Gustaff and I made a short stop for dinner in Santa Fe, New Mexico before heading up north to Colorado. We didn’t have a whole lot of time, but I got to have a brief look at Santa Fe’s downtown and it’s Latin influence. For dinner I had a beef burrito with really spicy green chili. It was delicious! As the sun was setting we hopped back on the highway going north through the southern Rocky Mountains towards Durango. The setting was surreal as the last moments of the suns rays kissed the highest peaks of the white snow-capped mountains way up in the sky. The rest of the drive was in the darkness through the winding mountain roads. We even passed a large group of elk looking as though they were ready to cross the road at any moment… thankfully they waited for us to pass.
The next morning we awoke in Durango, Colorado, with a blue sky, the sun shining bright, snow outside our window, and some homemade pancakes courtesy of Bob. He proudly warned us that his friends call his pancakes “colon-blast pancakes”, because he uses a lot of fiber. All I can say is that they were extremely tasty! Since both Gustaff and I have been trying to fight off a cold, and we are traveling, we have not been fasting for the last few days. Gratefully I enjoyed the opportunity to eat and drink during the daylight hours.
Our only full day in Colorado was a busy one. We first went to Walmart to get an oil change and a top up for our vans fluids, which ended up taking longer than it should have. The mechanic accidentally broke a tube while he was working under the hood, so we had to wait for a new part to come before we could go. It ended up being better for us though, since they lowered the price for making us wait. We didn’t mind that at all. From there we rushed out to a town called Cortez, about an hour away, to visit a Junior Youth group going on there. I was resting my voice so Gustaff took over and played some fun, interactive songs with the group. They were all very happy, full of joy and a great sense of humor. Sadly there wasn’t much time to hang out, so almost immediately we were back on the road returning to Bobs home, with a quick look-through of downtown Durango. It is such a funky looking mountain town. Our devotional concert that evening was conveniently hosted by Bob at his home for a nice small group of just 9 people, including Gustaff and I. We all shared many uplifting stories and sang songs of unity, love and peace together.
That night before bed I had the pleasure of sitting down with Bob and listening to a few of his personal stories from his early years. He showed me photographs of his travels and told me about his time in the army flying in aircraft carriers over Guam. I wish I had more time with him.
The next morning after another round of “colon-blast pancakes” Gustaff and I set off towards Arizona. We managed to squeeze in one last stop in Colorado at the Mesa Verde National Park on our way out. Although we only got to visit for around 15 minutes, because the drive through the park alone took up most of our time, I really enjoyed the views (especially the cave dwellings of the indigenous peoples). Fun fact: Mesa Verde is the only national park in the United States created to preserve Ancestral Pueblo culture and prehistoric architecture. These cave dwellings were unreal!
Our next stop was across the Colorado state line, through New Mexico, and into Arizona at the Native American Baha’i Institute (NABI) in the Navajo Nation.