The Crystal Mill at Marble

Yummy breakfast sandwiches hit the spot before we headed out that morning - it was COLD!!!  I dressed in a lot of layers as there was rain in the forecast and we had our rain gear just in case!

I've wanted to go over Kebler Pass for many years and it was absolutely gorgeous!!  WOW!!  The colors were amazing and besides getting behind a slow water truck that wouldn't turn his sprayer off so we could go around, it was a beautiful drive!!

We had just gotten around the water truck when we turned a corner and there was a sheep herder bringing about 2000 sheep down the mountain to lower ground!!  Of course we had quite a line up of cars behind us and also at the other end trying to come up the pass!!!  It was SO FUN to watch the sheep and try to get around them!!

This is looking out the back window after we had gotten around some of the sheep!

We trailered over to Marble which actually took quite a while - Marble is way back in and an extremely small town, mainly mining marble.  There were signs all over stating no parking of trailers in town so we followed the ATV book out to a lake where it said you could park!  But the signs there too said NO PARKING so we went up the road a ways and could see where people had parked their vehicles and trailers and we basically got the last spot!! 

The sun hadn't peeked out at all so we bundled up even more and headed out on the ATV!  It was a fairly smooth ride with gorgeous scenery!!

Soon it started misting out and we were getting wet so stopped and put on our rain gear!!  Lunch was spent under our plastic tablecloth as it was raining pretty good!!

Then we started down the other side and the road was a LOT rougher this way!!  But it was all WORTH it when I saw this!!!  SO AMAZING - it was raining so not the bright pictures that I wanted but that's OK!!!

After our amazing day we ate at Garlic Mike's which is 1/2 between Almont and Gunnison - the meal was so good and we'll definitely eat there again when we're in the area!

Another fantastic day............................

2018 Fall Trip

I absolutely LOVE our annual fall trips that we take - and although Lake City is my all time favorite, we do switch it up every now and then and that's what we decided to do this year!  One of the items on my bucket list for Colorado is seeing the Crystal Mill - it's on every Colorado calendar that has beautiful scenes and I told Glenn that this year I wanted to see it!  So we planned our trip around that and I booked a cabin over at Almont where we have stayed several times!

It was a beautiful drive heading towards Gunnison as the leaves over in that area were getting close to being peak and I always love driving over Monarch Pass!  Glenn had found a trail over by Crested Butte and we drove there first to ride it as we couldn't check into our cabin yet!

The views and trees were gorgeous!!

Are we lost?  No, just checking on the trail!

So we're riding along and I see 4 black cows off in the valley ahead of us - and as we got closer I said to Glenn that they didn't really look like cows?????  And he said, nope - they're MOOSE!!!!  I was so excited I could hardly stand it!!!  And there were actually 4 of them but because I had to zoom in so far, I couldn't get the one in the picture!!  WOW - how amazing was this to see!!!  I had a smile on my face the rest of the day!

There were lots of orange trees this year and gosh they were pretty against that blue sky!!

Most of this trail ran along a beautiful creek with lots of little waterfalls!

We are always looking for a new place to stay in a cabin and we saw a sign for a place to stay with separate cabins so pulled in there so I could get a brochure!  Walked up to the office to talk with someone and we talked a minute before he told us no ATV's were allowed - we told him we could trailer our ATV off the property if we stayed here next year and he informed us that NO TRAILERS were allowed on the property either - REALLY????  Guess we won't be staying there!!

One of my favorite pictures I snapped before we headed back to check in at our cabin!

We always enjoy staying at Almont - I had brought snacks and drinks so we enjoyed them on our deck before we went out to eat!  We thought we had 2 choices of places to eat, one at each resort in this tiny town but found out one kitchen was closed down due to a fire.............we ate at the resort we were at!  I thought it was good but Glenn wasn't impressed!  It was fun to sit outside though as the weather was beautiful!

After a great nights' sleep we were ready for Day 2 of our trip!

Fairplay Colors

It's fall - which means I'll be posting lots and lots of aspen pictures!!  Because the colors were so pretty over by Fairplay, I asked Rayna if she wanted to go over there with her camera and take pictures!   OF COURSE!!

