Anyone Game? 2 Castles and a Road Trip TR! Last Day and TR Wrap Up! #2796; 10/01

[PrincessInOz]

Oh Deer!



On the way back to the cabin, along one of the roads with 3 turns, we came to a screeching halt!






Deer! And wild ones at that. I got my wish at seeing some native wildlife in their natural environment.






They were rather skittish.






There was always one on look-out at what we were doing.






We watched them for a while, but they weren't too happy by our presence. So, we got back in the car and headed on to the cabin.




(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Guess What?? Pagosa Springs really IS a Hot Springs




So. Has anyone wondered why Pagosa is called Pagosa SPRINGS?



I've been kinda sorta holding out on you until now. Remember these shots of downtown Pagosa?











Take a look at what’s just here.











Pagosa Springs really IS a HOT Springs.






The San Juan river flows right by Pagosa Springs. The Springs are just on the other side.






From the 160, you can walk down to the river edge and take a look at the view.






My pictures of the Choke Cherry tree were taken from a tree growing on this walk.







We had come to look at the Springs Complex a number of times over the last 3 days.






If we didn't have the cabin, I think I might have contemplated staying here. But then again, I haven’t actually worked out what the rack rate is....so maybe not.





The sulfur springs located here include the world's deepest geothermal hot spring. This "Mother Spring" feeds the pools hosted by three local hot spring soaking locations within town. The largest is at The Springs Resort & Spa which hosts the mother spring.






Our afternoon excursion for this last day in Pagosa was to enjoy one of the top favourite activities of X and Y. Soaking.





I had deliberate chosen to leave my big camera behind so the pictures taken at the Hot Springs were taken with the smart phone. And I was trying hard to be as inconspicuous as possible, so apologies for the blur. I guess I hadn't allowed myself the time to focus properly.






I'm guessing that this is the “mother spring” to the left. I gather it comes out of the earth at 114 F. There were quite a few spas in this complex. Each spa represented a different water temperature and we had everything from 97 F - 114 F. The complex adds cold water to each spa to maintain the different temperatures. I got in from 97 all the way to 108; and decided that my perfect soaking temperature was 104 F.






You may have noticed that the Spa was right by the San Juan River. There was a platform to the river’s edge for the more adventurous to jump into the river. The river was 47 F. I did dip a toe in. My toe completely shrivelled up! No thanks.



And just in case you think it's all about soaking here, think again. There was a nice refreshments port here.






This was my last Pagosa sunset shot for this evening.

Hey - don’t shake your head at me. I'd just spent the better part of 2 hours soaking in hot waters containing sulfate compounds, silica, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and fluoride, and trace elements of arsenic, manganese, zinc and iron among others. The Utes called the sulfur-rich mineral springs Pah gosah, meaning "healing waters" and it is reputed that repeated exposures seem to improve conditions involving arthritis, inflammation of the joints, circulatory problems, nasal and respiratory problems. All I can say is that I did enter the Spa with a lingering cough that I had problems shifting. When I left, the cough was no longer there. It was a great afternoon to relax the body and soothe the spirit. My mind and body was definitely not about taking pictures and you can thank DH for reminding me to run back in to even grab these smart phone pictures!








(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)



Alley House




Without a doubt, X and Y's favourite restaurant at Pagosa is Alley House.






It's located along the 160, near the Pagosa Bakery and they had made a booking for dinner for this night. Despite it being cold, they chose to sit outside.






Me? I would have preferred being inside; but then I was just feeling so relaxed that I was happy to go with the flow. I think my preference was in the majority on this night. There was no one else out on the deck with us.






I don't even know why I took this shot of the menu. X and Y were doing the ordering for us tonight. (BTW - Whilst I may have left my big camera behind, DH brought his along and I snaffled it for the dinner pictures.)







Oh I remember why. For a small town of 1700 residents, it was a pretty extensive entrée menu.






We started with a margherita pizza to share. I think there is a growing trend towards trying to turn pizza into a healthy meal.






Fail. Pizza is perfect the way it is. Whilst I do enjoy my rabbit food, I don't think I want it on top of my pizza.






The only person allowed to pick his meal at dinner tonight was DS. Would you believe....more cheese? My DS knows when a meal is perfect as it is. He asked for the no salad version of the cheese pizza.







The four adults had the same main. It was the Seared Ahi Tuna. This was absolutely AMAZE-Balls! Fantastic fresh tasting sashimi quality tuna; perfectly seared on the outside and warmed through whilst still raw pink. OMG! I would go back just for this dish alone. X and Y sure knew what they were doing.







