Pagosa Springs

Colorado has been a favorite destination of ours for many years, especially Pagosa Springs. In recent years we have hiked and fished throughout the San Juan Mountains. We just spent a few days in the La Sal Mountains of Utah before heading to Colorado. We are creatures of comfort so we went from our Utah cabin to our Colorado condo, combine that with the great outdoors for the perfect getaway. We had a nice visit in Ouray with our friend, Jeannine; dinner in Pagosa with Fred, Debbie & Duke Sutton. We hiked into Quartz Lake, with amazing 360 degree views & got caught in a hail storm. What an adventure! Dinner at Ramon's followed by the Hot Springs and we were good to go!

Although this is Colorado's motto, I would have to say Utah ranks right up there, too

This place is 133 years old, bet it has some stories to tell

Ouray County Courthouse

Getting together with Jeannine, she's the County Treasurer

Lunch on the rooftop deck at Ouray Brewing Company

The original courthouse built in 1888

A few scenes from True Grit were filmed here in 1968

Heading out of Ouray

Red Mountain & the Yankee Girl Mine

I liked the chalk drawings in the windows

The Silverton area had a lot of Fall colors

Cold Bank Pass

These turkeys were in no hurry to get out of the way

This is where we begin our hike into Quartz Lake

This coyote was a little startled when he saw us on the trail

It's nice to have an actual trail, which is not always the case

I love seeing colorful flowers this late in the summer

We liked this part . . . nice and level

Up on the ridge

We had great views on the entire hike

Kent was feeling a little goofy

Look closely Kent is pointing the way

We've reached the Notch

The mountains seem to go on forever in every direction

So far we have gained 2,400 ft in elevation

Looking south

So this is the way to Quartz Lake?

We are slowly descending, which means we must climb back up

There it is . . . Quartz Lake

The lake is at 11,500 ft.

We have come 4.7 miles and we still have to hike back out

This little buck kept an eye on us

Aerial view of the Quartz Lake Trail

Fishing Williams Creek north of Pagosa Springs

I have a hard time passing up on wildflower photo opps

Four Mile Creek was cold, it made my bones tickle

The trout were small, but fun to catch

A short hike to fish one last stream

Kent had a blast fishing the streams

The water was crystal clear

Last but not least . . . a Mocha to go from the Silver Bean in Cortez

La Sal Mountains of Utah

Ten years ago we traveled to Moab for Spring Break. It was the perfect time of year to visit Arches & Canyonlands. Little did we know, to the Southeast lie the La Sal Mountains; the snow covered peaks piqued our interest. We read about the mountain lakes and streams and we planned to come back someday. Well it only took us ten years! We just spent two days in the La Sal Mountains of Utah, hiking, fishing and driving through the mountains. We climbed Mt. Peale, the highest peak....talk about rocks! We saved the best for last when we stopped at Warner Lake, a beautiful lake in the most picturesque setting. The quaking aspens were beginning to display their colors making it just a picture perfect spot.

A good place to stop & stretch along I-70 in Utah

This was an interesting place to eat in Moab

You order outside & eat outside

Mt. Peale Retreat & Animal Sanctuary at Old La Sal, Utah

We stayed in Cabin #3, it was a great place to stay

Heading up Two Mile Road to our trailhead

The summit of Mt. Peale is our destination

Starting up the trail . . . so far, so good

We spotted some deer in the aspens

It definitely looks & feels like Fall

An interesting trail marker

We pretty much made our own trail through the rocks

Talk about rock scrambling

Taking a break at the saddle, great views from here.
Looking west toward Mt. Tuk (12,482) which we hiked in 2017.

It looks closer than it is, we still have a ways to go

We can almost taste victory now

Wow, it feels like we're on the top of the world . . .

We made it . . . a 2,600 ft climb to the top of Mt. Peale

There's just something special about reaching a summit

After 2.5 miles we are still smiling

This is the 2nd highest mountain range in Utah

The La Sal Mountains extend 25 miles north to south

No sore feet here, thanks to good hiking shoes

Time to head back down the mountain

It was much easier on the downhill

Soaking it all in before the final descent

Back in the aspens, they are stunning

We did it!

Aerial View of Mt. Peale Trail

We stopped to enjoy Medicine Lake after the hike

Beaver Lake was more like a big pond, but still pretty

Driving along the Upper Two Mile Road

Kent didn't have any luck at Dark Canyon Lake

At Blue Lake the fish were waiting for us, it was so fun!

We hiked from Oowah Lake to Clark Lake

Beautiful Fall scenery along the trail

At Clark Lake it was fun to hear the elk bugling

We took a different route back to Oowah Lake

We fished Oowah Lake for a few minutes and had success

We love to find these Guard Stations

It would be fun to stay here

Along the path to Warner Lake

Warner Lake and Haystack Mountain

Kent caught a few nice trout here

This Moab artist was working on a pastel of the Warner Guard Station

What a picturesque setting

View from the cabin porch