Life on the Diagonal - Monday, July 27, 2020

Our trip to Gig Harbor, Washington, is life on the diagonal. I'm talking about a diagonal driving route on I-10, U.S. 87, U.S. 550, U.S. 64, U.S. 491, U.S. 191, U.S. 6, I-15, and I-84. Interstate freeways have their place, but anymore they seem like super-highways for semi-trucks!

Taking the roads we chose has provided us with magnificent scenery. It is not quite as fast as the interstates due to slowing for small towns along the way, but is much more relaxing! In the past two days' blogs, you have seen some of that scenery, but that is nothing compared to what we saw today.

Monday, we drove from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Towaoc, Colorado. U.S. 550 took our breath away with rocky vistas and views for miles. We left at 6:30 a.m. to avoid rush-hour traffic and possible monsoon rains. However, the rains never materialized and we had perfect weather for 5-1/2 hours. Small towns we passed through were Cuba (U.S. 550), Bloomfield (intersection of U.S. 550 and U.S. 64), Farmington (U.S. 64), and Shiprock (intersection of U.S. 64 and U.S. 491), New Mexico. Unfortunately, I missed getting a photo of Shiprock, the rock formation that gave the town its name. 

The scenery along each of the U.S. highways we took today was very pretty. The town of Bloomfield has large Navajo pottery as their city's decoration at the main intersection (U.S. 64/U.S. 550) and along the main street. 

There was very little traffic along the highways, and grades were not too steep. A lot of the route was a four-lane divided highway or had passing lanes. We were very pleased with all of these highways!

U.S. 550 in New Mexico.

U.S. 550 in New Mexico.

U.S. 550 in New Mexico.

New Mexico scenery.

New Mexico scenery.

New Mexico scenery.

New Mexico scenery on US 491.

Entering Colorado on
U.S. 491/U.S. 191 north.

U.S. 191 in Colorado

U.S. 191 Colorado scenery.

U.S. 191 Colorado scenery.

U.S. 191 in Colorado.

We arrived at Sleeping Ute RV Park in Towaoc, Colorado, about 11:30 a.m. It's a small, treed park next to the Sleeping Ute Casino. The casino is temporarily closed due to coronavirus, but the Sleeping Ute Hotel is open. 

Here are pics of Sleeping Ute RV Park:

Sleeping Ute RV Park office.

We were in site #24 (front pic).

The back side of our site.

A picnic pavilion in the campground.

I think this is Sleeping Ute Mountain.

Evening storm clouds brewing.

Sleeping Ute RV Park campground.

Mesa Verde is on the mesa behind us.

We were seeing lots of lightning.

Easy walk to the casino
from the campground.

Beauty and Rigamarole.

We had thunder and rain overnight. But what really got us were the gusts of winds that hit from time to time. Rock 'n' roll! If you stay here, do not leave your awnings out if you aren't here to bring them in at a moment's notice!

Overall, we really liked this little gem of a park. In the morning, an employee was out picking up small branches and twigs that had blown down overnight.

Our next destination is Provo, Utah, for two nights.