After breakfast at the San Juan Motel in Pagosa Springs, we drove east to South Fork where Russ had ended his ride on Saturday. It was just after 8 am when he started riding on US Hwy 160 under partly cloudy skies with a cool 60 degree temperature. It wasn't long before I saw this sign on a pole beside the road. Even though nearly half the sign is gone, I knew immediately what it had said and was a great reminder to begin the day! TRUST JESUS!!!
The road was great, the shoulder smooth and wide. The first several miles we had a tail wind and the road was fairly flat so Russ really built up some speed, he was going 25-35 mph!
The fertile valley we passed through was very beautiful surrounded by gorgeous mountains. There were pastures with cattle on horses watching as we passed.
Our second break was in Monte Vista around 10 am, we enjoyed the beauty and peace of a park.
As we travelled on in the valley, we came upon huge fields of potatoes. Much of the valley where crops were grown was irrigated and the fields looked healthy and fertile. As you can see, by this time the sky was getting hazy.
Once again, you can see the fabulous road and mountains ahead. Fortunately, we did not have to do any climbing today!
We passed an area where you could see the Great Sand Dunes from the highway, at this point they were 20 or more miles away. It's very hazy, but the lighter color at the bottom of the mountain is sand. Much of the afternoon was cloudy and hazy, we could see where rain was falling in the distance but we didn't encounter a drop!
Russ rode past Blanca for a total of 70 miles today. After loading up, we turned around and headed back to stop at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. The visitor's center was interesting and very informative. We enjoyed walking out in the sand for some photos...but we didn't go far - too hard to walk!
On the way out, we took a picture where the dunes and alpines meet. Fascinating place!
We drove ALL the way back to South Fork where we had reservations at the Spruce Lodge. It's a lovely, cool, overcast evening perfect for the open windows and screen door in our room. There's an 8 point buck hanging over the TV looking down over our beds...hopefully I don't wake up in the night and see him staring at me!
It's been a blessed day. Smooth, safe and easy riding (I say that SO easily and I didn't push one pedal!) covering a lot of ground. We look forward to tomorrow and pray for favorable winds and great roads again. Thank you for your encouraging words and prayers, they keep us going strong!
Until tomorrow!
Russ & Carol
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