In July, we took our first big vacation since returning from the big road trip in April. Our plan was to fly to Lubbock, TX to meet up with Michael’s mom and his sister Terri’s family, then drive to Colorado. We wanted to spend some family time in the area where Michael was born and raised, and where his family lived for about fifteen years. It was a great trip, with lots of nostalgia, excellent weather and plenty of quality family time. Not too shabby.
We flew into Lubbock on Sunday night, and were greeted by Michael’s old college friend and roommate, Keith. We always try to spend some time with Keith anytime we are in Lubbock, so it was good to get to catch up (and eat some Texas BBQ at Rudy’s). Then we checked into the hotel to relax and get rested up for the drive.
The next morning we met up with Michael’s family, unloaded some things we brought to store at Terri’s house, then hit the road. It’s about an eight hour drive to Pagosa Springs, Michael’s hometown, and one his family has done many times. The first few hours outside of Lubbock are flat a more than a little boring, but then as you approach the Rocky Mountains in central New Mexico, the scenery begins to improve and the drive the rest of the way into Colorado is very nice. We arrived in the early evening, checked into our rooms at the High Country Lodge, then went into town for a quick dinner of Mexican food before heading back to get some sleep.
Tuesday, we spend the day exploring some of our favorite places around Pagosa. We did a short hike around the hotel, then headed north towards Wolf Creek Pass to see Treasure Falls. Next, we went back down the mountain into Pagosa Springs, where we ate lunch and then continued west for the drive to Piedra Falls. Unfortunately, we caught a pretty good thunderstorm at the trailhead (and the river appeared to be running very low anyway), so we stayed in our cars and continued on to Willams Creek Reservoir. After enjoying the lake for a while, we headed back to the highway and then visited Michael’s family’s old house about four miles west of town. We got lucky and the current homeowner followed us up the road, so we introduced ourselves and he let us take a look around. It was the first time anybody had been back on the property for about thirty years. Finally, it was time to head back to town for pizza, ice cream and a good night’s sleep.
The next morning, we got back on the road and headed west for about an hour to Durango, a larger, more touristy town (and the town where Michael was born). We ate lunch at the historic Strater Hotel, and spent some time enjoying the downtown area. Then it was time to check-in to the hotel and get a little rest, before heading out to enjoy an evening at the Bar-D Chuckwagon dinner show. The Bar-D was always a favorite place to take visitors, and it was fun to re-visit thirty years later. Terri’s kids enjoyed all the fun activities and seemed to like the old-time cowboy music.
Thursday we enjoyed a nice day in Durango, including a BBQ lunch and a game of mini-golf. There was also more shopping and exploring the downtown area. On Friday, it was time to drive back to Lubbock, where we spent the night before flying back to Portland Saturday afternoon.
