Nicely rested after our long drive yesterday from Gunnison to Durango (CO), we decided to fly the Eagle on the longest trip that we had planned for our initial exploration of the Durango area. From our rv park we road 7 miles south on US 550 to Durango then turned west on US 160 along the edge of the San Juan Mountains.
In Cortez, the road turned south into the arid Ute Mountain tribal lands.
These dry lands had a certain beauty of their own, with plenty of interesting landmarks
and evidence of lots of water.
We crossed the San Juan River and the CO/NM border at the same time.
Our turn-around point was this tourist hot spot—the only place in the United States where four states touch at one point.
This is a national monument run by the Navajo Nation. No parks passes are accepted, but at the gate I did get my National Parks Passport stamped.
Many National parks, monuments, recreational areas are free or managed by other groups, but if there is a gate, there is a stamp, and often stamps for other nearby areas with no gate. I always ask.
The complex consists of a large gravel parking lot, a place to get Navajo fry bread and Sno Cones, a restroom (that little brown building on the left),
and this square of open fronted buildings with the four state corners meeting in the middle.
Just inside the space is a detailed authentication of the site.
There are four raised platform for picture takers. People queue up in a rough line and wait for their turn on the spot.
The buildings forming the square are separated into stalls where Navajo artists display their work for sale—jewelry, sculptures, paintings—beautiful quality work.
The only way out was the way we came in. The scenery was the same but looked different when view from the other direction.
In Cortez we passed up the fast food places in favor of the first little hole-in-the-wall cafe that we found for lunch. The air conditioner was being repaired and it was a bit warm,
but the staff was welcoming, the food was good, and the service was great.
After the arid lands we appreciated being back up in the beautiful, cool, green mountains for the last leg of our trip.
Our 200 mile round trip took 5 hours. We have decided that in this area—as in the Gunnison area—we need to leave around 8 am while the day is still cool and try to return by 2 or 3 pm before any afternoon rain starts. The day was overcast today, but with no rain predicted. In the lower elevations (5000’) the clouds kept the day from being too hot.
Tomorrow—interesting stuff we saw today.
Louise and Duane
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