June 24, San Juan National Forest

We left Cortez this morning and took a scenic drive through the San Juan Mountains. Such different scenery from what we are used to. The landscape was beautiful with pine trees filling the mountains. The smells were wonderful and piney. But how else would pine trees smell? We set up camp at East Fork campground in the forest. We had the San Juan River at the back of our motor home. The river put us to sleep early. It was great. But before that, we drove into Pagosa Springs. It is a small resort town with ski lodges and lots of touristy things going on. Right now they are selling rafting trips. Wintertime is ski season. We went to a lush resort called Springs Resort. They had a multitude of mineral water baths and a huge pool with the river in the background. We watched the rafters go by and the bathing people in the mineral baths. People come from all over to use these baths for ailments such as arthritis etc. The sulfur in the water creates these fantastic formations and they were all over the resort. Some looked like small mountains. They were beautiful and colorful. We will send pictures soon. On the way home, we went off-road so George could get his fix in. Tomorrow, The Great Sands Nat’l Park. See you then