Catching up......

We're still in the Denver area, still in Chatfield St Park, but we've had to move from site to site occasionally and we lose our good wifi connection.   We're back near it again so time for more pictures of distant vistas.    

 On our last day at the Jeep rally, we went on a short, easy trail ride to Mt Zion.   We climbed to over 12,500 ft where we proved that we'd made it by having our portrait done.    In the background somewhere is the mighty Mosquito Pass that we did a day or so earlier.

 

 If you think you might wander into the mountain trails for some peace and quiet, you might be disappointed....especially on the weekends.    We had a bit of a traffic jam up there.

 Coming down, we passed thru the my favorite aspens.

 Leaving the rally, we came down HWY 91, which connects Copper Mtn with Leadville.   Along the busy road is this beautiful scene.   But there is no pullout or stopping place in order to take a decent pic but thought I'd share this one taken thru the window.    I don't know the name of the lake.

 Previously, we stayed at Cherry Creek SP, which is closer to Denver.   Chatfield is closer to the mountains and the kids.    It is a popular balloon launching site and most days, they fly gently overhead.   This one got a bit close for a moment.

 And then landed with hardly a bump ....

 We are also near Roxborough SP....newly created in 1996, it is a beautiful setting among the red rocks.  ...(no camping).

 If you've been south to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs,  or north to Red Rocks Amphitheatre, this is part of the same upheavel, 15,000,000 years ago.

We chose the moderate Fountain Valley Trail for 2.5 miles with a couple of scenic overlooks thrown in.

Our trail meandered among the rocks and climbed upwards for distant views.

In the early 1900's, a gentleman built this cabin and hoped to develop the area for tourists.....he failed and sold the land to a rancher.    In 1974, a beautiful golf course, Arrowhead, was built.   Further developement  also failed and in the 1990's, the land was acquired and protected.   But they failed to purchase ALL of the land, and now, on the other side of the rocks, near the golf course is a pricey gated community.

This area is home to many native plant and animal species.    Signage gives helpful hints for avoiding the prairie rattler, the black bear and the mountain lion and bobcats.  There are numerous sightings of the snakes and a mountain lion was seen on Saturday.  I kept my eyes and ears on the trail, especially in the narrow rocky sections.

I have an illogical fear of the large cats......so far, my hyper-vigilence has paid off......  This was the only wild creature that we saw the entire day.    Even the wildflowers were mostly done.       It was a perfect day......

It's all about the flowers.........

I figured you'd seen enough of the mountain trails on a day to day basis, so I'm just giving you a compilation of a couple of trips.     We did an easy group trip one day up to Chalk Mountain.   Beautiful views of the nearby peaks and of Leadville.    As we climbed higher, we came to the 

 area of alpine tundra.   It is a crumbly surface with low scrubby growth and few flowers.   You can see your footsteps

 if you should walk on it.    There are various organizations that protect the trails and local Jeep clubs promote  good trail use.    Environmental groups monitor the use of the trails and some have been closed due to abuse.

I had to halt the parade this day to jump out to get a pic of the Mariposa Lily.    The root was used for food by the Ute Indians and the Mormon pioneers.    The bees were too busy to fly away.

A bluebell.......

 Isn't this pretty......pretty typical along this particular trail.

 Larkspur.........

 A mountain stream above treeline.....

We arrived at Slide Lake.....in order to see it, we walked about a half mile each way.   It was a gentle climb but at 12,000 ft, nothing uphill is particularly gentle.  

 It was a small lake and not brilliant blue like so many alpine lakes, but it was crystal clear.

 Along the edge, nearly in the water, was this flower called Elephant Head.  Note the fern- like leaves. Only very specific bees can pollinate it.

 Fleabane and Queen's Crown.

 On Friday, after wandering thru Vendor Day, just the 3 of us wandered off in Mike's Jeep.  We headed up Weston Pass, very easy and mild but it brought us to the historic town of Alma which is the beginning of the trail to Mosquito Pass, which was our real destination.

 This area was a rich mining area and many structures still exist in various forms.

