24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 6,510
Campfire Tracker
OP Offline
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 6,510
The GeauxLSU clan will have a first ever (more/less) family reunion in June. The plan is to stay around the Mesa Verde/Durgano area. I'll drag my crew to see the Grand Canyon as my wife nor my son have ever seen it (I have twice) and just realized Monument Valley (something I've always to see) is much further south than I thought so will be an easy thing to incorporate as well. Of course the 4 corners monument. We'll do the railroad trip out of Durango as well.
Anything else a 'must see' while we're there that is easily accessible from the Durango area? Most of the time should be fairly flexible.
Thanks.


NRA Lifer
"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare." - Mark Twain
"Everybody has principles... until they are an inconvenience." - Me

BP-B2

Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 73,096
Campfire Kahuna
Offline
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 73,096
The steam ride will be a lasting memory Sir. I totally love steam trains and the narrow gauges are just GREAT.


George Orwell was a Prophet, not a novelist. Read 1984 and then look around you!

Old cat turd!

"Some men just need killing." ~ Clay Allison.

I am too old to fight but I can still pull a trigger. ~ Me


Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 6,510
Campfire Tracker
OP Offline
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 6,510
My son is 9 years old. He'll be besides himself. Ah... what the heck, mom and dad might be too. smile


NRA Lifer
"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare." - Mark Twain
"Everybody has principles... until they are an inconvenience." - Me

Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7,884
J
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
J
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7,884
If you have time the drive over to Ouray is worth it. The city pool there is fed by a hotspring and is relaxing. You can rent a Jeep for the day and explore miles of off road trails that lead to abandoned mines from either Ouray or Silverton. Rent a Jeep instead of taking your own vehicle even if it is 4X4. Don't ask how I know, lets just say it would have cost less.

Monument Valley is nice as is Arches NP which is nearby. We actually enjoyed our time in Moab Utah, right outside Arches.


Most people don't really want the truth.

They just want constant reassurance that what they believe is the truth.
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 52,680
Campfire Kahuna
Offline
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 52,680
Yep Ouray, Silverton, Arches, Canyonlands, Moab...all good places. There are some vineyards near Grand Jct.


Liberalism is a mental disorder that leads to social disease.
IC B2

Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,114
M
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
M
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,114
Mesa verde is worth a trip. I went there 20 years ago and still remember being amazed at how they built all that into the side of a cliff.


Deserve's got nuthin to do with it- Willam H Munny
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 844
S
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
S
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 844
May want to take the train up and take the bus back from Silverton. My family found it more enjoyable that way. YMMV

Watch for ashes in your eyes and burning small holes in clothes if you take the open car.

Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 446
7
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
7
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 446
Just north of Silverton on the west side of the highway - South Mineral area - drive past the camp ground into the upper basin. Before the campground - take the road on the right to the top - nice little lake and mtn vistas. Ouray - 4 x 4 to Yankee Boy Basin, do Engineer pass from Ouray back into Silverton. Go to Ridgway and head west towards Norwood & Telluride. At the top of Dallas Divide several miles out of Ridgeway - look for Last Dollar Road and drive it into Telluride. It's an easy and scenic drive. Enjoy Telluride and then go over Lizard Head pass back to the South into Mesa Verde. Lots of great scenery and off roading in the San Juans - enjoy the time there. Silver Jack Reservoir to the East of Ridgeway is another easy /scenic route and you can end of coming out east of Montrose, see the Black Canyon on your way into Montrose and then back South to Durango. I lived in Montrose years ago and spent every moment when I wasn't working prowling the mountains in the area, all the 4x4 trails, horseback, hiking etc. SW Colorado is my absolute favorite place in the US.

Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,744
B
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
B
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,744
Geaux,

Sounds like you'll be trying to cover a lot of territory. Just remember that the lower altitude terrain, like Monument Valley, Moab, Arches NP will likely be close to 100 degrees in June. You'll have lots to do in the higher altitude areas. Our snowpack is well below normal this year and you should be able to get up high. In a normal year it might be 4th of July before you'd get over some of those 4WD passes. I'll echo 7mm08fans reco for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, it's one of my favorite places on earth, especially from the bottom looking up when the Salmon fly hatch is on.

Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 33,856
E
Campfire 'Bwana
Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
E
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 33,856
Mesa Verde Nat Park


The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time by the blood of patriots and tyrants.

If being stupid allows me to believe in Him, I'd wish to be a retard. Eisenhower and G Washington should be good company.
IC B3

Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,152
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,152
I took my family out there last year. Durango is a good place to travel out from for the different sights. My family took me soaring between Durango and Silverton. That was a blast! Well worth the time and money. You take the train out of Durango to get there. It was called Soaring Tree Top Adventures.

