Day 9: turkey snorts and mountain lion kisses
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Our path: Ouray, Telluride, Mesa Verde, Bluff (UT)
The scenery changed greatly today. First we were in mountians (pic #1) and then desert (#2).
We got up early this morning and were out the door just after dawn. Our first adventure was finishing the western half of the San Juan Skyway. We stopped halfway, in Telluride to ride the gondola and have breakfast. It was chilly (low 50s) but great. I loved Telluride last year, and I still love it this year. I had a chai – with rice milk (a great alternative to soy, and very tasty). I wish Starbucks carried rice milk.
There were dogs everywhere. Everyone had at least one with them (well, all the locals). Lucas (the Eskimo/Chihuahua mix) joined us at the Coffee Cowboy and we were told to be careful because he’d “make tacos out of us.” Not sure what that means but I’m guessing he’s not too friendly. We saw Lucas’s owner twice before leaving town – turns out he runs the gondola info center. Have I mentioned that I love Telluride? I’m thinking summers in Telluride and winters in St. John. It’s Sunday, so the plan will have to wait three more days since Tuesday is the next Mega Millions drawing.
After breakfast (at Mexican restaurant – very good), we headed south to Mesa Verde. We took a tour of the Cliff Palace cliff dwellings. I’d done the tour of the Balcony House last year and it was sold out this year – hence the CP tour. It was good. We had a photographer with us – hmm, well he had a very expensive camera so he MUST be a photographer. He was the tour guide’s pet, and it was very annoying. Though I must admit, I’d love to have that camera. Even more, I’d like to be able to use it to it’s full potential.
After the tour, we hiked to an overlook to view Balcony House. On the way out, while discussing the potential for marauding mountain lions, we saw turkeys! Wild turkeys! Of course we scared them (unintentionally), and they moved away from us. Other than deer, and potentially wild horses, we saw no other wildlife.
Next we got ice cream for lunch and left for Bluff. We had planned to visit Hovenweep NP, but we were concerned we’d run out of time. Also, the roads from CO into the park are unpaved and there has been a lot of rain and flooding out here from Hurricane John leftovers. We were concerned the road would not be in very good shape.
With the change in plans, we were now going right past the Four Corners and decided to stop. We ended up paying $1 a minute to be there. It was totally lame, and we only stayed for about 5 minutes; it cost $6 to get in! From here we set off for our hotel. It’s not the worst landscape I’ve ever seen (that’s anything south outside of Vegas – towards Grand Canyon OR Laughlin – yuck). It wasn’t my favorite landscape either. Navajo lands ended just as we neared the San Juan River (nice planning). Bluff is located on the river, and it’s an old Mormon town. Most of the residences date back to the original1800s settlement. We plan to drive through and check them out after breakfast tomorrow.
Today’s highlights: San Juan Skyway with snow-capped mountains; chai with rice milk; Telluride; Mesa Verde cliff dwellings; wild turkeys; discovering the bird that’s been eluding my pictures is a magpie; Navajo frybread
posted by Shannon @ 10.9.06,
