The Gypsy Turtle: Vallecito Lake / Durango, CO

August 28 - September 4, 2013

I haven't had a chance to update you on our stay at Vallecito Lake, Colorado. (Yes, I know I am BEHIND! I love doing this blog thing but have come to realize making time to sit down and do it is more difficult than I thought it would be. We're too busy P.L.A.Y.I.N.G!)

Vallecito Lake is really a lovely place and I wanted to share a few things with you, even if it was a while ago, so thanks for hanging in there with me.

When we left off last time, we were in the Salida/Howard area of Colorado. The drive from Howard to Durango and the nearby Vallecito Lake area means driving over Wolf Creek Pass. For us, this was the most exciting and challenging mountain pass yet, with an elevation of 10,876 feet or so. (Our GPS gives us all kinds of information. Some I know what to do with; some I don't; some I wish I didn't know! :))

The pass itself is beautiful but has a few fairly sharp turns and some steep downgrades, which can get kind of exciting when you have several tons of Turtle pushing you. My driver did an excellent job, as usual, though.

Lisa, the rock directly in front of us is for you. I thought of your comment regarding rock slides in the mountains when I saw this -- "God didn't put that rock there. It fell." Yes. And I'm glad we weren't in its way!

This runaway truck ramp gives you an idea of the seriousness of the downgrade. Yikes! Lisa and George told us the truckers know if they have to use one of these babies, they will sink up to their axles and probably be out of a job when it's all said and done. Out of a job....but alive!

The beauty of Colorado never ceases to amaze me, and the country girl in me just loves a scene like this one. (Thinking of two very special people who would have loved this scene, too. Miss you so much, Mom and Dad.)

Evidence of the spruce beetle epidemic can be seen everywhere. I read over 400,000 acres of spruce-fir forest has been infested with this beetle, killing most of the Engelmann spruce down to five inches in diameter. They call this epidemic a "natural event", however, due to three conditions occurring simultaneously: the dense, mature spruce-fir forests, patches of wind-thrown trees, and drought. To us, and to most people who aren't familiar with this process, this seems like such a sad thing. We tend to think the forest should stay the same, and anything dying is sad. However, from those more educated than we are, they say this is a "natural disturbance", and in nature, disturbances happen. They are important in creating a different mosaic that should be appreciated for what it is. This one allows for such things as wildflower growth on the forest floor that otherwise would not occur for lack of light. As with so many things, the right attitude shows us the beauty.

Finally we arrived at Vallecito Lake Resort, northeast of Durango. We immediately fell in love with the pine trees right outside our front door.

It's a pretty little lake...

But unfortunately like so much of the rest of the country, they have experienced quite a drought lately, and it shows...painfully.

It didn't stop us from finding a lovely spot for a picnic one day. OSC friends...this one is for you! Yes, I still have these little coolers. And they are proving to be quite handy these days. I pack our lunch in them every moving day. And....picnic days!

A-MAZ-ing trees!

I think Durango is a lovely little town. Max thinks it's too commercialized...and it is a lot of that, as well. But it's a mountain town and I love it. Look at all that green and those flowers! (And look at that driver. Doesn't he look like a relaxed retiree? :))

While we were there, we took a ride on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. It was fantastic! We would highly recommend it. We would also recommend spending the few extra dollars it takes to ride on the Narration Coach. It not that much more expensive, and it is so worth it if you are interested in history. They have characters dressed up in period clothing and entertain you for the entire ride with first-person storytelling of those who were key to the growth of the railroad in that area. We were lucky enough to be entertained by both of these individuals: the granddaughter of General William Jackson Palmer who founded Colorado Springs in addition to this railroading career, entertained us on the way up to Silverton; and Otto Mears, a famous Colorado railroad builder who built the railroad connecting Silverton to Ouray. They were both really, really interesting, but she was our favorite. She was quite the historian, and not only did she play the part of the granddaughter of General Palmer, but in real life she IS a descendent of his family. In her spare time she also leads walking historical tours of Durango, and she knew her material inside and out. Quite a fascinating lady!

Narrow gauge railroad (3' 6" wide, as opposed to standard gauge at 4' 8-1/2" wide) was cheaper to build in both materials and manpower and was better for mountainous terrain because it lends itself to being able to take steeper grades and sharper curves. We also learned the history of the narrow gauge 3'6" width goes all the way back to Rome, as that was the width of the chariot wheels. Who knew?!