4-16-07
This morning turned off nice after all. We made reservations for the Ute Mountain Tribal Park tour of Mesa Verde sites for tomorrow morning. Today we decided to drive the San Juan Skyway.

What a great choice that turned out to be. Cortez to Dolores to Telluride were great. There was about 2" of new snow on the fields and trees, with none on the roads - our favorite kind of snow. Blue skies with some puffy clouds made for good photographs. Ann, Al, John & I went in one car, with Jim & Virginia in their car. They were only going to Telluride, and then were turning around to go back to Lowry Pueblo and home. The rest of us planned to complete the loop to Ridgeway, Ouray, Silverton, Durango, and home.

We all met up in Telluride and walked around for a bit. Virginia found a gorgeous Persian rug - most unusual - part usual rug tufting type stitches, with insets and border that looked like needlepoint. It was nothing like any of us had seen before. Gin & Jim were going to decide for sure whether to purchase, and the rest of us headed on. (p.s. - They bought the rug, but were having it shipped home.)

We had lunch in Ridgeway at, of all places, a Thai restaurant called "Siam". It was a tiny place, maybe only 25 seats, with gorgeous decor, and incredible food. The only strange note was the country music playing on the intercom. Nevertheless, it took over first place as our best meal so far.

From there, we went on to Ouray, then south to Silverton, Durango, and home. Above Ouray, probably an additional 6" of snow had fallen the night before, and the roads had been plowed. It was glorious! I don't think we could've stood it if the skies had been blue. It didn't make for great photography, just a great treat for the eyes and the memory. We got back home a little after 5.
We had home-cooked hamburgers for dinner, and then finished out the day with some Mexican Train. Tomorrow, we'll get an early start to be at the Ute Mountain Tribal Park by 8:30.

4-17-07
We had great weather today, clear to start, then high white puffy clouds toward late morning. The trip in the Ute Mountain Tribal Park was very good. We did the half-day trip, and drove our own car. It was great to see the area around Mesa Verde from the valley floor. We walked through sites absolutely covered with pottery sherds, and saw an amazing number of petroglyphs. Another group went in a tribal van with the guide for the full-day trip. I did a couple of the short walks, but none of the climbing stuff. I could see lots of petroglyphs, though. It's definitely a recommended trip.

We stopped in Cortez for gas and a grocery-store-roasted chicken for supper, and then got home about 2:00. We'll spend the afternoon getting stuff ready to leave tomorrow and probably getting in some more Mexican Train.

John and I will be heading south into New Mexico tomorrow, going to John & Marty Lindsay's ranch near Cloudcroft. We plan to be there for a few days before turning back east. I should be able to get some computer access there - we shall see. But this will be my last posting from Kelly Place. It's been a super week - both for the place and, of course, getting together with Ann, Al, Gin, & Jim.

Today's picture is new snow near Ouray, CO.