We wanted to get coffee from the excellent place downtown, but it was in the wrong direction. Today, we were headed to Chimney Rock National Monument, an archeological site. So this morning, StarBs would have to do instead of the local grind! We got one coffee for free due to an app glitch. After we picked up the coffee, we needed to extend the stay. The receptionist I talked with yesterday made it seem like it would be a bit of an ordeal. He was wrong; it was just as easy as it should have been.
Chimney Rock was only about 20 minutes west. We have an annual park pass for National Parks. I was hoping we’d get in for free. It worked, and we saved the $20. We’ll put it to use in October on our Utah trip. I think we’re hitting 6-7 national parks on that trip. There was a guided tour about to start, but we passed. We made our way up the washboard mountain road ahead of the tour crowd.
Native Americans abandoned this sight for unknown reasons, much like Mesa Verdes cliff dwellings. It was amazing how high the site was and how many rocks, timbers, and water were carried up to construct it.
The first walk we did was a short one that was paved, and Amanda did well. As we were getting ready to head to the main trail, a ranger asked Amanda if she had any other boots that didn’t have such a defined heel. She did not; the ones she wore weren’t even lace-ups. We’d already had it out the day before about her not bringing her hiking boots. So I reveled in the ranger’s comment!
A trail led to the main site up high, adjacent to 2 mountain peaks that resembled chimneys. It was much more rough and not considered an easy trial at all. There were steps and lots of solid, slick rock to walk on. Amanda had her hiking poles, but I wondered if her going up was a good idea. She did great, though. I was so proud of her.
We got to a steep point where the switchback began. This was all slick, solid rock with steps. Amanda knew her limit and held back while I made my push to the top
They don’t know what the sight was for, just speculation. But it was most likely an observatory, they were astronomers and doubled as a ceremonial site. When they said ceremonial, I couldn’t help but think of a Star Wars reference. There’s a scene where Grogu, baby Yoda, has to channel the force. This took place at a high stone pillar site. This was just like that. Amanda was less than thrilled with my analogy!
It’s wild how much material was taken up this mountain to construct the site. One ranger at the top mentioned it was somewhere around 6 million rocks! It was a big hike, and we drove most of the way!
As I made my way down, I had to pass through the tour crowd. It was a little hairy going down. I wished I had borrowed Amanda’s hiking poles at one point. When I returned to where Amanda was supposed to be waiting, she wasn’t there. I hollered and now answer. I began to freak out, what if she’d fallen? No guard rails again! She ended up being down the road a little way in the shade. She was swapping war stories with an older lady who had just had a knee replacement the month before Amanda.
We had discussed returning to Durango but decided against the hour’s drive. So, back to the condo for lunch, Amanda had worked up an appetite after her hike! Sandwiches were on the menu today: grilled zucchini, roasted tomato, and avocado sandwiches with a German potato salad. They were great; we had them on the porch as our other meals.
Even though it was 80, Amanda was cold and had goosebumps on her arms! We worked on the following day’s meal prep, but some whole wheat pastry we’d picked up wouldn’t cut it. So we held off and planned to pick some regular pasty up to finish our hand pies.
I’d wanted to make another hike. There were falls near Wolf Creek Pass, but I scrapped the idea because it seemed too steep. After Amanda did so well, I thought we’d hit it up, but her knee was too sore, she said. So we took a drive north of where we were staying. There was another waterfall hike this way, but it was over an hour’s drive. We cruised through the homes we’d not even realized were there.
On the way back, I was trying to find an Airbnb I’d looked at previously when we thought friends might go with us. We needed a home to be wheelchair wheelchair-friendly. Many weren’t, and if you search for handicapped homes, you’ll get not much. We just needed the living space and one bed and bath like this. The house I found fit the bill. I wanted to see it because we’d love to return with friends. We were already talking about when we could come back. Our friends that live here said May was a good time. The first week or two before college lets out would be a great time. I had no luck in finding the exact Airbnb, but I’m pretty sure we found the neighborhood, which turned out to be only a couple of streets over.
We returned to town to hit some missed shops, a couple of trading posts, and a jewelry store. We stopped at a trading post, which was a pawn shop. These are great because we don’t care if the jewelry is used, and the prices are typically negotiable. The owners were a couple in their 30s, both very lovely, commenting on our jewelry.
They had a store dog whom I’m made friends with. Once I left the counter and returned, she’d hopped up in the chair, so naturally I had to give more pets! Nothing caught Amanda’s eye, but a rough vintage turquoise pendant caught mine. It was a good deal, but I wanted to wait and see if I liked anything else. As we were leaving, the wife commented on our jewelry’s uniqueness. I was pretty proud because Amanda has made me into a jewelry fatty lately! I’d just got a unique necklace for a man. It’s a charm holder from James Avery. I’ve been using it to hold pendants, and their turquoise piece would go nicely on it.
We made our way next door to another shop a friend recommended. He had a mutual connection with the owner. It was a neat shop with an entire room of native-made jewelry right up our alley. Most of our time was spent in that room. I found a couple of necklaces, but my mind was on the other one. Amanda narrowed her choice down to some unique turquoise pendants that hung from rectangles. It was a matter of what color from there. She likes the darker color turquoise. We settled on one and checked out.
The owner had been helping us; a sweet older lady dazzled in turquoise and native jewelry. There had been a flamboyant lady walking around. She was speaking loudly about the room’s vibe and which pieces made her cry. Insert eye roll! She’d made a story about needing a deal and successfully got a discount. When we went to pay, the sale hadn’t gone through. The lady was long gone, and our hearts sank about as much as the owners did. Both Amanda and I felt so bad. She was busy talking with the crazy lady and just didn’t notice, and it seemed she’d had issues with the tech side of things, too.
I’d thought about making an offer on the piece we were going to get, but not now. It turns out she gave Amanda a 20% discount without us even asking. She was such a sweet lady. We’re hoping to swing by on our Native American mission trip in November this year, so if you’re ever in Pagosa stop by Rainbow Gifts.
I still had my heart set on the pendant I found in the pawn shop. So we stopped there before heading back to the condo to get ready for dinner. As I walked in, the owner was like nope, you only get one chance, joking. The dog behind the counter recognized me and quickly ran around to get pets. We chatted about the railroad once the owner asked what I did for work. He’d actually applied and got called for a hiring session in Ohio years ago.
Amanda had her eye on a Dooney purse from a consignment shop. There was also something we wanted to grab as a gift for a friend. But they had just closed before we arrived. Amanda emailed them, and they said they would come in early before we left to let her pick it up.
We decided to go out for a nice dinner the last night here. Eating out nice is a vise of ours, we love to dine. On the last day on the road we are going to eat a meal we didn’t make but still had the groceries for. So when we returned, we prepped for that dinner and made the hand pies.
We had a little time to spend together before we got ready for dinner. Then we got all spiffed up for a night out. I’d researched menus months ago. Turns out the items looked good on paper but didn’t taste that good! We cheated on an appetizer and had calamari, which we hadn’t had in years. It was okay, nothing else was good except for the dessert. Many of the sides weren’t even warm. The best part of the dinner was the service.
After dinner, it was back to the condo for the dreaded packing. As I was packing things up, I noticed we had way too many pullovers and jackets. We were scared of the cold temperatures. We fully believe that 60 here is much warmer than back home!
The packing wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. It didn’t take me too long to get my stuff together, mainly because I refused to fold anything! We’d bought some extra hangers, so I just left my stuff on them. I loaded the car with everything I could to make for an easy departure in the morning.