Cottonwood Pass

Summer in the Rockies

When we moved to Colorado to see how the virus would play out, we didn't really have a plan. I had called a few RV parks they were either full or too expensive for our taste. Sandra from Valley RV Park called and the price was less than half of the nearby parks. The location had plenty to keep us distant and busy. We were in.

We are glad to be in the mountains with very few cases of Covid here. The locals have a more relaxed attitude than in the cities on the Front Range. (It's all good) They put on their masks and carry on without needing to exert their "rights". Chaffee County had done a hard lockdown at the start of the virus and people made a quick adjustment to watching out for each other. 

Now that the county is open, people from the cities arrive on the weekends. The locals take a step back to give each other space. Those that have arrived for their holiday seem to say damned to the distancing. They are on vacation and out of the way.

Heading west from the stoplight in the middle of Buena Vista leads to Cottonwood Pass. We get an early start and avoid the weekends to beat the crowds on the trails.

The pictures are from the first part of June and there was still plenty of snow in the mountains.

Hang on! The wind will blow you to Kansas.

Taylor Reservoir on the west side of the pass.

It was fun to visit Taylor where my parents would rent a cabin in the summer. We stopped for hot tea and coffee to go with our breakfast burrito.

One more view from the top of Cottonwood Pass.

Another day, we cycled up towards Cottonwood Pass as far as the shoulder was wide enough for us to feel safe. Once it narrowed, we headed back down to see where some of the other county roads lead.

I never ride over 27 mph on the downhill because you never know what you will come across. I have had a couple of near misses with wildlife. 

As we neared the last few miles of our ride, Mike was waiting for me to discuss which direction to go when my inner tube blew. The blast was so loud, I thought I had been shot. If I had been descending at a high rate of speed, it wouldn't have been pretty. 

Fortunately, my bike mechanic stepped up and replaced the tube. Once he inflated it, the tire still had a strange shape. The new tube had a hole in it. 

I waited by the side of the road while my bike mechanic rode two miles home, changed into his Uber uniform and came back for me in the truck. Actually, he just changed his shoes. 

We find ourselves dreaming of touring Turkey, Morocco or some other far away place. If we never get to travel abroad again, it is ok. We have visited so many wonderful places and are enjoying the Rocky Mountains for now. But we are keeping our fingers crossed for the future.

 A few years ago as we were traveling through Idaho, I got very sick. The doctor was talking about possibly placing me on a ventilator. Fortunately, they helped me avoid that situation. So we are avoiding friends, family and everyone else, as much as we would love to see them in person and we know we will in the future. 

 Our daily routine consists of hiking and cycling in the mornings and plowing through the books in the afternoons. Thank goodness for kindle books on loan from the library through the internet. By the way, my Spanish is getting much better. 

June 9th we woke to snow on Mount Princeton. Most of it had melted by noon. Now it is warming up to 80 degrees in the afternoons after cooling down to the 40s at night.