So Sunday morning we headed out early to Fairplay as I had to be back for a 4-H Foundation picnic early afternoon!  Jaime joined us and we stopped at the little cafe in Fairplay for coffee - always a good spot but really busy!!

It was a gorgeous morning and we stopped several times by the side of the road to capture the aspens!

The views were breathtaking and Rayna had fun with her good camera!

An awesome morning spent with Jaime and Rayna!

Mosquito Pass

When we came back from elk hunting, we went through Breckenridge and Fairplay and the colors were gorgeous!  So since we came home a couple of days early, we decided to head back over to Fairplay and ATV Mosquito Pass - we had never done this pass and I had visions of beautiful aspen trees!!

After eating out for breakfast (which is always a treat since we stopped in Florissant and they have awesome coffee there!) we headed up to Fairplay which is only an hour away.  We found the road we wanted and it was solid washboard for miles!  Not a good start!

The colors were beautiful along the road but it followed a subdivision so too hard to take pictures!  The road got even worse and we couldn't find a place to park the truck - and of course there was a huge sign that said no ATV's??  We really didn't know what to do so just decided to find a large spot on the side of the road and unload - and that's what we did!

Little did I know at that time that we were almost out of the aspens and soon we were above treeline!  Which basically means no trees - no plants!  And the road was horrible - solid rocks - and it was a miserable ride to the top - only to discover the road down on the other side was in the same condition!  I think it would have been fine in a jeep, but not on an ATV!!

This photo is looking back down as we were getting close to the top of the pass!

Mosquito Pass is the highest driveable pass in Colorado!  It got its' name when a town meeting was being held and a mosquito was squashed in a book!  I didn't feel the high elevation when we were on top but on the way home that day, I felt pretty lousy for a while!!

This is looking down the other side of the pass!  After all that bouncing around, we were just sure that the road way down would be better but it wasn't!

We did take one side trail and went as far as we could before it got so rough we decided to turn around!  This photo was at the bottom of the pass and the only leaves we saw on the other side!

Cross off Mosquito Pass  - been there, done that - and will NEVER do it again!!!!

The Realities of Elk Camp

Yes - I went with Glenn so he didn't have to be by himself hunting elk!  No - I don't hunt, I sit in the 5th wheel and read or sit outside if possible.  Yes - I packed enough groceries for an entire week as that's how long we were to be there.  No - I really do hope I don't have to go next year...…………..

We headed up towards Walden which is a beautiful area - Glenn had a road picked out that he wanted to camp at because it was close to where he wanted to hunt!  But it was a logging road (an active logging road) and basically there were only a couple of places that we could fit the 5th wheel in - neither of the places was ideal but we finally got the camper in the spot and set up!

I was excited to see the leaves were turning!!

Now when we camp, I like the outside to be all neat and tidy - and that's certainly NOT what happens when Glenn hunts!!  I mean really, how ghetto does it look when you have a freezer sitting outside your campsite?

And check out the actual site!!  As you can see, trees were hitting the slide-out on one side and the awning on the other side!!  And the rest of the space was covered in rose hips - little plants that have thorns on them!!  So it wasn't even fun to sit outside because you could hardly see through the trees!

And did I mention the cows?  It's open grazing there so there were cows walking by all of the time which means manure which translates to FLIES!!!  And did I also mention that the logging starts about 2:00am?????  Yup, that's the time when the trucks start rolling by!!

So it was an interesting time there!  I spent most of my time indoors sorting "paper memories" which was a good job to get done!!  I watched a couple of movies, courtesy of the generator, read some old journals, and did some regular reading!

I did go for morning walks (but not too far as I forgot to bring my bear spray)but they were quick walks because when those logging trucks go by, they're fast!!!  And the road is none too wide!!

We did go for an ATV ride the first day we arrived and I sure enjoyed looking at the colors!!

I was THRILLED when Glenn got his elk the 2nd day the season opened!!  Since we arrived 2 days early anyway, that meant we wouldn't be there for an entire week!!  He was happy - I was happy!!

