Ouray

Before I get started on Ouray (which we discovered is pronounced "ewe-ray"), here are some shots I took in Bryce Canyon National Park.

We arrived in Ouray around 6:30 p.m., with, again, just enough energy to have dinner and crash.  We stayed in a charming Victorian B&B that was built in 1898, which has been owned and run for many years by Mr. and Mrs. Bates.  (Yes, Tod joked that we were staying at the Bates Motel...)  We stayed there 2 nights, and each morning found ourselves chatting over breakfast with our hosts for an hour or more. 

They're called Box Canyon Falls for a reason.

Ouray is a charming little town nestled between mountains.  It's often used as a film location (the Ouray Courthouse was used in the original version of True Grit). Sunday morning, we  just wandered around the town.  The internet service at 1898 House had been down fora few days before we got there, and still wasn't back up when we left.  So after we visited Box Canyon Falls, we had lunch at a bistro on that had wi-fi, and spent an hour or so catching up on email, etc. 

After returning to our room for a nap, we had dinner at a beautifully restored old hotel called The Beaumont, which was celebrating its 126th anniversary.

Photo by Tod Beebe

Monday morning, after dawdling over breakfast, we hit the road again, heading for Mesa Verde National Park, which is known for its well-preserved native cliff dwellings.  Touring the dwellings, which are at 7700 feet high, is not recommended for those with heart or respiratory problems (i.e., me).  I stayed in the cafe and read, while Tod did a tour of Balcony House, which was quite daunting, involving climbing up and down ladders perched on cliffs and crawling through small tunnels. 

His reward for this was a t-shirt emblazoned with "I survived Balcony House".  He seemed surprised that I purchased it before he got back...

After Mesa Verde, we drove to Farmington, New Mexico, where we are spending a couple of nights.  We are staying in a lovely B&B called Casa Blanca.  We were shown to a lovely room with a king-sized bed, a couch & chair and a kitchenette with a big wooden table and a tiny stove and dishwasher, which we discovered was a suite that we'd been upgraded to. 

Dishwasher on left, stove & oven on right.

Someone is smiling upon us this trip!