June 20, 2010
Day 53: Great Sand Dunes to Valley View hot spring
Today I'm riding north to Valley View hot spring. Most of the day will be spent in the San Luis Valley, but the start and end points are higher, on the edge of the Sangre de Cristo range.
The first 20 miles of today's ride is backtracking. First 3 miles south on highway 150, then 17 miles west on county road 6N. Mostly downhill. I took the spur road into San Luis Lakes state park. I wish I had stopped here 2 days ago when I passed by in the afternoon. The sun angle was better then.
I returned to highway 17 in Mosca and turned north. The road is almost perfectly flat and I had a tailwind. The road passes through the tiny towns of Hooper and Moffat. Both are in serious decline, with few businesses and many boarded up buildings. There's no irrigated farming and ranching must not be very successful.
I was surprised to see a huge photovoltaic power plant in the middle of nowhere. About 100 acres of sun-tracking photovoltaic panels. I've never seen solar power on this scale before. Apparently they sell to entities that seek various renewable energy tax credits. I'm not sure why the customers would buy expensive solar power instead of cheaper wind power. The San Luis valley is almost never cloudy, so it's a good place for solar power.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
The southern San Luis valley is a very traditional farming area, with access to irrigation from the Rio Grande. The northern San Luis valley is pretty much deserted in comparison. Not much ranching activity. But the northern San Luis valley is kind of a hippie hideaway. There are a few obviously countercultural places along the highway. To the east up in the mountains is the community of Crestone, a former mining town that is now an ecotourism and spiritual center with a Hindu temple, Zen center, Carmelite monastery, several Tibetan Buddhist centers, and miscellaneous new age happenings.
I stopped for lunch at the cafe in Moffat. Nice cafe, but a very depressed town.
After lunch the sun angle improved on the Sangre de Cristo mountains to my east. Riding alongside these mountains is reminiscent of riding along the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains last year.
Today's destination is Valley View hot springs, owned by Orient Land Trust. It's 8 miles off the highway, mostly gravel, climbing 900 feet to the edge of the mountains. They have a huge flow of hot water. The outflow is piped down the valley, dropping 500 feet, allowing them to run a 60 kW hydroelectric generator. The entire place is off the grid. They have camping and cabins for rent. Also a very nice lodge with a communal kitchen. And of course very nice hot spring pools. Unfortunately the mosquitoes were even worse than at Great Sand Dunes. Usually the mosquitoes wouldn't be a problem here, except that the colony of 200,000 migratory Mexican bats hasn't yet arrived at the Orient mine 2 miles away. They are overdue. Consequently I didn't spend much time in the soaking pools. Instead I spent a lot of time in the lodge making dinner, eating, and listen to people play piano and guitar. I also finally finished reading the John Wesley Powell book and left it on their bookshelf. I hauled that book for 31 days!
Today was an easy day. Flat and somewhat boring, even with a good view of the mountains to the east. The high temperature was 90F and shade was rare.
Distance: 65 mi. (104 km) 7 mi. on gravel
Climbing: 1300 ft. (394 m)
Today's ride: 65 miles (105 km)
Total: 2,449 miles (3,941 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |