We moved 6 miles up the road to Ridgway State Park. Still have stunning views of the San Juan Mountains to the south and we are nestled in the pine trees again.

Ridgway State park is perhaps the crown jewel of Colorado State Parks. It will be mostly full from Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day Weekend. It’s open all year, but summer in the high-country is very popular. There is plenty to do around Ridgway from hiking, 4-wheeling, boating, and hot springs, plus Telluride is just around the corner.

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While we’re here lets talk about RV fresh water.
I have several friends who travel with RV’s and they seem to fall into two camps: Fill it with water before you leave, or pull it empty and fill it with water when you get to the camping place. I’ve tried both and while it’s nice to tow 664 fewer pounds (Mine holds 80 gallons) I have found it limits where I can go and how long I can stay un-connected when I start a trip with a mostly empty tank. For example, I recently had to make a side-trip to get water because I didn’t fill up at the last water stop.

I suppose if you are heading to a State park or Commercial campground you know has water then going empty might be better for you. If on the other hand you are like me and don’t have a clear idea where you are going next then having a full tank gives us a lot of freedom to wing it. Water and groceries are my limiting factors so the more I have of each the longer I can go without thinking about it too much.

Soaking time! Two days soaking and a night of camping at Orvis Hot Springs. I first stayed here way-back in the mid nineties and can remember when the plants were small and there were not many of them. Now the landscaping is mature, the lilacs bloom in white and purple, and the shade trees blanket the ground with coolness. The town has changed too. Back then it was young people striking out into the wilderness in jeeps. Now there are a lot of retired Californians driving range rovers. Still there are one or two old bearded hippie types keeping it nostalgic.

The drive here from Mancos took about 4 hours. Google says it should take 2-3, but they don’t plan on stoping to take pictures or getting behind a logging truck climbing the pass. There are also two interesting towns along the way: Silverton and Ouray. Both are old mine towns turned tourist destination. Both could fill up a day of sight seeing and post-card buying.

The last time I was over these passes was as a cyclist in the Iron Horse Classic bike event. I got rained and hailed on during that ride and I got rained and hailed on again coming over the mountains on this trip. If the trips weren’t 25 years apart I would be suspicious.

On that first trip we were racing the train on bikes (the train won) this time I think I bested the train.

Page Springs Park on the banks of Oak Creek
After a cool night in the tall pines we headed north-bound out of Payson. We climbed up past Strawberry on the Zane Grey Highway and made a lunch stop near 29-mile lake.

Off-pavement near 29-mile lake

One of the many builder’s stickers on the side of the RV

We did a little Off Road x 4-ing with the RV. That extra ground clearance came in handy for towing through some dried-up mud holes. Back on the road we drove down valley to Camp Verde, hopped on the super-slab for a couple miles and then west to Cornville. By late afternoon we were in Page Springs napping next to Oak Creek.

Oak Creek behind the RV