I think you all commented and noticed what a healthy and/or light lunch we had. It was deliberate.






The Crème Brulee. Delightful.







The Cardamon Coconut Cream Cheesecake was the surprise packet. We ordered it because there were 5 of us sharing and we figured it might be worth taking the risk. X and Y had always eyed it but they usually stick with the next dessert because it’s so hard to by-pass. Seems like they will adding this cheesecake to the rotation they have here after this.







The outstanding White Chocolate and Golden Raisin Bread and Butter pudding with that smackingly delicious Jack Daniels Crème Anglais. I could have soaked in that Crème Anglais for a couple of hours!







We rolled back to the cabin, where we ended up packing and getting some laundry done.





Thus marks the end of the road trip. It was a bittersweet night as DH and I reflected on some of the things we’d done since we arrived in Phoenix. DH and I rekindled our love affair of the drive on this trip and we've sparked the interest in the nomadic existence in DS. I hope to have a few more roadies in our holiday plans in the future. The only change I would make is to make the trips a lot more free and easy; and not plan out so many things to see and tours. Having said that, I wouldn't have changed a single thing we did on this portion of the holiday. We saw such beautiful countryside and experienced so many wonderful things that no matter how tired we might have been from the constant go-go-go, it was all worth it.

We all agreed - we could have done with more time at every single location we stayed at on this road trip.

 

[dolphingirl47]

OMG, what an amazing afternoon. The deer were a great find. Occasionally I have been lucky enough to see one or two, but not so many together. The springs sounded amazing. I would love to experience something like this.

Dinner looked nice. I don't understand either why more an more places add salad stuff to pizza

Corinna

 

[tiggrbaby]

The springs look like fun and dinner was drool-worthy! However, I was not impressed with the deer as we constantly have them in our yard and they sometimes make a mess of our plants, not to mention that my son and husband have both gotten Lyme Disease, most likely from ticks they left in the yard.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Not that I am addicted to sugar or anything but I read your first post as 'cherry coke tree' not choke cherry tree lol. I thought wow a tree that fruits cans of cherry coke imagine or the bark sap is cherry coke lol..

Omg soaking in that spa. Looks amazing my arthritis commands it! I don't blame you not wanting to go from 104 to 47 degree F!

Oh Alley House come to mamma. Mental note no rabbit food pizza. What is that about. Here there is this pizza chain that does a 'healthy pizza' where they cut a hole in the middle , put salad in it and charge you twice as much. Err no thanks!

I just adore tuna that looks worth a plane ticket right there.

All those desserts look yummy. Bread and butter pudding oh my. Does life get better than that. Party in my mouth.

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[dgbg100106]

Dinner and the springs are worth a trip to Pagosa... Maybe next time we are in that part of Colorado...

 

[jedijill]

Mmm, putting that restaurant on my list! The food looked amazing.

Beautiful shots of the white tailed deer.

We have some hot springs west of Denver too but I've never stopped...maybe I should go check them out!

Jill in CO

 

[LegoMom3]

LOVE the deer pics!! Wow, how beautiful. Just yesterday there were 5 does right outside the window at my work, eating the corn that my boss puts out (no camera handy....darn!). We've got the White Tail variety over this way, but I love the Mule Deer ears!

And, uh.......yeah. Salad on pizza is just NO. I like the looks of your DS's much better!

So, the road trip's over......what's next??!!.....

.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

What a lovely looking day with a perfect ending. Those desserts look delish.

Creme Brûlée is my absolute favourite dessert and I'll order it wherever it's offered. Unfortunately, it seems to be such a fine art to prepare a creme brûlée perfectly, and restaurants tend to be a bit hit or miss. I've just decided that my 2014 resolution is to make a perfect brûlée at home.

 

[ejud]

Okay. I wanna be there.

 

[eandesmom]

This was my last Pagosa sunset shot for this evening.

Hey - don’t shake your head at me. I'd just spent the better part of 2 hours soaking in hot waters containing sulfate compounds, silica, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and fluoride, and trace elements of arsenic, manganese, zinc and iron among others. The Utes called the sulfur-rich mineral springs Pah gosah, meaning "healing waters" and it is reputed that repeated exposures seem to improve conditions involving arthritis, inflammation of the joints, circulatory problems, nasal and respiratory problems. All I can say is that I did enter the Spa with a lingering cough that I had problems shifting. When I left, the cough was no longer there. It was a great afternoon to relax the body and soothe the spirit. My mind and body was definitely not about taking pictures and you can thank DH for reminding me to run back in to even grab these smart phone pictures!

