July 1-9, 2017, Lake City, CO

We left Chama on July 1^st and drove to Lake City, Colorado.  We drove to Pagosa Springs and then over Wolf Creek Pass (10,850 ft).  At South Fork we turned north and followed the Silver Thread Scenic Byway over Spring Creek Pass (10,901 ft) and finally over Slumgullion Pass (11,361 ft) and into Lake City - it was a beautiful drive.   We are staying at Henson Creek RV Park and are very disappointed.  We knew it would be crowded by didn’t expect to camp next to the bathrooms/showers where we have no patio and cannot even put out our awnings as there must be a roadway between us and the restrooms for safety.  We are constantly concerned about vehicles coming around the corner of the 5^th wheel and running into our slide out. Our truck is parked on the other side of the 5^th wheel basically in the patio area of the next camper – his truck is parked on the other side of his camper in his neighbor’s patio area. When we booked this RV park in February it was the only one that said they had any space available during this time.  The managers are very nice and we have had numerous residents stop by and introduce themselves and tell us if there is anything we need to let them know.  Most of the residents are long term, spending most of the summer here.

 

We watched the 4^th of July parade as it went by the RV park.  This town crier came around just before the parade started and announced the parade and also the reading of the Declaration of Independence at the town park after the parade.

Shortly afterward the parade started - there were some floats, lots of decorated 4 wheel drive vehicles and a few horses.

A very tall Uncle Sam was brave enough to walk on his stilts the entire parade.

We really enjoyed the parade – it has been a long time since we saw a parade.  We walked downtown afterwards and enjoyed the craft fair and people watching.  We especially liked this business – there was a small area with a putting green and chairs.  Sometimes we all would like to send our retired husbands to a place like this!

After having a great ice cream cone (it’s not the 4^th of July without ice cream!) we headed back to the 5^th wheel to enjoy a quiet afternoon.  The fireworks in the evening were shot from a bluff directly above the RV park – we were able to sit in chairs beside the 5^th wheel and enjoy a great show.  This was one of the better displays we have seen.

One day we decided to look around the area and found this memorial for the victims of Alferd Packer.  For those of you not familiar with Alferd – he took 5 men out looking for gold in 1874.  The story goes that they became stranded in a snow storm and only Alferd survived.  Investigations determined that he survived by eating his fellow prospectors.  Alferd was convicted of cannibalism and sent to prison.

We then drove back up the Silver Thread Scenic Byway to the Slumgullion Earth Flow area and Lake San Cristobal.  About 850 years ago, thousands of tons of water-saturated earth broke away from the Mesa Seco and slid nearly four miles into the valley below. 

About 350 years ago, another portion of Mesa Seco began to slowly ooze down the hillside.  Riding above the older slide, this flow covered about 2.5 miles of the older flow.  Geologists estimate that it is still moving downhill approximately twenty feet per year.

The Slumgullion Earthflow dammed the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River and formed beautiful Lake San Cristobal – the second largest natural lake in Colorado.

Another trip was driving the Alpine Loop – a beautiful four wheel drive trip starting in Lake City and going over Cinnamon Pass (12,620 ft) to Animas Forks and then over Engineer Pass (12,800 ft) and back into Lake City.  As this was going to be an all-day adventure we brought Camille and Cody with us.   We had driven this loop a few years ago and were anxious to go again.

Shortly before we reached Cinnamon Pass we took a side road to American Basin which is one of the most scenic alpine valleys in the San Jan Mountains. 

The wildflowers were beautiful – the higher we went the lighter the Columbines became.  These are almost white.

This is what is left of the Tabasco Mill and Tram.  Ore from the Tabasco Mine, near Cinnamon Pass, was transported 1.7 miles to the mill for processing.  Several of the wooden tram towers are still standing and you see them as you drive towards Cinnamon Pass.

More beautiful wildflowers along the way.

Every direction you looked were beautiful mountain peaks.

Once over Cinnamon Pass we descended to the ghost town of Animas Forks.   Originally named Three Forks, it was developed in1873 at an elevation of 11,200 ft.  By 1876 there was a sizable hotel, a general store, saloon, post office, and thirty cabins.  In 1904 the od Prince Mill was built and the Silverton Northern Railroad was extended from Eureka and terminated in Animas Forks.  A few of the cabins have been partially restored.

After walking around Animas Forks and eating lunch, we headed back towards Lake City via Engineer Pass.  We had a great day and enjoyed all the beautiful scenery and the wildflowers.  When we got back to Lake City our odometer read 54 miles and it took us 7 ½ hours.

We enjoyed our time in Lake City - this is a beautiful little town that has been restored and all the properties have been kept in great condition.