Going in Circles- New Mexico and Colorado (07-20-20)

Our friends Tom and Dianne used to be full timers, like us, but now have property in Bayfield, CO. We usually try to stop by and see them either on our way out for the summer, or on our way home (or both).















This time Around we were supposed to be combining the visit with picking up our new air conditioner , but after we ordered one from two different places, and neither company actually had one to ship to us, we decided to cancel the order all together and make do with what we have until we get home. The factory that makes them was shut down for a while so there are very few to be had. On the other hand getting the truck fixed is definitely a priority, so Paul made two appointments for that.


The bigger problem is the issue with the turbo and for that, he wants to go to his absolute favorite Ford diesel technicians, who happen to be only an hour away. So, having made an appointment, we had a few days to relax.


Meantime the Ford dealership in Durango confirmed that the brake issue was a sensor- Paul was so confident he had already ordered it, and they fixed the leak in the rear differential (I absolutely know that’s not exactly what it is and what they did, but oh well, my eyes glaze over pretty quick when talking about axles and such).

We spent a fun few days social distancing with Tom, Dianne, and their son and his family, who recently bought the house next door.
We got to watch them plant the new willow tree next to their pond and got together for a full moon “party”.















On the way to Bayfield we had passed Chimney Rock National monument. We had no idea what it was, but it’s open, so we drove over to check it out.
Chimney rock is one of the northernmost settlements of Puebloans attached to the Chaco Canyon settlements. Being situated above any water source means this area was likely used for ceremonial purposes only.

It is theorized that the Ceremonial kivas were built here because every 18.5 years, the moon rises between the two rock outcroppings and seems to pause there for about 3 years. In a normal year there would be full moon parties and such but most everything except self guided tours are canceled, of course.

Stolen from the web

We were very impressed with the volunteers who were on hand (masked) and eager to answer any questions. No one really knows why the natives left the area, but it is theorized that they went to The Mesa Verde area from here.

So, after our fun few days we left for Farmington NM to bring the truck in to the dealer. The county fairgrounds has 400 sites and we were the only ones here.

They are using one of the RV lots as a drive- in for a few weeks. The interview with the owner of the theater doing it was interesting... “These drive-ins have a place in nostalgia, but they don’t really have a place in the financial world,” he said. The company isn’t doing it to make money, it’s doing it to give families somewhere to go and something to do. Kinda nice.

This particular dealership is so busy they run two shifts, and have a shuttle, so Paul could come and go to the dealership easily. We had thought about renting a car, but really there is nothing to do anyway, plus its been in the high 90s so we are just hunkered down, waiting.

After a couple of days in the shop we thought they had it fixed the turbo, and we headed back to Tom and Dianne’s to help celebrate Tom's birthday.

The 4 of us had a properly distanced dinner, and afterwards their kids came over for dessert. Dianne had made my aunt's carrot cake recipe, and did an awesome job!

Like our house, there are always projects going on at Tom and Dianne's, and usually Paul loves to jump right in, but this time we had to maintain distances, and also, it was in the 90s, so he settled for doing some weeding in the garden for a bit.








Once the festivities we done we said goodbye and headed toward Salida CO, where we had reservations for a few days. We made it about 40 miles before the check engine light came on. We drove until we could turn around, called and canceled our reservations, and told the dealership we were on our way back.



So, after another day or so at the dealership they found issues with the new turbo and some of the components so they fixed/replaced things and we were on our way.....again.

This time we made it about 30 miles before the truck threw a code indicating there is an issue. Paul took some readings with his scan tool and called the tech to tell him what he saw. And, of course, we turned around and headed back. This time the tech wanted to take a test drive with the trailer attached so Paul dropped me at the dealership and off they went.








The good news (hopefully) is that the two of them seem to have pieced together what the issue is.












So, we have now left Farmington again.

We didn’t go far, just to the nearby town of Aztec. There is a new RV park that is kind of unique, and is doing some different kinds of things. It’s on a river and on the other side they are building a zip line and a climbing wall. It was weird to watch trucks drive thru the river.









It is very family oriented place but has two places that are “kid free” zones, and that's where you found us every evening.

Actually, the Monday after the weekend, there were no kids around, so Paul and I took over the fun stuff.  We used the stand up paddle boards in the pond, and went down the 60 ft water slide several times- it was actually a lot of fun.

