Even though we have been social-distancing all summer, somehow Mark managed to get sick. So we went into lockdown mode for the rest of our stay at Lake Vallecito Resort. He was still very tired when we left, but at least he was fever-free. He said he felt good enough to make the hour-long drive to our next stop in Pagosa Springs. Or perhaps he thought that he might get sick again if he had to watch Denisa drive the motor home down the narrow little road the first 13 miles of the trip. Anyway, he made the drive to Happy Camper RV Park outside of Pagosa Springs, and then spent the rest of the day in bed. We are still on lockdown!
Denisa has been sleeping on the couch and trying to stay as far away as a 35-foot motor home will allow. But she feels like a ticking time bomb, just waiting to start that awful fever. We are taking temperatures throughout the day, but there is no sign of fever from either of us for now. But we are on lockdown while we wait for Mark to recover more fully. We did get some drive-by pictures of the town of Pagosa Springs, which includes the Mother Spring in downtown.
Sulfur-laden hot water is coming out of the ground under the Mother Spring, and many other holes around Pagosa Springs. The yellow sulfur has left its rotten-egg smell and color in this most elite part of town. We could drive by to see the spa guests enjoying the hot water baths. Like other facilities this summer, we assume the number of guests is strictly controlled.
The main spas are right on the San Juan River that flows through town. We read that tubing is a popular sport in early summer, but by now the low water and the high rocks would make tubing very painful.
For those that can't get a spa appointment, or can't afford an appointment, there is a cheaper option. On the other side of the river, we saw the handmade little pools of water, surrounded by circles of river rock. If it's like natural hot springs that we have been to, the pools get cooler the closer they are to the river water.
This area has another tourist attraction that we also only saw from the road. We are big fans of national parks and monuments, so we would have normally visited Chimney Rock National Monument just a few miles from our campground. Even from a distance, we could see that it has been a landmark that native Americans and pioneers have used for centuries.
In our drive-by touring mode, as we got closer we could see that Chimney Rock is just one of the rock formations high on that lone mountain. Between the two are Indian ruins, and we were surprised to find that they charge $12 per person to walk around them. A week ago, we spent two days touring all the Indian ruins in Mesa Verde National Park and the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument for free with our national park pass. So we wouldn't have spent the money for Chimney Rock National Monument even if we weren't on lockdown.
When trying to book a campground for this area, we found Pagosa Springs is an expensive place to visit. We are staying at the cheapest option in town, and we can't say that we would recommend the Happy Camper RV Park. So we're a little sad that we didn't get to really experience this area during this stop. We saw some great roads that head north out of Pagosa Springs into the mountains. We read about some good hikes and lakes to kayak in this area. But Mark isn't ready for activities like that, and we're still on lockdown. So we'll have to return another time to really get a feel for this area. For now we're just getting a feel for the inside of the motor home, as we saw Pagosa Springs from a distance while we're on lockdown.
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