Day 9 - Friday 7/8/2005 -  Off to Mesa Verde...or so we thought...

I finally had the chance to catch up on the Internet updates, albeit via a very slow connections.  Breakfast, laundry, swimming, and on the road by 11am.  Our destination is Mesa Verde, located in the southwest corner of the state.  Should be an easy days drive.  I was amazed at how flat and arid Colorado is in so many spots.  Even through we are surrounded by huge mountains, there are vast flat valleys running north-south between the ridges.  Down these valleys run long, straight roads.    Much of this area is arid, due to the effect of the prevailing westerly winds rising over the peaks to the west.  Most of the moisture is dropped before it reaches this area.

We stopped in the town of Del Norte for a quick picnic lunch.  Del Norte is on the banks of the Rio Grande river.  A quaint little town, but not the place I would choose for nightlife.  I snapped a funny pic of the town hall (below).  I guess I know what it means when city council has "recess".

We continued on and soon crossed the famous "Wolf Creek Pass" (immortalized once in song I believe).  Coming from the east it was not bad, but down the western side looks bad (at least to truckers).  A sign lists the speed limits, based on vehicle weight.  For trucks over 75,000 lbs, the speed limit down a twisty 4-lane road is 11 mph.  We got out at the pass to play in the snow and stretch our legs.

A few miles down from the pass we pulled off at a stop to snap some pics of the valley.  As we started to pull out, a house came roaring around the curve.  Well, not actually a house, but a semi pulling half of a double-wide.  We pulled out quickly, just in case we might get a chance to witness a true "event".  apparently the speed limit does not apply to houses.  

We cruised through Pagosa Springs, and about 6pm we ambled into Durango at get some groceries.  As I put the car into park, the engine idle shot up to 2500 RPM.  I knew we had been running the car hard, so I did not give it much thought.  When we returned, the car started fine, but the idle again went to 2500, and the "Check Engine" light was on.  Checking under the hood, I also noticed the electric cooling fans were not running (and should have been).  We headed down the road to the local GM dealership.  CLOSED until Monday AM.  Given that we are heading into the BFE section of Utah, I decide to hang out in Durango, check into a hotel, swim, mountain bike, and play tourist until Monday morning.  Hopefully there is nothing serious with the engine, but better safe than sorry.