Conejos Valley in Southern Colorado

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We stayed for four or five days in June 2010 with Joe in the high altitude Conejos Valley. It is in south central Colorado, not very far from the New Mexico state line.


Below are some pictures with a narrative beside each one. Click on an image below to see a larger version of the picture. When viewing a larger picture, clicking "Next" allows you to look at the larger pictures one at a time.




This is Joe's Rocky Mountain cabin in southern Colorado. It has a rustic finish inside as well as outside, but it is large (four roomy bedrooms) and spacious public areas. It has a complete complement of appliances and utilities (including the recent addition of broadband internet). His father built the house, with help from Joe and his brothers.



Less that 100 yards from the cabin is the Conejos River. It flows into the Rio Grande River, that flows south through the center of New Mexico and then becomes the border between Texas and Mexico. The Conejos river water is used for crop irrigation many times between here and the Gulf of Mexico. Indeed the amount of water that reaches the Gulf is no more than the amount seen in this picture.



In the evening of our first full day in the valley, I wanted to see if I could get a picture. Across the river I walked less than half a mile and saw this gap in the forested hillside. It was rougher than it looked but I eventually got to one of those rock shelves.



This is the view of the settlement in the valley. Joe's cabin is in the center of this picture, just beyond the thick stand of cottonwood trees. Near the left end of the tall trees a small bit of the roof of Joe's cabin is visible. It's not just Joe's place, his brother is half owner.



The next day we wanted to see if we could get up the ridge on the west side of the river. The altitude at the bridge is 8800 feet. We crossed the river and turned left to start the ascent. The path we followed ascended a portion of the ridge to the left of what is seen in this photo.



This view is looking back toward the settlement which is not very visible from here due to the trees. The path is seen along the lower left of this picture.



The trail was in wooded hillside most of the rest of the day.



From time to time we got picturesque views through gaps in the trees of the Conejos River valley looking southward.



About a quarter of the way up the ridge we took a side trail to see Rough Creek Falls.



Back on the main trail, we were treated from time to time with colorful and delicate wildflowers. This flower is apparently called Scarlet Gilia or Fairy Trumpet.



I'm told that this wildflower is called Wild Rose.



We reached a rock outcrop where we had an unobstructed view down the valley.



This is the view of the settlement from the rock outcrop. There was not visibility up the valley.



The trail was excellent. Through we were climbing a rather steep hill, the trail zigzagged upward. There were no steep portions of the trail. Not only was the route well chosen, but the trail was well maintained. There is privately owned land at several locations along the floor of the valley but all of the land on the ridges on each side of the valley is public land managed by the US Forest Service. The San Juan Mountains on this side of the valley are part of the Rio Grande National Forest. This path is called the Ruybalid Trail.



More wildflowers, Indian Paintbrush, I believe.



Higher on the hillside, there was this view of the river flowing south. In the distance the valley bends around to the southeast.



Another view looking down the valley, again nicely framed by the nearby trees.



Joe says these delicate wildflowers are White Columbines, the state flower of Colorado.



We reached this meadowland on the top of the ridge. The top of the ridge is relatively flat for a number of miles along the ridge.



There was also a pond up there on the top of the ridge. The altitude seems to be about 11040 feet, about 2240 feet above the river. Since it was a couple of hours before dusk and the trail to Lake Ruybalid was not totally clear and we didn't have a map with us, we decided the prudent thing was to head back down.



Late in the afternoon there wasn't much sunshine, which in this case made the color of the wildflowers brighter. This may be the same cluster of Paintbrush I had photographed four hours earlier in sunshine.



The descending walk went very quickly, due significantly to the excellent condition of the trail. It seems that we walked roughly seven miles.

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