Short NM and Colorado Loop

Barko1

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2008
Messages
1,635
Location
Southern Appalachians
( I can't figure out how to link to the map, think big oval :LOL: , the link may take you to My Maps, check Durango and more??)


http://maps.google.com/maps?f=s&utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-bk-gm&utm_medium=ha&utm_term=google%20maps

Last Friday I saw a motorcycle for sale that seemed like a real bargain :LOL: and something I simply had to have :eek: It is a non running 1973 Suzuki GT750, what makes it unique is that it is a liquid cooled, 3 cylinder, 2 stroke. It is probably worth what I paid for it's parts and will probably cost more than it is worth to restore but a cool project. So I called up, made a tentative deal, and started throwing some clothes, dog food, dogs, my daughter, and some food into the FWC. Left home after 3 pm and figured I would get to the Angel Peak Recreation area, a BLM campsite 380 miles North via I25 and US550. This is a nice little camp with some surprisingly nice views. (picture was taken in the am)
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The conditions were nice when we arrived but soon after the winds got nasty so I turned the truck into the wind to reduce the blowing around. Helped out and got a good nights sleep.
Picked up the machine, lashed it down in the trailer and had to then decide where to go.
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Originally thought about Toroweap as that has been popular lately but I had to be back by Tuesday and it was now Saturday so I decided on a little Colorado loop to see that white stuff that we don't usually get to see
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Had my three dogs and the Catahoula foster dog along, makes for lots of fun :D , they do love the snow.
Went up 550, had a nice breakfast in Silverton and then to Montrose and East to Black Canyon of the Gunnison
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Dogs loved the other campground residents
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From there we needed to start heading back. 50 East to Gunnison, then 114 SE towards Great Sand Dunes National Park
Along the way on 114 a great spot for lunch, always good to find a spot where the dogs can be free
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Looking across a wildlife area towards the Crestone's, 3 or 4 14teeners up there.
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The dunes are really neat, largest in North America I believe, and having the Sangre De Cristos in the background doesn't hurt.
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Alien deer
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Wasn't sure where the truck and camper were going to take us next, Medano Pass seemed like one attractive option, think the F250 and FWC would have been fine but saved that for later and opted to explore Zapata Falls. This area doesn't seem to be on my maps, it's maybe 15 miles South of Great Sand Dunes and up nearly 2000', super views of the valley, the mountains, and the dunes.
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After coming down we headed into and through Northern New Mex, cutting through Red River and down to Angel Fire where we stopped at the Viet Nam Veterans chapel and park
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I had wanted to visit, I was 4th Infantry in 1968 in the Central Highland,s and the visit was a little more powerful than I had anticipated. The have a path that you can buy a brick for, with the name of a veteran on it. A buddy was killed, great guy, and I didn't want him forgotten, so on Labor Day his brick will be laid. It is kind of strange but a week ago I stopped at the Viet Nam wall in Truth or Consequence, NM, a small scale version of the Washington wall, and took this picture.
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Rest in peace Robert.
We headed South on some tight back roads through some of the Spanish land grants of New Mexico, some good scenery, Coyote Creek.
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And for our last night Villanueva State park along the Pecos River, 1st visited by the Spaniards in 1540!
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We had a nice spot, right on the river, in a very nice canyon.

From there it was time to shoot home, no pics but Route 3 is very deserted and desolate except for the Pronghorn population. They were all over including one that ran in front of us for quite a ways, until we got the camera out. Entertaining for the dogs anyway :LOL: Had a sweat inducing breakfast burrito in Corona, NM and were home a couple hours later.

So just a little errand to pick up an old bike, but with our camper it became a great trip. We saw deer, antelope, bear, turkey, a few other FWC's! We had wind, some snow flurries, a bit of rain, but mostly sunny skies and good temps. I got onto some roads I hadn't been on, visited some sites I hadn't explored, and found some new places to explore in the future. The Grandby worked just fine, the Coleman Stirling kept things cold, the Wave 3 kept us warm, and the 7.3 hauled us and the trailer up and over a lot of elevation (like having a trans temp gauge and EGT). So much to see :D
 
Nice trip. The dogs don't chase deer?


The Black Mouth Cur, brown dog, loves deer chasing more than life itself! He restores the balance of nature by reintroducing predators into the environment. He wanted the alien deer but in a National Park he is usually leashed. In Big Bend one time I was untangling leashes when a Chiso's deer went by and they both disappeared in a hurry, same happened in the snow by the charcoal kilns in Death Valley. Last summer up near Stony Pass in the San Juans he chased three, he returns after about twenty minutes. The Border Collie couldn't care less.
 

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