Colorado, Part 4~Cafe, LCR and Doggies

A couple of days before heading home, Joe, Linda, Geo and I ventured out to a local eatery named Pura Vida Cafe which is located in front of the Vallecito Lake Marina (or what's left of it for now). 

The receding lake view from our table.

As I mentioned (and showed) in Part 2, the lake has gone way down. According to an article in the Durango Herald online titled, "Receding Shoreline Leaves Dock High and Dry at Vallecito Reservoir," the lake is only 50% full due to a lack of snow runoff from the San Juan Mountains. Let's hope and pray that they get snow this year!  

At Pura Vida, we loved the company.

The beach-like atmosphere was cool!

Yikes!

No, I'm not scared.

I succeeded at not blinking though! 

Plus, the food was excellent!

Check out these inviting 

Bavarian Cream Filled Churros topped

with chocolate, caramel and toasted almonds.

We all split it, and oh my, it was heavenly!

Cheers y'all!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Our last night at the RV park, we participated in a game of Left Center Right at the Event Center. A lot of events are hosted by the park but Left Center Right is not one of them. A couple staying in the park was kind enough to host it.

All the players were lined up at one long table. 

I was in the middle of the table 

and took this photo down one end.

And this photo down the other end.

People were hooting' and hollarin',

and rooting for each other.

It was a blast!

Patty and I smiling for a pic.

Patty & Dave's unique Airstream 

is featured in my 1st Colorado post.

They're fun folks from San Antonio! 

Geo was in and out of the 

game until near the end of it.

Joe & Dave took the opportunity 

to properly harass Geo when he lost!

Somebody yanked his 
hoody up in the process.

It was funny!

In fact, the entire night was a hoot!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

WARNING!

WARNING!

Cuteness below in the form 

of our camping fur babies:

Chewy & Elmer in the backseat of the 

pick-up enjoying the drive to Colorado.

Elmer rests his chin EVERYWHERE!

I've been collecting photos of Elmer 

and his chin restings for awhile now.

Chewy is quite the reader and, 

very protective of his doggy literature.

When Chewy isn't reading, he's watching us.

We know how to bore him into sleep.

Elmer and Chewy with our  

newest family member, 

Elly Mae the RVing Emu, 

perched just above them.

Elly Mae was adopted 
into the family in Durango.
Thank goodness we got her 
before they put her down!

To jump or not to jump?

That is the question.

Yeah, we know we're cute!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I'll finish this post off with a link to my other blog where I posted about really cool roadside attractions spread around Bayfield--chainsaw carvings in the form of totem poles. The photos as well as the interesting story behind them are included there. 

You can access that post here.

Up next, the final Colorado post:

Blue Spruce RV Park.

Smiles,

D~~~~

Colorado, Part 2~This & That

One warm, sunny day, Joe, Linda, George and I drove the beautiful 30 miles into downtown Durango. Even though it's only a 30-mile ride, it takes about 45-50 minutes to meander your way through the delightfully curvy country roads to get there. 

After a nice lunch at 

Ken & Sue's Restaurant, 

we strolled around the downtown 

streets and explored the stores.

This pretty spot along the way looked 
like a good place to snap a few pics.

So we did.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One Saturday, we were invited to a fish fry at Jan & Lawrence's RV which was just across the way from our RV. Lawrence, Jan and lots of the folks at the RV park go fishing on a regular basis and they all seem to easily catch fish!

Oh yum, that fried up rainbow trout 

was some mighty tasty fish, and so 

were the side dishes and desserts 

contributed by the attendees! 

It was all soooo good!

Thank you for inviting us!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Both Sundays that we were in Colorado, 
Joe, Linda, Geo and I attended 
Vallecito Church 
along with Jan & Lawrence. 
We saw quite a few other couples 
from the RV park there as well. 

The church service was full of 
Texans just like the RV park.

It's a cool little, country church--
rustic on the outside, 
friendly on the inside.

We even sang some  
good, old-fashioned
HYMNS!

What a joy!

