Taos, New Mexico: Our 11th State of this trip.
A rough night in our RV. After a thunderstorm and rain (but little wind) we went to sleep, only to be awakened by a loud thumping on the passenger/kitchen side of our camper around 3a. It felt like a 200 pound person was standing on our entry steps.
My first thought: the awning had been left out and wind was whipping it around, but then remembered the awning was NOT out (during a thunderstorm). Something was trying to get into our RV and it was not a raccoon! I flew out of bed and hit the outdoor porch light switch. Nothing. We looked out every window. Nothing. No way were we opening the door. As we are camped on the Arkansas River, it had to be a bear.
It was!
This morning we saw greasy, light-colored hairy muddy marks around the interior door to our RV and evidence proving the culprit had also climbed up onto the hood of the Mercedes Sprinter chassis - and had slid off. This bear must have come up from the Arkansas River behind our RV and tried to get inside. It must have been a Kodiak-looking fella ‘bout 19 feet tall * - and after talking to the RV park office this morning, it was discovered a bear had come through the campground last night, knocking over several BBQ grills and causing all sorts of havoc.
We headed south this morning, leaving Salida and The Rockies behind, following Highway 285 & 17 to Great Sand Dunes National Park. Miles and miles of plains. We saw several Pronghorn Sheep and a few hawks. Little traffic and few farms/ranches. Lots of piles of junk, and old cars.
This massive dune is only about 5000 years old. It formed when a wetlands below dried up, and over the years, wind blew the sands up to form this odd sand formation at the southern end of The Rocky Mountains. You could be in Morocco.
Though we saw few cars on the highway, the national park was busy with tourists and we met people from India, Scotland and Poland. We have noticed the lack of foreign visitors in the ten national parks/monuments we have visited on this trip, and it was interesting to find so many foreign visitors in this seriously in the middle of nowhere Colorado Park. Many were on a mission to hike to the top of the dunes and ski or snowboard down. The skiers we met were not successful, the the snowboarders said they went down SO FAST it was scary!
The consensus was there is nothing more difficult than walking up a sand dune. Unless the sand dune is boiling hot and the sand dune is at 8000 feet/2400 meters elevation. Few made it to the top, and if you did make it to the top, it was not the top - there is another dune hiding behind the horizon. Ugh.
When we returned to our RV after checking out the dunes, we noticed a bit of debris we had missed this morning. Apparently Yogi had not only jumped onto our steps and hood of the Mercedes, it had tried to get into the RV through the window above the kitchen (passenger side) window!
Though DT had cleaned-up the greasy hairy muddy mess earlier this morning, apparently he did not LOOK UP. We found finger claw prints on the exterior window sill, and more greasy, dirty, muddy prints under the kitchen window (which was open six-inches or so for air flow last night). Buddy Bear left claw marks and scratches on our RV.
We continued to Taos, and were able to actually see wild horses when the road signs said "look for wild horses" and enjoyed mostly a pleasant drive except when a dust devil nearly blew us off the road. Lots of Mother Nature notifications today!
After checking into our campsite in Taos after 5p, we settled in for a quiet evening. Dave scrubbed-off the muck under the window and it looks as if the bear claw scratches are not too serious. If they are - hey - what a story to tell!
Butter Chicken (frozen several weeks ago) was reheated, and served with a cucumber salad. We plan to spend the day in Taos tomorrow - though we have been here several time previously.
Until my next update, I remain, your New Mexico correspondent.
*A line from Jimmy Buffett’s version of God’s Own Drunk.
Campsite Information: Taos Valley RV Resort - at only 7000 feet elevation!
Wow, bear claws for breakfast! Looks like you are enjoying life on the road, you two. As always, thanks for sharing your adventures. Be safe, have fun and Go Ducks!