Flagstaff, AZ

Sunday August 2, 1992

I awake early and by 9 a.m. we leave the condo for our trip home. It's been lovely staying in such lush accommodations with such a lovely view from every window. Goodbye Pagosa Springs. We head home through Farmington, New Mexico, a good size town with a lovely mall. We decide to have an early lunch there. It's a long 2-hour drive to Gallup, New Mexico. The drive through New Mexico to Flagstaff, Arizona, is desolate but beautiful. Red mountain formations jutting out of a desert. We arrive in Flagstaff in time to drive around and get familiar. The city is old and rundown. There are some really nice homes there though.

After dinner at Sizzler we go back to our dreary motel room and watch TV. I continue to feel great!

Mom and Frank headed southwest to Flagstaff. When Ric and I left Pagosa Springs last year we headed due west to St. George, Utah. We did have to dip down into New Mexico and drive through Farmington as well, but then we drove through northern Arizona, while Mom and Frank went through central Arizona. It was about 420 miles for them, 470 for us. The terrain ia about the same, I imagine, except that Flagstaff is at a higher elevation.

I had to laugh when she talked about going to a dreary motel room. Before we bought our Worldmark timeshare in 2003, we didn't think much of staying at Motel 6, which is in our price range. Now we are so spoiled by the beautiful Worldmark resorts, that having to spend the night in a motel is downright depressing. For us it actually saves money to stay in our timeshare because we have all our meals in the condo instead of eating out. It sounds like Mom and Frank ate out every night.

Durango Rodeo

Saturday August 1, 1992

Up and on our way at 10 a.m. for Durango to see the rodeo. We arrive early so have lunch at Arby's, then go to the fairgrounds rodeo arena where we see 2-1/2 hours of rodeo. A couple of things we hadn't seen before: under 6 year-olds bronc riding sheep. So cute! Then square dancing on horseback. Real good!

Back at Fairfield Pagosa Springs we played shuffleboard. Frank won 2 out of 3. We come back to the condo and sit in the jacuzzi. We watch a little TV, then go to dinner at Dorothy's in Pagosa Springs. So so.

We return to Fairfield's lounge where a western singer is performing. We stay 1 hour. I drink 1/2 of a white russian. It makes me feel warm and breathless. I don't feel well. I can't drink alcohol anymore.

The Durango Fiesta Days is celebrating its 77th year this summer. Mom always loved horses and would take my brother and I riding when we were little. I can see where she would enjoy the rodeo.

When we were there last year, the Fairfield resort didn't have a lounge, just a reception area and a sales area where a representative twisted our arms for 3 hours to try to get us to buy more timeshares. How I hate those things, but my husband will do almost anything to get a free $50 American Express card! I would have rather spent the 3 hours at the rodeo.

Navajo Lake

Friday July 31, 1992

Lst day of July already. We're up and off to Navajo Lake by 10:30. It's a lovely drive through a valley with a river. We eat our picnic lunch in the lake picnic area. then we rent a power boat for $30/hour and cruise the lake. It is a very large lake and we see only a small part of it in an hour. We get a real close picture of 3 deer at water's edge.

We drive up to another lovely valley where the Wild Animal Park is. We decide not to stop.

After changing clothes we go to dinner in Pagosa Springs at Amore, an Italian restaurant. We have a great dinner with a glass of wine. We come back to Fairfield and play miniature golf. We have a lot of laughs. I win. We rent another movie and relax.

Felt pretty good today.

Wow, another place we missed when we visited Colorado last year! How I wish I had read Mom's journal for July 1992 before we left for our trip in June 2011! I feel like we need to go back just to see everything we missed now. Navajo Lake is only an hour away from Pagosa Springs. It straddles the border of Colorado and New Mexico and is 25 miles long. No wonder they couldn't see it all in an hour!

That must have been fun to play miniature golf! I haven't played in years. I'm sure that was Mom's idea.

Pagosa Springs

Monday July 27, 1992

We sleep in and have a lazy morning. About 11 a.m. we head out to see our Fairfield resort and then on to Pagosa Springs. It's a quaint little town. It's main claim to fame is the mineral springs. The Indians called it healing waters. I think we will go into the waters one day this week. It can't hurt. It may help my arthritis.

We have a nice lunch in the Rolling Pin Bakery. There is a lovely river flowing through town. It clouds up and rains late in the afternoon for 15 minutes. We have a lovely dinner at the Greenhouse Restaurant near here. What a view!

Back at the condo we watch TV and I go to bed about 9:45-10 p.m.

Pagosa Springs is a very small town of approximately 1600 residents and is located in southern Colorado, surrounded by 3 million acres of national forest, and with beautiful views of the San Juan Mountains. It sits at an altitude of 7000 feet so they get plenty of snow in the winter, but surprisingly also get 300 days of sunshine. Ric and I never did try the "healing waters" but used Pagosa Springs as our home base to explore the area.

Fairfield Pagosa Springs

Sunday July 26, 1992

Up at 5:30 for a 7 a.m. breakfast with our friends. At 8 a.m. we board a tour bus. We have a great tour guide "Cynthia". We tour the Indian ruins of Mesa Verde. There are many many ruins. There is a hike down to enter some old ruins. I decide it would be too much for me coming back up, so I stay in the lookout. I have an excellent view. We visit the museum.

By 3:00 we have had lunch and are on our way. We arrive in Durango about 5 p.m. We follow our friends to their dude ranch. It looks interesting. We then go on to our Fairfield condo in Pagosa Springs. It's really lovely, like new in Southwestern style. Large living room, dining room, large bedroom and a jacuzzi room. We have a nice dinner at the lodge after orientation.

I have alot of funny heartbeats on the drive today.

Oh my gosh, so far they are visiting the same places Ric and I toured in June 2011. Not only that, but they are staying in the same resort, formerly known as Fairfield Pagosa Springs, now known as Wyndham Pagosa Springs, pictured above. The condo she is describing is exactly like the one where we stayed, right down to the separate room with huge jacuzzi tub.

I didn't realize until now that the friends they met in Laughlin are driving with them to Colorado. It's probably a group of friends from their square dancing club who rented a tour bus and guide to see Mesa Verde. Almost all the trails to the ruins are down a steep path from the plateau to the cliff dwellings in the natural caves. Too bad Mom wasn't feeling up to the hike.