New Mexico to Colorado

August 16

The KOA in Santa Fe was a nice place to spend the night and we enjoyed finally getting into a pattern with this van, which is why we rented one instead of a car. We drove through Santa Fe and on toward Taos. The road up there goes through a narrow canyon beside a rushing river that is popular with rafters. We saw some of these piling their rafts onto carriers at the end of their run down the river. It brought back fond memories to me. A broad plain opened up and seemingly in the middle of nowhere a large city spread out on this plain. How and why Taos came to occupy this isolated region is a question I would like to research later. Razelle and I found a good spot to park the van within walking distance of the historic center of Taos. It was a park named after Kit Carson. A few blocks away we came to Bent Street. This historic street has all kinds of boutique art shops. Razelle found just what she had been looking for in a shop that features hand-crafted leather items. Across from this was a restaurant that offered vegetarian fare. We found food there we enjoyed eating. We were glad we had "discovered" this restaurant. We timed our meal well. By the time we left the table we saw that a line of waiting patrons stretched out the door (not our fault). We hadn't had to wait when we first arrived. This place certainly must have a reputation. We think it is justified.

We drove north out of Taos and soon entered Colorado (our fifth state). I had in mind reaching Durango by the end of the day so we could be poised to see the Four Corners Monument early the following day. I chose to cross this part of Colorado on State Route 17 because it looked like it would be the most scenic possible route with the least possible hardship for the van. This route took us through very scenic mountain valleys and then up and over a stunning mountain ridge -- the road climbed to more than 10,000 feet (3100 m) at La Manga Pass and the van did this competently with no sign of stress. I must say the van has gained some of my respect after my initial negative impression (rightly earned at that time!). We made good time without pressing. At some point the road crossed back into New Mexico, to enter the town of Chama.

It seemed to us at the time that Chama could only be entered and exited by going into and out of Colorado; when we stopped there for a few items in a grocery store (liquid laundry detergent among them) I made a quip about that assumption in small talk with the clerk. I told her they should just annex this place to Colorado. She answered, "Yea, right." Later, I saw on my map that the good citizens of Chama, New Mexico need not pass through Colorado, after all. She was just being nice to a befuddled tourist. Chama's big industry, from what I could see, was their scenic railroad concession. We crossed its tracks high in the mountains several times and admired the engineering of its loops as we descended. It seemed a lot of effort had been expended to lay these tracks, and I guessed that they had originally been laid here for the use of loggers. (I remarked to Razelle that this reminded me of how Leeper, PA came into existence, but I digress here.)

Funny how each of the states we've traversed has a distinctive look. During the time we were back in New Mexico, watching with anticipation for the state line and the sign announcing we were back in Colorado, we saw an altogether different terrain. It wasn't Colorado and it didn't look like Colorado. It looked dryer and flatter, like the area around Taos, whereas Colorado was filled with high-relief and tree-covered vistas. In fact, when the state line was crossed again and we were back in "Colorful Colorado" and for redundancy's sake approaching Chromo, Colorado (I'm referring to the place name), the high mountain vistas returned and Colorado looked like it should. Off in the distance we saw mountains so high that they projected far above the tree line and stood out naked and raw against the distant horizon.

When we reached Durango I pulled into a tourist information area. The building was closed, but pamphlets were neatly arranged in a rack for late-comers to peruse. I found some listing RV parks, but when we took out our own material we found a better option in Cortez, Colorado. I called their number and they said they had a site available for us. No need to even reserve it. We drove onward to Cortez as the light of day waned. The park was very nice.

We were given a site among many empty sites on leveled white gravel. We set up and as I tried to connect our electric cord to the socket inside a utility cover I got a poke. My initial reaction was that I had touched a hot spot and it was a zap of electricity. Then I saw the wasp fly off. I'd been stung, not electrocuted. I saw the spot at the base of my thumb where the stinger went in. I monitored my condition for a while, but nothing happened to me and eventually the spot disappeared.

We tried out the little propane stove that came with this van. It works! But, because of the hour and the mood we were in, cooking seemed like too much effort. Razelle was intent on getting the laundry done. The fact that the laundry room was available day and night was what sold Razelle on this RV park in the first place. With mission accomplished, and freshly cleaned and dried clothes stowed in the van and with starry skies above and crunchy white gravel below, we closed up the van and went to sleep.