Rick and Noreen

       Once again we are in the San Juan mountains of southwestern Colorado at Priest Gulch Campground -  our second season here. We increased to a 4-day work week working anywhere between 10-20 hours per week. We've also made use of our days off for a few camping trips in Thundra.       Side note: the campground is up for sale for a cool 6.9 million. If interested, let me (Rick) know, I can go in at 1%. *    Our first trip was a one-night stop north of Mancos State Park (Monday, May 26th) in an area known as Crystal Creek. This spot was enroute to Durango as we anticipated shopping the following day, and was just fifteen minutes north of Mancos Colorado on road # 42. We had a clear view of both Hesperus Peak and Sharkstooth Peak, which still had a substantial amount of snowpack.      Tuesday morning, before we headed out to Durango, we took a little sight- seeing ride up to the "Jersey Jim" lookout tower - a super ni...

  Our preference to backpack Aravaipa Canyon is via the east entrance which is 149 miles by car (3 hrs) or, 50 miles as-the-crow-flies.  Our adventure opens with the normal visit to Klondyke AZ...pop 12. We always drop in on the folks who run the small store and make a purchase. It's the kind of place where the dusty screen door slamming behind you wakes the storekeeper snoozing behind the counter. If you're ever needing to avoid the law, on the lam, or need a place to lay low for awhile.  Klondyke fits the bill.  Map to east trailhead. Reaching the east trailhead and Turkey Creek requires driving across the creek about a half dozen times. As we continue to head towards the canyon, we come into the tiny town of Aravaipa where we pass several homes, the Salazar family Church, and an open range 😏.  To gain an early start to backpack in the morning, our first planned night was to camp (in Thundra) at the trailhead in Turkey Creek, which when flowing, empties into ...