SLV

Currently in Questa, NM
Next Up: Santa Fe over Labor Day weekend then Albuquerque

The San Luis Valley - an eclectic mix of sights and activities.  The train is the biggest attraction, and of course the history including the churches.  There is also the National Forest with camping, hiking and fishing.
We took a drive through the Rio Grande National Forest with the idea of hiking.  The Visitor Center did not have any hiking trail maps and I'm not one to venture out into the vast unknown, so we drove through instead.
It was another dirt road.

With lovely scenery.

 And more aspens.

We did take a short hike....

down to the Canejos River.

Along the trail we passed this "Fixer Upper" as our friend Jenny would say.

Once we got back on the road we ran into a road block!

Our goal was to reach the small fishing and hunting resort town of Platoro.  As soon as we got there the clouds opened up!

But it looked like an interesting place to enjoy the National Forest.  We hurried back down the dirt road as we didn't want to get caught in a flood.

There were a couple of other unusual attractions in the SLV.
Although there were many murals in the area, we found a unique piece of art in a regular neighborhood in Antonito.  Called the Cano Castle, it is made primarily of beer cans by Daniel Espinoza, a Viet Nam Vet.  It's hard to see from this photo, but the house is big!

We also got the chance to see the boyhood home of the "Manassa Mauler" - Jack Dempsey - as the town of Manassa is just up the road from Antonito.

He grew up in this tiny cabin with 10 brothers and sisters at the turn of the Century.  Hard to imagine!

The family was poor, so Jack left home at 14, was a train hopper, and started fighting as a boy in small mining towns.  Eventually, he made a living at boxing, becoming the heavyweight champion in 1919.  After his boxing career was over, he made a few movies.  The cabin is full of Dempsey Memorabilia.  One of the first sports heroes.

Jack Dempsey returned to Manassa several times, and the town is really proud of him.

So a couple of other notes about our time in Antonito.

Campground Note:  We met some really fun people from Texas/Oklahoma who held a Happy Hour every night.  The last night we were there I was planning to get a photo of the group, but it rained which shut down the Happy Hour.   We continue to find that RV people are the friendliest people anywhere!

RV Travel Note:  We spent an entire day (10 am-5:30 pm) booking our tour through Utah scheduled for late September/early October.  So many campgrounds were full already.  A popular topic amongst RVers, especially those who full time, like we do.  More and more people on the road, but no new campgrounds being built.  It's a jungle out there! Ha!