August 31 Taos, New Mexico to Mesa Verde National Park
Woke up early and decided to heck with the Taos Pueblo. Those people are so arrogant about their heritage. You know what….. we are all Americans here whether you like it or not…get over yourselves. So I drove west on Hwy 64 intending to go to Pagosa Springs in Colorado for the day. I left while it was still dark because I woke up early and again realized why I don’t travel the back country at night here or in Colorado. I had a bull Elk run across the road right in front of my truck. I’ve had that happen to me before in the back country in Colorado as well. Those critters are huge up close.
In any case I drove to Pagosa Springs, Colorado and had a short look around as I had already been there before earlier this year, and then I drove on to Mesa Verde. It was really awesome and well worth visiting. I took the tour of the Cliff House. It was a pretty good workout going down in the canyon and after touring the ruins climbing the rock steps and ladders back out.
When I got to Cortez I noticed that the parking lot of the SuperWalmart was full of RV’s on one part of it. But there were signs the police had put up saying no overnight parking. So I talked to one of the guys staying in an RV and he said that he had talked to the manager of the store and he said that as long as people didn’t make a mess or set up camp they didn’t care if they stayed overnight. But if the sheriff told them to go they should. So I considered overnighting in the parking lot.
In any case I went to the MacDonald’s to get on the internet and they had one section of it set up very nicely like an internet café complete with electrical plugs etc. Very nice of them. And a senior coffee was only 37 cents.
I decided to just go ahead and rent a room and so I did. It cost $50 and was quiet and clean but the compressor on the AC didn’t kick in, so I just had fan. And the next morning when I went to take care of my business I noticed there was no toilet paper ! On the whole the place sucked but Oh well…..travel has it’s hazards.
When I post a blog I try and provide some practical and useful information on the location I visit in the blog for the frugal/budget traveler.
I am a sojourner, that is my occupation, that is what I do. I took Early Retirement in December 2010 and never looked back. I have taken several trips while on vacations around the US and to Europe while I was working but now can travel full time if I wish. Since I retired I have been visiting or revisiting many of my favorite locations in the US and then revisiting many of my favorite locations in Europe at a more leisurely pace, blogging all the ... full info
