Off-road Antics

Mount Yale was intense. The next day, our entire bodies seemed to lag, so we were pleased to wake up in Salida. We enjoyed perhaps the best overall breakfast, and finest omelet, I've ever had at the River's Edge restaurant. 

It was a non-hiking day, so we sauntered slowly around town, and what a treat. About half the shops in town were art 

galleries (half!) and only a few carried the  generic painting-of-mountain-scenes I expected. Most were filled with truly creative interpretations of classic western art - industrial sculptures of Dream Catchers, abstract mountains, and my favorite, sculptured busts of mystical monsters, a la The Gruffalo. 

This town had modern soul, with style, whilst keeping an authentic foot in the past with consistent, border-town architecture.  Charlotte said it looked like a movie set; I was just smitten.  If time allows, we'll be back. 

After I enjoyed a great coffee (they made my Cortado beautifully),

we had a schedule to keep, and were soon en route to the Garden of the Gods. Rarely could such a grand name live up to expectations, and my first impression was that this one fell right in the middle of hyperbole. 

The visitor center and trading post were packed to the gills like a Disney amusement park.  I hate Disney.  To share some perspective, I once took my kids to Disney Paris on the hottest, busiest day of the summer just to ensure they would inherit my disdain and never ask me to take them again. They haven't. 

So it was with deep foreboding that I began the safari-like drive around the park. 

Once again on this trip, it was Charlotte who proved to be right as the Gardens of the Gods were beautiful,

and so well spread out that the crowds failed to undermine the enjoyment of them, especially once we were out of the car and enjoying them up close and personal. 

Yes, that's Charlotte in front of the fingers, and then both of us before another. 

Our plan was to hike Mount Bietstadt the following morning, so after an hour dallying with the gods, we drove south.  To Charlotte's joy we found some dirt roads, and she got her first chance behind the wheel. 

Unfortunately, about a mile after this photo, we learned what the guidebook meant when warning, "we recommend a serious 4x4 vehicle for this road".  I gave the F150 truck we'd rented, a 2-wheel drive, every opportunity to prove the guidebook wrong, but to no avail. We had to turn around and find our next adventure, which was a pretty nice drive anyway. 

That night we stayed near Alamosa, a town whose entire purpose may be to prove that not all Colorado towns are charming. 

The next morning we visited the Great Sand Dunes. Unlike the Garden of the Gods, which is one of these geological curiosities which took millions of years to create, the Sand Dunes are a relatively modern phenomenon. 

Through a councidental combination of rock type, dominant winds, water flow and climate, the tallest Sand Dunes in America abut the Rockies. 

It's visually arresting, and really neat to experience - Charlotte and I had a fab time. 

We then headed for Handies Peak which would be our next 14er.  The summer storms found us, and the road to the trailhead was as exciting as it looks,

but by the next morning the skies had cleared.  We were soon huffing and puffing our way up our third 14er,

which was, in places, just covered with more glorious wild flowers. 

The last mile may have been the steepest yet, even a bit scary at times, but as usual, the views at the top were just amazing. 

The local red sandstone combined with the lush Colorado green,

to create a stunning vista. 

We'd started the climb quite early, so we had some time to kill, and decided to drive around some of the local roads and enjoy some views.  Little did I know we were also giving our truck the chance to redeem himself, as we soon encountered more feisty 4x4 road conditions. 

I'm pleased to share that our truck was the only non-4x4, or non-ATV for that matter, at the top of Cinnamon Pass. 

 

Some motorcyclists said they were 'stunned' to see our little F150 make it over some of the rocks we did. 

which made us proud. Until we noticed what our efforts had done to the tires. 

Whoops. 

We're now back in Gunnison, and half way through our trip. Two weeks today we'll be back in Denver, so we've about to review our plans for the rest of the trip. 

As soon as Charlotte wakes up.