Orvis Hot Springs - Ridgway CO

Mim has wanted to come here for so many years and finally, here we are!

The Lobster Pot (110-117? degrees)

 I hurt my back earlier in the week so while at Mesa Verde we made a change in our schedule to include some more hot springs. SO GLAD WE DID! These hot springs are THE BEST so far. (We did visit Trimble Hot Springs just outside of Durango - not the best of experiences due to the large amounts of children and noise and the lack of room, but the water was good) Unfortunately, we did not get many pictures at Orvis, as electronics were not allowed in most areas of the resort. But take my word for it, this place is magical and luxurious. We highly recommend it. In all pools but one, clothing is optional and this apparently keeps the level of tourists pretty low. There were five different pools at differing temperatures and many grassy, shady areas to lay and rest. The only downside is the camping...it's basically some clustered, raised wooden platforms in a small gravel parking lot.

Paying a little extra cash for a room may be worth it at this place. Yes, definitely worth it. But all in all...we experienced much healing at Orvis Hot Springs. Today we are heading back out to the highway (after some more soaking of course!) and continuing our journey into Utah. We should be crossing state lines tomorrow!

The Great San Juans

Leaving Mesa Verde and heading into the San Juan Mountains! The views of the mountains on this ride were incredible...we recommend this route for sure. We wanted a good, isolated camp spot in these amazing forests and we found the perfect spot...the road was a little rough getting up with all our gear, but we made it! Wish we had some pictures of the campsite we found because it was gorgeous, almost unbelievable. Here is a shot of our ride down the forest road in the morning

Brave? Yes. Crazy? Oh yeah.

So here we are heading down to Silverton where we had the most amazing breakfast at a good 'ol fashioned Mom-n-pop diner.

Next up: on our way to Orvis Hot Springs in Ridgway, Co.

Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde...our first National Park visit. This first shot was taken on top of the highest point in the park. The views were breathtaking. Many National Park bulletins boasted about the beauty to be seen at night with the stars and city lights...however, all park sites (including this one) close at 6:30pm.

After some serious searching for the perfect campsite, we sure found it...

Our tent is nestled right in the middle of this beautiful grove, nice and far away from the busier campsites in the park...we had a great spot to hang the hammock and got some good relaxing done here in the shade. When we weren't relaxing, we made our way up into the highest parts of the park to explore...our first stop was the highest peak that you saw above. Next we went to the cliff dwellings. The Spruce Tree House made for some amazing pictures...and we saw some other dwellings from above (some of them require tours to see-the close-ups are Spruce Tree House)

Mim climbed inside this pit house (There's about 40 people up above waiting to climb in)

 

 

 

 

 

Our view as we ate a picnic lunch...

We stayed two nights in Mesa Verde then we headed back towards Durango (where it has poured rain on us every time we get to town!) The plan is to take a short detour through the San Juan Mountains to visit a few hot springs before heading into the desert.

The adventure begins!!!

We began our journey last Thursday by making our way to Joyful Journey Hot Springs. We stayed in a Tepee and the view from our front door was amazing.

It was my first time in a natural hot springs and I am thoroughly addicted now! I can't wait to get to the next hot springs so we can soak these poor muscles of ours. Here is a great shot Mim nabbed on his fancy camera once we unloaded our bikes and got settles in the tepee...

Relaxing in our tepee was fun, I played some music on my new guitar and Mim made us a yummy dinner of mac-n-cheese with tuna- so good!

I love my new guitar. For those who don't know the story, my original Martin Backpacker guitar was tragically destroyed in a horrible camping accident...

Well, I was very lucky that Mim is so crafty and knows how to work on instruments. He fixed it up in no time.

Can't have too many clamps, eh baby?...

So, renewed and full of energy we headed out yesterday from the hot springs and found ourselves (after a crazy off-roading adventure on a treacherous path we shouldn't have turned on...) the most beautiful camp spot right next to the river and we slept peacefully next to the rushing water...