So, I am camped on a mesa in south west Colorado… Its about 9:00 pm, its raining… It’s good… It’s warm, probably high 70’s… The rain is light… I have an awning up, a lantern lit, a fire going (not raging, just going)
It is interesting to look at how others camp.
There are the turtle people with their campers, motor homes, and air streams… It’s not really camping, its mobile living complete with our shells which we hide within…
There are the hippies, in their back packing tents (hippy being a stereotype into which I may belong) more urban that rural, but having a good time….
There are the cheapskates, camping to save money… and not always doing it well.
There are Europeans, for whom camping is a cheap way to inexpensive way to travel.
There are new campers, not comfortable with the skills and such, but bravely making a go.
There are families, believing this is a family way to travel, but uncomfortable with the skills and such.
There are a few of us camping for the experience and love of camping. It’s one of the few times we are responsible for our own shelter, food, and comfort (even if the store, showers, toilets and such, including wireless internet (gasp) are no more than 100 yards away… we can pretend)
We all come together at the NPS campground…
Most probably see rain as an issue, maybe as a disaster…. I find it interesting… It may be a problem if gear is still wet tomorrow morning… but for now it is interesting, and I have met nature and was prepared…I like to camp, for camping’s sake… (my wife does not… l leave her at home… after 29 years of marriage this is the best solution… )
The ranger talk tonight was good… women and the founding of the park, his about his aunt, and his family story, in the context of the park… it was personal, it made sense to me… As I returned to camp it started to rain, not the heavy sudden rain of thunderstorms brought by the monsoon, but a constant rain. I sat under my awning, by the fire and read… It is good.
Friday, afternoon, Moab Utah
Well, It rained much of the night at Mesa Verde… not an issue for me but others were suffering and taking to their cars… Up with the sun, made coffee, and broke camp… The big issue was wet gear. I will have to take it all out, clean it and dry it once home…
I decided to turn right at the end of the park’s entrance road, towards Mancos Colorado… got gas then north towards Dolores Colorado. Mancos and Dolores were two stations on the Rio Grande Southern Railroad… among the most loved and least successful of all American railroads… There wasn’t any evidence of the railroad in Mancos, but I was surprised by how large the town was… Sometimes you miss context such as this when reading just about railroads… Dolores was smaller, but the depot is preserved, and they have one of the railroad’s home made “Galoping Goose” railcars, but it was in Durango on a visit… I took photos of the depot and around town then headed north west towards Moab.
Just outside of town the BLM has its Anasazi Museum… I stopped… it’s located at a site, with a larger pueblo site on the hill above. The museum had its origins in both the sites on BLM land, and on the development of the McPhee reservoir and the archeological sites that were investigated before being downed. The museum was spectacular, inclusive, full of artifacts well used… Mesa Verde needs this level of museum displays..
From there it was just a drive to Moab Utah. This is across the pinto bean growning capital of the world... small towns, each with a bean processing plant, hay fields, and what look to be vacation homes...
Arriving in Moab I checked in at the Apache Motel, (listed on the National Register, John Wayne slept here…) Then off to Arches.
Arches is beautiful, it is expansive… generally you need to take short hikes to get the best view of the various arches… They are clustered in 4 sites… I did three of the sites, hiked some, but not as extensively as possible… I was tired and it was hot. I enjoyed it but felt used up before I had seen all I wanted to see.
Back to town, shower and clean up, and time for a walk about… Bye for now, I will add some photos tonight and write again tomorrow.
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