Tag: Salida

More sightseeing in Salida

We arrived last night at another Boondockers Welcome site in Salida, CO. They are having a big kayak festival this weekend, and the town is really busy. We decided to do some sightseeing today, so we drove across Monarch Pass to Crested Butte. The Madonna Mine is one of the biggest sights on the eastern side of the pass.

Huge area was mined
The mill is still impressive

The pass is high enough that Kevin and I were both yawning a lot to get more oxygen in our lungs. We live at 800’!

The GPS told us why we had no oxygen

The views in Crested Butte were the standard lovely vistas.

Looking from Mt Crested Butte to Crested Butte

We had Father’s Day dinner tonight because tomorrow will be a hard day. We are driving all the way to Cheyenne, WY, and we have to get going early to miss the hoards coming from the front range into Colorado Springs and Denver. The roads can come to a complete halt by late afternoon so we want to get through early. Our host has been lovely here, and we are going to another Boondockers Welcome site before heading to Buffalo, WY and a real campground! We disconnected from our host 20 amp electricity as soon as it cooled down enough to turn off the AC, and we will be running on battery and solar until we get to Buffalo. Checking out the new lithium batteries!

Last days in Del Norte

We went back to Creede on Wednesday to drive the Bachelor Loop Byway. It is a relatively short high clearance route driving by many of the mines that made Creede the biggest boomtown in Colorado with 10,000 people.

The mines and mills were impressive. The Amethyst mine was the biggest
Tram and rail lines were laid along the mountain face
Old mill with tram and rail lines

The same day we went to the Bachelor Loop we also went to Great Sand Dunes National Park. However it was so crowded we didn’t do anything except drive through and double park briefly for some pictures. The reason I wanted to go so much was because the river was running. There is just something impressive about a flowing river backed by the sand dunes. However i didn’t check that the picture I took was any good before I left; it wasn’t. You will just have to take my word for it.

Our first blooming cactus! Found at Great Sand Dunes

Our last day at Del Norte was Thursday, and we decided to go to Pagosa Springs across Wolf Creek Pass for lunch. As usual, the drive was gorgeous.

From one of the scenic viewpoints
Treasure Falls

We had a lovely brunch, but Pagosa Springs was so crowded we didn’t do anything except drive through the edge. What a crazy time, and it is only mid June! The biggest tourist time is usually mid July, so I will far, far away!

We left this morning for our next spot in Salida. We are staying at a Boondockers Welcome spot again. This time we are at the edge of town and parked in their driveway. It is pretty unlevel, but there is a reason Kevin keeps a LOT of leveling blocks. The hosts are very nice. The best thing is that we had absolutely no need for AC after we set up! Finally we are getting cooler weather building in.

I am not quite sure what we are doing tomorrow, but we will figure it out!