Clayton Lake State Park in New Mexico
This is the neatest little
campground around and located in the northeastern
corner of New Mexico about 40 miles to the east of Capulin Volcano National Monument.
We stopped here when going from the Oklahoma panhandle to
Colorado Springs via Interstate 25.
There are not many RV spaces with
electricity so you will want to get there a little early.
We had one RV in front of us going in and thankfully
there was one site left by the time we arrived. Take highway 370 North
out of Clayton New Mexico until you find the Clayton Lake
turnoff which will be on your left if you are heading
North. Highway 370 was blacktop at the time we traveled it, not overly wide
and with a few bad
spots so
be careful. After that, it's about a half mile to the
lake. The drive to the lake up highway 370 is very
interesting and there is one significant grade to drop
down (or pull up coming out). At least is was a
significant grade to this first timer. The park area was
neat, clean and had nice shower facilities.
Interestingly, the lights in the showers turned on and
off automatically so don't be surprised to find you have
to learn how to use them. The payment system is on an
honors basis with the Ranger checking later in the
evening. It seems to be a very popular spot for it's size
and had lots of Boy Scouts visiting. DO NOT miss the walk
over to the spillway to see the Dino tracks. And take
your camera. These tracks weren't there when we first
visited many years ago and were accidentally discovered
when erosion uncovered them. A viewing area had been
constructed with an overlook and boardwalks that circle
the area where the Dino tracks are located. Set among rolling grasslands, Clayton Lake State Park
offers excellent trout, catfish and bass fishing. Walk a
half-mile to the lake's spillway and see the
internationally significant dinosaur trackway, containing
more than 500 footprints dating back more than 100
million years.
Park Facilities/Activities;
National Park Service Link to Capulin
Volcano National Monument
Link to New Mexico's site on Clayton Lake State Park
Air Force Academy (USAFA)
What is it like?
The Air Force Academy is really awesome and I highly recommend it for everyone. The visitors center is really well done and combines a history tour, museum and gift shop all in one. Standing in the middle of the souvenirs area and scanning in a circle you can see a glider hanging from the ceiling, a ramp that partially circles the area while leading you on a history tour, models of the cadet living quarters and an interactive model that guides you through the entire campus. And oh, by the way, if there is someone in your group that thinks they would like to be an Air Force cadet, there is someone on site to talk to you about what the process is and how to get accepted in the Air Force Academy program. Guided tours of the campus are arranged and start at the visitors center.
We took the guided tour and I would suggest you do the same. The guides are very knowledgeable and you will find out many things about the academy that are not in the books and can only be learned from someone with their special knowledge. The guides are full of tidbits of information, noteworthy events and some humorous anecdotes.
If you are there on Sunday or your Sabbath, it is permissible to attend church in the USAFA chapel and there are several denominations represented. The chapel will leave you breathless with it's spires of beauty, symbols of honor and dignity.
How do you get to the visitors center?
The U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) is open to visitors daily between the hours of 5:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., or until one hour after USAFA-sponsored special events conclude, whichever is later. Visitors must use the North Gate Entrance, exit 156B on Interstate 25 which will lead you to the AFA Visitors Center. There is ample parking for RV's if you will watch the parking area to your right as you enter the visitors parking. If you miss it, just circle around and do it again. At the AFA Visitors Center a guided tour of the campus may be arranged. By the way, when you are driving on I-25 keep glancing over in the direction of the AFA airport facilities just south of exit 156B. You may be fortunate like we were to watch the cadets practicing parachute jumps, flying gliders and other aircraft. Gee, I sure hope these cadets know how fortunate they are.
Maps (click on the image to make it larger)
The "Big Picture" of the
Colorado Springs Area
With Street names
Colorado
Springs area
The Academy Grounds
Link to the Air Force Academy web site.
Link to an interactive map of the Academy grounds. Just point to the item on the map that you want more information about.
The Durango to Silverton Railroad
July 1999 Folks, this thing costs a fortune to ride on,
but it's worth every penny.
