April 3 (Day 16): Durango, Colorado to Navajo Dam, New Mexico
We’re headed south out of Durango. The route east to Pagosa Springs that we originally planned to take is not looking very promising this time of year. Between Durango and Pagosa Springs is a 10,000+ foot pass and with the weather being kind of cool and wet this spring, it seemed wiser to head south into NM where elevations are lower and mountain passes are fewer.
Today started out cool and cloudy, but by midday, the sun was out and temperatures were rising. My legs saw the light of day for the first time since we left Salt Lake City!
Navajo Dam is in the middle of a popular fishing area on the San Juan River. We’re staying at Abe’s Motel and Bait Shop tonight. With the Bayer Mobile, the bicycles, and our questions about cellphone service and internet access, we might as well be from Mars in these parts. Still, people are very friendly. As we walked up the road a ways to Sportsman’s (a combination restaurant, convenience store, gas station, bait shop, and bar) where we were told we could buy a calling card, people driving by in trucks (always a truck) would wave hello. We had to cross hwy 173 to get to Sportsman’s and drivers would actually slow down and let you cross!
I’ve got a couple pictures from today.
First, to the left is a self-portrait of me at the Colorado/New Mexico border. Second, to the right is a picture of Navajo Lake (actually a reservoir).
We had dinner at Abe’s restaurant. I was not expecting much, but it turned out to be a nice place. Ordering was going to be easy for me because I could eliminate half the menu because of my “no French fries” declaration a while ago. I was encouraged to see something on the menu called the Vegetable Platter with an option to get it grilled in olive oil or steamed. Cool, I thought. So, I asked the waitress about what it was exactly and what kind of vegetables. She said she would have to ask the cook about it because she has only had two people order it. “Oh,” I said, “you’re new here?” “Fairly new,” she replied, “Just six years.” She came back a minute later and said that normally the Vegetable Platter has broccoli, cauliflower, squash, carrots, etc., but right now all they had was squash. OK, I guess I’ll order something else. I went for a taco platter which she said is very popular. And it turned out to be pretty good and also it appeared to be fairly low in fat, which is always my concern with Mexican meals.