The
last time we were in Buena Vista the girls went up (2200’) to Leadville and I
did not go so I didn’t want to miss the trip this time, but we started the day on
the patio of the Evergreen Café in Buena Vista for
breakfast.
From
there we headed up the Arkansas River Valley to Leadville at an elevation of
10152’ and a population of around 2580.
Judging from some of the buildings, it has been a very prosperous city
in the early days.
But
now, it does not appear to be the case and while the girls did some shopping, I
spent a little time learning about the town from bartender Sam at the Manhattan
Bar - a favorite part of traveling for me.
We
then drove around the beautiful Turquoise Lake which is part of system that
delivers snow melt water from the Rockies western slope under the continental
divide via the Charles H. Boustead Tunnel to be used for power generation at the Mt Ebert Power Station and for water
to southeastern Colorado via the Arkansas River.
This is Mt. Massive from the north side of the lake.
While
driving around the lake we finally saw some wildlife, besides deer, when a coyote
crossed the road in front of us – I’d been hoping for a lion or a bear.
The
next day, the girls visited a local hair salon for a hair color and a
pedicure and I visited the only
barbershop (Floyd’s) in town for a long overdue haircut.
During last years trip, I’d posted about the moose guards that were on many of the semis.
During last years trip, I’d posted about the moose guards that were on many of the semis.
I hate I couldn’t get a shot of it, but I saw one of them mounted to the front of a big motorhome and it looked pretty strange – better safe than sorry.
Photos
can be enlarged by clicking on them.
Have
a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.
Larry
9/6–9/7/16 event dates
9/6–9/7/16 event dates
We have seen a lot of vehicles with the moose guards especially out west, not so much here in the east though., it would be strange to see on a motorhome.
ReplyDeleteThe next time you come to California and want to get a haircut, our governor just signed into law, it is legal to serve a patron one beer per haircut. truth
ReplyDeleteWe wouldn't last very long at that altitude because of his lungs so thanks for the tour. We have a lot of cattle guard grills out here. But never have seen one that big. Moose doesn't stand a chance.
ReplyDeleteWe used to go camping at Turquoise Lake every Summer. One of our favorite spots.
ReplyDeleteLarry, Those are some great looking old buildings in downtown Leadville. I'd have been with you in the bar while the ladies shopped! After you've seen a few hundred stores, it's rare to find something really worth looking at... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
ReplyDeleteIt's always fun to talk to the locals about the history of a town, isn't it? Leadville does look like it was once quite prosperous.
ReplyDelete(Are you going to California for your beer and haircut? Chilebrown has a unique concept there.)
Not this trip
DeleteMore beautiful shots!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was visiting my best friend in Breckenridge (10,000) recently, we made a stop at an oxygen bar for 30 minutes. I am sure living at near ocean level (about 100) made it particularly hard for me at first, but the oxygen got rid of my altitude headache and made me feel great! Did you struggle with the altitude?
Beautiful lake but I was expecting that Turquoise Lake would be a beautiful blue green color. There are lots of moose in Maine and upstate New Hampshire but I never saw any trucks with guards like those.
ReplyDelete