Bachelor Loop in Creede, CO

 Hello Family& Friends,

We took a sightseeing trip to travel Bachelor Loop just a ways out of Creede, CO.  You may recall that we visited Creede for the car show 2 years ago and toured the underground mine.  There is a post in 2018 that is about that visit.

So we wanted to travel Bachelor's Loop.  I had no idea when we started why it was called Bachelor's Loop -- so you will have to wait for it until you read this POST!

We headed up the steep part first (of course we found that out after the trip) --- and there are interpretive symbols along the way (of course, we got the details after the trip) to point out highlights along the route.

Here we go!!!!!

The clouds were causing shadows and I was try to get the "big" picture of the buildings along the mountains.

Maybe, better?

I don't think I would want to winter in these shacks!

Here's one of the mines (there are many) -- I think it was Park Regent Mine and has been cleaned up from the mining process so this is a good view.

You can see the tailings pile after the cleanup.

OK, a selfie (with the camera) in front of the Willow Creek that runs down the mountain.

Darrel's long arm helped take the pic just far away to get the background stream.

OK, here's the reveal -- Bachelor City was a mining town!!!  But the post office was called Teller because there was a Bachelor, California..... I guess Bachelor by default since it was probably inhabited by BACHELORS!!!! 

The town grew to about 1500 in population during its heyday --- and was built on around 80 acres.

Here part of the area of the former town

And more town area -- there doesn't appear to be any buildings left but you can walk the area as there are paths through the townsite.

We traveled on down the loop and stopped in at the Creede cemetery (very old graves) and learned that grave of Bob Ford (the person that killed Jesse James) is buried in Creede.

We lunched at a picnic table at the skate park (no one was skating) and enjoyed a glorious day as you can tell from the pics -- it was a great learning adventure.

Sending blessings from the road,

Susan & Darrel

FR 345.1A and FR 649

 Hello Family & Friends,

We explored Forest Roads 345.1A and 649 -- it was a beautiful day ... but let me back up a moment and explain about being lost on FR 345 (you'll understand the .1A MUCH better).  A couple of weeks ago, Darrel said "Hey, let's go on this road, 345, it shows on the map and we should be able to connect somewhere near Embargo/Seitz area of the forest".  Of course, Susan says "sure, why not"????  So we start out -- and this season they have been "clearing the roads and maintaining them", somedays it doesn't feel that way.

Needless to say, we got kinda of lost and had to circle back around to find the loop of 345 to get back to County Road 15.  On that trip we came to a closed gate which just didn't seem familiar so we turned around and followed the road back to the start -- it was getting late in the afternoon.

Well, there's a new trail, yes, you guess it, 345.1A that comes off the road we use to dry wash -- so we took that trail to see if you could indeed get over the mountains and connect to County Road 15 --- so here you go, the finish to the story.

Well, here's the gate, with the please close gate sign.

We were on the other side of the gate -- and if we had just gone through the gate, traveled on down the trail of FR 345.1A, we would have known where we were and been on a much better trail to get home!

Here's some shots from along the way to "find the gate" !!!

Radio/Signal Tower is always a landmark to travel by, we just couldn't see it until we got a little further down the trail.

We have had forest fire haze and smoke from the fires burning in Colorado, not close by the wind blows it in.

We enjoyed the trail very much and now know where it connects, begins and ends!

After that discovery, we headed to Seitz Creek to see if we could cross over the creek and take FR 649 to see where it would go -- Darrel gets all the bright ideas -- like how we can cross over the mountains to get to a new place!!

We found an abandoned cabin with an outhouse in a clearing and enjoyed exploring the buildings.

Outhouse a little further from the "cabin"

Someone left a "perfectly, good working stove" behind.

Darrel commented on how they used the tin from the cans to fill the cracks of the log walls.

Next we came across a mine tucked away in the mountainside --- so we stopped at poked around a little.

There was a Federal Mine Claim and it was fenced as you can see from the previous picture.  We walked the perimeter as we explored.

It was getting late, so headed back to the RV but had a beautiful day to see new countryside.  Plus we found our lost trail so it was a good day to be adventurous.

