Beautifully restored private house Leadville
Just look at those beams and the stonework next door. GFriday, 25 August 2017
Photos from Leadville and Walden
The pink granite did not show up so you get buildings instead.
The Opera House Leadville
Just look at those beams and the stonework next door. G
Just look at those beams and the stonework next door. G
From South Fork to Silverthorne to Laramie
Our drive yesterday was meandering along the river valleys occasionally climbing but only one major mountain pass. As we passed through the small town of Beauna Vista we noted how aptly it was named. It sits on a high plain with a 14,000 foot mountain close by. The view was beauna .One change that I was interested in was that there was a period when we were driving through a valley of pink granite as opposed to the usual grey. I have taken a photo and if it looks OK I will attach it. The railway lines around here have been closed as the mining has petered out. Thus there are a lot of surplus rail cars which have just been shunted into long rows and abandoned. It makes the place look untidy.
By lunch time we had reached Leadville. This was originally a gold mining town which then became silver/lead mining and now there is a huge molybdenum open cut. The town has an interesting history and some great old buildings once again. This includes a huge opera house. You can take a tour if you have the time but which we decided it was not a priority. We did go into the old Presbyterian Church were a delightful elderly woman gave us the history. It had been abandoned by the church for a larger more modern construction and had fallen into disrepair. Some community minded citizens raised funds to renovate it and it is now a small musical theatre. Interestingly all the seats were still functional and arranged in a semi circle along the length of the church, complete with attachments under the seat for the mens top hats.
We strolled the main street and then moved on to Silverthorne, just a bit west of Denver. We have been to Denver before so chose a new overnight stop. Silverthorne has an Outlet Mall and for the first time since San Francisco I was let loose. We arived early and it was cold and wet so first we had a nap and by the time we headed for the Outlets it had stopped. We were both very restrained and only purchased things that we really wanted. The consequence of this was that overnight I decided that there was something I needed to go back for. This nearly caused a divorce because the Outlets don't open till 10am. Bob was obviously impatient though he suffered my desire as we did not have far to go today. I had made my purchase and we were on the road by 10:10am.
We were travelling through the high plain country again today and were amazed at the number of major rivers that we crossed. This is obviously the headwaters for the following: Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Canadian and the Grizzly Bear Creek which we crossed three times. Add in the Rio Grande and the Arkensas which we met yesterday and we have seen a lot of the American water supply.
We took a break and our usual stroll around a small town called Walden. Once again the buildings hooked us and we were even more amazed when we rounded a corner to find that the county seat ( local govt building) was a palatial 2 stories with imposing Southern style pillars ( also 2 stories high) at the entrance. There must have been a mining history here as well.
We stopped for our usual picnic lunch at a National Parks entry to some walking trails. It was very pleasant sitting in the shade of the pine trees at the tables provided. Sadly many of the pine trees have been decimated by the Pine Beetle. The good thing is that there is distinct evidence of regrowth.
We are in Laramie for the night and intend to go exploring once we have had a cuppa. There is lots of blood and thunder history here. More tomorrow.
By lunch time we had reached Leadville. This was originally a gold mining town which then became silver/lead mining and now there is a huge molybdenum open cut. The town has an interesting history and some great old buildings once again. This includes a huge opera house. You can take a tour if you have the time but which we decided it was not a priority. We did go into the old Presbyterian Church were a delightful elderly woman gave us the history. It had been abandoned by the church for a larger more modern construction and had fallen into disrepair. Some community minded citizens raised funds to renovate it and it is now a small musical theatre. Interestingly all the seats were still functional and arranged in a semi circle along the length of the church, complete with attachments under the seat for the mens top hats.
We strolled the main street and then moved on to Silverthorne, just a bit west of Denver. We have been to Denver before so chose a new overnight stop. Silverthorne has an Outlet Mall and for the first time since San Francisco I was let loose. We arived early and it was cold and wet so first we had a nap and by the time we headed for the Outlets it had stopped. We were both very restrained and only purchased things that we really wanted. The consequence of this was that overnight I decided that there was something I needed to go back for. This nearly caused a divorce because the Outlets don't open till 10am. Bob was obviously impatient though he suffered my desire as we did not have far to go today. I had made my purchase and we were on the road by 10:10am.
