Saturday May 31, 2014

 

Travel Day

 

We broke camp this morning and headed west on US 160 then north on CO 145 and 62, and then north on US 550 to the town of Montrose, where we stopped at a lovely campground, “Centennial R .V. Park”. We chose the route we took rather than US 550
all the way from Durango as that road had steeper climbs, more severe curves
and road construction that delays the traffic flow. Coming up CO 145 and 62 was a longer drive, but pulling the camper it was an easier drive, we had no problems going up the
mountains, it was coming down the long grades that caused some brake problems,
so we had to take it slower and use some pull offs.  The drive was on part of the “San Juan Skyway” scenic byway; and did it live up to its name, every turn and mountain top brought another beautiful view. The Rocky Mountains are truly spectacular. We had a picnic lunch along the roadside just outside of Telluride, and we got to watch a herd of elk
grazing, having their lunch. We drove thru the town of Telluride, but because we were towing the trailer we were unable to stop, the town is beautiful with all of the small stores, and eating
establishments. Not too long after leaving Telluride on highway 62 we had to steady climb up a mountain grade for 12 miles, I do not know the grade but it was definitely not a gentle
slope. We arrived at the campground around 2:30, set up camp and then relaxed for the evening; we are so far out of town that there is no TV cable service, only what you get from the roof antenna,
which is nothing tonight as the wind is blowing in the wrong direction. The weather today started off partly cloudy,
but it turned into a beautiful sunny day with temps. In the low 80’s.