Creede and the gravity derby

We went into town to look for a geocache and found the Gravity Derby going on which was a real treat.

The Gravity Derby soapbox derby ran down Main Street which was blocked for the big event. The race was run on the downhill and clocked with the city's radar for speed. After a winner was declared at 22 mph, people took turns trying them out. Monday was the ATV rodeo next to where we were staying with mud and plenty of jumps.

What would the miners from way back when think of all of this?

People take this very seriously, well maybe not too serious.

The starting line at the top of the street.

Some pretty cute shops. Most of the town would close up at 2 pm each day except the two bars.

After some sitting on a bench, watching the big event and having some tea, we headed out to find what we had planned in the first place.

We hadn't finished all of the stops on the Bachelor Loop Tour the day before and had to visit the cemetery and church.

We were ready for some lunch after our running around and heard music coming from Kip's and headed over for some fish tacos. All weekend they had different performers playing. We had a good time listening to the tunes while we finished our drinks and watched the going ons.

Deep Creek Trail is 11 miles long. We made it 2.5 miles before we heard a crashing noise above us that sounded like a falling tree. The brush was getting higher and thicker and I was getting a bit uncomfortable. There were so many raspberries. All I could think was a bear's need for calories goes from 8,000 per day to 20,000 this time of year. All of those raspberries would be appealing to them. The bears might not appreciate the amount of those berries we were consuming.The wind kept changing direction, making the use of bear spray not so good. We called it a day 

Fall is definitely in the air.

This grave was at the trailhead for Deep Creek.

Heading over Wolf Creek Pass next. Hopefully, the wind won't be too bad as we make our exit. They  name their passes, overlooks and other things windy for a good reason.

Bachelor Loop for rock hounds

The Creede Balloon Festival for Labor Day was right across the road from our camp ground at the airport which had a couple of planes outside and a couple in the hanger. There were 7 balloons and less than 100 people most of which were from the RV park. I really liked the small town atmosphere.  

After watching the balloons and having some breakfast, we headed out to try a hike to Phoenix Falls that our neighbor suggested. That didn't turn out so well due to narrow roads and bad directions. After backing down the hill so a lady could go down along a cliff to a stream, I voted to end that adventure. I think Mike was ok with that.

Once we got off that road, we decided to check out the Bachelor Loop Historic Tour. This 17-mile driving tour loops through Creede’s historic silver mining district and ghost towns. The tour’s first interpretive stop is just north of Creede in Willow Creek Canyon.

Part of the movie "The Lone Ranger" with Johnny Depp  was filmed here.

We took the hike up Humphrey's Mill after a couple we met at the first stop suggested it. There were numerous switchbacks to keep the grade not too difficult. Along the way, people had set out gems and crystals and other artifacts to look at. This was a big amethyst vein and plenty left to enjoy. There are signs saying not to take anything and it looks like people have been pretty good about it.

The old rail line from the Commodore Mine.

Plenty of cool rocks

The trail up to the mine had plenty of switchbacks to keep the incline down to "not too steep".

I wasn't sure if I would get Mike down with so many cool things and rocks to check out. 

Finally, we headed up the loop to see the other historical places.

The beaver pond showing fall coming

A fun stop for some geocaching. We had just missed the tour and the next was in an hour.

The mine is privately owned and has a couple of suites a person can stay in for a donation. The views were incredible.

Sometimes artists use this deck while they work.

Creede is such a nice small town with so much mining history and outdoor activities. After 24 hours, we were recognizing people we had seen on the trails or other places.

We are getting better at the geocaching with a few found around here.

Cheyenne Mountain State Park

We had to return to Colorado Springs to take care of some personal business and medical appointments. It seemed to be the perfect time to spend time camping at Cheyenne Mountain State Park. Each roomy site is on the hillside overlooking the city to the east and NORAD to the west. We wake each morning to revelry in the distance from Fort Carson and turkeys in the campground.

This area has received more rain than usual this year. The gambel oak (scrub oak) have an abundance of acorns and plenty of wild turkey to enjoy them. There were 14 in this group.

There are 21 miles of trails to hike or mountain bike in the mornings depending on the weather. The first day we were out by 7:30. The sun was shining and going to heat up. We wanted to get our important stuff, DMV and banking, done in the afternoon before the week got away from us. The next morning, after a stormy night, we got our hike in between rain drops.

Cheyenne Moutain and NORAD

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is a United States and Canada bi-national organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America. Aerospace warning includes the detection, validation, and warning of attack against North America whether by aircraft, missiles, or space vehicles, through mutual support arrangements with other commands.

There are two 23-ton blast doors between the main tunnel and the office buildings complex. During the cold war, one door was always closed. That meant workers had to enter through the first door, wait in a middle room for the door to be closed and sealed, then wait for the second door to be opened.The doors were permanently opened in 1992.  However, they were closed for a few hours during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 and they are closed once a day for testing to make sure they still work, just in case.

Aerospace control includes ensuring air sovereignty and air defense of the airspace of Canada and the United States. The renewal of the NORAD Agreement in May 2006 added a maritime warning mission, which entails a shared awareness and understanding of the activities conducted in U.S. and Canadian maritime approaches, maritime areas and internal waterways.

The trails were pretty peaceful in the mornings.

 

For every climb of 1000 feet of elevation the intensity of the sun increase by 4%. No wonder we both deal with skin cancer. 

We tried our hands at some geocaching but the first one was in poison ivy. We left the cache in place but enjoyed using the GPS.



Choke cherries

When we were girls, my sisters and I liked to see who could eat the most choke cherries. Aghhhh! I think Patty would win. But she was the tough one.

We missed riding with the Colorado Springs Cycle Club and were glad to have the chance to catch the Monday Dinner Ride and catch up with friends. Fortunately, the afternoon clouds rolled in, cooling us down for the ride. 



It was fun to catch up with a few friends and family between appointments. We could have spent much more time and were sad to miss some people we would have loved to spend time with. Colorado Springs has so much to offer.