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Old 06-01-2020, 11:00 AM   #1
Cbrez
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Priest Gulch Campground and RV Park

While traveling in Colorado, we were in Durango with the intention of camping in Silverton and Ouray on our way to Moab, UT. Well, Silverton cancelled because the sheriff was not allowing outsiders into town due to Covid, so we swung west to Cortez, then north on hwy 145 toward Telluride, and ultimately Ouray.

We stumbled on Priest Gulch Campground & RV Park about 37 miles north of Cortez and just love this place. The Dolores river runs through the campground and many sites back up to the river. The campground is beautifully wooded and the sites are very large with fire rings overlooking the river. You can sit in your chair around the fire, drink beer and fish - all at the same time. All the free firewood you care to burn too. Unfortunately for us we visited during a drought/burn ban so that big beautiful pile of free split firewood was off limits. Couldn’t even use my charcoal grill.

This campground is so far out in the middle of nowhere that there is no cable or OTA tv. Couldn’t even pick up a radio station. Cell phone signal was strong for voice, but couldn’t send or receive text and email most of the time. The WiFi was ok at times and unreliable at other times. Some sites were able to use satellite tv, but most sites were too wooded. Closest grocery store was about 30 miles away in Dolores, so we bought some new movies and got provisions before leaving civilization. If we could have had campfires it would have been all the nightly entertainment we would have needed.

Some may see being almost entirely off the grid as a drawback, but not us. This is a very beautiful and peaceful campground in dark sky country. Aint it great when things don’t go as planned, but go far better.
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Old 06-01-2020, 11:26 AM   #2
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The Dolores is a nice river. I generally go up from Durango to Silverton to Ouray. When toing to Telluride I cross over the mountains through either Ophir, Imogene or Black Bear passes. Makes for one HECK of a day. Return from Telluride via the route you were on. I've never stopped on that route and never saw that RV park. Now that we are spending more time in the RV and won't be in Pagosa all the time I think we'll try that out. Hope you had time to take in Mesa Verde outside Cortez. Thanks for the heads up.
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Old 06-01-2020, 01:19 PM   #3
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"You can sit in your chair around the fire, drink beer and fish - all at the same time."
Isn't it odd that Steve can read us like a book!
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Old 06-01-2020, 04:54 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by sourdough View Post
Hope you had time to take in Mesa Verde outside Cortez. Thanks for the heads up.
We just passed through Cortez and did not take in Mesa Verde. But thanks for the tip. We’ll be traveling back through Cortez later this month so we’ll be sure to take it in. While in Durango we went on a hot air balloon ride in Pagosa Springs. The balloon ride was a bucket list check off and it was fantastic. And Pagosa Springs is a beautiful town with the San Juan River running through it.
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Old 06-01-2020, 05:22 PM   #5
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We just passed through Cortez and did not take in Mesa Verde. But thanks for the tip. We’ll be traveling back through Cortez later this month so we’ll be sure to take it in. While in Durango we went on a hot air balloon ride in Pagosa Springs. The balloon ride was a bucket list check off and it was fantastic. And Pagosa Springs is a beautiful town with the San Juan River running through it.

IMO Mesa Verde is a "don't miss" kind of thing if you are in the area. Did the balloon ride dip into one of the lakes? Maybe Mike as the pilot?
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Old 06-01-2020, 05:31 PM   #6
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IMO Mesa Verde is a "don't miss" kind of thing if you are in the area. Did the balloon ride dip into one of the lakes? Maybe Mike as the pilot?
No, we flew over the airport and into town. Apparently an unusual wind direction. Austin was the pilot and Griz took pics. It was Rocky Mountain Balloon Adventures. Sounds like you’ve been there, done that.
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Old 06-01-2020, 05:45 PM   #7
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No, we flew over the airport and into town. Apparently an unusual wind direction. Austin was the pilot and Griz took pics. It was Rocky Mountain Balloon Adventures. Sounds like you’ve been there, done that.

Many times. Rocky Mountain is who we use. Yes, wind is the factor for air ballooning. They use the airport a lot since it is a wide open space. We love Pagosa and have spent months at a time there and branch out all over that part of CO....we love it; DD is there in Pagosa at the moment.
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Old 06-01-2020, 07:29 PM   #8
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We thoroughly enjoy this part of Colorado as well. Mesa Verdi is truly a must see. I'd also highly recommend taking in the Ute Mountain Tribal Park. The park surrounds MV on three sides and is much larger. You are required to go with a local guide. It's not expensive and well worth every penny to better understand the history of both the area and the people. (Try and get a trip with Rick Hayes) The guide will drive you to several locations where you will see pottery shards and other artifacts that you are encouraged to pick up examine and then return them to their place in the park. All the ruins are exactly that, ruins. Unlike MV they have not been sanitized or restored but are still in the same condition as the Wetherill brothers originally found MV. Both are very much a must see and are very different. Here is a link to a short video featuring Rick Hayes: https://www.colorado.com/videos/ute-...ue-destination
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Old 06-01-2020, 08:33 PM   #9
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Thank you for the link to the video. Can’t wait to get there.
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