Wednesday, April 5, 2017--Archview RV Park, Moab, Utah to Bluewater Lake State Park, New Mexico--295 miles

     We arose to sunny skies and 30 degrees. Again our furnace had conked out and it was cold in our little traveling home. Sofie joined us on the bed. After 2 false starts (for gas and coffee) we left our RV site at 7:35 am. 

     The scenery changed dramatically through the day from red rocks, to snowy mountains, to juniper forests, to sage and to practically nothing, as we moved from Utah, through the corner of Colorado and into New Mexico. Colorado highways were short and sweet. 

     Soon, one of the rock spires of New Mexico loomed in the distance, Chimney Rock. Then another monolith appeared at first like a phantom ship. Then, Shipwreck   

     The New Mexico roads felt like you were in a boat on the ocean (according to Paul). The road just went up and down. 

     We lunched at 11:30 at Cortez, N.M and then again at 2 pm in Gallup. We were worn down from one-lane road construction and bumpy seas!

     We had a false start finding our campground, too.  The GPS said to take Exit 63 and my iPad showed Exit 53. We took the first one and followed the road 12 miles through mostly empty Navajo country.
     We arrived at the correctly named campground, but the wrong end of the lake with no paved or gravel roads--completely dirt and undeveloped.
     So we backtracked to the freeway and took Exit 53 and finally got to the developed campground of the same name with electrical hookups and paved roads at 4 pm. 

     We immediately saw a pair of Mountain Bluebirds in a tree at our campsite. This is the male. This made the whole drive worthwhile. 

     We sat at our picnic table and watched the birds, including the subspecies Red-backed Dark-eyed Juncos, and Mountain Chickadees. The female Mountain Bluebird certainly takes a back seat in showmanship!

     The Visitor's Center makes a nice backdrop for the small herd of wild horses. Wild horses that have free run of the park, cared for by the local Navajo nation. The horses' feet were all nicely trimmed--not the case with completely wild horses.

     Our camp is at elevation 7386 and the air was a cold 57 degrees even with the warm sunshine. It is supposed to get to 26 degrees by morning. 

     We finally figured that our furnace has a safety shut off (like my vacuum cleaner) if it gets too hot. The configuration of our bed and curtains had shut off the pathway for the warm air to get out, causing the safety shut-off to activate. 

     So tonite we have opened up channels for the furnace vents.  Hopefully the furnace will not expire again.

Today Our Eyes Were On:

Large juniper forests mixed with a few cacti

Lush green farming country in Colorado

More Ravens—the kings of this country

Chimney Rock and Shiprock—two stately red rock monoliths

Gallup, N.M. home of refineries, oil trains, hills scoured bare and ugly from mining

The continental divide at 7295 feet elevation

Bluest of the blue Mountain Bluebirds

And instead of a campground overrun with activity, vehicle noise and people, there are 7 motor homes widely spaced in a huge, beautiful area with pine trees and a blue lake, miles and miles from any traffic noise.  Blissfully quiet.