Siverthread Scenic Byway

I guess I didn't publish this post and will do it now.

The population in Creede is 409 but increases once summer and the tourists arrives. Mountain Views RV Park, where we are staying, has 97 RV spaces and cabins primarily filled with seasonal people from Texas and Louisiana that are friendly and fun.

By the way, the mouse is gone. Mothballs did the job. He left so fast that he forgot to pick up his cheese as he ran by the trap.

Not a bad view from our campground

The park amenities and great WIFI were greatly appreciated after dry camping for a week or two.  

We decided to take the 52 mile drive to Lake City. We knew we would never haul our trailer there with the steep winding roads and crazy wind that blows.

Our first stop along the way in former San Juan City the gateway to Stoney Pass. Wagons would haul basic goods and mining supplies from Del Norte to Silverton thru San Juan City until the Denver and Rio Grand Railroad was finished and the need for a rest stop was not needed.

As we were overlooking the valley, we heard a huge flock of geese coming before we could see them as they landed in the pond. 

South Clear Creek Waterfalls was our next stop.

Weminuche, Colorado's largest wilderness at 499,771 acres formed in 1972 and named after a band of the Ute tribe.  Just standing and looking over the vast beauty was amazing.

North Clear Creek Falls 100ft drop

Views from Windy Point overlooking Lake City at 11,000 feet.

 Windy Point Overlook offers spectacular views of the San Juan Mountains including Wetterhorn Peak (14,015 ft) and Uncompahgre Peak (14,309 ft).



Lake City's namesake was formed hundreds of years ago by a rare natural earthflow called the Slumgullion Slide, which blocked the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River.  Lake San Cristobal is the second-largest natural lake in Colorado.

The day was so calm that the water was like glass causing great reflections.

We had stopped at Southern Vittles for lunch and left after a few bites. That hasn't happened before. Yes, we paid. Then, we went to the little grocery store and had them make a sandwich and pie to have a picnic by the lake. A much better choice.

We got a kick out of the little ski hill which reminded us of where we learned to ski.

The Lake City Ski Hill is operated by the Town of Lake City.  A 1000 ft. platter lift carries you to the top of four runs. We learned on rope tows back in the day.

Now about Alfred Packard

We had to stop by the Alfred Packard Massacre site. He was an American prospector who confessed to cannibalism during the winter of 1874. He and five other men attempted to travel through the high mountains of Colorado during the peak of a harsh winter. When only Alfred reached civilization, he claimed that the others had killed each other for food, and confessed to having lived off the flesh of his companions during his snowbound state and to having used it to survive his trek out of the mountains two months later. After his story was called into question, he hid from justice for nine years before being tried, convicted of murder, and sent to prison in Canon City.

This really was the wild west with some characters.

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.