Steamboat Springs, CO (7/23, 7/24 & 7/25/2018)

One of the main natural features of the area, and one that attracts a lot of attention, is Fish Creek Falls, located on a mountain well above town.  The road to the falls goes through some very nice neighborhoods, new since my last visit.  It seems that the higher on the mountain, the bigger the homes.  I liked this one.

After reaching the parking area, there is a half-mile hike, steep downhill going in, steep uphill on the return.  Being somewhat (?) out of shape, I had to stop for breathers a couple times on the way back.  The beauty of the waterfall, however, made it worthwhile.

I had waited until late in the day to see the waterfall, wanting to avoid direct sun light on the water.  So, it was near dark as I drove down the mountain.  When the car ahead of me suddenly stopped, I saw a big black bear lumbering across the road.  My view was blocked by the other car, but it moved on after the bear left the road and entered a small parking area for some town homes.  Naturally, I pulled in to chase the bear.  My camera wasn't set for the conditions, but there was no time to change settings.  I fired away, just hoping for something usable.

The bear realized he was being pursued and ran around the circular parking area, between cars and other things outside the homes.  Most of my photos were unusable, but I kept a couple despite the blurred areas.

The next day I drove over Buffalo Pass in the Routt National Forest.  This very rough road is thirteen miles long and goes from 6700 feet at Steamboat Springs to 10,400 feet at the summit.  I expected to see wildflowers, but hoped to see wildlife such as moose, elk or more bears.  There were wildflowers, but not as good as those near Rabbit Ears Pass.  I did see the rear end of a bear that had seen me first and scurried into the thick forest.  No moose or elk, although there was plenty of habitat that would be perfect for them.  They were there I'm sure, just hidden from view.

 

Going down the other side of the Continental Divide, there was plenty more forest and wildflowers, but more importantly the road was good.  Eventually there were nice ranches and many birds perched along the fences.

White-Crowned Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Western Bluebird (Female)

The mountains around Steamboat Springs aren't as high or as rugged as the Collegiate Peaks or the San Juans.  More gently rounded, most don't exceed the treeline, so they are often green all over.  The tallest mountain in the county is Hahns Peak at just under 10,800 feet.While that may sound pretty high, there are some 1850 mountains in Colorado that are higher.  In this photo, you can see an old fire tower at the top.  It was so old it collapsed, but was recently restored by locals.

There is a small village at the foot of the mountain, also named Hahns Peak.  It is mostly a collection of residential homes, with the popular Hahns Peak Roadhouse being about the only commercial establishment.

A back road goes over a pass into the National Forest to a pretty lake and campground.  Past that point, once again there was obvious moose habitat, but no moose to be seen.

Near Hahns Peak are two state parks, both on lakes and both providing beautiful campgrounds used primarily by fishermen.

Steamboat Lake State Park

Pearl Lake State Park

Steamboat Springs, CO (7/22/2018)

I moved my base camp to Steamboat Springs, enjoying a lovely ride over two mountain passes with little traffic to bother me.  Last visit here was 2003, so I was interested in seeing what changes had been made in the past fifteen years.  The short answer is, not much.  Oh, there has been some new construction, new soccer fields developed, maybe more stop lights.  On the whole, for a popular ski resort, Steamboat still has that laid-back, casual charm that makes visitors feel at home right away.  I'll show a few of the downtown buildings, just to give you a feel for the place.

F.M. Light & Sons has been selling western wear since 1905.  They have small, colorful signs along every road into town, kind of like the old "See Rock City" campaign.

Of course, Steamboat Springs got its name from the hot springs around the area.  Supposedly, French trappers discovered a spring and thought it sounded like a steamboat.  While several springs are now confined to spas where people pay to soak in the "healing" waters, others are scattered about town, still chugging away.  I noticed that some are not very hot at all, with temps of 66F and 78F.  The spas must have cornered all the hot ones.  If not hot, they are at the least very smelly...rotten eggs.

The original---Steamboat Spring

On my first afternoon, I headed to Rabbit Ears Pass, where the nice lady at the Visitor Center suggested wildflowers were reported to be blooming well.  The main location, she said, was Dumont Lake, but I tried several side roads into the national forest and found some nice patches of flowers. 

