Saturday, June 30 and we headed Northeast of Durango for 18 miles to the town of Vallecito, Colorado. Vallecito Lake is sheltered in a mountain valley 8,000 feet above the sea and is one of the largest and most beautiful bodies of water in Colorado (or so the books say!). Vallecito is Spanish for "Little Valley", and is the ancestral home to many of Colorado's Ute Indians. It is in the middle of the San Juan Mountains.
We have been here on previous trips to Durango. Have to admit that the drive around the lake is beautiful. There
had been a fire here several years back and you can
still see the scars of that fire today although some of the area is coming back to life.
There was an art fair just below the Vallecito Dam. We walked around and I found some earrings that I really liked. It was such a beautiful day for a drive although there were a few clouds that came up that I have to say were very welcome as the sun was very hot.
On the way back to Durango we began to smell the smoke of the local fire, guess the wind was blowing the right direction. Back in Durango and the sky was filled with the smoke and haze from the fire. Later that evening the wind direction changed and all was well again. We are not in any danger as the fire is not really near where we are.
With the dry and hot weather here in Colorado there is a fire and fireworks ban for the state. With the huge fire around Colorado Springs, I can not blame them, although the 4th of July will be a very quite one with no fireworks. I am sure there are a lot of campers and tourists that will not be happy with the decision, however when you see all the devastation from the fires you can understand!!
We had a very nice 4th, having a picnic here at the Alpen Rose RV park with our friends Chris and Jan and Fred and Sharon. Although we had to move the picnic inside as the winds came up and we also had some badly needed rain. We did not complain as we still had lots of laughs, good food and fun!!!
We will be here for another 10 days and then we are off once again to see the countryside!!!
Hope you all had a wonderful 4th.
Love to all,
Candy and Johnny
