After a good night of rest, a well-deserved shower and some needed laundry day, we continued through the last stretches of desert. After a short stop and nice talk at gas station in Shiprock we entered Colorado. In Cortez we decided to go to the Mesa Verde National Park and stay on their campground. Since we could only get tickets for the Balcony House the day after, we rode the first loop of the park: the Wetherill Mesa, which was a bit disappointing and very windy. It was clearly visible that the park has had several fires in the past, not only caused by human but also by dry lightening. On Tuesday, before the visit of the Balcony House we spent some time visiting the other park loop: the Chapin Mesa. Here we visited several other Puebloan ruins. Before we could start the visit , we received a very detailed speech of the ranger, including all standard warnings, even to drink water to get oxygen 😊 during the hike! The visit itself was worth doing, it was fantastic to see that the ruins were still in a good condition and provided a good insight on how the Puebloans lived, although it was clear that not all questions of the past are answered. For us (Europeans) it is also remarkable to hear people talking about prehistoric constructions, which are in fact only 800years old. Nevertheless we were happy we learned some past history on the ancestral pueblo people. Leaving the guided tour we started talking with an American family (Andy & Jennifer & their 4 children) living in Zambia working for a NGO. We were both impressed by the work they are doing in Zambia; HIV prevention & education. After the Mesa Verde National Park visit, we continued riding direction Durango. Finally seeing some green mountains, curvy roads, we were happy to be in Colorado.
The day ended at the United Campground outside Durango on a field of green grass, our feet were happy too! In the evening we had a pleasant chat with Clint (Navajo tribe) who explained us a bit more on the history of the Navajo people.
On Wednesday we drove via the San Juan Skyway into Little Switserland, went up ‘till 11080ft, enjoyed the miles of curves, the red mountain ghost mining town and the scenery of the black Canyon. It was an amazing curving day, proofed by the several meetings we had with other GS drivers. Since our 2 iron horses are in the need of new shoes, we also made an appointment at Woody’s Wheels in Denver for Friday. We spent the night at Crawford State Park campground. On Thursday we drove along the Gunnison National Forest and started with the first pass of the day; McClure Pass (8755ft). In Carbondale, at the gas station, we received the good news that today is the first day the Independence Pass is opened for the season, so feeling very lucky! We drove via Aspen, which was a bit disappointing, expecting more alpine style village, towards Independence Pass with an altitude of 12095ft, the highest peak we ever drove so far with Jaak and Mieke. As you can imagine, the view was fantastic. Although much of the snow was already melted, there were still some die-hard cross country skiers. Still hungry for more green and curvy roads, we continued our way into the Rocky Mountains via the following passes: Tennessee pass (10424ft), Vail pass (10666ft). Our day took an end in the White River National Forest. Today we had an appointment at Woody’ Wheel Work for new tires and all of a sudden Randy and Denyse arrived together with Woody at the shop. It was a nice coincidence, we met Randy at the Overland Expo in Flagstaff. The service was brilliant and we had a great time at Woody’s place. We could camp in his garden and had dinner all together. THANK YOU Woody!