I could also see the rock formation called Rabbit Ears (a stretch, if you ask me), for which the pass is named.

I've seen moose not far from here, so I kept my eyes open for some of the big fellows here.  While there was plenty of prime habitat for them, no moose did I see.  There were signs warning campers of moose active in the area, but they must have heard I was coming.

Turning in to the Dumont Lake area, it was like the lady had said...beautiful wildflowers all over the hillsides.  There was a great variety of colors, but the fireweed was especially abundant.  I haven't seen so much of it since going to Alaska many years ago.

Fishing Buddies

In my travels, I encountered lots of birds.  This House Sparrow stumped me for a while, because I rarely see them.

Leadville & Buena Vista, CO (7/19 & 7/20/2018)

On my way to Leadville, I made a loop into the San Isabel National Forest for a quick look at Turquoise Lake.  Well, it wasn't turquoise and it wasn't quick, being much larger than expected.  It was worth the time, however, since it's a pretty lake with mountains in the background.

Leadville is an interesting and colorful old mining town, but not nearly as interesting and colorful as its history.  Located near the headwaters of the Arkansas River thirty-five miles north of Buena Vista, the town sits at an elevation of 10,152 feet (higher than Independence Pass) making it the highest incorporated city in the U. S.  Its population is only about 2600, but in its heyday it had more than 15,000 residents.  Founded in 1877 by mine owners Horace Tabor and August Meyer, some thirty mines in the area produced large quantities of gold, silver and lead.  One mine is still actively producing most of the country's supply of molybdenum, used in making hardened steel.

Horace Tabor struck it rich, was once said to be worth $10 million (a lot of money then) before Congress repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, causing the price of silver to plummet.  He also served as mayor, and divorced his wife of 25 years to marry "Baby Doe" who was half his age.  A con artist once dumped a wheelbarrow load of good silver ore into a pit on his claim in order to sell it to Tabor.  Later, Tabor's miners dug a few feet deeper and found a rich vein of silver.

One Leadville hotel owner used entertainment to lure customers, offering dancing girls, dog and cock fights, boxing, wrestling, etc.  To tame the lawless town, Tabor brought in Mart Duggan, a hard drinking, brawling, tough gunfighter.  This was after the first marshal was run out of town after three days, and the second was killed after a month.  Duggan succeeded but was ambushed and shot dead long after his retirement as marshal, no doubt a revenge killing.

Tabor built an opera house that still operates today.  When he died, destitute, he told Baby Doe to hold on to his mine because "silver will come back".  She followed his advice and lived at the mine in poverty for more than thirty years.  She was found frozen to death at age 81.  Earlier, she had bought the Hope diamond for $180,000.  There are several books about her life that would make for good reading.

Other colorful characters in Leadville's past include Doc Holliday, the Unsinkable Molly Brown (Titanic survivor), Poker Alice and Oscar Wilde, who came to lecture at the opera house.  Wilde later remarked he had seen a sign in the saloon saying "Please don't shoot the pianist, he's doing the best he can".

Leadville's downtown probably hasn't changed much since the early days.

Overall, I would describe the town as quiet, quaint and quirky.  Most homes are Victorian style, many dating to the late 1800s, but updated with colorful paint jobs.

Many homeowners take pride in their flower gardens.  One man gave me permission to photograph his garden, but turned away from the camera.

There are cute signs and pieces of art adorning many homes and businesses.

I was tempted to ride the Leadville Southern train ride into the mountains, but I was a few minutes late for one train and didn't want to hang around four hours for the next one.

The historic mining district became an EPA "superfund" clean-up site in 1983.  In the past 25 years, the site's risk level has been reduced to a low level, at a cost of some $55-$60 million.  Fishing has improved and parks have been built on the site.  Consequently, Leadville property values are on the rise, now that the stigma has been removed.

Back in Buena Vista the next day, I visited the downtown park that includes a pond and a "waterfall" where the water exits.  Notice the young boy fishing at the waterfall.

 I think this willow tree is the largest of its kind that I've seen.  It must date back to the park's creation in 1879.

 Here are a couple photos of rafters dodging boulders in the rapids of the Arkansas River.

This wraps up my time in Buena Vista.  I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.  I've moved on to Steamboat Springs, so the next update will be from that lovely town.