Desert of the Christ Benedictine Monastery

Christ in the Desert Monastery

Weds., June 7 – Our morning started with a 30-mile round-trip ride to the Christ in the Desert Benedictine Monastery.  Secluded in the desert down a 13 mile one lane dirt road along the Chama river, it is beautiful location.  Of course, we know of it because of its unique funding stream.  They grow their own hops and brew their own ……wait for it……Monk’s Ale made with care and prayer.  Sadly there is no tasting room at the monastery, but we did pick up a six-pack of Monk's Wit in Chama. 

After the ride we showered and broke camp at Echo Amphitheater. We traveled a short way down the road to Cumbres Pass north of Chama.  This is where the continental divide bike trail heads off toward Abiquiu, NM.  There was still snow pack and mucky roads.  Russ (Ted's riding partner for the Cuba to Columbus ride) had talked about starting here.  I am glad we (me) decided to pass on trying to tackle this section.  We ran into a couple who tried to cover this section in their Jeep and failed for mud and downed trees.  It would have been a very ugly ride.

We moved on a few miles to Elk Creek Campground just across the NM/CO border to spend a chilly night at 8500' of elevation.

Conojos River Valley near Horca, CO

Thurs., June 8 – Again we started with a bike ride.  Today an out and back of 20 miles on part of the Continental Divide route.  We followed the Conojos River Valley.  It’s amazing how much water we are seeing in the creeks and rivers compared to when we were in this area last fall.

Then into the RV and again a fairly short drive to Del Norte, Co.   This location was picked because the city has a free dump station, water and a one overnight camping in the park.  Our next stop will be Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park for several days and no water is available in the park, so we needed to dump the waste tanks and refill the water before moving on.