Exploration Hazards

The Leos have spent the last week getting the lay of the land here in the San Luis Valley. Last week we took a drive toward Chama, NM. Chama  is about 45 miles southwest of Mogote Meadow, through a couple of high mountain passes. I've been trying to conserve my diesel fuel so I set a limit of driving no more than 30 miles away from home till payday, so we didn't get all the way to Chama.  But we did make it to the first pass.

It was mid-afternoon when we got there, and the temperature was in the low 60s. Notice the unmelted snow beneath the trees.

On the way up to the pass we had several opportunities to catch some scenic over-look pictures. I took a stab at using the panoramic setting on my camera. Here is the best of the lot:

Scenic over-look view of the Conejos River Valley from US17 between Antonito, CO and Chama, NM

Wednesday, May 22, was payday.  So I bought my fishing license and began to prepare for my first expedition to the river. I plan to engage a guide soon. However, after visiting the local fly shop to get my license, I decided to further explore the river on my own.

Platoro Reservoir is near the headwaters of the Conejos River, 43 miles from Mogote Meadow. The last 23 miles of the route is unpaved Forest Service road. One of the guys here at the park told me that they usually go to the reservoir about once a week during the summer, for hamburgers!! It seems the hamburgers are worth the two hours it take to get there. So that seemed like a good destination for my exploration.

Once we turned off US17 onto Conejos River Road the speed limit was 25 mph. This road follows the river to Platoro Reservoir. The reservoir is the highest man-made lake in North America. And the view along the way is spactacular.

Conejos River Road

About 10 miles up Conejos River Road toward Platoro Reservoir

About 20 miles up Conejos River Road

Somewhere around 18 miles up Conejos River Road, we came to the stretch  that had been freshly graded. Rather than smoothing the road, this seemed to make it rougher. It also loosened some larger rocks that were scattered in the road. At about mile 20, three miles short of Platoro Reservoir, my right front tire blew!!!

Over the next hour I learned

1. AAA Roadside Assistance and Good Sam Roadside Assistance are useless when you have no cell phone service,
2. my spare tire was about 2/3 full of air,
3. and that I am  long way from being acclimatized to the thin air at 10,000 feet above sea level.

By the time I got the tire changed, I was puffing like an engine on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. I then spent the next hour and a half covering the same 20 miles back down the road on my semi-inflated spare tire and made it back to Mogote Meadow about 5:30 in the evening without seeing the reservoir.

So yesterday the Leos made the trip to Pueblo to the nearest Firestone store (three hours each way) to get two new front tires on the Ram. Along the way we passed the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Blanca Peak, one of the 53 "14ers" (peaks over 14,000 feet above sea level) in Colorado. The mission for the day (tires) precluded stops for sightseeing this trip, so we'll go back.

Speaking of sightseeing and the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, tomorrow is opening day of the 2013 season for the C&TSR. I plan to go into town tomorrow and visit the rail-yards for the opening day celebration. The trip on the C&TSR from Antonito to Chama cost about $100 and hiring a fishing guide has higher priority right now. So I'll ride the train later in the summer.