Four Corners

Pagosa Springs, CO. The snow is as high on the sides of the road as the top of the truck. The snow on the yards nearby is over three feet deep. Yet the temperature outside is in warm to  say the least, probably ner 50F. I'm sitting here in the truck, waiting for David to do some shopping at the local WalMart, wishing the sun wasn't quite so bright, wasn't heating the truck cab quite so well.

Yesterday was a day of road adventure, first with a vain attempt to gain access to the NORAD facility at Cheyenne Mountain. Unfortunately they no longer offer public tours or even public access. The road is marked with a sternly worded sign saying "Official Business Only". It looked like there was a guardpost just up the road. We did not want to get shot, so we stayed away. It's kind of funny because they used to take busoads of tourists up there to see the gate. No more.

Our next adventure was a place called Wolf Creek Pass. There is a mildly famous song by C.W. McCall about a trucker trying to survive a wild ride with a load of chickens going done the hill to Pagosa Springs from Wold Creek Pass. The pass was along our route, so David and I decided to see what the hill was all about. I can confirm that the road down  to Pagosa Springs from Wolf Creek Pass is not just frightening, but is down right dangerous, especially when it is snowing, foggy, and the roads are covered in ice. We made it.

Today we have two objectives again. The first is the Fur Corners Monument, that concession to the Civil War her ein the US which needed a fast solution to these western states. The Union government wanted then as non-slave states. The Confederacy wanted to incorporate them into its camp as slave states. The Union won, both the war and the creationg of the states. In order to simplify the process, the simly drew lines along the meridians and latitude and longitude, creating the four corners where Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado all meet.

After our adventure into the wilderness of Four Corners, we are off to Albuquerque, NM for the night. Did I spell that name right? It's a standard at spelling bees. We are hoping to get in decently early, so we can do some laundry and get something to eat other than burgers and fries.