After he got it all quartered out and brought to our campsite, he plugged in the freezer and had to cool it all down before we headed home!  This rainbow came out the morning we left!!

And on the way home, we had a nice view of Rabbit Ears - I'm not sure why this peak got called Rabbit Ears because the rocks sure don't look like ears but it's a cute name anyway!!

And a picture of the elk??????  Right here!!  That's the best Glenn could do since it was nearly dark when he shot the elk!

Back To School

I was waiting for the final grandchild to start school before I posted this and it's happened - all the kids are back in school!!

From Ft Collins we have Aleah who is in the 4th grade and Parker who is in the 2nd grade!

From Centennial we have Evan who is in the 6th grade and Kenzie who is in the 4th grade.

From Divide we have Rayna who is a junior and Kylan who is in the 5th grade.  Because Jaime worked that day, a back to school photo didn't get taken so I took this over Labor Day Weekend at their new house which is being built!!

And again from Centennial, we have our youngest Gwyn who started pre-school!!  WOW - I can't believe they're all getting so big!!

The Leadville Train

Why had we never taken the Leadville train?  I have no idea since I love to ride trains, especially when it's in the mountains!

It was a nice warm day to ride the train - in fact, I had TOO many layers on with that sun coming down and had to shed one of the shirts!

The train was great - 2 outside passenger cars, 2 inside passenger cars, a souvenir and food car, and a bathroom car!  We had chosen an outside car and even picked the correct side to be on for the best views!

Lots of rugged country !

I had Jane take a couple of photos of us - but it was so bright we didn't think to take off our sunglasses!

One of the train crew did a narration as we went by certain things so that was interesting to listen to!!!

At this stop we were allowed to get off the train and stretch............

And of course the mandatory photographer was on board - I never buy those photos but Glenn insisted that we get it!!

We all enjoyed the ride - and then just hung around Leadville for a little while until the restaurant we were going to eat at opened!  Quincy's is the name of it and there are 5 different ones in Colorado (wish they would open one in Woodland Park!!).  They only serve one item - filet mignon for 4 nites and prime rib the other nites!!  If you're a vegetarian, they have vegetarian lasagna - and they make sure before they seat you that you DO know about the limited menu!!

Last time we were in Leadville it wasn't open so I was excited to eat there!!  The best part about it is the price - for a 6 oz filet, salad, loaded baked potato and bread, it's $10.95.  And the price goes up if you order a larger filet!   I had the 6 oz - great salad (just their house dressing and it was delicious!), good potato and an excellent steak - cooked to perfection!!  Glenn had a larger steak, we each had a drink and the total bill was $38.00!  Can't beat that!!  And think how easy it would be to be a waitress there!!

Another great camping trip to put in the memory books!

Turquoise Lake

Leadville - BRRRRRR - no matter what time of the year you go, it's always a lot cooler because of the elevation!  So I always know to pack a little warmer when we head there!

Elevation at Leadville is 10,430 feet!  It is the highest incorporated city in North America - although it's not a city, it's a town!!  But it was a lot busier this year than it was a few years ago when we were there!

We went with friends Dick and Jane and camped once again at Turquoise Lake - there are a lot of camping spots there with several campgrounds so we knew there wouldn't be any problem getting a campsite - WRONG!!!  It seems that just because you go in the middle of the week anymore, doesn't assure that it won't be busy ANYWHERE there is camping - that just seems to be the new norm anymore!!  Since Dick's have a large motor home and we have the 5th wheel, you can't always get in a lot of places!  Luckily the campground host took us to two that were side by side that we both could fit in and it was perfect!

Hooray for campfires!  All the burn bans have went away now - it's nice to be able to enjoy a fire in the evenings!

Looking up around the campfire - check out that BLUE sky!!

Jane and I took a long walk on a trail each morning - the scenery is just gorgeous!

I just may have to do a couple of new canvas prints from the picture above and this one below!

We ate at the Tennessee Pass Cafe the first night - Jane and I had decided we didn't want to cook dinners so ate in town both nights which was a real treat!  We walked around Leadville (which didn't take too long) and had a nice meal outside before the sun went down and it got too cold!!

And next up was the train...................