Overnight at La Manga Pass

We left Buena Vista and headed south on US-285 until we got to the junction of SR-17 just south of Villa Grove. SR-17 travels south southeast in a straight line...as though someone had used a ruler to lay out the road (maybe they did!).

After driving through Alamosa, we stopped in La Jara to have lunch at the Wagon Wheel Saloon and then continued on to Antonito where SR-17 heads west and then south into New Mexico. We stopped at a Forest Service dispersed camping area just before getting to La Manga Pass to spend the night (over 10,000' in elevation).

This is a free range area for cattle, and later in the evening, the cows that we'd seen across the highway crossed over to our side and headed for the fire ring behind us where they proceeded to eat from it (we assume there are minerals in the ash, sorta like a salt lick). There were a couple of calves who gave us a show butting heads with each other and generally, just playing together.


Miles driven: 158.8

GPS coordinates: N 37° 05.484' / W 106° 22.794'