We were travelling through the high plain country again today and were amazed at the number of major rivers that we crossed. This is obviously the headwaters for the following: Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Canadian and the Grizzly Bear Creek which we crossed three times. Add in the Rio Grande and the Arkensas which we met yesterday and we have seen a lot of the American water supply.
We took a break and our usual stroll around a small town called Walden. Once again the buildings hooked us and we were even more amazed when we rounded a corner to find that the county seat ( local govt building) was a palatial 2 stories with imposing Southern style pillars ( also 2 stories high) at the entrance. There must have been a mining history here as well.
We stopped for our usual picnic lunch at a National Parks entry to some walking trails. It was very pleasant sitting in the shade of the pine trees at the tables provided. Sadly many of the pine trees have been decimated by the Pine Beetle. The good thing is that there is distinct evidence of regrowth.
We are in Laramie for the night and intend to go exploring once we have had a cuppa. There is lots of blood and thunder history here. More tomorrow.
Thursday, 24 August 2017
Photos from Creede
The valley where most of the early silver mines were. The log cabins are now mostly weekenders or holiday lets.
South Fork &Creede
Yesterday when I read the blog back to Bob he thought that I had left out a couple of important things. One was the Ford GT that we saw on the road out of Ouray. This was the racing version that won numerous races in a very short career. Then Ford stopped producing them. We very graciously pulled over to let him past and didn'see him again after the next bend. The second was the huge number of bikes in this area, most of them Harleys of course, but yesterday we saw three Can Am's and a Gold Wing touring together. Then last night they were eating dinner at the next table in the restaurant and we had a good chat.
Yesterday was mountain travel on a good road so pretty relaxed. We detoured briefly to get a closer view of a National Monument, "The Chimney". We spotted some Praire Dogs as we drove in. They are cute little creatures that sit up on their haunches to look for predators the same as Meercats. We tried for photos but they decided we were in the predator catagory.
South Fork is at a junction of the Rio Grand River and is primarily a ski resort town. Unusually for this altitude (8000 feet) it is on level ground and spread out. It has a very good visitor centre which had a small stuffed bear that we gould photograph for Eleanor and Hannah. The ranger suggested that we spend the afternoon taking a 20 mile drive up to Creede. This is an old mining town turned tourist centre. The difference here is that is was the area of the richest silver mine in North America - 200 ozs per ton. The town is very well preserved and visually attractive. If I can make my photo programme work I will include some shots. There is a "gap" in the surrounding mountains at the end of the town which is very steep sided and narrow. It is the junction of the road out of town and the road to the numerous mine sites, hence important. There is the usual problem with rock falls and sIips here and to protect the road there is an amazing dry stone walling system all the way up the side of the valley, about 200 feet in a switchback pattern. It is obviously old and has had to be reinforced with timber in places but is substancially in place. We strolled around the main street after a walk out to the gap. The town is another 1,000 feet higher than South Fork and constrained to a couple of streets but is prosperous and very well maintained. We had a chat with the owner of a Standard Poodle and I was allowed to have a thorough pat.
We discovered some information at the visitor centre that explained why we feel woozy when walking at these altitudes. Apparently there is a higher risk of dehydration as you lose moisture more rapidly up here. We have been drinking more water than usual because the days are warm but apparently not enough. Our accommodation overnight is a 100 year old log cabin which is small but entirely self contained and very comfortable. It even has two rocking chairs which we have made good use of. Over and out.
Yesterday was mountain travel on a good road so pretty relaxed. We detoured briefly to get a closer view of a National Monument, "The Chimney". We spotted some Praire Dogs as we drove in. They are cute little creatures that sit up on their haunches to look for predators the same as Meercats. We tried for photos but they decided we were in the predator catagory.
