Sunday morning loop into New Mexico

 It's a beautiful early August day, not too hot and no clouds in the sky - perfect for a morning motorcycle ride. We decided to ride a loop to Navajo Lake and explore some new roads. We started off riding south on US 84, turning west onto US 64 after we crossed from Colorado into New Mexico.

We rode through the Jicarilla Apache Nation that covers almost 880,000 acres in the upper San Juan River Basin and Rio Chama.

There was almost no traffic as we zoomed along the straights and through the gentle curves.

Our destination was Navajo Lake, the second largest lake in New Mexico and home to two state parks - one in New Mexico, and the other in Colorado. Navajo Dam was built in 1962 on the San Juan River to provide water storage for use on the Navajo Reservation.

We decided to turn north onto NM 539, a twisting, winding 2-lane paved road that provided lots of motorcycle fun as well as beautiful views.

The road goes over the dam, providing views in all directions.

NM 539 ends at the junction with NM 511, and we continued north along the lake.

We crossed back into Colorado, riding into the Southern Ute Reservation as the landscape between more green and mountainous.

We turned east onto CO 151 in Ignacio, home to the Southern Ute government. CO 151 is part of the Tracks Across Borders Scenic Byway which travels 89 miles from Durango, CO in the west to Chama, NM in the east. We caught glimpses of the northern edges of Navajo Lake, and then rode past Chimney Rock National Monument. 

Chimney Rock is the site of over 200 homes and ceremonial buildings of the Ancestral Puebloans who lived in this area from about 600-1125 AD. We hiked here last month when our oldest son and his girlfriend visited, and it's a fascinating stop.

CO 151 ends at US 160, and we turned east toward Pagosa Springs and then home. We rode about 3.5 hours today, covering 185 miles through northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, still home to the descendants of the Ancestral Puebloans and an important part of our history.

A perfect way to start an August Sunday.