We had our base camp at one of the Coast to Coast parks, Country Village RV resort south of Montrose. Click here for a map showing Country Village location (MAP The red "X" on top the highway 550 sign is Country Village). It was quite a change from the close up mountains at Colorado Springs and an even bigger change from the plains of Oklahoma. But, nicer people we have not met. We were coming in on a holiday weekend and as all the Coast to Coast folks know you can't typically stay on the holiday weekends in a park that's not your own. But these folks found a spot for us anyway. And guess what? It wasn't in dry dock but had full hookups and was a pull through to boot. And get this, we were escorted to our slot by a delightful young man in a golf cart. The park was in a very flat area about 9 miles south of Montrose (on the right if you are going South). Not a whole lot of trees around but as it turned out, in Colorado you don't need that many, it's cool in the evening and warms rather quickly to a pleasant temperature during the day.
Since our train left so early in the morning we went to Durango the previous evening so we could get the "lay of the land" and do some shopping. Although we had reservations for the train ride we did not make any previous arrangements for lodging. Dumb, dumb. It ain't cheep folks, at least by my standards. The hotels close by ran from about $130 up through about $180. A little high by our standards. So, we eventually found something that fit out pocket book (about $80) and set out to explore and shop.
The train depot is "at the end" of the "downtown area" and therefore makes a nice start and end spot for cruising on foot. The whole thing is a little confusing at first because you can easily see the smoke but can't see the trains and then you can see the trains but not the station. You'll sort it all out though. Also, for those of you who will be there early in the A.M. and want to save a couple of bucks, there's a McDonalds across the track from the train station. And by the way, the parking lot for the train is on the other side of McDonalds. So, you have this picture, parking lot, McDonalds, train station. Was that good McDonalds business sense or what?
Reservations are highly recommended although we didn't see anyone having any problems getting scheduled when we were there. You will have to check the costs and schedule to have current information but we paid $53 each for adults and $27 for the Kido. Oh by the way, it's $7 to park your car. There is plenty of room in the parking lot for RV's and the cost to park for them is equally higher. The train rides can be broken up a number of different ways that we didn't know about when making our reservations. You can go one way from Silverton to Durango or Durango to Silverton or round trip either direction. You can go up on the train and back on the bus saving a little time if you are pressed or you can go up to Silverton, stay the night in one of the circa 1880 hotels and come back the next day. We elected to go the round trip and loved it.
There are two types of accommodations on the basic train, the open cars called Gondolas and the enclosed ones (and I forget what they are referred to as). We took the Gondola and stood up for the whole trip. You need to keep in mind that this train is a real coal fired, steam driven engine so count on the smell of burning coal, stops for taking on water and listening to the engine work hard on the grades. Take precautions to protect your eyes from cinders. Not a big deal, just a note.
Take a jacket since the weather can change quickly and Silverton is at about 9,300 feet. When we got to Silverton it started to sprinkle and when we came down toward Durango is stopped. The rain was great and just added to mystique of the trip. On the way to Silverton there were several stops to take on water and fewer on the way down. I was surprised to see how many hikers and campers there were along the way considering how rugged the country side seemed. The rushing water of the river, steep walls of the canyons and many water falls were absolutely beautiful. Trust me, all the pictures you see will not do justice to the real McCoy.
It takes quite a while to do the whole trip with about a two hour stop in Silverton for shopping and eats. The food costs are nominal, the service is great and the selection quite varied. All the time you are in the Durango and Silverton area be sure and pay attention to the local art, it's quite good and reasonably priced.
There are numerous other things to do and see in Durango, Silverton and the surrounding area, so don't rush it. Just outside Silverton is the Old 100 gold mine, North of Silverton is Ouray (stop and see the falls and the kids will love the Chipmunks) with lots of 4x4 rentals and guided tours, there are raft rides from "mild to wild" as they say, Glider rides, an antique car museum and South of Durango is Mesa Verde. All the businesses will be courting you so be sure and stay awhile.
10/03/99 Dave, Sue and Molly
Copyright 2010. Last Updated: 01/23/10 11:04.
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