Our Durango Interlude

 

We returned to sweet Durango for April and May during this, our Van Life Year.  Year is no longer accurate because we still love van life and we started in March of '23.  Bill says we'll do it until they (we don't know who they are) take away the keys.   Doesn't matter --we have a head start!

We were there to complete some spring-time work on landscaping for The MesaTop Cottage.

This sweet little crocus is where we started along with some unphotographed, tiny little daffodils.

Our contractor, Pat Fleege,  had done some hardscaping, building rock paths and 'the circle'  that tamed and defined an outdoor space for The MesaTop Cottage among all its acres of mesa top tumbleweed.  He created a low berm around the area to help guard against the impressive afternoon Colorado wind.   We like it! 

Pat  did the lion's share of the work, but we weren't useless. I kept Durango Nursery solvent buying plants and stones,  Bill planted  and mulched, and I weeded. We planted all native plants and wild flowers, and a few struggling roses, that we hope will still be alive by the time we get back in the fall.     The local  deer seem to like all the surrounding wild grass and tumbleweed better than the deer resistant plants, so all this investment may actually be able to grow up and be gorgeous. We bought some extra heavy chairs, so they won't blow away and tried to emphasize the view instead of the tumbleweed.   

 But you know the saying:  all work and no play....well, we are pretty dull anyway....but we did find time to play:

Me (thinking thoughts of elegant restaurants):  "Bill, where would you like to go for your birthday?"

Bill. (Without any hesitation). Bowling at the Casino.

What?  Huh?  Being good sports,  Matt and Katy joined us and off we went to Ignacio, Colorado, headquarters of the  Southern Ute Nation,  to the ThunderLanes bowling alley inside the Sky Ute Casino.  We all attempted bowling and we all laughed a lot! 

Bill got his own 'happy birthday' bowling pin.  What else do you give an old man who has everything he needs, and absolutely no place to put anything? 

Bill and the now mustachioed Matt watched the scores creep oh so slowly upwards. Or maybe they were just trying to figure out the automatic scoring.  Out of two games, I think one person had a three digit score at the end of his games.

It would have been Bill -- he actually knows how to bowl.

Here's Katy, doing just fine.

And we all wore the shoes.

We owe most of our Durango shenanigans to our Durango neighbor,  and now friend,  who  took us under her wing with all she knows.  She's an amazingly kind  person.

Here's Sue at Mesa Verde where we  checked out the cliff dwellings and enjoyed the view at the Far View restaurant. We didn't enjoy the food.  It  was awful.  But the view was spectacular and perhaps we'll go again when the chef is more experienced. It's worth the bad food not to write off this unusual National Park restaurant.  

In an atypical move for us,  we went to the opening ceremonies for a new bridge that will replace Farmington Hill (IYKYK) and give a much safer approach to our mesa, but it won't be as much fun or scary in the winter! The view from the new road is also fantastic.  Too bad we only took the selfie of us looking at it.  (And we're Boomers!)

 Again because Sue made it happen, she and I joined a guided walking tour of the small town of Aztec, New Mexico.  It is  south of Durango, though the Southern Ute Reservation and across the border, just into New Mexico.  

 

Okay -- I liked his hat and his Mother's Day Spirit.  Otherwise I have no idea who this fellow is.

This avian resident of the Wines of the San Juan  (a winery)  strutted his stuff at their Mother's Day festival.  Sue, a chef, brought a picnic lunch and we rocked out to the  music of Reeder and Spencer, a music duo consisting of women of a certain age (Read:  old like us).  And, yeah-- there was no rocking out -- lawn chairs were very much involved! 

Reeder and Spencer:

The Mother's day festival:

Sue and I spent another  evening in Aztec while Bill was away in Virginia helping his brothers.   This is Rubio's Mexican Restaurant's patio.  Sweet location, good food.   And the tiny Aztec Town Museum wrote a humanities grant to get a group --Lone Pinon -- to play in their outdoor venue on a Friday night.  If you get a chance to see these folks, take it.  They've played the historical string music of  the south west all over the world.  The energy and talent emanating from their performance is fantastic.    

The Ones with No Pictures:  

One of the best things I did with Sue while in Durango was accept her kind invitation to her cookbook club, sponsored by the Bayfield, CO Library.  Where, it seems, I didn't photograph a thing..... Evidently each monthly meeting has a different theme and this one was "High Tea".  Sue, a retired executive chef from a tea room in Albuquerque, gave an amazing talk about planning high teas for 100 people a week that feature a  different menu every time.  And I didn't take her picture with my own phone (I did with hers -- Sue please post one of those please in the comments!).  Every club member brought something to eat  and my Morning Glory Muffins were pretty well received.  Sue made scones with clotted cream and lemon curd -- they were very well received. 

Once escape-Durango velocity was reached, we had a very nice bon voyage dinner with Matt and Katy -- we do miss them when we are gone --  at Ska Brewery in Durango.   We didn't even know it was tucked back into a more industrial section of Durango (Bodo) .   They had lots of vegan selections, and a lovely beer garden.   We will be going back there when we return to Durango.

Next Stop -- Back to Austin

Retirement Lesson:  Keep moving forward:  the next 'adventia before dementia'

 awaits.

Woyaya