Running from the COOOOOLD!

Oct. 30, 2019

Last month we were running from the snow. Now we're running from the COLD.

Yes, those are icicles hanging from the grill!

The forecast for tonight was near ZERO with a windchill of -4 or colder!  We were scheduled to stay in Chaco Canyon through Oct. 31, but with the campground nearly empty, and the unseasonably frigid forecast, we asked to leave 2 days early.  The Prowler had done well, withstanding temps as low as 14° F with the heated and enclosed  under belly.  But, there are limits, and we didn't want to find out where they are.

We were 13° with a wind chill of zero while hooking up this morning... BURRRRRR! Didn't get above freezing till after 1pm while heading south.  The destination was Roswell, NM where the low is going to be a balmy 20° tonight.

Still to come, the last post from Kalowna BC and "Hiking the Pueblo Alto Loop" and "Hiking to Penasco Blanco" from Chaco Canyon.

Hiking the Pueblo Alto loop

Nov. 17, 2019

Here's a belated post from Chaco Canyon.

Oct. 17, 2019

Last April we hiked to Pueblo Alto out and back (3.2 mi.), skipping the loop trail that adds 2.1 mi. Today we hiked the entire loop.

Here's the pictures...

A different angle of the Jackson Stairway.

Looking at...

... the climb down.

Overlooking Chetro Ketl

Notice the tour group around the great kiva.

A little fall color.

Chetro Ketl from a different angle.

Overlooking Pueblo Bonito, built between 850 and 1200 AD. The largest building in North America Until 1877.

The Pueblo Alto trail is entirely on the north mesa.  To get up to and down from the mesa requires a mostly hand over foot climb on the cliff face, a trail once used by the ancient Chacon's.

Climbing down from the north mesa.

Snow in Chaco Canyon

Oct. 28, 2019

This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland amidst the yellow cliffs of Chaco Canyon.  The weather has been unseasonably cold with several mornings in the mid to high teens.  This was the first perception.   One of the Rangers said last year they didn't get their first freeze until November!

By the time we headed out to see the canyon with a dusting of snow, it was already starting to melt.

The 10:00 tour was Una Vida, a site near the visitors center so we tagged along.  With the temp about 27 degrees and a STIFF breeze, the 5 participants got the abriveated tour and no one complained. The Ranger, a local Navajo, did an excellent job given the conditions.

The question often comes up, why did they leave?  The modern scienists might point to a decades long drought.  Another story tells of a time that had run it's course with the knowledgeable elite abusing their power and upsetting the balance, causing a drought and the people dispersing to the regions they inhabit today.

The pictures at Una Vida turned out to be the best we could get with the snow rapidly melting in spite of the frigid temperature.

Time to go home for some hot chocolate! 

Great Sand Dunes NP

Oct. 4, 2019

After a very forgettable stop in a campground northwest of Denver and a thankfully eventless passage though the Denver megatropolis that is most of eastern Colorado along I-25, we stopped at Haggard's RV  campground west of Pueblo CO for a few days R&R.

 

A former KOA,  Haggard's is family run with friendly people, a reasonably priced laundry an even a propane filling station.  To top it off it's part of Pasport America so the first 2 nights were 1/2 price.

A nearby fire didn't effect us but made for some colorful sunsets. 

While planning our route south we noticed Great Sand Dunes National Park, a park that wasn't even on our radar.  In October all the campsites in Pinon Flats  campground are first come, first serve which we like.  However, the timing wasn't great, we'd be arriving Friday afternoon. 

Our reasarch told us it's an older campground with a limited number of campsites we'd fit into.  Driving through the first loop, it wasn't looking good. On the way out of the loop we saw site 32 with a great view and we just might fit.  It took several tries  but we shoehorned our way in.

Some afternoon views from the visitors center. 

Mount Herald shrouded in the afternoon rain clouds.

Wider views of the dunes along side of the Sanger De Cristo Mountains.

Late afternoon from the campsite.

Oct. 5, 2019

Hiking the Dune Overlook trail.

The 8500 ft elevation made the climb to the overlook a challenge for both of us.  Aspin grove in the background in full fall colors. 

Later that day, we went for a walk on the dunes.

We were wondering what made these trails on the Dunes... worms, snakes?

A little while later we got the answer.  This little guy was trying as best he could to climb up the face of the dune.  Sorry, I don't know what beetle this is... or if it really is a bettle.

Eventually he gave up and headed down the dune.

Ever feel like someone's following you!

Heading back to the camper.

Coming next, Return to Chaco Canyon.