What a fun afternoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That much relaxing, springs or no, can cure all sorts of things!

And oh, that dinner just looks divine, especially the tuna. I love me a margharita pizza but that was way too much salad on it. No thanks.

 

[skier_pete]

Heigh ho! I've been in absentee from your TR for a few weeks - just too busy between work and trying to work on MY TR. I'll neglect the usual superlatives (Amazing pictures! Beautiful scenery!) for a few odder comments.

Your description of 4 corners is just how I remember it circa 1991. Nothing much but trinket shops and a big parking lot. So, hasn't changed much since then.

Your comment about the "cabin", believe it or not, the less monied Americans when they talk about their "cabins" it is much closer to what you picture. We know several people here in upstate NY that have summer "cabins" and while most of them have running water and indoor plumbing, you would NOT put them in the same category of "cabin" as what DH's cousins are living in. I've seen a lot of cabins and that should most definitely not be called a cabin.

It IS amazing when you think about the transition from Arizona and Southern Utah into the relative lushness of Colorado. I love me some Rocky Mountain Highs!

Keep chugging along. I am enjoying your TR a lot even if I don't make it in every new post.

 

[mvf-m11c]

The deer shots look very nice. This is where a telephoto or an extra reach zoom lens come into play where you want to get close up pictures of the deer's. Overall the pictures were very nice.

The springs at Pagosa looks like a very nice place to relax.

The food looks very appetizing.

Nice update.

 

[Pinkocto]

Those hot springs sound divine!

Sad to see the road trip end, that was a fabulous tour of many places I didn't know existed. Thank you

And of course looking forward to whatever comes next.

 

[franandaj]

I was wondering when the springs came into play. I remember you telling me about them in the next segment. They sound wonderful and now that I know there is a resort and spa, Pagosa may fit into our potential road trip plans. Fran loves to drive because of the freedom and nomadic nature. I'd love to visit natural hot springs.

My only dissention on dinner was when I saw the Elk. I'm sure the tuna was awesome, biut I do love me some gamey meat!

Yay! We're goin' to Disneyworld!

 

[zanzibar138]

What a great last afternoon of your road trip. I must admit I'm sad that it is coming to an end too! But looking forward to the next part too

 

[PrincessInOz]

OMG, what an amazing afternoon. The deer were a great find. Occasionally I have been lucky enough to see one or two, but not so many together. The springs sounded amazing. I would love to experience something like this.

Dinner looked nice. I don't understand either why more an more places add salad stuff to pizza

Corinna

We have a hot springs complex about an hour's drive from my place. The experience at Pagosa has made me determined to go check it out. Not right now; it's far too hot!

I loved seeing the deer too.

The springs look like fun and dinner was drool-worthy! However, I was not impressed with the deer as we constantly have them in our yard and they sometimes make a mess of our plants, not to mention that my son and husband have both gotten Lyme Disease, most likely from ticks they left in the yard.

Oh no! I hope that your son and husband have recovered from Lyme's Disease.

Not that I am addicted to sugar or anything but I read your first post as 'cherry coke tree' not choke cherry tree lol. I thought wow a tree that fruits cans of cherry coke imagine or the bark sap is cherry coke lol..

Omg soaking in that spa. Looks amazing my arthritis commands it! I don't blame you not wanting to go from 104 to 47 degree F!

Oh Alley House come to mamma. Mental note no rabbit food pizza. What is that about. Here there is this pizza chain that does a 'healthy pizza' where they cut a hole in the middle , put salad in it and charge you twice as much. Err no thanks!

I just adore tuna that looks worth a plane ticket right there.

All those desserts look yummy. Bread and butter pudding oh my. Does life get better than that. Party in my mouth.

Cherry coke tree. Love it!

Yes, dinner was like have a party in my mouth on this night.

On reflection do you feel that it was the right balance of time is each place? Would you have liked more time/less time in Colorado for example? Or was it about it?

I think I would have liked more time everywhere on this road trip. We maximised our time and sight-seeing; but we could have done with more 'down' time.

Great pics!

Thanks.

Dinner and the springs are worth a trip to Pagosa... Maybe next time we are in that part of Colorado...

Absolutely! I think we'd like to go back at some stage.

