Southern Colorado Hwy 160 east to west

ezgoin wrote:
INSIDE slow lane? I would have assumed the outside (right) lane was the slow lane.:h

Inside I believe is in reference to the side against the mountain, outside is the lane furthest from the mountainside. Depends on which side the mountain is on.

ezgoin wrote:
How long is that down grade from Wolf Creek Pass to Pagosa Springs? Those really make the DW nervous. The fact that the down grade has two lanes should help curb her fears.

Me and Earl was haulin chickens
on the flatbed out of Wiggins and
we'd spent all night on the uphill side
of 37 miles of hell called Wolf Creek Pass

Sorry, the song didn't say how long either side was

RV using runaway truck ramp falls into the category of "Far easier to gain forgiveness than permission". An permission is not an option in this case!

Here's some information on Pagosa Hot Springs and how that water comes gets there. Our skin and joints feel soooo good after leaving. It's quite an experience. The water is not diluted and the restaurant patrons are not looking at you. The pools sit high on the bluff. They're probably looking at all the river activity below:

Pagosa Hot Springs

Actually the pools that rocmoc refer to are at the fancy spa. The water there is diluted and not the true mineral waters that come in from the hot spring. Since its a spa it supposed to be visible to others as that is what makes it attractive to be pulled in. There are pools at the bottom steps that access the river to cool off. We go across the street to the smaller place which has a big swimming pool and a small soaking pool. You can also take the mineral water home as they have a tap available. They also have inside hot pools for clothing optional soaking as well as some massage rooms, these inside rooms are actually really hot and we dont care for them.

If really want to the living waters (older place) has hot water venting to the river down by the bridge and many go there to save the costs. There are some rock pools and then there is the cold river!

Forgot to add, there is a fairly new RV park just north of town, associated with the local airpark. Forget its name but it just opened last season I believe and was still under construction. Looks like it may be a nice one eventually.

jrp wrote:
the downgrade from top to bottom, with varying grades of steepness, is approx 10 miles; If you stick to the inside/slow lane, there is not much exposure, except at the horseshoe curve about half way down.

INSIDE slow lane? I would have assumed the outside (right) lane was the slow lane.:h

Just drove this route a couple of weeks ago. Biggest problems were traffic & road repair. Took the route down thu Farmington & Gallup. Both Farmington & Gallup had horrible traffic. Also don't like the pools in Pagosa Springs as the nearby restaurants have outside dining that allows the customers the entertainment of watching the bathers. No privacy at all!

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

the downgrade from top to bottom, with varying grades of steepness, is approx 10 miles; followed by another 8 miles in the valley before you get to Pagosa.
If you stick to the inside/slow lane, there is not much exposure, except at the horseshoe curve about half way down. That's usually where the big rig truckers that loose their brakes and miss the run-away ramp, go over the edge. Over the last several years of hiway improvement projects, they have added a concrete retaining wall along the outside of that curve.

How long is that down grade from Wolf Creek Pass to Pagosa Springs? Those really make the DW nervous. The fact that the down grade has two lanes should help curb her fears.

160 is very scenic. I prefer continuing on 160 thru Cortez, Four Corners, Kayenta and Flagstaff. Didn't care for the alternative route of going thru Farmington and Gallup much. Traffic in Farmington was very slow and I preferred the scenery on 160 and 89 to Flagstaff.