Over the Rocky Mountains to Salida, Colorado and the Continental Divide. Oct 11 - 13

 We're loaded up and on the road by 8:30 am from Black Canyon and headed back down the mountain to Highway 50. As the road is so steep and windy, we opted for me to follow in the car and hook up once we got down to the highway. I noticed snow on the tops of the mountains in the distance. Yikes! Our drive today took us from Black Canyon elevation 8000 feet at the South Rim, down to Montrose at 5800 feet, up to 11,312 feet at Monarch Pass on the Continental Divide, down to 7100 feet at Salida. Quite the day. :) Good thing I remembered to let the air out of our sleep number bed. 

Today's drive is only about 2 1/2 hours including a couple of stops for road construction. 

Colours along Hwy 50

Originally we planned on staying in the Curecanti National Recreation Area, but on some research realized it's mostly for water sports and fishing. I did take some pictures on the way through though. The fall colours are beautiful.

We did hit the road construction near Blue Mesa and were fortunate the 5 mile single lane section is good for us to go after a 5 minute wait. It could have been a half an hour wait. :) After that the highway is in great shape all the way to Salida.

First glimpse of the Blue Mesa Reservoir formed from damming the Gunnison River and the beginning of the Curecanti National Recreation Area.

 

Hwy 50 crosses to the other side.

The picture below is Elk Creek Campsite, near the end of the lake, and the one we originally intended staying in before deciding to go straight through to Salida.

Highway 50 carried on along the Tomichi Creek which is a 71 mile long tributary of the Gunnison River. When the road became windy again, we stopped and unhooked the car for our trip up the Continental Divide. Below are some pictures of the top. There is a Restaurant/Gift Shop and a tram open through the summer months.

These mountains look a little barren right now, but I noticed once we started down the other side there is a skiff of snow on the sides of the road.

We were settled in at the Salida KOA by 11:30 am. They are obviously fixing up this park big time, with nicely appointed spots with a concrete area for a fire pit and picnic table. Lots of spacing between sites. They also have quite a few cabins they are currently landscaping around. I suspect they get people here for skiing over the winter as this is the closest place to stay for the Monarch Mountain Ski Area.

Tucked in the midst of 3 mountain ranges, the Sangre de Cristo to the South, the Mosquito range to the north and the Sawatch range to the northwest, Salida, Colorado counts itself blessed to enjoy the shelter of such giants. Named in 2004 in Outside Magazine as one of the 20 “Dream Towns and Adventure Hideouts”, Salida Colorado lays in the Banana Belt, an area praised for its mild weather year round.

With 15 peaks over 14,000 feet in elevation, Salida Colorado is reputed for its whitewater rafting, the Class V of which is to be found nowhere else in the country. Along with it comes spectacular hiking, mountain biking, fly fishing, skiing resorts to boggle the mind and hot springs to while away your cares in. Never is there a dull moment in Salida.

Salida, Colorado is bordered on all sides by mountains which have a profound effect on it's climate. Average snowfall in Salida, Colorado is 50 inches, while in the surrounding mountains our local ski area boasts 400 inches or more. Annual rainfall in the valley is 10 to 12 inches and residents can anticipate 330 days of sunshine with humidity in the 20 to 30 percent range, making Salida comparable to places such as Tucson, Arizona. Even with the low precipitation and numerous days of sunshine the valley appears lush due to the surrounding high peaks' considerably higher amounts of precipitation. That, coupled with the extensive annual snowmelt from the mountains, provide the valley with a comprehensive irrigation system during the growing season. Temperatures in Salida, Colorado and the valley are much milder than surrounding communities such as Alamosa and Gunnison.

Our campsite. 

View out our front window.

After a short set-up we headed out for a bite to eat and do a little sight seeing. Found a little diner, The Crossroads, where the parking lot is full, always a good sign. :) They have great burgers.

Once fed, we headed into "Old Town Salida" for the Riverside Walk. The Arkansas River goes through town and the town made a lovely riverside walk, park with an Amphitheatre and kids park. The river has been designed for kayaks on slalom courses when the river is higher and some surfing and training for kayakers on rivers. Pretty cool. The Arkansas River starts in the Rocky Mountains here in Colorado and flows all the way to the state of Arkansas, 1469 miles.

Some of the local wildlife. lol

Surfing

Humungous old Willow Tree

Seating for the Amphitheatre 

This guy in green was being taught how to manage rapids. When his turn came he actually tipped over and when he rolled back up his first response was "What the F...k was that!" Too funny. I missed getting a picture as we'd walked past already.

