Two Days' Journey to Santa Fe 2017

We left Provo on 13 September and headed toward Grand Junction, thence to Ouray, Colorado where the Beck grandparents were missionaries many years ago. I'm not sure how good the missionary work was, but the setting makes up for it. We drove up over Red Mountain Pass and down into Durango where we spent the night. After breakfast on the morning of the 14th, we headed east over the Wolf Creek Pass to Alamosa in the beautiful San Luis Valley where Grandad Boynton spent some of his youth. Driving south a handful of miles, we stopped in Sanford and Manassa where Grandmother Boynton spent some of her growing-up years. The mountains of Colorado are awe inspiring. Sanford is a delightful little village, though little remains of the Grandmother's history there. Northern New Mexico was beautiful as always.

 Approaching the Colorado Rockies south of Montrose

 Ditto

 Ouray, Colorado

 Headed toward heaven in our CRV

 The mountains in every direction are spectacular

 It's pretty clear why it is called Red Mountain

 A small reservoir near the Red Mountain summit

 Waterfalls along the descent to Durango

 Fall has come to the higher elevations

 A bright patch of aspens

 Durango, Colorado

 Lots of lingering nineteenth-century flavor

 West Fork of the San Juan River seen from Wolf Creek Pass

 High mountain marsh

 Sanford feels like a sleepy Utah town in the 1950s

 Cottonwood trees so loved by Mormon settlers

 The beautiful San Luis Valley from Sanford

 A view of the valley from the road between Sanford and Manassa

 San Luis Valley

Welcome to New Mexico

These were two of the most enjoyable drives we have taken for years. We are in Santa Fe and will post more for sure. This is all for now.

OXO

D.