Crested Butte has been on my radar for two reasons. One being more reconnaissance in a “ski town.” Like Telluride, it was a destination discussed often, but two traits of my former husband that factored equally; being cheap and being repetitious. So we never broke out of the Ski the Summit/Utah mode.
But the main reason I have been eager to get to Crested Butte is because I want to do reconnaissance in another ski town…Aspen! That’s right, explore Aspen from Crested Butte. Continue reading
I move on to Crested Butte to ride out Labor Day Weekend. My hope is if I get there a couple of days before the start of the weekend, I can secure a good boondocking location on Washington Gulch Road before the holiday crowds arrive. But the crowds all know something I don’t know, apparently. It is going to rain, and it’s gonna rain hard. Even some lentil-sized hail thrown in. And, it’s gonna be c-c-c-cold! Continue reading
As I continue my counter-clockwise loop around southwestern part of the state, I get word that Debbie, along with friends Chuck and Carla, two Lazy Dazers I met last summer in the Pacific Northwest, are on their way down the same path in the opposite direction. I had originally planned to follow the Rio Grande through Creede and on up to Lake City, but I chickened out for two reasons. Continue reading
I have been on a counter-clockwise loop of sorts around Southwestern Colorado to see sights that interest me. One category that particularly interests me is hot springs. I even purchased a guidebook “Hot Springs and Hot Pools of the Southwest,” with the intent to visit as many as time allows. But so far, my quest has been a little frustrating. It’s been hit or miss, mostly miss. Continue reading
Mesa Verde National Park, continued….
Back on a cold winter day in 1888, the Wetherill brothers were out in a snow storm looking for lost cattle when they spotted through the snowflakes something they described as “An enchanted castle.” They had stumbled upon what is now known as the Cliff Palace. Therefore, like Columbus who sailed the ocean blue in 1492 to “discover” America, the Wetherill Brothers were credited with being the first to “discover” the Cliff Palace. Nevermind about the people who lived there for 100 years, or all the subsequent Puebloans, Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, etc. that followed. The mesa is named for the Wetherills. (You can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself!) Continue reading
I recently read an article about a man who has a “bucket list to go everywhere.” The article claims he is the “Worlds Most Traveled Man.” I am not that kind of checklist traveler…I don’t need to “go everywhere.” But I do maintain lists of things I want to see, otherwise, I might never leave the internet. 😉 When it comes to an already well-developed list such as our 59 National Parks, I figure there is a good reason to use that list as a guideline. These places have received the pinnacle of “Park” status, not “Monument, Seashore, or Reserve.” Only 59 of them are an official “Park.” So there must be something special there worthy of a list, right? So I confess, while in southwestern Colorado, I took a slight detour to visit Mesa Verde National Park. Continue reading
My original intent is to spend only a couple of nights in Durango, long enough to ride the train. I end up doubling that. The little town has just the kind of “vibe” that I enjoy, which I often find to be the case in “river towns.”
There is much to do in Durango, a lot which centers around the Animas River. There is a beautiful walk/bike path that runs parallel for seven miles. Paddling and float trips are popular here also. Thankfully, little evidence remains of the recent tragedy of the toxic Gold King mine spill Continue reading
Of all the modes of transportation available to the traveler, train travel has always been my favorite. I could sit for hours, hypnotized by the clickety-clack of the rails, as I watch the landscape unfold in front of me. Seats on the train typically offer more leg room than buses or airlines, along with the freedom to move about at will. Even when commuting in the northeast corridor when the company was footing the bill, the train was always my chosen method of transport.
But my love affair with trains goes much beyond practical transport. Continue reading
Being a longstanding member of the “bucket list brigade,” I have made it my goal to ride as many scenic trains as possible over the years. So while being in Ouray in such close proximity to the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway, it was not a matter of “if,” but “when.” I did a lot of research online to figure out which car, which seats, which route etc. would offer me the most pleasurable experience during peak tourist season. But then Bobbie sent me off on a different rail path altogether when she mentioned the Durango bi-annual Blues Train. Live blues bands? On a train? How could I resist? Continue reading
After saying my reluctant “goodbyes” in Ouray, I decide to make Telluride my next stop for several reasons, not the least of which is a good excuse to chicken out of driving the Million Dollar Highway. I have been up and down the road a dozen times now as far south as Molas Lake in one of the gang’s Suburus, and it doesn’t intimidate me. However, Continue reading