We left at 9:30am after a great breakfast. The hotel lady was correct that it wasn't to be missed. They had breakfast burritos and toppings (beans, chili, veggies), breakfast sandwiches, cold and hot cereals, fruit, biscuits, breakfast potatoes, yogurt and more. They even had outdoor garden and patio seating.
After eating and packing up, we hit the road and headed West on US64 and had a quick drive over the Rio Grande Bridge. We also saw the neat "earthship" houses on the outskirts of Taos.
We were soon behind a group of motorcyclers from Colorado for 30 minutes before they pulled over for either a break or to let everyone behind them pass by. Maybe they had a group weekend biker trip to the Taos area.
We got by them and kept on our route up into the Carson National Forest beginning at Tres Piedres. We kept increasing elevation topping at 10,500 feet at the Brazos Summit. Up there was Hopewell Lake.
Being so high in elevation, the temps dropped to 61. Michele was chilly and turned the seat heat up to 4 (the max). Up and over the mountains, we then descended and dropped to 6500 feet into Chama. Temps warmed up dramatically. At the base of the mountain there was an accident ahead and Chama fire department stopped traffic. We saw the helicopter fly over and land about a 1/4 mile up the road. We were told that it would be about 20 minutes while the EMS transferred the person to the helicopter. We hope he/she is okay.
Once the road opened, we drove about 5 minutes to lunch at a Subway in Chama. There weren't many options so we set up our chairs and table in the shade and watched hummingbirds feed on the nectar in nearby purple wildflowers. After our lunch a couple on a red Goldwing showed up for lunch and chatted with us a bit about places to see (Mesa Verde - we've been there and loved it). They have ownership in a campsite near by and stay there often over the summer months, but live up near Colorado Springs.
After lunch we fueled up and continued west on US64 into Dulce, NM. Our afternoon route then took us north on State Route 539 up to the Navajo Dam in Navajo Lake State Park. There were many boats in the water and a few people at the overlook.
Afterwards, we drove along scenic roads. We passed a monastery hidden in the mountain named Our Lady of the Desert where Rob says they pray for rain every day!
We continued south on 511 from the dam, then jumped onto 173 to US550 near Aztec, NM. Then we took US550 north, crossing into Colorado, and onward into Durango. We arrived at our hotel, Holiday Inn Durango, around 3:45pm. It is a new hotel and we got a nice room facing the river.
We walked a few blocks over to Main Street for dinner at Carver Brewing Company. They have a big outdoor patio out back in the shade. We had a really good BBQ burger and salad. Rob ordered their handcrafted root beer (really delicious) and then the Black Bear Bourbon Barrel Stout. It was most unusual, tasting like bourbon and chocolate without any of the sweetness. Michele doesn't really like beer, but tried the 5oz Raspberry Wheat Ale and liked it. The waiter called it a baby sized beer.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel and along a short bit of the river walk.
We went to Baskin Robbins across the street for ice cream since we turned the wrong way and missed the ice cream shop near our dinner restaurant. Michele said the triple mango was really good and Rob had Rocky Road. In the parking lot was an RV so dilapidated that Rob couldn't believe it actually ran. It was gone when we came back out. Michele thought it was a prop for a movie set.
Today's mileage was about 250 miles. The highest temp was 88 degrees. We also had our first sighting of significant and craggy mountains in the distance, plus many mesas and eroded rock formations. We went through a few Indian nations: the Jicarilla Apache and Southern Ute. We also saw llamas and longhorn cattle co-existing in the same area.
We agreed that today was the most scenic of all the days so far. Michele was snapping pictures all day long. Tomorrow we will take a scenic ride around the Durango area and ride the Million Dollar highway. Michele is very excited to be at the same place for more than one night!
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