Pagosa Springs and Creede, September 25, 2015

There is a private Rodeo Grounds at the intersection of Highway 160 and Highway 84 which advertised $5.00 donation for overnight stay.  We parked the Beaver and explored Pagosa Springs to look for an over night parking spot.  I've been there many times as it is one of the closest towns for services to my son's ranch in Tierra Amarillo in New Mexico, so our exploration was limited to the local brewery.  The hot springs are nice, but require an all day time commitment in order to justify the cost, and we are anxious to continue south.  When we returned to the Beaver the campground host told us we had to leave because we didn't have reservations and their insurance did not allow for overnight parking.  Apparently the $5.00 donation was for hunters or travelers who have stock and need to overnight.

I went across the street to the TS tractor supply and received permission to park overnight behind their building. I was also told it would be OK to park on the dirt road that ran adjacent to the back of the building.  We moved and parked in the field adjacent to the dirt road only to be told a few hours later by a scary looking gentlemen we had to move and that the dirt road and field were part of his property and not TS.  So far, Southern Colorado has not been very RV friendly.  I should mention that we did check out several RV parks in the immediate vicinity and at $47.00 per night, it simply doesn't make since  when the site will only be occupied for 8 hours.

The next morning we moved the Beaver  down the road and parked it for the day and headed off to Creede.

On the way to Creede we stopped at Big Meadow Campground.  The fall colors were beautiful and the morning was calm, perfect for photos.  The lake was smooth as glass.

Creede is an old mining town and is capitalizing on its "gold rush" status.   There are lots of little shops and a self guided driving loop.  We drove part of the loop and had lunch but didn't spend a whole lot of time in town.  I think all these little towns are starting to look a like and I had been to Creede several years ago.  It has gotten much more touristy since my last visit.

We headed back to Pagosa Springs and hooked up and headed off to my son's ranch,  Sage Coyote Farm  aka known as the Guerin Ranch in  Tierra Amarillo.  It is less then 90 miles and I really don't want to stay in a community where I am not welcome.  Although I was at the farm last spring, I'm still anxious to see my son and daughter-in-law and some of the new stock they recently acquired.