 But the highlight of the entire day was finding an area filled with Columbines.    This is the state flower and it is illegal to pick the unusual blooms.   In it's natural state it is mostly varied shades of purpley blue....     Altho it was very breezy, I was able to crawl around and get some pretty good pictures.   I could have posted about 25 but not sure you were up for that today.......!

 I didn't notice the bee at work until I viewed this on the computer.

 There was a guy poking around the mine tailings looking for a nugget or two.    The shafts go down 1000 ft....and there were several around this one.    Because the shafts are partially buried or in precarious states, they are very dangerous for the curious or children to be around.

 We started the climb to the top.....this side wasn't too bad , just rocky and narrow...

 At the top is this reminder of just how high you are.....and why you can't jog too fast.

 But then, you read this plaque, dedicated to a minister who went over the pass in the winter on a regular basis to deliver the mail to Leadville from South Park....on snowshoes.  

 The ride down was more intense, a bit tippy, narrow and very rocky.....some of the curves required backing up to make the turn.  

In the "It's always something" category.....yesterday, we were doing nothing and enjoying it, when we heard a strange noise.   I put my tin ear to work and thought I heard water running : (    I narrowed it down to the front bathroom....but altho I definitely heard rushing water, there was none visible anywhere.....and then, I looked under the sink and found a real gusher pouring out of a line that had come disconnected from the pipe.     Most of it managed to find it's way outside but the wastebasket managed to catch some of it.     My on-board Mr Fix-it.....he has a T-shirt that confirms that title.....managed to get the water turned off pronto and then fixed it for a part that cost UNDER a dollar....unheard of in a vital RV part. !!     Makes us want to turn off the water whenever we leave ..... and also concerned that there is enough of an opening that most of it went on the ground.  

Day 2 Halfmoon Creek Trail

This was a beautiful trail ride and a popular one.    We stayed in the trees for quite awhile.   The trail

follows the creek and is a busy camping area on the weekends.    We forded the stream a few times.

Coming out into the open, the mountains circled us.  

And at about 12,000 ft, we came to the well-preserved Champion Mill.   Built in the late 1800's, it mined both gold and silver.   It is a massive structure and I always wonder just how they did it.  

How did they get the lumber up the mountain, how did they work so hard at that altitude, how many horses did it take to get the heavy metal equipment up those slopes??

It leans a bit......it wouldn't surprise me to see it all in a pile after the heavy 

winter snows.  

And old boiler and bricks.

Some people wandered inside to take pictures and look around......I wasn't that confident in a 120 year old structure.   

Nearby, there was a field of thistles.....

I love the lens on my camera.....I can get REALLY good close ups of the busy bees.  

Note the pollen grains on his head !

Old log structures still exist.    The slopes near all the mines that we saw are full of tree stumps....just as they were left so long ago.

Coming back, we forded the creek again, this time a bit deeper and longer.    Our lunch stop was in the trees next to the stream.....very pretty.  Small biting flies made it a bit uncomfortable.  

We took another fork of the trail and headed up to Iron Mill.   This route was rougher and we really

didn't get to any mine structure but did see remnants of cabins.  

The Dusky Beardtongue is very prevalent along the roads and in the meadows.   Note another busy bumblebee.  

I have no idea what these spikes are.....they came in different colors but they aren't in my flower book....but enjoy anyhow.  

On the Iron Mill trail, there is an "obstacle".    I couldn't get a decent picture but this Jeep is about to drop into the chasm....and the crowds are hoping for some action and trouble.!

The trail was very rocky and narrow and then we came to the creek, surrounded on both sides by large boulders.   Of course, the rock crawlers and adventurous types seek out these challenges.   Mike had no trouble getting thru altho I thought he went a bit fast ......I'm not sure our Jeep would have made it but the guys were all prepared with their winches and lifts.  

This trail ride was a favorite of the week....minus the above.....It was beautiful in the trees along the streams and then glorious vistas greeted us above tree line.    Weather was perfect.............By the way,  time spent in the mountains is not deducted from your life !!