Mesa Verde National Park is a good way to spend a day too. There is a lot to see and do there. It is a pretty good distance to the ruins from the highway so give yourself plenty of time to get back in there to the ruins.


Harry
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 10,572
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 10,572
We used to spend a couple of weeks every year camping, 4 wheeling, hiking and "condo-ing" in the Durango, Silverton, Ouray and Tellruide areas, sometimes ranging over to Crested Butte, Montrose and Gunnison. It looks like BeanMan has the intel on the snowpack, which would have been a major concern of mine in June. The Million Dollar Highway between Silveron and Ouray is really pretty. We really like Ouray, and if we won the lottery (without ever having bought a ticket), we would have a place there.

Everything may seem like its close to the 4 corners area, but the distances are more than you think and mountain driving can be slow even for short hauls. Don't try to see everything. The train trip alone would be an entire day. Some 4x4 routes are a good chunk of a day. The Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde ain't exactly drive-bys. Pick out a few things and savor them. Some solitude on a hiking trail can be a lot more fun than being jammed up in traffic in Durango or a national park. You will be back, so don't try to see it all.


"Don't believe everything you see on the Internet" - Abraham Lincoln
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 10,572
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 10,572
The Dallas Divide mentioned by 7mm08fan is a nice view from a highway, and Last Dollar Road is pretty mellow as they go if you have a decent ground clearance SUV and don't want to rent a Jeep.


"Don't believe everything you see on the Internet" - Abraham Lincoln
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,871
R
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
R
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,871
If you are interested in some peak bagging, climb Lizard Head Peak near Durango. Might be tough on the youngster but it is a non-technical and very scenic mountain.

RS

















Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 314
rnr Offline
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 314
While you're around the Monument valley area, check out Valley of the Gods. It's a graded gravel rd that loops around. Look for the turn off on 163. Could be worth it.

The 4 corners monument is anti-climatic. We were there a few years ago and got a couple Indian tacos from one of the vendors there and sat down to eat it. While there, an Indian kid about 4 or 5, probably one of the vendors' kids, shyly peaked around the corner at us. Took us a while, but he finally sat down beside us and we talked for about an hour. Made a good friend that day. Cute kid.


"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?

Sherlock Holmes
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 3,831
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 3,831

The Alpine Slide at the ski area is fun for the kids. I think mountain biking is also available.

Fly fishing the San Juan just below Navajo Dam is also a good experience - invest in a guided float trip. Mesa Verde, Arches NP, Canyonlands, etc are all worth seeing. Hot Springs in Ouray or Pagosa Springs are also fun(icky to me though). There's some waterfalls just outside Ouray(I think it's called horseshoe falls or something like that).



Quando omni flunkus moritati
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 4,654
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 4,654
When in Durango, you have to do the Bar D Chuck Wagon. It's a Bar B Que dinner & dinner show. Country songs, Sons of the Pioneers type. Really a good time for all.

Stop in at the Diamond Belle for a cold one. It's an old style Saloon, go at night & there will be an old timer piano player.

DOW fish hatchery is a good visit.

Neat stuff in Silverton.
I've lived in Durango since 81----maybe we can have a cold one. Bob

Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 6,958
KC Offline
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 6,958
Originally Posted by RipSnort
If you are interested in some peak bagging, climb Lizard Head Peak near Durango. Might be tough on the youngster but it is a non-technical and very scenic mountain.

RS


Ripsnort:

You have your facts all wrong. There's nothing "nontechnical" about Lizard Head Peak. It's rated 5.8 and a very dangerous climb because the rock is unstable. One could easily get killed on that peak. It is the throat of an extinct volcanoe and very picturesque. If one were to climb all the mountains in Colorado by their easiest route, Lizard Head is the most difficult. BTW it's not near Durango. It's just south of Telluride.

Here's an article that I wrote which was published in the Trail & Timberline magazine of the Colorado Mountain Club.

KC


ELECTRIC LIZARD

Slowly the tent walls turn from dull beige to pale gold. This is the light of twilight not sunrise as we are in the shadow of the monolith camped in the grass at the bottom of the Lizard Head. Someone is moving in one of the other sleeping bags and I can hear the clink of a climbing rack being stuffed into a day pack outside. I crawl out to a pale blue sky with a few thin high clouds. This is how the day began. Veiling in peace what was to come. Dan (delete), Mike (delete) and I scrambled up the scree slope to the southwest corner of the tower.