South Fork is at a junction of the Rio Grand River and is primarily a ski resort town. Unusually for this altitude (8000 feet) it is on level ground and spread out. It has a very good visitor centre which had a small stuffed bear that we gould photograph for Eleanor and Hannah. The ranger suggested that we spend the afternoon taking a 20 mile drive up to Creede. This is an old mining town turned tourist centre. The difference here is that is was the area of the richest silver mine in North America - 200 ozs per ton. The town is very well preserved and visually attractive. If I can make my photo programme work I will include some shots. There is a "gap" in the surrounding mountains at the end of the town which is very steep sided and narrow. It is the junction of the road out of town and the road to the numerous mine sites, hence important. There is the usual problem with rock falls and sIips here and to protect the road there is an amazing dry stone walling system all the way up the side of the valley, about 200 feet in a switchback pattern. It is obviously old and has had to be reinforced with timber in places but is substancially in place. We strolled around the main street after a walk out to the gap. The town is another 1,000 feet higher than South Fork and constrained to a couple of streets but is prosperous and very well maintained. We had a chat with the owner of a Standard Poodle and I was allowed to have a thorough pat.
We discovered some information at the visitor centre that explained why we feel woozy when walking at these altitudes. Apparently there is a higher risk of dehydration as you lose moisture more rapidly up here. We have been drinking more water than usual because the days are warm but apparently not enough. Our accommodation overnight is a 100 year old log cabin which is small but entirely self contained and very comfortable. It even has two rocking chairs which we have made good use of. Over and out.
Wednesday, 23 August 2017
Durango Colorado Wed 23/8
Yesterday was very relaxed. Domestic duties such as a visit to the supermaket and the laundry were required. Then we walked the mile into the historic downtown and browsed the shops. Discovered a "French" bakery which bakes almost authentic bagettes. We will be calling there in the morning to purchase one for our lunch. The American bread is usually too sweet for our preference. We visited the railway station which has been fully restored as a museum including an operating steam train which makes daily trips up to Silverton during the Summer. Bob tells me it runs during Winter as well weather permitting. There are a few of these trains in the region and we had a ride on one with Lou and Mike in our travels with them.
Durango is a pretty town and has some well preserved old buildings allthough like many of the towns through here the buildings post date a major fire in the late 1800's. We visited the Information Centre to obtain a map of the River Walk and walked it back to our hotel. We also found out how to use the "trolley" bus which goes past our hotel down to the historic district.
After lunch and a nap and another cup of tea we paddled around until shower time and set off for dinner. We caught the trolley downtown and perused all the resaurant offerings until we found a menu to our taste and price range. It was a good choice. We sat outside in a walled garden set up with a series of gazebos. It was very pleasant surroundings and temperature and the food was good. Generally we have found wine to be expensive often buying by the glass. However I have discovered the Californian Zinfandell wine which is a little different to our Aussie offerings but very drinkable so we splurged on a bottle. As we sat finishing our meal we heard melodious singing and then we saw a Barbershop group stroll into our part of the restaurant. They stood by our table to sing two songs and as they finished the dimutive conductress engaged Bob in a twirl, to his delight. It was a good night. We then caught the Trolley back up the hill to our motel. The Trolley is operated by the City and a donation of $1 is the fare, 50 cents for seniors. It runs ever 20 minutes from 9am till 10pm and seems to always be on time. It is a great service and just adds to the overall tourist focus of the town. We have enjoyed our stay. Today we are off to South Fork, another community relying on tourism but much smaller.
Durango is a pretty town and has some well preserved old buildings allthough like many of the towns through here the buildings post date a major fire in the late 1800's. We visited the Information Centre to obtain a map of the River Walk and walked it back to our hotel. We also found out how to use the "trolley" bus which goes past our hotel down to the historic district.
