August 8, 2018-Mountain Views at Rivers Edge Resort

Today we took a drive over to the Blue Spruce RV Park in Bayfield CO. We used to come to this park every summer for about 8-9 years and we last came here in 2000 with our friends Mike and Patrice. 

I suppose we didn't watch as much television then as we do now because the trees completely block out any television reception. The park does offer to rent Direct TV receivers and they have antennas placed in the park to receive this signal, but we don't want to pay for another service. Bummer, as I would have loved to come back here for a stay.

The park has not changed too much since we've been here, except for ownership. We were able to find the sites that we stayed in, the interior park roads haven't changed at all, and we both noted that with this larger trailer, we might have trouble getting in and set up.

This is Vallecito Lake, or what's left of it. At 7800 feet, it is the largest body of water at this elevation in Colorado. The lake is not even half full this year, probably due to a lack of snow in the mountains.

Pitiful

We did see an eagle nest in the area. I was able to zoom in (see below) to see an eaglet on the edge of the nest. While I was walking out to take photos, Stella said she saw the female eagle rise over the nest but I missed her.

This is the gated entrance to the Wits End Ranch, a once-thriving high dollar resort that featured individual cabins, most with fireplaces and beautiful grounds. They had a chef on staff to prepare gourmet food for guests and lots of activities at the park. One time, when we came up for a vacation, Land Rover, an auto manufacturer, rented the entire resort for their dealers to attend a sales conference. It was a huge deal for the area, with a large fleet of new-model Land Rovers that were loaned to the people at the conference. 

We also noted some other sorrowful sights in the area. The Missionary Ridge fire in June-July of 2002 burned over 70,000 acres, leaving huge areas without trees. It had to be terrifying to the residents in homes to see a huge fire literally across the street from their homes. I couldn't stop to take photos of the burned out areas due to traffic and a lack of a shoulder to pull over. I didn't see any burned-out houses although there were probably some that were destroyed.

This is really a beautiful area to visit, especially Durango with it's tourist attractions. It is near the four corners area, Mesa Verde Indian National Park and of course, the Durango-Silverton narrow-gauge train.

We'll continue to make some scenic drives and will be sure to take photos. Please stay tuned!

So long.