Hello mountains
August 22, 2016

As we approach the final leg of our summer sojourn, I find myself winding down, mentally and physically.  The chomping at the bit to be off and running every waking moment has lessened considerably.  This waning may be in part because of the RV park we are in - Mesa Campground, in Gunnison.

A serene setting under a copse of tall shade trees coupled with friendly welcomes at every turn helps to make staying "home" pleasant and easy.  From practically the moment we pulled in here, we were treated like long-lost friends.  Before we had finished our settling-in chores, Gerri from across the way invited us to the weekly dominoes game.  Of course we accepted and that resulted in getting to know other neighbors.

There are park models and RVs here that are used as seasonal homes, so a strong sense of community exists, but far from cliquish, the welcome sign is out.  We've had conversation and advice about everything from mountain drives to fishing rigging and where the trout are likely to lurk to South Padre Island, Texas, RV parks.

To top it off, we enjoyed an afternoon of music with a couple from Pueblo who were here vacationing.  Pat & Kate are accomplished contra musicians who brought over their fiddle and banjo and with Chris, entertained the neighborhood.

Their sweet canine companion, Lucy, grooved to the tunes.

Pat & Kate volunteer at the Nature and Raptor Center of Pueblo.  When the music was over, they entertained and educated us with tales of their experiences there - great fun to hear all about it, and to learn about the excellent work done by the organization.

Toe Dusters is their band name; by going to their website at Fiddletoons.com, you can watch a hilarious video of avian toe dusters - barn owls, in addition to hearing samples of Pat's & Kate's music.

High country . . .

We had previously spent very little time in the Gunnison area, once only lodging here to fish over Taylor Park way years ago.  It is a nice small town, the home of Western State Colorado University, situated in the scenic Gunnison Valley.

Ohio Pass . . .

On our forays off into the mountains, we have proven ourselves to be the best of rubberneckers, swiveling our heads from one direction to the next, lest we miss something of the wonderful views.  In the lower elevations (this is relative, considering that we are starting at 7,700 feet), we were amidst bucolic pasture scenes dotted by grazing cattle and with ranch headquarters and log cabins dwarfed by rolling hills and backgrounds of mountain peaks.

Interesting that at these elevations, we still see vast sagebrushed regions: south-facing slopes grow only sagebrush while the north slopes abruptly change to treed hillsides.

We wandered back to a signed wildlife management area behind this ranch only to discover after a few miles that is was closed during the summer season.  No matter, along the way we identified a northern shrike, a life bird for us, as it lit on one fence post and then another, always staying a little bit ahead of us.

As we drove higher and higher on the Ohio Pass Road, we wound around beautifully forested peaks, great stands of aspen with lush fern understories.  From beginning to end, that was one of the most beautiful drives I have ever taken, and the bonus was that the road was very good.

Standing out among mountain tops of a more gentle inclination, The Castles makes quite an impressive local landmark.

Topping out at 10,065 feet seemed effortless except for the many halts called to get out and admire our surroundings and shoot endless photos.

Cumberland Pass . . .

Now about that easy drive over Ohio Pass - not so much for Cumberland, and while the views might be more spectacular in places primarily because of greater height, it did not hold the same beauty.  For a white-knuckle drive down the back side, though, it was spectacular!  To my credit, I did very little back-seat driving, mostly just held on for dear life; it was a looong way down there.

For historical sites, Cumberland is the choice.  Down side up and up side down, it is dotted with old mines, abandoned cabins,  historic railroad grades and tunnels and semi-ghost towns, also an overabundance of ATVs ripping around without regard to life or limb.

Oddly enough, Ohio City is not on the road to Ohio Pass; instead, it is on Gold Creek far below Cumberland Pass.

I doubt many escapes occurred from the jail in Ohio City.

Sights like this erase the terror of falling thousands of feet over a cliff right out of my mind, be it ever so temporary.

After a stop to examine the ruins of an old mining camp, Chris suggested that we wait for our lunch until we got to the pass.

His suggestion went something like this, "It can't be much farther."  Hahahaha - guess what?  It was indeed much farther, partly due to the fact that we had to inch along at 15 mph in order to remain alive.  Nevertheless, we eventually gained the summit only to decide that it was far too cold and windy to eat there.

I saw quite a few ruins and old mine sites as we dropped down from atop the mountain; unfortunately, the temperature dropped right along with us as the rain commenced, so we continued without the opportunity to explore those intriguing places.

