On the Road with Maya: Days in Big Meadows

Big Meadows Campground from the opposite shore of the lake

From Alamosa we drove mostly west on Hwy 160 towards Wolf Creek pass stopping in South Fork to visit the Ranger Station and get information on campgrounds in the Rio Grande National Forest. A campground called Big Meadows was recommended to us and as the elevation there was over 9,000 feet, it was sure to be cooler than where we had been the past few days. Mountains were all around us and much of the road paralleled the Rio Grande River, at this point a much swifter, narrower and less muddy version of the Rio Grande than we had just seen in New Mexico.

We heard the fishing was a lot better than the 'catching'

We had been slowly gaining elevation all along but after leaving South Fork, the climb became more noticeable. Turning off Hwy 160 onto a forest road, we soon arrived at Big Meadows and were not disappointed or surprised in the least. It was indeed a campground in a big meadow by the Big Meadows Reservoir, a nice little fishing lake made by damming the Archuleta Creek.

Colorado Columbine

Since the campground had been constructed, Big Meadows was near a meadow and lake. But events over the past 10 years have made Big Meadows a much bigger meadow. The spruce bark beetle, a cousin of the pine bark beetle that has caused so much damage to pine trees, has been hard at work all through the Wolf Creek Pass area. From 50 - 90% of the spruce trees have died in this area, with some of the worse die off being right at Wolf Creek Pass.

Looking at the 'spruce kill' near Big Meadows Reservoir

Sad to see the dead trees but life is blooming in the sunlit openings

We heard from several campers that had been long time fans of Big Meadows, that this campground used to be thick and shady with all the spruce trees. The forest service has had to cut down the dead trees in the campground so they would not be a hazard to the campers and fishermen. Today the site is very open and sunny. Few shady campsites exist. But after several days in the 90s, sun and 70s sounded just fine. Actually, our charmed life was beginning to return as we had afternoon clouds and rain showers every day making it very pleasant.

There were so many blue flowers in the meadow.

We drove into Pagosa Springs to visit our friends, John and Cindy from Texas, who were also visiting friends in the area. Cindy made us a nice dinner at Jim and Betty’s beautiful house just outside the city. It was a lovely evening with amazing views of the San Juan Mountains from the deck. Then we drove back to the campground for an evening of gentle rain and peaceful sleep.

Cascade Falls

Morning walk around the lake, pretty nice!

Yes, our days in Big Meadows were charmed. Maya was recovering nicely and we were able to take short walks around the lake and to Cascade Falls. Later in the week we took a much longer walk up Archuleta Canyon into the Weminuche Wilderness. It was sad to see so many dead spruce, but hopeful to see so many young spruce pushing up everywhere. The opening in the forest canopy from the dead trees made it possible for wildflowers, shrubs and aspen to take hold. Nature has its seasons and as it has been said many times before, “there is a time for everything under the heavens.” Our days in Big Meadows were our own time for rest, renewal, enjoyment and appreciation of all the good things that life can be.