Couple Looking For Cool Mountain Town with a Lot of Snow
I’ve never been to Pagosa but Jenn described it as a cool mountain town with a ski area she wouldn’t be tempted to hurt herself on and a lot of snow. She went once in her twenties, so she had a vague memory of what it was like. For me, it was not Ohio – QED. I don’t mind being easy to please but we figured we should actually go and check the place out. The desire to spend one night in Pagosa Springs launched two weeks of travel to Antelope Canyon, Durango, Sedona and Phoenix (both ways). Here we were at the culmination of our road trip and my first exploration of our potential final home. Our attraction to Colorado mountain town living was reinforced in during our recent Durango trip. We could see ourselves in a two bedroom ski in/ski out condo at Purgatory Ski Resort. Jenn felt confident with everything that mountain could throw at her. The biking was fantastic. The Animas River could be a lot of fun and Ft Lewis College kept the town young and hip. I was excited. If Durango was this good then Pagosa could be incredible. Highway 160 east to Pagosa wasn’t the best welcome. I have heard of people making an epic ride from Durango to Pagosa, but the shoulders were death-wish narrow and the scenery was kind of meh, until the end. Once you get to Chimney Rock and roll into Pagosa things get more interesting, but not epic. Of course, the first thing we did was to roll right out the back side and check out Wolf Creek.The Road to Wolf Creek was Epic
Sometimes, you have to trust your gut and tell your GPS to piss off. Jenn pulled out her cell phone and started navigating to Wolf Creek Ski Lodge which the Google Machine said was 26 miles away. We left town with a quarter tank of gas since the sign in town said 26 miles to the ski area. Things weren’t adding up. We weren’t going to make the google round trip with the remaining gas but the physical signs back in town said we were fine. We looked up from the phones and actually observed our surroundings. The road started to go straight up and if we kept going up like that for 26 miles we would be on top of Everest. I said “Not Today Google” and headed up the mountain.
The Road Headed Up, Straight Up
The road got steep, narrow and winding. There was some sign for a scenic view but my eyes were straight forward and hands at 10 and 2. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the prettiest run-away truck ramps I have ever seen. They were wide with fresh gravel as well as fresh ruts from trucks that have actually used them. Right after the opening hairpin turn at the lookout, we came to snow, actual snow, replete with some snowboarders doing a little hike-and-board. Shortly thereafter was Wolf Creek Pass and the Wolf Creek Ski Area. We had climbing 3000’ to the Continental Divide in 8 miles since Treasure Falls. I don’t know what felt better, knowing that I was right or not running out of gas in the mountains. We liked Wolf Creek in theory because it gets the most snow in Colorado and has one of the longest ski seasons in Colorado that usually starts before Thanksgiving. It was more a little more challenging than Purgatory with some fun terrain. This might be too much temptation for Jenn’s new titanium knees. Wolf Creek Pass is the highest pass on the Continental Divide. We were literally on top of the world. Down the other side of the mountain is memory lane for Jenn. There is Keystone Mountain, where Jenn got her first skiing job. Red Rock Amphitheater where she saw Blues Traveler on the 4th of July, and any number of Wide Spread Panic and Grateful Dead shows. There were even a few trips to Pearl Street Mall in Boulder for Halloween (back when it was really a party). Unfortunately, this was the end of the road for us but here are some of the best day trips outside of Denver that we will have to come back for. Yup, top of the world and not a condo in site. The last house we saw was about 10 miles back past the falls and there was no way we could afford it (and travel). Just like that, reality had to come in and messed around with our plans. Not only were there no houses but there were no toilets either. We took a constitutional back down at the scenic pullout and wow- what a view. You can see the entire San Juan valley from here. Just look…. [one_half]The World’s Deepest Geothermal Hot Springs
Downtown Pagosa
Pagosa after dark
The magic happens at midnight. By now, you can imagine Pagosa as a sleepy, country town, although some people consider it one of the best small towns to visit in America. It is a little more country than Durango, which itself is a country version of Telluride. What could the nightlife offer? We opted for more soaking. The starlight and cool breezes were super pleasant in themselves. We brought in our girly drinks of apple ale (cans only, no bottles) and relaxed. At 11:00 we had a very nice surprise. Hotel security cleared out the few remaining day use guests and everything got quiet. Only hotel guests had 24 hour access to the pools. This was awesome in and of itself, but we imagined coming back on a full moon or meteor shower and having the celestial double dip.Wrapping Up Pagosa
Hi! We are Jenn and Ed Coleman aka Coleman Concierge. In a nutshell, we are a Huntsville-based Gen X couple sharing our stories of amazing adventures through activity-driven transformational and experiential travel.