Owl Creek Pass (9/28/2016)

This is the third and final posting from a day of outstanding fall color in the "Cimarron" region.  On this leg, I had the opportunity to meet some very nice people, all doing the same thing I was.  Some of them were from other areas of the country and it was fun to observe their excitement over what they were seeing.  I took a small amount of pride in telling them my new home was nearby and I could now spend a lot more time enjoying the fall season in the mountains.  One man asked if I had seen any deer, so I reported the two bucks I had seen on the other side of the mountain.  He really wanted to see something like that and left hoping for a sighting.  I stayed for a couple more photos and, less than a minute later, a big buck mule deer walked out of the brush and crossed the road about fifty feet away.  That gave me a chuckle.

As previously described, Chimney Rock has been the backdrop for seveeral movies, most famously the gun battle scene in the 1969 version of True Grit, the movie that won for John Wayne his only Oscar.  The meadow in the foreground is called "Debbie's meadow" because Debbie Reynolds filmed a scene there for "How The West Was Won".

Big Cimarron Road, CO (9/28/2016)

Big Cimarron Road is a gravel road that provides access to several large ranches, but also to the Uncompahgre National Forest.  There are quite a few campgrounds, hiking trails and stocked lakes in the forest, not to mention access to Owl Creek Pass.  The forest is a mixture of aspens and evergreens, with the aspens turning a lovely mix of yellow, gold and orange this time of year and the evergreens providing contrast.  The area is noted for some of the most jagged mountain peaks you will ever see.

Beaver Lake has a small campground, only eleven sites tucked into the edge of the forest.  The campsites have good views of the lake and the nearby mountains.

The road continues on to Silver Jack Reservoir, a much larger lake formed by damming two forks of the Cimarron River.  A third fork joins the outflow from the dam to produce the Big Cimarron River.  The campground at Silver Jack has sixty campsites.

Beyond the reservoir, more camping sites can be found scattered along the various streams.  The mountain peaks become more dominant here as the road begins to turn for its climb to Owl Creek Pass.

My trip over Owl Creek Pass will be the subject of the next travelogue.

Cerro Summit (9/28/2016)

About fifteen miles east of Montrose is a low pass called Cerro Summit.  At just over 8000 feet, the pass is well named, since Cerro is Spanish for "hill".  It wouldn't be right to call this a mountain.  At any rate, a small gravel road leaves U.S. 50 near the summit and winds through rolling hills and ranch land, eventually connecting to Big Cimarron Road.  In addition to pastures, there are many hillsides covered with low-growing Gambel Oak, commonly referred to as Scrub Oak.  The oak and other low shrubs take on a red or rusty hue in the fall, contrasting with the gold/yellow/orange of the Aspen trees.  As the road gets closer to the mountains, the Aspens become much more dominant, creating large swaths of color.

The forests around Cerro Summit are very popular hunting areas in the fall, with large numbers of elk and mule deer harvested every year.  I'm told there are also coyotes, bobcats, black bear and mountain lions, but I've never seen anything other than mule deer.  On this particular trip, two big bucks crossed the road directly in front of me and stopped to graze at the edge of the road, not more that twenty feet from the LRJ.