Pagosa Springs, CO and White Rock, NM

We left Durango this morning for the next leg of our trip. It was sad to tear down our campsite of 4 days. We've been contemplating revamping our travel itinerary to just stay in Durango. But, we did not.

Before leaving town we went back to Carvers Brewing Company Cafe for lunch. Sure enough we had the same server as the night before. She recognized us.

We sat on the back patio this time. There is No Parking on Saturday from 4PM to 9PM because of a bike race! Where are you going to find another sign like this?

Instead of a porter, I ordered their fresh brew coffee! It was great. I picked up a souvenir Carvers coffee mug. I also enjoyed the Portabella wrap while Em had the same dish she had the night before.

After lunch we hit the road for NM. We went through Pagosa Springs, CO this time for better scenery than what we had driving from Albuquerque to Durango.

In Pagosa Springs we needed a pick-me-up. So we found Higher Grounds Coffee. A step into the bathroom was interestingly filled with motivational sayings. I ordered a Europa brew and Emily had a Iced Chi Tea. It was perfect for the rest of the drive.


The drive to NM was very nice. We took routes US 160 and US 84. It was nice to finally arrive at Rob and Stephani's home in White Rock, NM. Gratefully, they have a wireless internet connection.

Off to explore Santa Fe, NM tomorrow and maybe Bandelier on Monday.

Durango and the 4th

The 4th of July was a lazy day for us. We slept in and didn't drive anywhere. We spent most of the day in downtown Durango, CO.

Our campground had a 4th of July parade. Since we had a lazy morning, we just inadvertently got caught up in the celebrations!

We ate at Home Slice Pizza. "You want a piece of me?", read the sticker on the side of the trash can! And had a deep dish pizza which we could not finish. This place had a nice outdoor patio and was a few blocks away from downtown, but worth the visit!

Went shopping. I love these boots! There not even men's boots either. Who could I buy these for?

Some advice....
More useful advice! I am in need of advice. If you need some too, click on the images. They are big on purpose so you can better see the detail.

We DID NOT stop at Starbucks and opted for the local coffee shops. We can get Starbucks anywhere. But, you cannot get a Velvet Hammer from Steaming Bean just anywhere. I love eating and drinking what is local.

We did stop at the Candy Factory!

Drank some Zuberfizz at where they make the drink.

Rode bikes on the local paved bike path.

Saw the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge train come through.

Listened to live music at the 4th of July street festival. Knockin on Heaves Door and a few other selections were played.

Then! I had the best meal and beer in one sitting ever! We ate dinner at Carvers Brewing Company Cafe. Em ordered pest linguini and I ordered spinach feta stuff salmon! I also had a Power House Porter that includes Carvers organic brew coffee in it. It was the best of both worlds, coffee and porter! This place is incredible.


Then, we saw the best fireworks show ever. We were about 300 yards (or so) from where they were setting them off. They were right above us and it lasted for more than 30 minutes. My phone and camera batteries kept going dead....but, I salvaged something. I usually don't get too excited about fire works, but this show was great!

Headed to Santa Fe today and then Colorado Springs on Monday. Should be back in NC on either Thursday or Friday.

Durango

Got up today and skipped out on the free pancakes at the KOA. Instead we took my CRV to the local Honda shop to have the engine light checked out. The result was a valve adjustment, a distributor cap and rotors and I was set. The CRV is running great now!

While waiting on the CRV repair we walked about a 1/2 mile to the nearest Starbucks and had a good time there. We always seem to have our techo-gadgetry with us.....phones, computer, camera and GPS.

We headed out of Albuquerque and made out way into northern NM. The terrain was changing and we got up into some great highway outcrops along Highway 550 on our way to Durango. The drive became long and somewhat drowsy. But, we hit a road side shop for some ice cream and peppered beef jerky. We were set.


Finally made it into Durango and headed straight for our campsite. We set up camp and have our little tent home for the next few days.

Then, we decided to visit Durango for dinner. This is the road from our campground back to Durango. I'd like to ride this on a bike!

We ended up at Farquahrts Pizza Mia for dinner. It was good! Had a tomato and chicken pizza. We had some left overs too. So, we had to have the to-go box decorated.