After lunch and a nap and another cup of tea we paddled around until shower time and set off for dinner. We caught the trolley downtown and perused all the resaurant offerings until we found a menu to our taste and price range. It was a good choice. We sat outside in a walled garden set up with a series of gazebos. It was very pleasant surroundings and temperature and the food was good. Generally we have found wine to be expensive often buying by the glass. However I have discovered the Californian Zinfandell wine which is a little different to our Aussie offerings but very drinkable so we splurged on a bottle. As we sat finishing our meal we heard melodious singing and then we saw a Barbershop group stroll into our part of the restaurant. They stood by our table to sing two songs and as they finished the dimutive conductress engaged Bob in a twirl, to his delight. It was a good night. We then caught the Trolley back up the hill to our motel. The Trolley is operated by the City and a donation of $1 is the fare, 50 cents for seniors. It runs ever 20 minutes from 9am till 10pm and seems to always be on time. It is a great service and just adds to the overall tourist focus of the town. We have enjoyed our stay. Today we are off to South Fork, another community relying on tourism but much smaller.
Tuesday, 22 August 2017
Grand Junction to Durango Colorado 21/8
Yesterday was another interesting one. We began by setting off to find a Post Office to buy some stamps printed for the solar eclipse. We did buy some and I had visions of buying some cards and having them date stamped for the 21st but that was not to be. I had persuaded Bob to visit the Gunnison Black Canyon National Park. This added an extra 60 miles to our day but we had realised that we had travelled part of this road on a previous trip with my cousins Mike and Lou Ann. The only road in marked on our map turned our to be the lesser Park entry accessing the North Rim of the Canyon. This was mildly annoying when we studied the Park map supplied but seemed of no major consequence. A bonus was that there were free eclipse glasses supplied so we actually viewed the partial eclipse. We ser off to walk the rim but once we achieved the first overlook we realised that that was as far as we could go. The ultimate spot was an hour further and the altitude was affecting us again. We took our photos and returned.
We then decided to take the circuit route to get back to our original route. It would also take us past the main entrance to the South Rim of the Canyon, if we had time. This was a very beautiful drive through the mountains and we found a rest stop with great views to eat lunch. However we had forgotten just how slow it can be driving these roads. By the time we reached Ouray, known as "Little Switzerland" we still had two hours driving ahead. And this was without seeing the South Rim. We had stayed in Ouray with Mike and LouAnn so we were not too disappointed that we needed to keep driving. By now it was thundery and threatening rain so that was another imperative. The gorge leading south from Ouray is the main reason that this highway is recommended as not to be missed. It was great to revisit it and even though the 25mph speed limit for a long way made slow going it was worth it. We then wound our was along the Rocky Mountains, not just over them, There were two major passes to climb over. One at 10,900 feet and one at 10,600. Along the way we went past the old mining towns of Silverton and Telluride showing wooden structures dating from the late 1800's. We finally drove into Durango at 6-30pm, During the day we had experienced temperatures in the high 80's in the valleys and then dropping to the 60's on the mountains. We had been through the rain but it stopped by the time we reached our motel and the temp was 54. Such contrasts.
Ouray
We then decided to take the circuit route to get back to our original route. It would also take us past the main entrance to the South Rim of the Canyon, if we had time. This was a very beautiful drive through the mountains and we found a rest stop with great views to eat lunch. However we had forgotten just how slow it can be driving these roads. By the time we reached Ouray, known as "Little Switzerland" we still had two hours driving ahead. And this was without seeing the South Rim. We had stayed in Ouray with Mike and LouAnn so we were not too disappointed that we needed to keep driving. By now it was thundery and threatening rain so that was another imperative. The gorge leading south from Ouray is the main reason that this highway is recommended as not to be missed. It was great to revisit it and even though the 25mph speed limit for a long way made slow going it was worth it. We then wound our was along the Rocky Mountains, not just over them, There were two major passes to climb over. One at 10,900 feet and one at 10,600. Along the way we went past the old mining towns of Silverton and Telluride showing wooden structures dating from the late 1800's. We finally drove into Durango at 6-30pm, During the day we had experienced temperatures in the high 80's in the valleys and then dropping to the 60's on the mountains. We had been through the rain but it stopped by the time we reached our motel and the temp was 54. Such contrasts.
Ouray Photos from Utah
I had trouble finding my way around the site again yesterday but have it taped now I think.
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