Adventures in Creede (7-22-22)

 

We have been to Creede, CO only once before, and we didn’t have the Jeep with us, so some of the scenic drives were off limits so to speak, because we were in a dually.  We do love the town though so we wanted to spend more time here.

Back in its heyday, the late 1800s, the town grew in population from just 600, to over 10,000 in the span of just two years, with silver mining as the draw.  It’s said that the fires burned all night so that housing construction could take place 24 hours a day.  The town has a small museum, which we meandered through for a little bit. This piano was shipped here during that time- in a covered wagon.

Day 1 we went to visitor center to get information, and develop a plan. This area is full of scenic drives and 4 wheel drive Jeep Trails, and we needed to choose which ones we want to do.

 From the visitor center  we drove Lost Willow Creek Rd. with the intention of hiking To Phoenix Park waterfall. There was no true parking at the trailhead, so we had to make do.  Unfortunately we didn't get an early enough start, and we heard the rumble of thunder soon after starting up the trail. Even the brochures for the local areas mention the almost daily thunderstorms.

 

Plan B was to drive the part of Bachelor Loop that we didn’t get to last time we were here.

This dirt road passes by some interesting mining ruins, and also by this “empty” meadow.

 

It is hard to believe that in the late 1800s this, and other nearby meadows were home to more than 1200 people, and was called  “Bachelor City”. There were 12 saloons, 4 hotels, and 5 grocery stores.

There was a nice birds eye view of Creede as we made our way back into town.

Also on this day, Paul decided that the strange noise the Jeep is making is, indeed, the rear brakes. The nearest town with an auto parts store is Del Norte, about 45 minutes away, so off we went to buy all the parts he needed to replace them.

We started the following day taking care of chores.... I cleaned the camper and Paul changed the brakes on the Jeep.  Silly me, even though I walked outside to check his progress, I forgot to take a picture.  It was so nice, several men came over to see if he needed any help, or tools. 

That took care of the morning but we needed a plan for after lunch.

We elected to drive up the Silver Thread scenic byway. We stopped at some of the turnouts, including the one for the Slumgullion Earth flow. About 700 years ago this mesa slid into the valley below. It continues to slide about 20 feet a year.

As with much of Colorado, the scenery in this area is spectacular.

We stopped in the small, picturesque town of Lake City, where we walked the historic downtown and treated ourselves to an ice cream. The town is almost completely surrounded by steep mountains.

Continuing on our way, we drove the first few miles of the Alpine Loop backcountry scenic byway, to the oldest mine in Hinsdale County. We intend to drive the entire Alpine loop but it takes about 7 hours, so we will need an early start on another day.

On the way back home we made a brief stop to see yet another waterfall- this one is South Clear Creek Falls. It was a short walk to the falls but it had just rained, so the trail was a muddy mess.  So muddy that I should have brought my trekking pole.  At least when I fell, I landed on my knees, and not my butt!

If you want to see my husband's eyes light up, tell him there is a nearby Jeep trail that goes to a fascinating geologic area. He was pretty stoked about making the trek out to Wheeler Geologic Area,

There are two ways to get there, and they both start at Hanson's Mill campground. You can hike the 17 miles roundtrip, or you can drive the 14 mile "4x4, high clearance vehicle MANDATORY " road. They say its faster to hike, which is an indication of the condition of the road. Oh, and the road is impassable when wet, so you have to keep an eye on the sky. We, of course, took the road.

We gassed up the Jeep before heading out, and since it dawned on me that the only food we had with us was our sandwiches, I went into the convenience store and bought some emergency rations.

The first few miles of the road were pretty easy, and then it deteriorated. 

We drove through forests, fields, and streams.

There were several places we had to stop and reconnoiter, determine a path and speed to take, and one particular area that sort of made me wish we had turned around.

We could see the tracks of the people who had gone before us, so that helped-sometimes.

Most of the other vehicles we saw were side by sides or ATVs. There were no other Jeeps. We arrived two hours after we set out, so it was a bone jarring 7 mph trip.

Once there we chatted with the other travelers- I was happy to note that there were about 8 other vehicles. You can bet your sweet bippy I had no intention of being the last vehicle there.

The hike to the view was a half mile, straight up hill, at 11,000 ft. I was huffing pretty good. We were trying to make good time because the view at the top included dark clouds, along with some thunder.