Without veering off on one of the extremely primitive tracks, the main road (such as it is) offered no place to stop on the very long descent which brought us way, way down to the picturesque town of Tin Cup.  At least it seemed way, way down - Tin Cup, formerly Virginia City, itself is perched at 10,157 feet, so you see, it's all relative.

Tin Cup has retained its Rocky Mountain mining town flavor with many well-kept log cabins.

By the time we had attained terra-flatter in Tin Cup, hunger won out when we saw a sign for Frenchy's Cafe.  We were happy we stopped there for our afternoon repast, especially when it came to splitting a very large piece of Tin Cup pie.

Frenchy's became a part of the burgeoning settlement in 1879, so the story goes, when Napoleon Perrault, a French Canadian, showed up and began selling 15-cent drinks of whiskey out of a tin cup.  He was a prominent member of the town until his death in 1913, when he was carried out of his burning establishment on a door (he was a large man) while suffering from pneumonia.

I suspect that Tin Cup pie came to be much later, but that does not detract from the delicacy.

I would have shot a photo of Frenchy's establishment, which was accessed via a foot bridge over a trout-stocked pond, but I was far too involved with flapping my gums with a couple from Arkansas whom we had just met.

Alpine tunnel . . .

Long before we got to the hair-raising aspects of the Cumberland Pass road, we stopped to peruse a spot near the historic Alpine tunnel, the first tunnel built through the continental divide in Colorado.  At 11,523 feet, it is also the highest railroad tunnel and the longest narrow gauge tunnel in North America.

I would have loved to hike through it; however, it has caved in and is no longer accessible.  It was in operation from about 1882 until 1910.

At any rate, we chose a stopping point because of nearby beaver ponds, a never-ending source of interest for me, kinda like the reptilian fascination, but I get to see far fewer beavers than lizards, thus more reptile photos.  Marmots, too, seem to appear for me, but are not prone to stick around often to have their portraits done.

 What are the chances . . .

Okay, back to the ponds: a track led back into the woods and appeared to follow the stream that had been dammed up in numerous places, so we opted to take a hike along there to see what we could see.  Beaver activity was extensive as far as we walked, but of course the critters themselves were nowhere to be seen.  I love admiring the incredible amount of work they do to build their dams and lodges.

In a wildly convoluted way, we discovered by chance later in the day that we had very likely been at the site of an 1879 mining claim of Pete Berry.  This is the same Pete Berry who also had a mine in Grand Canyon, a site that Chris had been to long ago on a backpacking trip.  

At the time we were exploring the beaver pond area, we knew nothing of the connection with Berry; it came to light that same evening during a bit of research Chris was doing.  I have harangued him for years to put on paper some of his wonderful rememberies of pertinent historical scenarios.  At last succumbing to my urgings, the señor was researching background about Pete Berry for one of the stories and that was when he discovered that we had just that morning been at Berry's camp.

Bizarre - what are the chances???

Carving up Colorado . . .

We stumbled into a festival weekend in Gunnison, involving a passel of men attacking logs with chain saws, transforming them magically into ornate benches, totem poles, bears, eagles and all manner of fun shapes.

I see a bear emerging from this log . . .

. . . but can't venture a guess about this one.

In addition to the contestants carving up Colorado, the downtown park hosted a farmer's market, arts & crafts fair and the largest car show I've ever seen.

I'm a sucker for old pickups and trucks - those were what I learned to drive in…

 

. . . but who could resist this beauty!

Someone was making zucchini boats that the kids were (trying to) sail in the ditch.  Clearly, the designs lacked something when it came to seaworthiness.

Hummingbirds found us immediately,  Seed eaters took a bit longer but arrived in mobs once they discovered the chow we put out.  There are numerous hummingbird feeders in the park, thus large numbers of the tiny beings.  We have seen four types here: black-chinned, broad-tailed, calliope and rufous, although the hordes we fed in the first few days have dwindled already, probably meaning that migration is well underway.

Hmmm . . .

We had a notion that we might be able to meet up with Colorado friends Tom & Karen; however, it seems they have embarked on an extended trip to . . . Iceland, Italy and Egypt.  Can't wait to hear about that one!

And in all the moosey hubbub, I forgot to write about the wolves.  We both felt certain we heard wolves when we were hiking in the Lake of the Woods area on Grand Mesa.  I have done a touch of online looking and can find nothing about that species being there, but that is what we heard.