I discovered an interesting fact about the church while reading their website; the unique cross came out of Vallecito Lake. You can see the cross on the wall behind the podium in the above pic. It's also the "t" in the word "Vallecito" on the church bulletin below. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Joe, Linda, Geo and I drove around Vallecito Lake one afternoon. Since there wasn't any snow in the mountains last year to run off and fill the lake, it's way down. 

I mean waaaaay down. 

Down to nothing in most places.

The dam last year.

The dam this year.

Normally, the lake is pristine! 

On sunny days, the sky's glistening 

 reflection is a real attention getter as you

 can see from last year's picture below.

This year, however, most of the lake is down

to the bottom as you can see in the pic below!
The water should be up to the right, 
bottom corner of the pic at it's closest point. 

You can see the water way
off in the distance though.
It's an attention getter too
but not in a good way!

Let's hope and pray for 
snow in the mountains this year!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Joe, Linda, Jan, Lawrence, George & I

played the game Sequence in 

Joe & Linda's screened-in tent one night.

Joe demonstrating his waiter skills!

Geo and I had never played Sequence before.
It's a fun game!

We played guys v. girls. 

The girls WON!

Perhaps there will be a rematch next year?
Or not.
But maybe.
Possibly.

I'm slow at getting the Colorado pics posted  
but I HOPE to pick up the pace now.

There's been a lot going on.

We just got back from stunning 
Lake Tahoe too but that's another post.
Or two.
Or three.

In the meantime, have a 
Smiling Good Day!
D~~~~

Blue Spruce RV Park & More ~ Part 6

It's a beautiful day (most days have been) as we pull into the inviting Blue Spruce RV Park which will be our home for the next week. 

The park is located just north of pristine Vallecito Lake. It's only 23 miles to Durango but it's a lovely 40-45 minute drive because you can't go very fast on the winding roads.

This park is love at first sight! 

This charming office is a welcome greeting.

Decorated with pretty plants 
and hummingbird feeders!

Across from the office is a little playground.

This tree carving stands in the playground.

The sign at the bottom of it says, 

"Raccoon and Firefighter."

Below are a couple of 

Vallecito Lake windshield photos. 

You can see the San Juan National Forest 

on the far side of the lake, and 

you can drive all the way around the lake too!

But we didn't!

Back at the park, here's a view 

down one of the RV park's three roads.

The cute, little laundry facility.

The day after we arrived, 

the park held a craft fair.

They hold craft fairs every 

couple of weeks all summer long.

I don't have any pics of the actual 

craft fair but some of the it was held in

the park's spacious event lodge seen here.

And some of it was in the pavilion.

It was really neat!

One side of the park butts up to the "rock walls of the National Forest" as the Blue Spruce website puts it.

Below is one of the rock walls. 

Other areas of the wall are much higher.

We knew we mostly wanted to hang out in the park while we were here but we (hubby & I) did go into Durango twice. While there, we roamed through the various shops on the main drag and ate lunch.

One of those days two, 
we enjoyed lunch at the 

Diamond Belle Saloon 

in the historic 

Strater Hotel.

It's definitely a cool walk 
back into the old west!

Be forewarned, we entered
the Diamond Belle looking normal 

(for us) 

and came out looking like this!

Thank goodness it wore off after a few hours!

During our days in the park: 

Geo & Joe washed trucks one day.

These two pics were taken out the RV 

window which explains that screen look.

And strolling through the park several 
times a day was a routine event.
The natural beauty was captivating!

The towering pines, cool air, and 
tranquility were tailor-made for savoring!

One morning, we all went for a walk 
on the main road by the park, and stopped 
at this shallow stream on a little side road.

Photo op!

 Harley holding Linda up 
and Tootie anchoring Joe down.

As soon as we finished our photo session,

George spotted two "wild horses!"

⥣
Can you see them on this end of 
the grass at the end of the road?

Fearless Joe & Courageous Tootie 
didn't hesitate to go for a wild ride! 

Those crazy daredevils!

That's it from Colorado.
We most definitely had a grand time!
We loved this RV park so much, 
we booked for next year before we left!

Be back very soon with posts from 
Maumelle Park in Little Rock, AR, 
Percy Priest Lake in Hermitage, TN 
as well as the 
Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg
area once again.

See ya then.

Smiles,
D~~~~