Mmm, putting that restaurant on my list! The food looked amazing.

Beautiful shots of the white tailed deer.

We have some hot springs west of Denver too but I've never stopped...maybe I should go check them out!

Jill in CO

Ooh! I'll be interested to know how you found the hot springs west of Denver. Hope you make it to Alley House.

LOVE the deer pics!! Wow, how beautiful. Just yesterday there were 5 does right outside the window at my work, eating the corn that my boss puts out (no camera handy....darn!). We've got the White Tail variety over this way, but I love the Mule Deer ears!

And, uh.......yeah. Salad on pizza is just NO. I like the looks of your DS's much better!

So, the road trip's over......what's next??!!.....

.

Next?


You DO remember that we are on a board dedicated to Disney planning???

(Hint: I am one castle and the road trip down. One castle more to hit. )

 

[PrincessInOz]

What a lovely looking day with a perfect ending. Those desserts look delish.

Creme Brûlée is my absolute favourite dessert and I'll order it wherever it's offered. Unfortunately, it seems to be such a fine art to prepare a creme brûlée perfectly, and restaurants tend to be a bit hit or miss. I've just decided that my 2014 resolution is to make a perfect brûlée at home.

Wanderlust - the Creme Brulee here was really delightful. That sugar crust had a very satisfying 'snap' to it. And the brulee was silky smooth.

Okay. I wanna be there.

Me too.

What a fun afternoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That much relaxing, springs or no, can cure all sorts of things!

And oh, that dinner just looks divine, especially the tuna. I love me a margharita pizza but that was way too much salad on it. No thanks.

I don't know why chefs think they need to put salad like that on top of a pizza.

Yes, it was a fun afternoon. It's been a fun road trip.

Heigh ho! I've been in absentee from your TR for a few weeks - just too busy between work and trying to work on MY TR. I'll neglect the usual superlatives (Amazing pictures! Beautiful scenery!) for a few odder comments.

Your description of 4 corners is just how I remember it circa 1991. Nothing much but trinket shops and a big parking lot. So, hasn't changed much since then.

Your comment about the "cabin", believe it or not, the less monied Americans when they talk about their "cabins" it is much closer to what you picture. We know several people here in upstate NY that have summer "cabins" and while most of them have running water and indoor plumbing, you would NOT put them in the same category of "cabin" as what DH's cousins are living in. I've seen a lot of cabins and that should most definitely not be called a cabin.

It IS amazing when you think about the transition from Arizona and Southern Utah into the relative lushness of Colorado. I love me some Rocky Mountain Highs!

Keep chugging along. I am enjoying your TR a lot even if I don't make it in every new post.

Thanks Pete. Glad to know that you're still checking in; even if you aren't posting a comment.

That transition from Arizona/Southern Utah to Colorado is just astounding. Especially when you consider we went from red rock, red sand to yellow sand to high country in the space of 10 - 20 miles.

The deer shots look very nice. This is where a telephoto or an extra reach zoom lens come into play where you want to get close up pictures of the deer's. Overall the pictures were very nice.

The springs at Pagosa looks like a very nice place to relax.

The food looks very appetizing.

Nice update.

Thanks Bret. Yes, when I'm out in the wilderness, the extra zoom reach is something that I want to have in my bag at all times. I may have left my zoom lens behind in the room when I am at Disney a few times; but I never left the zoom behind on the road trip at all. Even when I was out hiking.

Those hot springs sound divine!

Sad to see the road trip end, that was a fabulous tour of many places I didn't know existed. Thank you

And of course looking forward to whatever comes next.

Thanks Pam.

I'm sad to see the end of the road trip too. But the main reason for why we even went on the holiday in the first place is ahead of us.

I was wondering when the springs came into play. I remember you telling me about them in the next segment. They sound wonderful and now that I know there is a resort and spa, Pagosa may fit into our potential road trip plans. Fran loves to drive because of the freedom and nomadic nature. I'd love to visit natural hot springs.

My only dissention on dinner was when I saw the Elk. I'm sure the tuna was awesome, biut I do love me some gamey meat!

Yay! We're goin' to Disneyworld!

Alison - you should totally check out that resort. They have a health spa.

Did you notice where the Elk came from??? It was a little too close to home for me.

What a great last afternoon of your road trip. I must admit I'm sad that it is coming to an end too! But looking forward to the next part too

Me too.

I have these moments of wondering which part of this trip I enjoyed the most - it's a tough choice between SoCal, RoadTrip and Orlando.