Weekend Getaway in Pagosa Springs

Britt has been wanting to take a weekend trip with his snowmobiling buddies and their wives all winter.  But it is not the kind of thing you can really plan, when it is all contingent on the weather (especially since for the first part of this winter, the chances of him getting to hit the snow with his buddies wasn't looking good at all).  Well, after Britt discovered that Wolf Creek Pass near Pagosa Springs, Colorado was getting hit with the most snow, he decided they needed to check it out.  He went out a couple times, and decided it was definitely a place worth taking the wives to.  I think he was feeling a little guilty about enjoying the natural hot springs without us.

So, the second weekend in January, Britt and I headed over to Pagosa Springs with Kyle and Melissa Fullmer, and Bruce and Patty Lyman.  We stayed in a timeshare condo there courtesy of Joe and Carol (Britt's parents).  We arrived in plenty of time to find a great place to eat and then we enjoyed a few card games.

Kyle and Melissa have never spent a weekend away together without the kids.  It was a new experience for them, but I think they had a good time.

The place we stayed was lovely, and it was fun to discover our own personal snowman out our back patio:

The guys took off early in the morning to play on the mountain, and the girls hit the town.  We decided we really like Pagosa Springs, with or without the guys ;)  We enjoyed yummy breakfast burritos at a place we happened upon on the old town Main street, after we drove around taking pictures.  There was snow everywhere and it was really cold, but we didn't mind the cold too much there in town.

We loved discovering this cool old church 

and taking pictures of the steam rising off the hot springs 

We also did a lot of shopping.  We discovered a couple really cool antique places and some other fun shops there.  We went to the Spa at the Hot Springs Resort and got massages.  That was the best!  And we decided to save the complimentary passes for the hot springs until our men got off the mountain.  We found a cool little place to eat lunch, and it was packed, as everyone around was watching the playoff game between the Denver Broncos and the Baltimore Ravens.  We didn't really care about the game, but we decided we made the perfect choice for lunch.  It was absolutely tasty.  All of us loved the food we selected.  (I shouldn't have waited to write this; now I can't remember the name of the place or anything).

Around 5:00, the guys called and said they were on their way back into town and we met them at a little cafe, so they could get burgers.  They had been so cold on their snowmobiles, it had been nearly impossible to eat lunch up there.  They like to keep fried or roasted chicken in these compartments they have attached to their pipes (keeps the food warm when they ride, or something), but with the temperatures in the negatives, their fingers were too frozen to handle the food, which also obviously didn't stay warm for long.  Anyway, they were really looking forward to a soak in the hot springs after a cold day of riding.

The hot springs were really enjoyable, but we could hardly see each other (not such a bad thing, I guess) with the steam rising off the springs.  The guys had icicles hanging from their wet hair, but the hot water felt absolutely wonderful after being out in the cold all day.  We told the guys they should have booked one more night at the condo.  Then we could have gone back and relaxed, then drove home in the morning.  We will have to remember that next time.

We changed into dry clothes, turned up the heaters in our vehicles, and headed to Durango for a late dinner.  The Durango Steamworks ended up being the perfect choice.  Thank you, Facebook friends.   Anyway, it ended up being a late night getting home, but it had been such a fun little trip.  We definitely should go again some day.  Thanks, Melissa and Patty for joining me for a little girls day out.  I know I need more of that in my life.