The rock formations were really cool though- the rock is made of volcanic tuff, formed when the tuff was blown into the air through volcanic vents.  With more time we would have wandered more. But, we needed to beat the rain.

As we scrambled back down, we assured the others climbing the hill that the view was worth it. The drive back felt like it went much faster, probably because we knew what to expect, since we only actually shaved 15 minutes off the return trip.

In between all these bone jarring trips, we took some down time to enjoy our awesome campsite.  Our site was right on the banks of the Rio Grande river.

I spent a fair amount of time watching hummingbirds:

On what turned out to be our last day, we headed out on the “back road” to Silverton, where we were planning on having lunch and then driving home. The scenery was gorgeous along the way, but then the “road” turned into little more than a wide pathway.  After 1.5 hours we were not even halfway there, so we abandoned the idea and turned around.

Although we planned on being in this area of Colorado much longer, we got a call from Paul’s mom’s caregiver that his mom was not feeling well, so we drove down to El Paso.  Turns out she has Covid, but luckily has few serious symptoms.  We have been here for a week, and she is now just about well enough for us to leave again.

On to Colorado (07-07-22)

 After spending a few days with Paul’s mom, we left El Paso, and meandered our way toward Colorado. Our destination was Bayfield, home of our friends Tom and Dianne.  We weren’t actually going to see them for the first few days though- first we were meeting up with some of our Phoenix friends.

On the way there, we took one day to explore the Jemez Springs area of New Mexico, near the Santa Fe National Forest. We had found out about some hot springs in the area, so we thought that might be a good outing, but it turns out they are “luke warm springs” and the weather was cold and rainy. 

Instead we took the Jeep to investigate the Gilman tunnels. 

These tunnels were built in the early 1900s to provide access for logging and mining operations.  Building the tunnels was easier than going over the nearby mountain peaks. Our trip through the tunnels and along the forest roads was mildly entertaining.

Once we arrived in Bayfield we realized that Dave and Debby would be in the site next to us.  That made it easy to party with them!  Another couple, Roxanne and Rick, had rented a VRBO near Durango.

Our first day was great- we went for a short but interesting hike…

and then drove way up the hill to the Animas Lookout where, after a short walk, we had a picnic lunch with an amazing view.

Our plans for the next few days were thwarted by illnesses….first Debby didn’t feel well, and then I didn’t feel well.  She and Dave did get together with Rick and Roxanne, but Paul and I did not. Oh well, best laid plans, as they say.

Once they moved on, we headed to Tom and Dianne’s.  Our few days with them were spent visiting…

and of course, the guys are happiest when they are working on projects.

We had a little excitement when Dianne’s kids next door found 4 horses roaming in their yard.  Seeing horses in this area is not uncommon, but horses running around loose is.  They were put in Tom and Dianne’s pasture to keep them safe until the owners could be found.  Eventually, a neighbor came to get them and lead them home.

Our last day in Bayfield, Tom and Dianne had errands to do in nearby Durango, so we made plans to meet them there later in the day for an early dinner. In the meantime Paul and I wanted to explore the shopping there, since we had only seen the inside of breweries. 

Unfortunately I decided to wear my sandals and the skies started looking ominous just as we got there. We are storing some stuff in bins in the Jeep so I looked for other footwear- I found Paul’s water shoes, which worked in a pinch. 

Good thing, too- my sandals would have never survived.

Our next destination was the Pagosa Springs area of Colorado, but we had to make a short pit stop in Farmington NM before we headed there.  The truck has a slow coolant leak and Farmington has Paul’s favorite Ford Dealership.

On the way there we stopped at Salmon Ruins to check it out.

These particular ruins are named for the Salmon family- they bought the land the ruins are on in the early 1900s and protected the ruins from treasure hunters.

The ancient buildings were built in about 1100 AD by very skilled stone masons, using the same techniques that were used in nearby Chaco Canyon. The effort and attention to detail is amazing- and the fact that they are still standing almost 1000 years later, is a testament to their abilities.

We finally made it to Pagosa Springs, where our original plans were to boondock at a highish elevation but it was quite warm out so we decided to stay at an RV park instead. Once we were settled, we set out to do some hiking and exploring.  We headed up Wolf Creek Pass, a very steep, high pass through the Colorado mountains. The last time we drove this road, we were towing the 5th wheel and the “Check brake system” light came on, while we were going down the hill.

We stopped at all the overlooks that we couldn’t stop at while towing, and hiked the short hike to Treasure Falls, along with a ton of other people.

