Lake City, Colorado --- A Day Trip

Roger here....   We had been hanging around Creede for a couple of weeks, and although there is still plenty to do here, it was time for a side trip.  The Silver Thread Scenic Highway (149) traverses the valleys and mountains between South Fork and Lake City, CO.  We saw the first 23 miles when we drove the motor home to Creede.  It was now time to see the next 52 miles.  The opening photo shows a panoramic view of the headwaters of the Rio Grande River --- quite a view.

This is mining country.  Early in the drive, we passed the remains of an inactive mine.  We will show you a lot more about the mining in the area in the next post.

The first several miles followed the Rio Grande River.  From the valley, we noticed that the Aspens were starting to turn into that bright yellow that we had always heard about.  You can see them in the picture above near the top of the mountain.

Soon we began the inevitable zig-zag up into the mountains.  As the Toyota plodded along in third and sometimes second gear, the temperature dropped, and we found ourselves in the middle of a golden Aspen forest.  We were both glad that they turned color before we left the area.

As we topped the 11,530-foot Slumgullion Pass (what a name!), views of different mountains appeared.   They looked familiar to us for good reason.  These were the same mountains that we saw in Ouray --- only the other side.  The cloudy day definitely detracted from some of the most spectacular views.

Red Mountain is red on this side, as well.

As we descended into Lake City, we passed by a colorful landslide.





It was Dianne's birthday.  She usually finds embarrassing pictures of me to post on my birthdays; however, it appears that there are no youthful pics of Dianne in the archives that she manages.  (I am sure she did this on purpose :-)).

I did manage to find a few pictures from the past.  Here she is with our two daughters, Robyn (the older daughter) and Amanda.

This is a shot of the two of us on a cruise.

Dianne hugging our granddaughter, Kaia.

Dianne posing with Jasper. (Ignore the hair.  It was windy.)

(Dianne here:  This photo makes my heart pang for my precious Jasper (he was my constant companion for 11 years).  He was already ill in this photo and had only a month or two left to live, though we didn't know it at the time.)

And, of course, Dianne with a previous boyfriend.  Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife and my best friend.

We decided to celebrate by eating lunch at the Southern Vittles restaurant in Lake City.

Forget about the diet.  We both had barbecue chicken and french fries - a rare treat.

We took a couple of pictures in Lake City before heading back.  This is public library.

Dianne really like this shop that had a living roof, Oso Ocho Gifts.  Too bad it was closed. Sunday.

The mounting clouds tended to spoil the views on the way back to Creede, so we only made one stop.  A good stop.  North Clear Creek Falls is purported to be the most photographed waterfall in Colorado.  We walked along the canyon for a while to get a more distant shot of the falls.

We both hopped from rock to rock at the edge of the canyon, taking care not to fall into the narrow crevasses that were  two to three stories deep.  Then the rains came, so we headed back to the car.

Back at Creede.... As the evening approached, and the clouds dissipated, we enjoyed another spectacular sunset.

The Pet Picture of the Day shows Bandido psyching up for our daily two-mile walk into town.