August 7-8, 2014 Pagosa Springs, Colorado

We bid Creede Good bye and headed to Pagosa Springs.

Just south of Creede is Wagon Wheel Gap, a very narrow canyon through the mountains.  Near the top of Wolf Creek Pass is Wolf Creek Ski area. It generally has the most snow of any ski area in Colorado.

At the top of Wolf Creek Pass we again crossed the Continental Divide and the Continental Divide trail.  To the west of Wolf Creek is the San Juan river valley, which is where Pagosa is.  Pagosa means healing waters in the Ute language.

Pagosa Springs has the worlds deepest hot springs. I think they said 350 feet. We soaked at the Healing Waters springs. The Hot Springs Resort  here in Pagosa is huge, one of the best hot springs I have ever been too. About 25 pools, with waterfalls etc and right on the river. When we used to drive though here in a car we would stay at the Springs Inn and the big springs are included in the price of the room, but if you don’t stay there it is $25 per person per day. The Healing waters spring is not as fancy, but is $8 per person per day. Same spring water, and very nice , but less pools and no waterfalls.  So we went to the healing waters, after our dinner at the Riff Raff brewery. John is happy, there are 3 breweries here.

Today we went to Chimney Rock National Monument. This is Chimney Rock as you approach it from the east.  the Great house is up on the ridge with the Chimney Rock pinnacles as shown in the drawing.

You can only see it on the Pueblo tour with a guide.  The drawing shows what they think it looked like when it was in use and an aerial shot from above.  This is one of the kiva ruins.

Great house ruins with the Piedra river valley below. That is where they grew crops and got their water. There were about 12 ‘villages’ in the immediate area. Looking from the kiva to the pinnacles.  The sun was kind of in and out today. Probably 80 degrees.

The rock work was pretty intricate and still in pretty good shape even today.

Another shot looking down into the valley. There were cliffs on both sides of the ruins. Here is John on the trail back down. The only way to get to the great house is to walk on this narrow knife edge ridge up to it.

 

We got this cute little card when we got to the top. They think these Indians built here for a couple astrological reasons. The full moon on the winter solstice and  the sun on the spring equinox rises right between the pinnacles. After our hike up to Chimney rock we had lunch at the Pagosa Brewing company in the beer garden.