Tuesday – October 14, 2014
Mesa Verde National Park
Mancos, Colorado
We departed Lathrop State Park in Walsenburg, Colorado under a clear sky at 8:55 a.m. Our route today took us west on U.S. Highway 160, to the western edge of Colorado (about 10 miles from the Utah state line).
Highway 160 proved to be a well-paved, two-lane road that provided a scenic explosion of fall colors. The mountains were covered with a mosaic of dark green pine trees interspersed with the golden leaves of the aspen trees. We had timed our visit to Colorado perfectly to coincide with the fall colors.
This was our first trip crossing the Continental Divide on Highway 160. On all of our previous trips to Colorado we crossed it on I-70. This trip was quite nice and less taxing, with much less car and truck traffic to deal with than what is present on I-70.
We arrived at the Morefield Campground in Mesa Verde National Park at 3:15 p.m. There are three campground loops: Jemez, Taos and Zuni. The Zuni loop was the only one remaining open and will close on November 1st or sooner depending on the weather. There are78 campsites in this loop, with several campsites available, we settled into site 71. This will be our home base for the next three nights. We met delightful neighbors in the campsite next to ours; Ken and Kay from Santa Fe, New Mexico, camping in a 13-foot Scamp trailer.
Of the three restrooms in the Zuni Loop, only one was open. The dump stations were closed and the water was turned off. Water was available at the Visitors Center, so we filled our four water containers and had 22 gallons of water available.
Camping Fee: Non-Electric: $10.00 with Golden Age Pass
Campsite #: 71
Total miles traveled today: 257
Tomorrow another adventure begins.
No comments:
Post a Comment