The Cabin at Pagosa Springs
We didn't randomly pick the route of our road trip.
It had pretty much been pre-destined by an invitation to spend some time with DHs family at their cabin in Pagosa Springs. Our trip in this particular corner of the US always had to have our final destination to this little town in Colorado.
It then came down to a process of elimination as to which way around the compass we would travel towards Pagosa. And when DS expressed the strong desire to see the Grand Canyon; well....that pretty much locked the route in for us. We were now approaching the culmination of our road trip and were looking forward to being with family for the next 4 days.
Pagosa Springs is located along the upper San Juan Basin and sits at an elevation of about 7000 feet above sea level. It's right along the Continental Divide; Rocky Mountains. With a population of about 1700 people, it's not exactly a huge place. But there are a large proportion of second home owners in this little place and I expect that the actual number of people in Pagosa at any given time is a lot higher than the Census reported population.
In the lead-up to our arrival here, we had spoken with DH's family a couple of times and we had promised to get here as close to 4 pm as possible. With all the roadwork delays, we eventually pulled in at about 5 pm.
After the happy reunion hello's and greetings, we were shown around the cabin. I took these pictures over the time that we were to be here but it makes sense to consolidate it all in this post.
The 'cabin' is how DH's family call this place in all our communication prior to our arrival. I have long learnt to regard any North American description of "cabin" with scepticism, particularly when it is being used by family. When I hear the word 'cabin', I think woodsy and rustic and roughing it. That's what cabin means to me.
- My uncle in Vancouver was the last person to invite to go stay in a cabin. He even said that we might have to rough it a little before we got there. That particular cabin was located at Whistler and was better decked out than my house!
- My aunt in San Diego took me to visit a friend at her cabin in SoCal. Yeah. Cabin my @$#(&%!.
So, I did wonder about the Pagosa accommodation when DH's cousin described it as a cabin.
We followed the instructions that DH's cousin gave us; and got a little lost getting to the cabin. We missed a key turn-off because we couldn't spot the road and then we were driving on unpaved roads that even Google Maps on my smart phone had a problem finding. Seems like there is no such thing as a straight road around these neck of the woods. And it was definitely woodsy out here!
But we did eventually find it. I might even go as far as describing the external facia of the 'cabin' as rustic.
Apparently, the distressed, weathered wood look is highly in vogue in this part of the world. I wasn't fooled for a second.
We entered the house from the garage. I was pleased to note the mud room/laundry facilities.
I didn't get a picture of it; but there was the equivalent of a man cave down here. It was filled with all sorts of man-toys.
What took my fancy more was this space. For a near tee-totaller, I was to be practically inebriated every evening here with an indulgence of a glass or two of red wine; particularly when our host would make the trek down here and select the best of the collection each evening for us to indulge.
This was to be our bedroom for the next 4 nights.
We were to find delight with the outside view the next morning. It was so peaceful here.
DS was equally pleased with the bedroom he had been allocated.
Did he enjoy his outside view as much as DH and I did? I'll let you be the judge of that. I think the state of the shades say it all. Meh!
We had an adjoining bathroom between our two rooms.
Plenty of bench space for all of our things.
The door leading to the toilet and bath/shower was just behind.
There was another bedroom downstairs. Our bags were pretty comfortable here. And believe it or not; we found an electronic keyboard in this room. You might just make out some of the keys in the bottom left hand corner. DS was not as enthusiastic as his parents were to see it. But he did put a solid practise in on every day we stayed here.
On the upper level, we found the large living space. The stairs came up to the left of the picture and the master bedroom is located where that door is. I never got round to taking a picture of that room; but it was delightful! The master bedroom had an ensuite with an amazing bath.
For some of the pictures here, I ended up having to use the pictures off my smart phone. I really did think that I took pictures with the big camera; but it turns out I didn't. So excuse the variable quality of the pics.
This shot was taken by me turning around and facing the other way to the shot above. The living space upstairs was open plan. I really enjoyed sitting in that window nook and also working on the jigsaw puzzle on the table. Our hosts had only just broken the jigsaw puzzle the day before and I completed about half of it by the time we left.
I moved to in front of the couch to take this shot. The bar that got used by us about 5 pm of most of the days we were here. (There is another restroom through that door.)
These were taken on the first morning we were here. The kitchen. Believe it or not, I was banned from being in the kitchen; unless specifically requested to help out by our hostess. Her house....er....cabin, her rules!
There were a couple of amazing pieces of art in the living room upstairs.
The details of this eagle carving was fantastic.
My favourite pieces in the room were these decorative vases.
Every evening, we would head out to the east deck to enjoy a glass or two of red.
Yes, Ive long learnt to be rather sceptical when a North American, particularly family, describes accommodation as a cabin. With good reason. We were to be rather comfortable here for the next four nights.
(Continued in Next Post)
It's been a great ride 
The sunrise photo's just spectacular. What do you do with your pictures at home? I hope you frame some and showcase them on your walls. 
I seem to recall a bunch of native vendors under tents (much like a farmer's market; I still have the bracelet I bought) surrounding the Four Corners, but that's IT. There was definitely no building or grand entry with all the flags.... Wow.
No one in the US has a second home that isn't more spectacular than their primary home. 
So does it actually say somewhere that the marker is incorrect? 
