After four beautiful days at Navajo Lake State Park in Northern New Mexico, Tom and I headed back home to Colorado.
Soon after leaving Cottonwood Campground at the southern edge of Navajo Lake State Park, we passed Navajo Lake.
The countryside turned from desert to mountains not long after we crossed the Colorado state line on Highway 172. And, after turning right onto Highway 160 at Bayfield, we caught some nice views of Chimney Rock National Monument.
We stopped for lunch in Pagosa Springs. Neither of us had been to Rosie’s Pizzeria but it was rated 4.5 stars on Google Maps and pizza sounded good. We were so delighted with the menu we had a hard time choosing what to eat. Neither of us ended up with pizza but we were very happy with our choices. We were halfway through our yummy Stuffed Garlic Knots, when our sandwiches arrived. I ordered the Green Goddess Grilled Cheese and Tom got the Southwest Chicken Melt. We both upgraded our sides to the house salad. Our sandwiches and salads filled the plate... and our stomachs! After finishing the garlic knots, we each had half our sandwiches to take home. We’ll definitely stop there again!
After leaving Pagosa Springs we started the steep climb up Wolf Creek Pass. We enjoyed beautiful views as we crossed the West Fork of the San Juan River.
As we continued climbing to the summit, it was fun to see the icy waterfalls and headwaters that create the San Juan River. The snowmelt from here flows through the New Mexico desert only 65 miles southwest. Eventually, the San Juan River joins the Colorado River which empties to the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean.
At the top of Wolf Creek Pass, Wolf Creek Ski Area was deserted. It had closed for the season only the previous weekend. I don’t know how the ski runs look but the tunnel was still covered with snow!
After crossing the Continental Divide at the top of Wolf Creek Pass and dropping down the east side, we drove alongside the South Fork of the Rio Grande River. This water, which also starts as snowmelt in the beautiful Colorado Rockies, flows southeast between the Texas/Mexico border. Eventually, it enters the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean.
We passed through the towns of South Fork and Del Norte, then headed north on Highway 285 past Poncha Springs and along the Arkansas River. We stopped at the Big Bend Recreation Site for a quick break before the final leg of our journey home. This is one of our favorite stops because it’s rarely crowded and we can usually park right alongside the river.
There’s also a large parking lot and restroom facilities near the river. This is a state day-use site and requires a Colorado State Park Annual Pass or you can pay a daily fee. Overnight parking is not permitted but the Crossroads Welcome Center is less than 5 miles away. There are also several developed campgrounds and dispersed camping nearby.
We reached the intersection of Highways 285 and 24 just before sunset. Tom was anxious to see if nearby
had thawed for the Spring fishing season. We pulled in to see a beautiful sunset across the fully thawed reservoir. Tom was thrilled until he learned that imminent road construction would block access to the lake for at least a month.
We made it home just before another Spring snowstorm covered our camper. But, we’re not complaining. Spring snow in Colorado is beautiful and melts fast!
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