At the summit, we stopped to take some pictures before heading back the way we came.

The view of Pagosa Springs as you approach from Wolf Creek Pass is one of my favorite views ever.

We only booked a short, two day stay in Pagosa, but we did manage to hike to two other waterfalls.  Silver Falls was a pretty nice waterfall, and there were no crowds of people.

                                That’s not to say we were alone, however.

The Journey Eastward (05-29-21)

 We travel to Massachusetts quite often, which can stress out the driver, if we are trying to get there fast. It’s a Lot of miles. So, this time we built in a few extra days, so we could slow down and smell the roses. We didn’t Stop to smell them, because we didn’t want to take THAT long to get to Boston.

Planning our route took some time. The RV park in MA had availability the day AFTER Memorial Day. That meant we had to be on the road for Memorial Day weekend. Most RV parks and campgrounds have a 3 day minimum and book waaaaay in advance for that weekend. So, we looked for Elks lodges (some have RV parking) and Casinos along the way (most allow overnight RV parking)to have options. 

We also joined Harvest Hosts, a membership group that offers overnight stays at breweries, farms, museums and wineries. I am not sure we will use it, but most of our RV friends are aware that there are record numbers of RVers traveling this summer, and supposedly most places are already booked. We shall see, but it doesn’t hurt to have more options.

Our first stop along the way was in El Paso for a few days to see Paul's mom. It’s been very hard, during Covid, to spend any time with her, so now that we could, we spent 4 days taking care of paperwork, and visiting with her.

You realize how big the state of Texas is when you need to drive across it, so we broke up the journey with another stop, this time to see friends Wil and Gayle. It’s always fun to spend time with them, and it helps that their driveway is big enough for our rig! After two nights we said goodbye and continued on our way.

Our next two day stop along the way was Alabama, Fort Payne AL, to be exact. 

Every once in a while you come across a gem...this area, and specifically Desoto State park, was one of those. The park has awesome campgrounds, complete with cable and WIFI, hiking trails, waterfalls, a swimming pool, and lots of attractions in the area. We could have easily spent a week here.

The first thing we discovered is that Fort Payne is home to Alabama.....that is, the band Alabama. We realized it when we passed by life size bronze statues of the band members. There is also a museum, but we didn’t have time for it this trip.

With only one day to explore, we hit the ground running. We took a short hike to Laurel Falls, which is an unimpressive trickle right now. From there we drove to Desoto Falls, which was much more impressive.

In the 1920s, a self taught engineer, Arthur Miller, built a hydroelectric dam at Desoto Falls, which generated electricity for the nearby towns. There was a limited supply, however, so power was available from sunset until midnight. A few years later, enough women had bought electric irons that the decision was made to also “turn on” the electricity on Thursday afternoons, so the women could iron.

Beneath the falls there is a small lake, suitable for swimming.

Desoto State Park sits atop Lookout Mountain, which travels north towards Chattanooga TN. We headed in that direction to visit Ruby Falls, a 145 ft waterfall, 26 stories underground. We bought our tickets online, and our small group was taken down an elevator, into the cave. Once there, we saw the usual cave decorations, stalagmites and stalactites etc.

 After a 15 minute walk we arrived in a “room” where the dramatic music and light show showcased Ruby Falls. Pausing long enough for everyone to get their fill of pictures, we turned around and headed back. The return trip was much faster. The pathway is so narrow that when one group passes another, the group heading back has the right of way, and the other group has to pull off to the side and wait.

Riding in the elevator, we did some quick calculations. There was one more attraction we wanted to see- Rock City. Their website was unclear as to what time they close, so we just started driving there, figuring we had nothing to lose. Unfortunately, there was a detour due to a closed road, so it took us longer than expected, but no worries, we got in 5 minutes before they closed the entry gates.

We spent a pleasant hour wandering around this place. 

There were all kinds of narrow cavelike paths, gardens, gazebos, swinging bridges, huge boulders, waterfalls, and a patio from which you can see 7 states( Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia). 

As an add on, the original owners added a children’s cave experience which featured figurines from nursery rhymes. No surprise, Paul didn’t know many of them, but I did.

Both nights at this campground we were treated to a live concert from the people in the site next door. A few campers pulled up chairs to listen and enjoy the music. I did that the first night, but it’s bluegrass, not our favorite, so one night was enough.