From Wolf Creek Pass (elevation 10,850 feet), in the southern San Juan Mountains, I left the Rio Grande watershed and entered that of the San Juan River, the Great River of the Navaho Nation. Following a steep descent to Pagosa Springs, U.S. 160 fords the San Juan and begins to undulate westward through the foothills, crossing the Piedra, Los Pinos and Florida Rivers in sequence (all tributaries of the San Juan River); in doing so, the highway gradually moves away from the high wall of the Southern San Juans Mountains.
Nearing Durango, however, the road offers spectacular views of the La Plata Mountains, sculpted from a massive granite dome, which rise northwest of the city. On the eastern side of Durango, I turned south on US 550, driving atop then within the canyon of the Animas River, among the largest tributaries of the San Juan. With every mile toward the south, the landscape became noticeably drier, characterized by sage grasslands and mesas covered with piñon-juniper woodlands.
The Animas River joins the San Juan in Farmington, New Mexico, where I will spend the night, and the latter continues westward to Shiprock. From there, it bows northwestward, passing near the Four Corners Monument before reaching Bluff, Utah; beyond that town, the San Juan snakes westward to join the Colorado River within Lake Powell. Tomorrow, my wanderings will remain in the San Juan watershed until I cross a low divide between Cortez and Dolores, Colorado, thereby entering the watershed of the Dolores River.
Nearing Durango, however, the road offers spectacular views of the La Plata Mountains, sculpted from a massive granite dome, which rise northwest of the city. On the eastern side of Durango, I turned south on US 550, driving atop then within the canyon of the Animas River, among the largest tributaries of the San Juan. With every mile toward the south, the landscape became noticeably drier, characterized by sage grasslands and mesas covered with piñon-juniper woodlands.
The Animas River joins the San Juan in Farmington, New Mexico, where I will spend the night, and the latter continues westward to Shiprock. From there, it bows northwestward, passing near the Four Corners Monument before reaching Bluff, Utah; beyond that town, the San Juan snakes westward to join the Colorado River within Lake Powell. Tomorrow, my wanderings will remain in the San Juan watershed until I cross a low divide between Cortez and Dolores, Colorado, thereby entering the watershed of the Dolores River.
