Pagosa - Day One

Last week we packed up the trailer and headed to the mountains for what will probably be our last camping trip of the season.  Mr. Beans was in town so we thought he'd enjoy a short getaway.

Maisy and her bed got the whole back seat.  Her sister, Aspen, didn't get to make the trip because she hates camping and is a nervous wreck the whole time.  Maisy will never relax in a vehicle. She pretty much sat in her bed like this during the entire five hour drive.

This drive went over two mountain passes.  The first was La Veta Pass and as you can see at one point we dropped down to 4.9 MPG.

Then it was onto Wolf Creek Pass which is the longer and windier of the two.  It has these crazy signs warning of the hairpin curves.  If you were by yourself would you really have time to read and decipher what it's trying to warn you?

Colorado has this long chain up areas on either side of the passes.  No thank you.  If chains are required I'm going somewhere else.

We got there a little before the other two and were in the process of setting up the trailer when they arrived.  We had a beautiful RV site right next to the cabin they rented.

Mary was in charge of dinner the first night and she chose to make foil dinners for us.  If you don't know what a foil dinner is then you probably weren't ever a girl scout.  Basically you put everything in a foil packet and cook it over a fire.  The rest of them had gigantic beef patties.  The small one is my turkey burger because I'm currently doing my annual slim down with Weight Watchers.

Shiloh was the official onion chopper.

The campground didn't allow campfires so we all went over to the communal grill to cook them.

Mary did a great job with them.

Here's my healthy turkey burger and potatoes.  Delicious!

We brought along our little propane fire pit so it was time for games after dinner.  It was a little chilly in the mountains.  Even Maisy appreciated being bundled in her blanket.

The next morning we got up and went on a short hike to Treasure Falls.  It's a somewhat steep hike but is only about half a mile in distance.

Of course there had to be photos in such a scenic location.

And a group photo...precious memories.

Then we went back to the campsite and prepared for our day at the Pagosa Springs Resort and Spa.  We arrived at the resort right as the Warrior Plunge was about to begin and Irv and Mary were eager to participate.  It starts with a 10 minute soak in a 107 degree pool immediately followed by a 2 minute dip in the river which was about 57 degrees.

I was keeping an eye on Irv to make sure he didn't have a stroke or cardiac arrest.  He did fine, Mary had a little trouble with the cold water.

The resort is really nice.  It has 25 pools of varying temperatures.  I liked 99-104 best, but I did try one that 112 degrees which was really too hot.  

It's pricey to get in there for the day so the place was not overly busy.  They also have a Blue Lagoon which is a large pool where families hang out.  I didn't venture over to that area at all, but some day I'd love to take Miss G there.

The pools are located on different levels and there are even some adult only pools.  The sulphury smell was strong, but I barely noticed it by the end of the day.

Later that afternoon I decided to do my own Warrior Plunge.  (I thought there were photos, but I can't find them.) I soaked in the hot pool then got into the river.  Unbelievably, I rather enjoyed the cold water.  Mr. Beans and I stayed in the river submerged to our necks for quite a while.  Not long after we exited this guy decided to join the fun.  He managed to clear everyone out of that area.

We spent the entire day there and then went in search of dinner.  We ended up at Mountain Pizza and the most interesting thing was this self-dispenser for all kinds of beer.  They give you a fob which you hold us to the beer of your choice and it automatically charges your credit card for the amount you dispense.  The most amazing thing was that my 10 oz. beer was only $2.56.

The pizza was good.  Mary, for some reason, ordered herself the "hellfire" pizza without reading the ingredients.  She now knows what buffalo sauce is.  Most of that pizza got thrown away.

Maisy was glad when we got back to the campsite.  (Don't worry she had the air conditioner on just in case it warmed up too much inside.)  We were all exhausted and ready for bed!