Welcome back to my
Travel Log for 29 June. If
you've been following
along or just stopped here by accident, I'm on vacation this month and
I'm keeping this wandering journal for my own amusement and to keep
friends up-to-date. Our country has so many diverse and beautiful
geographies and while I may be somewhat biased, I was lucky to grow up
in one of the most beautiful - the Colorado Rockies.
Yesterday
we took a great trip over to our cabin on Trout Lake. (http://activerain.com/blogsview/571021/Trout-Lake-Colorado-Summer)
and before that we drove from Southern Ca to Southern Co and
highlighted some travel tips you just don't find in AAA. (http://activerain.com/blogsview/568393/Myths-Legends-of-the
Great Southwest)
Did I mention I'm up here with my Aunt? She's 95 and was born
here. Irene, and my Mom, Vera, lived in Telluride their entire lives.
In an old mining town resurrected as a ski town, they saw a lot of
changes during their lives. So Mom died a couple years ago and now my
Aunt lives in Cali w/me. But we always try to come up for at least a
month in the summer. We were always here for the 4th because Telluride
celebrates in a BIG way and has for decades - oh, and my Mom's birthday
was the 4th of July.
So we had a
BBQ with some friends last eve and our good friend Kevin offers to take
us up in the hills. So myself, my Aunt and Kevin headed out in his
Ranger. What a great little rig. Smoother ride than my Jeep.
The
road switchbacks up out of town. My house is about dead
center of
this photo. At the fare end is Town Park where there's always a
festival or concert going on. The Dead played here in '87. We can hear
the music if we sit in our backyard - and we also have ringside seats
for the big fireworks display they have on the 4th. Small towns have
their advantages.
Heading
for 13,100 Ft
Imogene Pass. Along the way we'll pass over a dozen old mines and
mining camps that flourished around the turn of the last century,
including the Liberty Bell Mine, where my Grandmother first set up
house in 1909 fresh off the boat from Austria. We also saw evidence of
several big avalanches. They had over 20' of snow last winter
and
a lot of snow broke loose.
For a jeep road, it's pretty tame down by the bottom but as you go up
it gets rougher and narrower. This is Social Tunnel - a place to get
out of the rain or snow for a spell if you got caught out.
It
doesn't take long to
get above timberline - but as the snow melts the wildflowers crop up.
Because of all the snow the season is a couple weeks late this year but
I'll show you a flower collection one day.
Unfortunately
this day
we couldn't make it to the top. Still too much snow on the road. Just
off my left shoulder there's one more switchback and the guy on the
Caterpillar just hasn't made it past there yet. So we didn't make it to
the summit, didn't get to Fort Peabody and couldn't get a glimpse of
the Camp Bird Mine. More on them later. We only made it to about the
12,800 Ft level - we brought an oxygen bottle in case my Aunt needed it
but I almost ended up using it. I'm from C Level Man!
We
only saw 2 other
people on the mountain and they had been up to pre-ski the course for
the Lunar Cup ski races coming up next Saturday. It's a little hard to
see in this photo but you can barely make out the figure 8's they cut
on that snow field. I used to be able to do that, stress USED TO.
Did I
mention they had a lot of snow this winter? That'll still be there when
the next snow flies.
A hundred years ago there were thriving mining communities even above
timberline. My Aunt remembers hiking up here with friends - there was a
dancehall, bowling alley and several mines within a couple miles. These
mountains are literally honeycombed with tunnels, some that produced
and some that didn't. In this basin alone there was the Tomboy, the
Sheridan Crosscut, the Liberty Bell, the Japan Flora and others. The
Camp Bird, just over the ridge was one of America's richest gold mines.
The man who first developed it, Tom Walsh, was flush enough that he
bought his wife the Hope Diamond. I'm not either lyin' - Google it.
There's
still a fair
amount of gear left as well as tailings piles and tunnels. Every winter
the snow defeats a few more of the old buildings. A lot of the heavy
metal parts were scrapped during WWII to build ships and tanks,
tourists have scavenged their share over the years as well. This
structure is the top of a tramway. It's like a gondola - there's a big
metal wheel with teeth that drives the cable that runs the trams. Ore
was mined and partially processed at the mine site, then the ore was
dumped into hoppers on the other side of this building and fed into the
tram cars to transport down the mountain to the mills. Returning empty
tram cars carried groceries, mail, visitors and miners returning to
work.
With
all the snowmelt
higher up, little streams and waterfalls are everywhere. From the upper
basin you can see out over the ski area, past Mount Wilson all the way into Utah.
The Tomboy Basin is some rugged country with a colorful history. Come
see it if you get a chance.
Hope
your day went well and that all your deals are cash.
Gene
Wunderlich - Selling Southwest California Homes including
Temecula, Murrieta & The Southern California Wine Country
Remember, Don't wait to buy real
estate - Buy real estate and wait.
THE
OPINIONS IN THIS
COMMENTARY ARE STRICTLY GENE WUNDERLICH's PERSONAL OPINION. WHILE ANY
REASONABLE &/or RATIONAL PERSON SHOULD AGREE, THESE VIEWS MAY
NOT
REFLECT THOSE OF ACTIVERAIN, COLDWELL BANKER RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGE OR
ANY LOCAL, STATE OR NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
The
road switchbacks up out of town. My house is about dead
center of
this photo. At the fare end is Town Park where there's always a
festival or concert going on. The Dead played here in '87. We can hear
the music if we sit in our backyard - and we also have ringside seats
for the big fireworks display they have on the 4th. Small towns have
their advantages. 
;)
;)
Gene - Looks like you're having a grand time. Great photos. Are you bringing back some Freshies?