You can see the river is a little low for slalom season. lol

After finishing our walk about, we decided to take the drive up Spiral Drive, a little hill that overlooks the town. It definitely is a Spiral lol You don't want to meet another vehicle. I drove pretty slow as the edges were "right there"! The first shot taken from the Riverside Walk.

Looking down at the road we came up and the bike trails.

Views from the top.

Mt. Princeton

One thing abundantly clear, Colorado, particularly this area, is a mecca for outdoor adventures. You have hunting, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, off-roading, river surfing and kayaking, skiing, snowmobiling. something for every season. You just have to like cold winters. :) They have rentals for all this stuff including Jeep 4x4's.

Back to camp to relax and enjoy the sunshine .... through the windows. The wind really howls here in the afternoons getting sand in your face. Thankfully it dies down in the evening.

Wednesday morning it's a balmy 42F outside. Burrr. Glad to be plugged in. We were up early, so hit the road at 8am. Our destination, the St. Elmo Ghost Town, is about an hour away. At the bottom of the mountain it's 52F and by the time we drove the 15 miles up to the town it's 33F. Some of the stores are open in between Mother's Day and September long-weekend, but of course everything is closed at this time of year. There was a handyman working on one of the historical houses and a grader working the gravel roads in preparation for the winter as there are some people off the main street who live there all year.

Travelling up Highway 24 before the turnoff to St. Elmo is a point of interest.

Left Mt. White, Right Mt. Antero

Mt. Princeton and the Chalk Cliffs

The road up is paved other than the last 5 miles which is for the most part well-graded. We stopped several times for Ray to get some pictures of the stunning scenery. There are tons of forest campsites along the way and a couple of them still open until the 15th of October.

Chalk Creek Road to St. Elmo

There were female mule deer everywhere. Some lying in peoples front lawns and one I even saw on a deck looking in the kitchen window. Didn't get a picture though as I'm driving. Ray managed to get this one crossing the road without even noticing it. lol 5 more followed it.

Have to zoom in to see the deer the tiny brown dot on the road. lol

Chalk Cliffs

Alpine Lake

Cascade Falls

St. Elmo was settled before 1879, initially the starting point of a toll road to Gunnison and Aspen over Tincup Pass. It became a railroad town and trains hauled supplies to these towns and returned with ore from the various mines. In 1880 it was the busiest and most thriving town in Chaffee Country. 

It was also a mining settlement. It was heavily used by miners on foot or driving mules. The St. Elmo Mining District in Chalk Creek Canyon produced significant amounts of ore.

The last of the early settlers were siblings, Tony and Annabelle Start, who operated one of the original stores until 1958. When the town died out, the Starks kept the post office active as long as they could. They bought many properties, most at tax sales and these were passed down until the Millam family donated them to the Historic St. Elmo, Inc.

Blacksmith and Livery

Yup it's cold up here.

You can see new boards being put on the middle building to preserve it.

The Town Hall, burned down in 2002 and rebuilt based on Historic American Building Survey documents.

American House Parlor

Stark Store and Post Office

After half an hour or so of wandering around trying to stay warm, we headed back down the mountain where it's 58F at the bottom. We picked a good time to leave as 4 more cars of people just showed up so Ray had clear views without people for his pictures. lol

Next up is the old Midland Train Tunnels you now can drive through in Bueno Vista, a few miles more up Highway 24.

Hard to see but there is one more tunnel in the distance.

At the other end there is a little campsite on the other side of the road with the "Elephant Rock" so of course we checked that out too.

After our adventures we decided to stop for a bite to eat in Bueno Vista at Viking Food Truck. Great burgers again. Everything else is closed other than a coffee shop. Most places close Monday, Tuesday but for some reason in this little town it's Wednesday and Thursday.

By the time we got back to the RV it's 66F outside, but windy again. I went for a bit of a laydown. I've been fighting with a pinched nerve/muscle in my back since last Friday when we hit a bad bump on the road and I felt the twinge. Sitting and laying down too much are problematic but for some reason walking a little feels good. :) Driving in the car with heated seats does help too and I'm not missing out on the adventures!

Ray headed back out to check out a river close by.

Little Arkansas River

Old Homestead

Another quiet evening watching the sunset outside the front window. Can't do laundry in the afternoon as it's so windy it keeps blowing out the pilot light in the water heater. I managed to have a quick shower but Ray will have to wait until the wind dies down for his tonight. We switched from on demand that kept blowing out and melting wires to a gas hot water tank. This is the first time for issues with it staying lit.

Thursday was a stay at home day catching up on chores. I also made a batch of pecan sandies for Ray while doing 4 loads of laundry. Now we are ready to hit the road tomorrow for Colorado Springs.