Lake City, Colorado --- A Day Trip

Roger here....   We had been hanging around Creede for a couple of weeks, and although there is still plenty to do here, it was time for a side trip.  The Silver Thread Scenic Highway (149) traverses the valleys and mountains between South Fork and Lake City, CO.  We saw the first 23 miles when we drove the motor home to Creede.  It was now time to see the next 52 miles.  The opening photo shows a panoramic view of the headwaters of the Rio Grande River --- quite a view.

This is mining country.  Early in the drive, we passed the remains of an inactive mine.  We will show you a lot more about the mining in the area in the next post.

The first several miles followed the Rio Grande River.  From the valley, we noticed that the Aspens were starting to turn into that bright yellow that we had always heard about.  You can see them in the picture above near the top of the mountain.

Soon we began the inevitable zig-zag up into the mountains.  As the Toyota plodded along in third and sometimes second gear, the temperature dropped, and we found ourselves in the middle of a golden Aspen forest.  We were both glad that they turned color before we left the area.

As we topped the 11,530-foot Slumgullion Pass (what a name!), views of different mountains appeared.   They looked familiar to us for good reason.  These were the same mountains that we saw in Ouray --- only the other side.  The cloudy day definitely detracted from some of the most spectacular views.

Red Mountain is red on this side, as well.

As we descended into Lake City, we passed by a colorful landslide.





It was Dianne's birthday.  She usually finds embarrassing pictures of me to post on my birthdays; however, it appears that there are no youthful pics of Dianne in the archives that she manages.  (I am sure she did this on purpose :-)).

I did manage to find a few pictures from the past.  Here she is with our two daughters, Robyn (the older daughter) and Amanda.

This is a shot of the two of us on a cruise.

Dianne hugging our granddaughter, Kaia.

Dianne posing with Jasper. (Ignore the hair.  It was windy.)

(Dianne here:  This photo makes my heart pang for my precious Jasper (he was my constant companion for 11 years).  He was already ill in this photo and had only a month or two left to live, though we didn't know it at the time.)

And, of course, Dianne with a previous boyfriend.  Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife and my best friend.

We decided to celebrate by eating lunch at the Southern Vittles restaurant in Lake City.

Forget about the diet.  We both had barbecue chicken and french fries - a rare treat.

We took a couple of pictures in Lake City before heading back.  This is public library.

Dianne really like this shop that had a living roof, Oso Ocho Gifts.  Too bad it was closed. Sunday.

The mounting clouds tended to spoil the views on the way back to Creede, so we only made one stop.  A good stop.  North Clear Creek Falls is purported to be the most photographed waterfall in Colorado.  We walked along the canyon for a while to get a more distant shot of the falls.

We both hopped from rock to rock at the edge of the canyon, taking care not to fall into the narrow crevasses that were  two to three stories deep.  Then the rains came, so we headed back to the car.

Back at Creede.... As the evening approached, and the clouds dissipated, we enjoyed another spectacular sunset.

The Pet Picture of the Day shows Bandido psyching up for our daily two-mile walk into town.

Labor Day Fun, Colorado Style - Salsa, Balloons & Rodeo!

Hi all, Dianne here.   Roger and I attended several Labor Day Weekend activities here in Creede, Colorado.  We knew there would be a balloon launch Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings.

  Friday morning we watched the balloons as they sailed right over the RV park.  The launch site was just down the road, so Saturday morning Roger and I set our alarm and at 7:00 a.m. walked down to watch the launch preparations.

How interesting!  We were able to walk right up and watch the balloons as they spread them out, turned the fans on and inflated each colorful balloon.  

It was exciting to see each balloon as it righted itself and began to take flight.






Up, up and away!!!

We enjoyed it so much that we set our alarm and walked over Sunday morning to watch it all over again.

Another activity we thoroughly enjoyed in downtown Creede was the Salsa Fiesta.  We purchased our tickets at the Chamber of Commerce/Visitor's Center, then strolled through downtown Creede and tasted samples at 15 participating businesses of four categories of salsa:  red, green, fruit, and freestyle.  We did a little window shopping in the various stops as we tasted our way around town.   During our pleasant afternoon in Creede we also stopped for an espresso/latte and some ice cream.

