Returning to the vehicle, we proceeded out of Loop 3, back up Ruins Road past Loop 1 containing Spruce Tree House, past the Far View Visitor Center, past the Park Point turnoff, past the closed Morefield Campground, out through the park gate, to the main highway, highway 160. I had hoped that we would have time on one of our two days here to visit the Four Corners. It looked like, judging from the distances on the Colorado map, it would be an hour's drive there. But, because of our late start both mornings, and because we wanted to hit the sack early to get up early the next morning for the long drive back home, I had to resign myself to skipping Four Corners. We headed back to our campsite at Mancos State Park.

We made it back to camp around 4:15 to 4:30. Jeff was tired out from all the walking around and a little short of breath from his diminished lung capacity. We dug out our camp chairs and sat down to relax for a while. Around 5:15 or so we set up the camp stove and started heating up dinner.

After eating and washing the dishes, Jeff began gathering up pieces of wood and pine needles. Using some of our paper towels, he got a small fire going in the fire grate. As the evening wore on, the sky clouded over and the wind picked up, resulting in a drop in temperature. We put on our jackets and knit caps. With the wind blowing the smoke in every direction, I had to keep moving around the fire to keep the smoke from getting into my contacts.

Because the sky was becoming overcast, it got dark earlier. A few stars showed up, then disappeared as the sky filled with more clouds. We set up the lantern and lit it. Then we fired up the stove again to heat up water for our hot chocolate. Jeff kept the fire going with more pine needles and pieces of wood he had scavenged. We drank our two cupfuls, each, of hot chocolate, then lounged around the fire a little longer. Literally around, as we had to keep moving to stay out of the smoke.

Finally, about 8:30 or so, we decided to call it a night since we needed to get an early start in the morning. We put the fire out, shut off the lantern to give it time to cool, and made our last trips to the outhouse. By now, no stars were visible. We put everything into the vehicle except for our clothes for the morning, then crawled into the tent.