Living Our Dream: Vallecito Lake Vacation

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Vallecito Lake Vacation

We finally got away from Tucson's heat. We left Saturday, July 25, at 7am and the temp was reading 86. Already. Drove north thru ShowLow and on to Holbrook and picked up I40 east. In Gallup, NM we headed north towards Shiprock and the Navajo Nation. Then we moved east bound towards Durango and got groceries before final destination of a small town called Bayfield - actually we are in Vallecito. Pronounced Vie-ah-sea-toe. Spanish for little valley. The Ancestral peoples - Anasazi - were in the area for at least a thousand years. These same people are noted for Mesa Verde National Park and for the Four Corners region with the Ute Nation. One of the places we want to FINALLY visit is Chimney Rock National Monument which we have driven past at least 6 times over the 20 some years as we visited Colorado. Never stopped. On our bucket list this time.

The Spanish came through, then the miners for gold/silver/whatever and settled in this southwest area of Colorado. Many Spanish naming of things. Hence Vallecito. Hard to remember to pronounce it correctly. Due to flooding from the Vallecito Creek, and the need to collect and conserve water, Vallecito Dam was built in 1940. And you can see that this past winter was not kind to this and many areas southwest. The water level is so low. Many places are for sale - hard to get to the lake. And the marina has more boats up on land or moored way out - have to take a canoe or jet ski to it.

After getting in Saturday we spend the evening gawking at the views. And we even strolled down to the water where we have a stand-up-paddle board and a canoe at our disposal. We hope to try it out. Saw some Bambi's and lots of chipmunks around. Very quiet here, the smell of the pines, hearing birds chirp - lovely. Temps in the low 80s and night about 66.