It's rotten alright, enough to make us very careful. We can see the route, which Harvey Carter had climbed in the fifties, with several runners forming a rappel anchor at the top, just to the left of the corner. We moved about 100 feet to the east (right) where we found the route, which Albert Ellingwood and Barton Hoag had climbed sixty-eight years ago. It's amazing to think that they climbed that wearing only hob nailed boots. It looked technically more difficult but less rotten.

I lead the first pitch, 80', 5.6 and rotten. It was not the little debris, which worried me but the backpack sized rocks which moved when I put a load on them that really increased the anxiety level. This pitch ends at a belay ledge large enough for two people where I pounded in a knife blade. I belayed up Mike who lead the next pitch. This pitch could be climbed as part of the first pitch but the sharp turns increase the rope drag too much to make the crux move. The second pitch goes to the left on an obtuse dihedral, then up through an off sized crack to a traversing ledge about six inches wide. It is solid and has two hard 5.8 moves to get from the dihedral into the crack. There is a ringed pin and a lost arrow at the crux. From there the ledge goes about twenty feet left to a belay ledge with several slings and pins for an anchor. I belayed Dan to the first ledge and then Mike belayed both of us up to the next ledge, one at a time. From there we scrambled up about 160' of loose scree to the bottom of the last pitch.

There were now more clouds and we could see rain about ten miles to the south, but it looked like we had enough time to make the top before it got much worse. It was about 10:00 A.M. Dan lead the last pitch which has an awkward move (5.7) to get started onto a ramp which slopes up and to the right. At the top of this ramp there is another ramp which goes up and to the left to the last belay point where there is again several slings and pins for an anchor. The last belay point is about twenty feet from the top and when I got there I thought I heard an odd buzzing but it was only momentary so I ignored it.

The top, which is about twenty feet above the last belay point, is large enough to hold only one person at a time and because of the rotten character and steep sides of the ridge, climbers are belayed to the top from the last belay point. Since I was already on belay, I continued on the way to the top. About half way there things really started humming. The rocks were buzzing with static electricity. Just then I saw a bolt of lightning strike El Diente, four miles away. Zap! Ouch! Zap! Zap! Ouch! Ouch! Sparks were arching from the grommets of my helmet to my hair. I descended a little below the ridge and removed my helmet and rack, which was full of little sparks when it moved. I asked Mike to get the camera ready. I was going to make a dash for the summit and stand there while he took a picture of the conquering hero. Some hero. I made my dash through the buzzing rocks as my beard began to puff up. I touched the top with my hand and retreated with undignified haste.

When I got back to Dan and Mike the whole top was buzzing and my hair was standing straight out. We knew that we had to get out of there quickly and at the same time not make a deadly mistake on the rappel. One at a time we readied our gear for the rappel and descended the upper wall, all the time expecting Thor's power to strike the top. It was sprinkling as we scrambled down to the rappel anchor at the top of Harvey Carter's route. One by one we slid down the rope past two wrought iron pins, to the top of the scree cone. It was 12:30. The sky was full of dark clouds and thunder when, to add the crowning insult, like so many others before us, we couldn't pull down the ropes. We flipped to see who had to go back up to straighten out the ropes and Mike lost. We made two prussicks and up he went, with rocks raining in his wake. When he got back, for just a second, we were sure that we still couldn't get the ropes loose. But they began to move, with all of our weight on them, and down they came.

We hadn't conquered the Lizard Head, but for just a second, one of us had touched the top of the most difficult peak to climb, in Colorado.




Wind in my hair, Sun on my face, I gazed at the wide open spaces, And I was at home.





Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,871
R
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
R
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,871
KC,

I stand corrected. It has been 25 years since I traveled around the West climbing everything from walk-ups to 5.9s. My memory is obviously lacking. There was some peak between Durango and Silverton that I raced a local search and rescue team member to the top one afternoon (he won). The view of Purgatory ski area from the top was excellent.

Thanks for the article.

RS

Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 747
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 747
Originally Posted by eyeball
Mesa Verde Nat Park


http://www.nps.gov/meve/planyourvisit/visitcliffdwelling.htm

Page 1 of 3 1 2 3

Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
153 members (160user, 35, 257 mag, 10Glocks, 2UP, 300_savage, 15 invisible), 1,857 guests, and 841 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,728
Posts18,400,778
Members73,822
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.117s Queries: 15 (0.004s) Memory: 0.9059 MB (Peak: 1.0822 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-29 10:07:02 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS