offer them such a lovely place to pitch their tent. While they were here, we visited Mesa Verde NP, most of which was closed to the public due to fire danger. The only parts open were Wetherill Mesa (because it had all burned 2 years ago) and Spruce Tree House, both by guided tour only, and you were only allowed to do one per day. 
We picked the Long House Tour on Wetherill Mesa, because you were allowed to do some short hikes on your own out there. We spent a very enjoyable afternoon and, while driving out, spent most of the early evening watching the sun set from a fire tower overlook. The next day we relaxed at the campsite, enjoying a leisurely breakfast, reading, doing puzzles, & playing games. For dinner we went to Ignacio, home of the Sky Ute Casino, for their Friday seafood buffet. We were pleasantly surprised to find that we could sign up for a gambling card and get a coupon for a free meal, so we enjoyed a wonderful seafood buffet and then tried our hand at the slot machines for a while. Susan had a bit of luck, but the rest of us just made up for our free dinners!
Mark & Susan left to spend 2 nights at the historic Strater Hotel in Durango and attend a statewide Sierra Club meeting. We joined them that evening for a pot luck with other Sierra Club members. This week we concentrated on seeing some more area attractions before we leave on Monday. We took two scenic drives, one up around Vallecito Reservoir, where we were able to observe much of the fire damage and see how many places had very close calls. 
After seeing that, we really have to hand it to the firefighters -- they did some amazing work up there, and at the many other wildfires that are raging in the West. We also drove up towards Silverton, stopping at Coal Bank Pass (10,660), Molas Pass (10,899) and Andrews Lake, where the NFS has created a lovely picnic area, fishing area & trailhead, with (amazingly!) no day use fee. It is a beautiful alpine lake with good fishing & hiking. We saw a group of baby American Coots and were interested to learn that the babies have red heads with a black circle on top (the adults are all black with white bills). This is only shown in one of our 3 bird books. We spent an afternoon in Durango, walking along the Animas River Trail, a well-constructed multi-use trail that goes for many miles along the river, and then walking up & down Main St, looking at the interesting shops. We also went to Navajo Dam, NM, less than 40 miles away, for an encore Yoga class which was marvelous for our bodies.
Finally, we visited Chimney Rock Archaeological Area, owned by the NFS but administered by a group of volunteers. We had an informative & interesting tour of the area, which contains early pithouses as well as Chacoan style pueblo buildings. The twin pinnacles of Chimney Rock are home to some introduced Peregrine Falcons.
Mark & Susan, our friends from Boulder, arrived Weds to spend a couple of nights with us. We were happy to be able to offer them such a lovely place to pitch their tent. While they were here, we visited Mesa Verde NP, most of which was closed to the public due to fire danger. The only parts open were Wetherill Mesa (because it had all burned 2 years ago) and Spruce Tree House, both by guided tour only, and you were only allowed to do one per day. 
We picked the Long House Tour on Wetherill Mesa, because you were allowed to do some short hikes on your own out there. We spent a very enjoyable afternoon and, while driving out, spent most of the early evening watching the sun set from a fire tower overlook. The next day we relaxed at the campsite, enjoying a leisurely breakfast, reading, doing puzzles, & playing games. For dinner we went to Ignacio, home of the Sky Ute Casino, for their Friday seafood buffet. We were pleasantly surprised to find that we could sign up for a gambling card and get a coupon for a free meal, so we enjoyed a wonderful seafood buffet and then tried our hand at the slot machines for a while. Susan had a bit of luck, but the rest of us just made up for our free dinners!
Mark & Susan left to spend 2 nights at the historic Strater Hotel in Durango and attend a statewide Sierra Club meeting. We joined them that evening for a pot luck with other Sierra Club members. This week we concentrated on seeing some more area attractions before we leave on Monday. We took two scenic drives, one up around Vallecito Reservoir, where we were able to observe much of the fire damage and see how many places had very close calls. 
After seeing that, we really have to hand it to the firefighters -- they did some amazing work up there, and at the many other wildfires that are raging in the West. We also drove up towards Silverton, stopping at Coal Bank Pass (10,660), Molas Pass (10,899) and Andrews Lake, where the NFS has created a lovely picnic area, fishing area & trailhead, with (amazingly!) no day use fee. It is a beautiful alpine lake with good fishing & hiking. We saw a group of baby American Coots and were interested to learn that the babies have red heads with a black circle on top (the adults are all black with white bills). This is only shown in one of our 3 bird books. We spent an afternoon in Durango, walking along the Animas River Trail, a well-constructed multi-use trail that goes for many miles along the river, and then walking up & down Main St, looking at the interesting shops. We also went to Navajo Dam, NM, less than 40 miles away, for an encore Yoga class which was marvelous for our bodies.
Finally, we visited Chimney Rock Archaeological Area, owned by the NFS but administered by a group of volunteers. We had an informative & interesting tour of the area, which contains early pithouses as well as Chacoan style pueblo buildings. The twin pinnacles of Chimney Rock are home to some introduced Peregrine Falcons.# posted by Doug and Willie @ 11:30 AM 
