Gunnison, Colorado

Cowboy Country

 We moved across the Continental Divide to the big open valley of Gunnison. The temps cooled off and monsoon rains returned after a very dry few weeks. Overlooking a pond and surrounded by trees was a big change from the dusty, windy campground we were in the past three months.

Ranches with happy cows and horses line county road where we hiked and cycled. 

Driving up Ohio Pass Road

We arrived at the trailhead and met a retired couple from San Antonio, TX that comes to this area every summer.  They were happy to have someone to hike with and tell their stories after 50 years of marriage. They had me hustling to keep up.

The wildflowers had gone to seed from the frost over the past few days and looked like fall.

Our big Ohio Creek Valley view as we started up Swampy Pass Trail.

Marvin and Vickie, our new friends, gave us the low down on hiking Mill Castle Mountain.

We finished our hike and lunch as the thunder and rain started. Driving back, a 30 elk traffic jam had us waiting as they crossed the road as the rain got heavier making the pictures blurred. 

We had a couple of days to ride our bikes along the backroads of CR 730. It was 46F degrees on our second morning as we started. The sunshine had us warm in no time, along with our warmer clothes. 

The traffic jam on this road on Sunday was from so many cyclist on the road and few cars. My kind of traffic jams. It was great to ride from the campground for a 25 mile rides without a lot of climbing.

Mt. Crested Butte in the background.

Fall was in the air as the hay fields had been cut and colors starting to change. The smell of the cut hay brought back memories of the time Mike spent working on his grandparent's dairy farm in Vermont. I clicked away on my camera as I pedaled. Stopping for pictures while cycling is tiring to me.

We took a drive to the Taylor River Valley on a rainy day. A lot of cyclists like to ride this road. I voted to stay on our favorite county road.

As a young girl, after everyone was asleep, I would take a blanket outside and stare up at the stars. On our visit to Banff National Park in Canada many years ago, we put our pillows and blankets on the grass outside our condo to watch the sky. We still spend evenings wrapped in a blanket in our recliners looking at the sky.  It is a quiet time to reflect on our day and let our imaginations go while waiting for the space station pass by across the night sky. These are some big skies to look up in.

Mill Castle Trail

The scenic hike up the Mill Castle Trail to Storm Pass winds its way up the Mill Creek Valley thru the West Elk Wilderness. The landscape is unique with rock castles and formations with few visitors.

I checked my bear spray and reviewed how to use it. No sense waiting until you need it to remember how to use it. This trail had more wows per mile and around every corner.

The early morning sun gave some interesting shadows on the mountains.

We had several creek crossings. Fortunately, the water level was low making crossing easier. But I still managed to slip in a few times. I am glad Mike waterproofed my boots/

After an amazing hike, we headed to the food truck for a grilled peach salad for lunch.

What a fun visit to some new to us places. We were pretty tired after a week with fabulous fall like weather.