Our time is getting shorter in Colorado ---- it will be hard to leave the mountains to return to desert .... and then it it hard to leave the desert (NOT the HEAT) to come back to the mountains....

Sending blessings from the road,

Susan & Darrel

Things I forgot to include!

 Hello Family & Friends,

As I download my pictures I've taken along the way, I find ones that really don't belong to their own post so I'll include them here with how they happened!

We took a hike up Park and wandered through the trails.  As we were walking along a grouse flew up from the trail, winging pass Darrel's knee .... it squawked and startled both of us.  Quite the noise and I didn't realize they flew so well.

Here's the big tree it few too, you cannot see it too well but I zoomed ....

  

It was not happy with us interrupting its abode.

On the way down, from the grouse experience, we caught a family of Marmots sunning and we started counting and got to 5 .... 2 in this photo

And 3 in this photo, I couldn't click fast enough to get all 5.

We also head past a herd of mules when we travel up to Embargo -- one day they were right at the fence by the corner and it looked like they were ready for a photo op.  But we didn't have the camera -- so the next day we went up we tried to see if they were at the fence line but no, they decided the shade was a better place for them.

  

We did get a brief rain shower on Saturday and I caught a rainbow right outside our RV door.  It was so beautiful, the picture doesn't do it justice.  We seem to get quite a few rainbows when the afternoon showers hit, just before sunset.

I think I could have found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, maybe we would find more gold that way!!!

I think I am done and caught up --- thanks for hanging in there and reading through all the new posts.  Some nights when we get home, I am just too tired to get on the computer!

Sending blessings from the road,

Susan & Darrel

 

Trip Planning over Wolf Creek Pass

 Hello Family & Friends,

We took a day to travel to Cortez and a little ways beyond to the Casino to see if we could cut some travel time off our return journey to Arizona.  We went up over Wolf Creek and through Pagosa Springs, through Durango and onto Cortez.  It was a long day trip, we stopped at Home Depot in Durango and stay a few sights along the way.

We spied a hot air balloon hovering over Pagosa Springs and it was really cool to see it hanging around as we waited at the bank.

Chimney Rock monument was between Durango and Pagosa Springs (I think), we were too late to visit the site but we took a few pictures and would like to return to visit another day.

At the information enter you can read about the people who inhabited the area.

The stone monument has the above information placques, with Chimney Rock in the background.

Chimney Rock

It was a beautiful day and we were able to scout out the fueling stops and strategizing how the best way to travel.  I am sure I will update you more as we finally depart Colorado and head back to Arizona.  The plan to go over Wolf Creek Pass (unless there is snow on the ground) will be a new adventure.

Sending blessings from the road,

Susan & Darrel

Elephant Rocks (not what I was expecting)

 Hello Family & Friends,

This past weekend we headed to Elephant Rocks since we have been trying to see what they were from the South Fork vacation guide....

I found this blurb online about Elephant Rocks

"The Elephant Rocks are part of the Fish Canyon tuff; volcanic ash welded together over time and has been determined to be at least 28.8 million years old."

 Darrel read where supposedly the Wooly Mammoths roamed around the rocks and rubbed up against them.  We didn't really see anything but a grouping of rocks like we have in Yarnell, AZ or I suppose like you see at the Garden of the Gods -- it was kind of interesting, out in the middle of no where, exactly where we were.

We headed out the back way and took another journey ---- 

    

I called this Lizard rock because from one angle it looked like a big lizard head popping up. Darrel took this picture from a different view -- so you see if you see a lizard head in the shot???

 

There were pretty interesting out the backside of Elephant Rocks,

I though it look of like a index and middle finger with the thumb between....

Del Norte has a buffalo herd by the highway and we caught them mostly being lazy, or just hanging out.

Baby Buff decided it was breakfast time -- they look alot like a baby cow in the face.

Horns look pretty dangerous.

I saw a news article where some lady was trying to pet a buffalo in Yellowstone Park (I think or somewhere like that) and they started to charge her -- go figure, don't mess with the wildlife.  But it is cool to see them up close and personal, with a fence separating us!.

One more post to go to get up caught up....

Sending blessing from the road,

Susan & Darrel