My favorite store was
Rare Things, a very unique, creative and interesting store.  Word has it that when Johnny Depp was in Creede filming the Lone Ranger, that he also enjoyed shopping here, privately of course.  In my former life I could have easily dropped a few hundred dollars inside, but now with our downsized and simplified life I was able to stick to window shopping.  

Live music played from the gazebo.  When we returned there to turn in our votes for our favorite salsas, we came upon a few reptiles that were delighting the local children, including this huge turtle:

Almost as big as his admirer!

I wonder how old this big guy is?

A 'Lil Gator

Tequila would have LOVED this huge lizard!

Last, but not least, on Monday afternoon we walked over to watch the free ATV rodeo event.  We had never heard of an ATV rodeo, and wondered what it was all about.  

The format was different age groups barrel racing, figure 8, and pole bending.  The little guy above looked so tiny compared to his four-wheeler.  He was very determined and did a great job!  

Sunny, 70s, a perfect afternoon outside with mountain views as a backdrop.  Some spectators even showed up on horseback.

There were only a few spills, and no injuries.

Our favorite part was watching the kids, both young and teens, race through the mud section as part of the pole-bending event.  Here are two of my favorite action shots:

The pet photo of the day is not Bandido, Tequila, or Charlie the Cat.  As we strolled around Creede at the Salsa Fiesta, I couldn't help but photograph this local colorful resident with his dog as they drove through town.  What you can't see is that there was another big dog riding in the back of the jeep.  It kind of summed up the "vibe" of the town for me --

Trouble and Good Times in Creede, Colorado

Roger here...  Before Dianne and I talk about the trouble and good times from these past few days, I need to share a photo from this morning.  Labor Day Weekend is a big deal here in Creede, Colorado.  We will talk about the annual hot-air balloon launch in a separate post, but in the meantime, aren't these balloons cool?

OK, time to talk about the trouble.  This dismal subject is not accompanied by many pictures, but suffice it to say, the sunset last night was an appropriate end to a few tense days.




Six days ago, as we were getting ready to go into town to see a matinee at the Creede Repertory Theater, we noticed some electrical problems.  When I tried to start the motor home, the chassis battery barely turned over the engine.  When we unplugged the shore power, we discovered that our house batteries were also extremely low.  We plugged back in, turned on the air conditioning for the dogs, and reluctantly headed to town.  On the way, I stopped at the office to let them know that we would be gone for a few hours and were concerned that our dogs might get too warm if the power and air conditioning failed.  They assured me that they would check on the dogs.  So, on to the theatre we went.  

We went in;  found our seats;  listened to a pre-performance talk for about five minutes;  decided that we were too worried to enjoy the performance;  got up;  and returned to the motor home.  Even though it was not a hot day, with the bright sunshine on the motor home we were concerned about our pets.  Also, as nice as this area is, we are in the middle of nowhere.  What do we do if we can't find a reliable solution to get the motor home started as we start our slow trip back to Texas in a few days?

I stopped in the office again to see if they could give me recommendations for service.  The extremely helpful staff gave me the business cards of two RV service reps who I could call the next morning.  In the meantime, we searched through all of our Newmar information, attempting to find the cause for our problems.

The next morning, I called both numbers.  The technicians at both service centers, though very helpful, were swamped and could not drive out to see us until the morning of the day we were supposed to leave.  After the calls, I attempted to start the engine.  It finally fired after about ten minutes.  Not good.   

I went back to the office to see if they could extend our stay.  They could.  They also gave me a third guy to call.  Jackpot!  He could drive out to see us in a couple of days.  Sigh of relief.  

That night we ate dinner out to celebrate our potential solution.  We went to Kip's Grill in Creede --- a place we found interesting for its spectacular mountain views.  We opted to sit upstairs on the enclosed roof.

