It was so beautiful in Colorado couldn’t resist adding a few more photos….
At the top of one of the three passes…GPS said we made it to 13,100 ft
Lots of old mines around
Along the “Last Dollar Road” from Ridgeway to Telluride
The beavers have been hard at work
Exploring some old buildings at Animas Forks
Just above Telluride
For the past two days we have been in Jeep Heaven exploring the Alpine Loop trail going from Silverton to Lake City and back to Silverton. The trail is about 65 miles of bone jarring trails going over three mountain passes and through some of the most beautiful area we have ever seen. The trail was challenging but yet was not so challenging that you couldn’t enjoy the ride. According to the GPS the max elevation we hit was 12,999.6 ft! We have been Jeep owners for nearly 10 years now and we are still amazed at what these hardy little vehicles can do. They are most certainly at home climbing up a rocky mountain road.
View out the “window” of on old mining house
Water falls everywhere
View from 13,000 ft. It’s like being on the top of the world
Still chunks of ice floating in this lake
Still a lot of snow around
Tonight we are staying at the Ridgeway State park north of Ridgeway. This is our first experience with Colorado state parks and our opinion is they are not a very good value. The cost was $29 and the sites are very close together and not very nice. What was surprising is that they have an additional charge for a shower! Actually the KOA down the road would have been a better value!
After about 500 miles of driving we arrived in Silverton Colorado late this afternoon. We have our tent pitched at the Silverton Lakes Campground on the north end of town. The sun is just setting and with it the temperature is dropping fast. May be a cold night tonight. In the morning the plan is to Jeep the Alpine Loop Back Country Byway over Engineer Pass and on to Lake City. There are several old mining towns along the way to explore. Hopefully we will also be able to do some geocaching along the way.
Our Campsite
Looking down the river
A Magpie
Tomorrow bright and early we plan to leave the desert with the forecasted 113 degree high for the cool mountains of Colorado. This trip will be a little different in that we will be taking the Jeep so we can do some exploring on the back roads in the Silverton area. This is something we have talked about doing for several years so now is the time. The only draw back is the Jeep can’t tow the trailer so this will be a tenting trip. Been many many years since we have used a tent so it should be an experience. At least the forecast is for dry weather in SW Colorado so hopefully that will hold true.
