Our first stop…8/6/10

Since the tail end of our preparation period resulted in my need for total rest and muscle relaxers, we thought heading to Pagosa Springs, CO and soaking in the natural hot springs was an appropriate first stop. During our preparation period we had been camping at Cherry Creek and Chatfield State Parks near Denver, but we were ready to hit the road and venture a little further away from home. Knowing that we are going to circle back in a few weeks to hopefully see our unborn niece and pick up other on-order items, we were able to get out of Denver with relatively little anxiety. Pagosa Springs is this little oasis of a town situated at the base of Wolf Creek Pass (that gets the most snowfall in the state each year) and very near Durango. We love it because the resort that cultivated the natural hot springs has created the most gorgeous pool area where the various pools are encircled in stone and identified by temperature. The lowest pools run directly into the ice-cold river below which is a great natural cold plunge. A lot of natural hot springs that are cultivated for the public are simply Olympic sized pools and lack the character of nature. This spring’s natural beauty has been tastefully preserved and more than adequately modernized so you can enjoy the outdoor beauty without having to hike in and carry your own towel.

the hot springs

Since Pagosa is a 4 ½ hour drive (6-7 by RV) we split it into two days. I planned to stay at Pueblo Lake State Park in Pueblo, CO the first night. That didn’t go as planned (this is beginning to be a theme). We got off the highway in Pueblo and were following my Google Maps directions on my Blackberry. It turned out my directions were taking us to the South entrance of the park and the camping area was at the North entrance. Pueblo Lake is very long and it was already dark by the time we reached the city so we were driving blind. My directions were correct, but by we passed the small, unmarked dirt road on which our directions intended for us to turn. My “rig” is 50’ long with the tow car and completely unable to make a u-turn on a two lane road! Did I mention that Pueblo Lake is very long? We were not getting to the North side easily or quickly. Eventually, another brown state park sign appeared and we turned into the park. The road was again two lanes without a shoulder, but the state parks we had visited to date were not dissimilar. It was the “Dead End” sign that freaked us out. We prayed that there was a parking lot at the end of the road where we could at least turn around so we weren’t forced to back up all the way back to the main road. Backing up is not even an option because the tow vehicle would jack-knife and ruin the equipment and car. Lucky for us, there was a wide turn around spot…just not wide enough. So, in the pitch dark, we had to drop the car, move it separately, reposition the RV and reattach the tow car. The only thing that could have made this situation worse would have been rain. We figured, we made it to the park, but we just didn’t make it to the campground, so we were staying there for the night. If a State Ranger came over to us and asked us what we thought we were doing camping there overnight, we would just tell him of our little RV train debacle and hope he let us stay. It worked out just fine. No rangers knocked on our door, we got a little sleep and in the morning I awoke at first light to see the campground directly across the lake from us. Of course!

It was a beautiful place, but I didn’t stick around long enough to enjoy it because I was too afraid we had broken the law. At 630am I drove out of there and took myself to Village Inn for breakfast. Adam was wiped out from the last night’s tow car festivities, so he was still asleep. From then on it was a beautiful drive to Pagosa until I missed the turn in to the resort. I found a fire station just down the road with a big area in which to turn around, but it proved to be insufficient. Again we had to drop the tow car! This time we knew what we were doing and it was daylight, so we thought it would be no problem. Wrong! The car was dead. Something killed the battery during our drive. The day before, Adam and I had an argument about bringing jumper cables with us, and luckily his perspective won. We pulled those babies out of the car, hooked them up to the RV battery and jumped ourselves. Another potential disaster/delay adverted. I learned some valuable lessons: 1) don’t turn around unless you know you can get all the way around (especially in a fire station where I blocked the engine bays), 2) always carry jumper cables, 3) how to jump a car from an RV, and 4) listen to Adam because he’s usually right…always carry jumper cables.