BETH writes - This morning, after packing wet tents, Mike and I had a thrilling descent of 12 miles to the town of Sargents. The town had a few houses, a towing company and a mercantile. From there we had about 8 miles on the highway, four of which we got to speed down the left lane and beat the traffic through the construction area. It was great - we owned the road! After passing a farm with white Elk, Buffalo, and Yaks we climbed through the high prairie of sage brush. At the crest of the climb there was a huge canyon to our right and a green valley below. The habitats change so dramatically out here. Cochetopa Pass at 10,067 ft was the big climb for today. The climb was relatively easy and ended our 57 mile day. We saw many fly fisherman and Pronghorns as we climbed back to the forest. Mike was finally successful at beating the Woodbury women at Cribbage and we all crashed early to listen to the Coyotes play and howl the night away.
JAN writes - It's back to long pants and fleece today. Last night's storm really cooled things off. It was 50 when we left the campsite this AM. At the moment its mid-afternoon, 65 and I'm typing on a picnic table in the Sange de Cristo Wilderness Region in the San Luis Valley in the Rio Grande National Forest. We are getting close to New Mexico, so the names are now all Spanish sounding. As many of the recent valleys we've been in, this one is high prairie - probably near 10,000 feet. The campground is surrounded by split rail fence to keep out the free-ranging cattle, so I'm using the fence to dry out our wet tent and gear. A beautiful Stellar Jay (pictures) and two Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrels (which look like jumbo chipmunks) have been scolding me and sniffing around the table. I am the only person in the campground and have invaded their territory. What a delightful spot to wait for the bike riders and to spend the night!
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