We had delicious Mexican food that was prepared with all fresh ingredients --- even the Bloody Marys that were served Minnesota Style with a chaser of beer.  All righty then!  This (except for the bloody mary and beer) was all good for our diets --- except for the most delicious chocolate cake I have ever tasted.  Oh well!

It was a nice respite from the troubles that were always on the edge of our minds.

Gary and Mike to the rescue.....  The next morning our Retama Village neighbor, Gary, and our new friend, Mike, came over to give advice about our problem.  As it turns out, they did a lot more than give advice.  For some reason our converter was not delivering a charge to our house batteries.  It could have been a nonfunctioning converter, but they discovered a lot of corrosion on the battery terminals, as well as a malfunction with the self-delivery water delivery system that I purchased a few months ago (that I am throwing away).  They cleaned up the corrosion with baking soda, among other things, and gave a preliminary diagnosis that our house battery problems were causing our chassis battery problems.  With their invaluable help, and the help of my battery charger, the voltage numbers improved.

The next morning, Dale, from Holiday RV in Del Norte arrived.  After a detailed analysis of our converter and both sets of batteries, he confirmed that the source of the problem was that the fully functioning converter was not delivering the appropriate electrical charge to the house batteries that, in turn, charged the chassis battery.  He did a further thorough cleaning of the battery terminals.  When I turned the key to start the engine, it started without hesitation.  It also started several hours after he left.  It also started two times the next day.  Thanks go to our friends Gary and Mike, and to Dale from Holiday RV in Del Norte, CO --- one of the good guys.  RELIEF!  Also, lesson learned.  I threw away the faulty battery fluid system  (short cuts do not always work).  I programmed onto my iPhone to check the water level and corrosion every two weeks.  Now we can truly enjoy this beautiful place.  Here's Dianne:

Hi all, Dianne here...   I thought I'd show you some photos of the beautiful RV park we're staying at, Mountain Views at River's Edge just outside of Creede, CO.  The park is divided into two areas (kind of like our place in Mission, TX) -- one side is the RV park and the other contains meticulously landscaped, concrete RV sites that can be leased (for a hefty price).   Either side you park in, there are panoramic 360-degree mountain views.

We are in the RV park side, which is pretty much gravel spaces with no grass, but the sites are large and it's just fine for our needs while we're here.

Here's a shot of an empty site on the resort side.  These lots are rented out when the owners are not using them.  Most people here seem to be from Texas and Arkansas, spending the summer at 8000-ft elevation to beat the heat.  The weather is darned near perfect:  70s during the day, cooling to 40s-50s at night.  Afternoon brief rain showers happen almost daily, but are so light and brief that they aren't an issue.  

The landscaping includes large, bronze statuary and old mining props, in keeping with the town's mining heritage.  Here are some additional photos, with captions:

Petunias, Salvia, and Mountains

Petunias love it here.








And did we mention the mountain views????

Entrance to RV Park/Resort on Left

Lots of folks come for the summer to this popular place, so if you want to visit, reserve early (January).  Also, they are very security minded -- to the point of having those spikey things that ruin your tires if you try to enter without passing through the closed gate.  Once you're in, though, it's not an issue because they give you the code to pass in and out.  We like it here so much that we are thinking of a return visit next summer on our way back to Texas from the Pacific Northwest.  70 degrees in Colorado sure beats 109 degrees in South Texas this time of year! 

Roger mentioned that we met up with Gary & Pat McClaran, who also own a place at Retama in Texas.  It's been a lot of fun getting to know them better.  We have met in the club house a couple of times for a little Mexican Train and cards with Gary & Pat, and their friends Mike and Nona.  

After our Mexican Train domino game, Gary, Pat, Roger and I posed with the bear statue outside the club house.  Our neighborhood at Retama plans to have a photo board showing all the residents who have crossed paths during our summer travels, and this photo will be added there.  It truly is a small world!  

The pet photo of the day shows Bandido and Tequila playing tug with their large Kong ball.  They are a perfect pair!  Excuse the multi-layers of couch protection in the background.  Living with these two requires it, but we wouldn't have it any other way.