We ended the evening watching the river go by.














We are close enough to Durango here that we drove in to town to do some hiking.

Our first trail was Sailing Hawk, it was a short two mile loop with interesting rock formations and somewhat of a view of the city.

Our 2nd hike was supposed to be the Animas Overlook trail, which is a trail that overlooks the Animas Mountain, but after driving 7 miles up a dirt road, our plans were thwarted by the weather.  

The second we stepped out of the truck, we were subjected to the sound of nonstop thunder.

 So, no hike for us but the views were still stunning!

Our stay  in Aztec was short- we are on the move looking for cooler weather!

The Last of New Mexico (07-23-17)

Well, although I said we were ready to move further north to escape some of the heat, we didn’t go that far, and we certainly didn’t go far enough.

We stopped in Farmington, NM for a few days. Like the name suggests, this is farm country.  Navajo farm country to be exact.  There are quite a few Indian Reservations in this area and Navajo Nation is the biggest.

Our goal is to combine some hiking with exploring more of the National Monuments dedicated to early Native American life. There is lots of history in this area and it can be a little overwhelming.


Our first full day here, we weren’t in the mood for a long drive, so we drove out to Bisti Badlands to do some hiking.

The badlands are comprised of very strange rock formations, and hill after hill to hike over and around.

There is no specific trail, and with temps yet again in the 90s, we made sure to bring a lot of water.  I also downloaded the map, with someone else’s tracks,onto my phone, and brought my portable battery charger, to be sure my GPS didn’t run out of juice. No way was I gonna get lost in the desert!

We had a hard time following the tracks, but we still managed to see some neat stuff-












Including a fair amount of petrified wood.
After almost 5 miles of hiking, we made it back to the parking lot.









The following day we were up for more adventure. Chaco Canyon  was quite a hub of early American life, in its day.  It is also about 70 miles from where we are staying so we got up quite early to head in that direction.

Thousands of Ancestral Chacoans lived here from about 850 AD until about 1250. In 1980 it moved from being a National Monument to the Chaco Culture National Historic Park.

There are quite a few complexes still available to walk through and explore.




We weren’t all that impressed with the information available, although we really were focused on hiking anyway.



One of the things we did learn about was the progression of their building ability.  When they first started building, they used flat stones of varying sizes.

















By the time they left, they had learned to make bricks and the buildings had a totally different look.











Anyway, on to the hiking trail.  Although it was, once again, in the mid 90s, we chose one of the longest trails- about 5.5 miles.

The trail started off by taking us up a steep slot canyon, until we reached a plateau.













Once atop the ridge, we had great views of the surrounding area and the buildings down in the canyon.








There were also several structures on top of the ridge, and remnants of ancient roads that led to other settlements in the area.




One of the interesting features on this trail is the ancient staircase, built in about the year 1000. You can see the steps, carved into the stone.















Although we didn’t see any hikers on the long loop portion of this trail, we certainly weren’t alone!

I really enjoyed this trail- a lot of the trail was on slick rock, which I really like.

We were done a lot earlier than we thought we would be, and left the canyon by mid afternoon.

I was ambivalent about our plans for our final day in Farmington.  Paul wanted to check out nearby Aztec Ruins National Monument.  I was feeling a little done with ruins.  But, as we like to say “ hey, we’re here.”  So we figured we might as well take a look.

I learned two pieces of interesting information right off the bat.  1st, I thought it was strange that this place is called Aztec Ruins. Turns out, the Spaniards lazily and erroneously named it that, and the name stuck.

Current day Puebloans do not consider this place “ruins” nor abandoned.  They feel that it is inhabited by their ancestors and should be treated with utmost respect.

We were given a binder for our self guided tour, so we could read about the points of interest as we stood in front of them. 

The Kiva, which is a large building used for ceremonial purposes, has been restored.

The roof of the Kiva weighs 95 tons. Materials, such as the wood for the roof, were brought from as far as 80 miles away. It was a very intelligent and organized workforce that built this small “city”.

Several of the “houses” have also been restored, which gave us a better glimpse into what their homes might have looked like.

I was so glad we made the effort.  This is a small National Monument, space wise, but I was really impressed with the whole set up. I mentioned that to the ranger, and he agreed that they did a great job of making the information “digestible”.