Colorado Adventure 3.

Little Fox here.  You are probably wondering why there are no hiking blogs on this trip to Colorado, well blog pals that's about to change.  

Perhaps you can guess where I am going?  Yep, Linkins Lake.  I am very near the Continental Divide.  The weather is great.  The mountains are beautiful and the elevation change isn't bothering this fox at all (elevation is about 10,500 ft. or so).

Not a bad view from the trail. 

A little snow still left on the hills.  Not bad for August (yep, this blog is a tad post dated). 

Whatever the blue flower is I want them in my garden. 

I am getting close to the lake.  Looks nice doesn't it?

Whew. Hiking is hard work. I might sit down and enjoy the view for a few minutes.

Time for lunch.

These chips are really really good. 

This probably isn't the safest place in the world to take a nap but this fox is tired.

A nice refreshing stream along the way.  I would like to explore more but I have a destination to get to.  It's over Independence Pass, then off to Leadville Colorado (the two mile high city aka the highest city in the United States and one heck of a superfund cleanup site in the 1980s).

Ahhh. Time for bed.  This fox needs some sleep.  I hope this bed is big enough for me. 

Colorado adventure 2

Howdy Bloggers.
Little Fox here.  I made it to our first stop in Colorado.  This fox is staying with friends in Carbondale, Colorado.  One of the day trips we took was up the road to Redstone Colorado.  Redstone was a company town.  It was a model company town.  The owner of the mine treated his employees very well.  Excellent food.  Schools for the kids.  Safe(r) working conditions in the mines.  Recreation for the miners after work.

Redstone was established for coal mining.  So why am I in front of a marble statue?  Well, there is a town called Marble Colorado a few miles up the road.  Marble has a pretty important quarry for US based stuffies.  The marble used in the Lincoln Memorial and the tomb of the unknown solider came from Marble, Colorado. 

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A store that advertises ice cream. I think I should explore this place for sure. 

Sigh. No ice cream but I did see this cool antique store.

I really like this "Big Boy" statue.....that is until I saw that they wanted $859.00 for it.  Whew, this fox doesn't carry that kind of cash around.

I did meet a nice goat family.

Redstone was known for the coal mines.  These are coke ovens (and during the height of mining they had oven 200 coke ovens).  These are used to refine the coal (I assume).  The steel was stripped from the ovens during World War II for the army. 

 These ovens are very unique.  There are only a few ovens like this left in the West.  Redstone is one of the few places you can still see these ovens.

A little walk along the river led me to the Redstone Inn. 

 The Redstone Inn is a fancy hotel but it was actually built as a dormitory for the single miners in Redstone, Colorado. I hope they have a restaurant. I'm hungry.

They do have a restaurant but I have to wait a few minutes while they get a table for me and my gang.  Perhaps I have time to learn how to place chess? 

Colorado here I come

Hello Blog World,
Little Fox here.  I am back on the road, this time I am off to Colorado.  Ajdin went there a few weeks ago and it looked like an amazing place so I thought I would road trip out there.

Day 1: Drive from Portland to Boise. 
Drunk Fox has done that drive many times in his wanderings and he recommended a place in Pendleton, Oregon for lunch.

I didn't stop there even after Drunk Fox suggested it.  

A little later I arrived in Boise.  I got settled for the night and went out for dinner.  I figured I needed a drink and this beer is from Bear Island Brewing which only seems like a stuffy friendly establishment.

Yep, that beer pretty much put me out for the night.  Off to bed.

My roommate scored a great parking spot near the Idaho Capital Building.  It's about 6:30am and the capital isn't open yet but the grounds are in great shape.

Still early and time for breakfast.  This is the District Coffee House.  A coffee shop in downtown Boise that donates all of it's profit to an orphanage in India.  Seems like a good place to check out.

A nice big coffee and a warm breakfast sandwich.  Yum. 

Today I am doing a volksmarch of Boise.  It's basically a walking tour of downtown.  Volksmarching is beary popular in Germany (where it began) and some cities have awesome Volksmarch clubs and others not-so-much.

The first stop is at a local park.  It's actually a really big park along the Boise River.  Boise State University is on one side of the river and this big park is on the other side. I am enjoying the fragrant roses of the rose garden. 

No walking tour of Boise would be complete without going to the Basque District.  Don't quote me but Boise has one of the largest Basque communities in the United States. 

The district is beary nice.  Good looking restaurants and a Basque themed inn. 

Lots of history in Boise.  

The Methodist and Catholic Cathedrals are right next to each other in downtown Boise. This here is the Catholic Catherdral. They are working on the outside but it's a stately looking building. 

Speaking of stately the capital building is now open.

I thought the outside was nice but the inside is really really really nice.  It's pretty empty today as the legislature is not in session so that gives me a chance to explore.

Welcome to Colorado

Through my expert navigation and supervision (hmmm, maybe I should send a bill?) we successfully made it to Colorado. 

It's HOT....but I hear that if you drive up to the Continental Divide it's much cooler.  Let's go!

I am having a tough time adjusting to the altitude.

We made it to Independence Pass (should have gone here on the 4^th, oh well).  The mountains are amazing and there were even a few snow melt lakes.  The only thing that would have made it better is a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory on site.  

After exploring Independence Pass it was time to head to an old mining ghost town, called…..drum roll please….Independence.  It was a pretty hopping city many years ago until a bad snowstorm hit the town, residents had to dismantle the buildings and use the wood as skis to ski down to Aspen. 

Do you think they sell ice cream at this store?

Hmm, not bad construction considering it's at 10,900 feet and it's about 130 years old.  

Ahh, a new day.

Back on the road.  The mountains ahead of me are the San Juans.  I have learned a few things about Colorado.  1) Lot’s of great scenery.  2) Lot’s of road construction going on as well.

Our first stop was Ouray, Colorado.  A former mining town now settled in the mountains and thriving on the tourist trade.  When Ouray was in it’s heyday they built lots of Victorian homes and buildings.  

I wonder if they have a Starbucks in town?

 Besides sightseeing and shopping Ouray is the self proclaimed off road adventuring capital of the world.  There were lots of cool vehicles you could rent.  I would have taken this one if it were orange. 

Please.....can we go please.......

This restaurant looks like a good place to stop for lunch.

Wait, that's the name of the restaurant....not what they serve right?

Driving into and out of Ouray was beautiful.  You passed many mountain passes.  Hmm, I wonder why they called this one Black Bear Pass?

 

A few more stops along the way, an old west gun fight in a parking lot and finally made it to our motel for the night.  This is our room, the Eagle’s Nest.  There was also a room called the Bear’s Den but it must have been rented before we arrived.

Does anyone know where I am at?  That’s right, Mesa Verde National Park.

You can't seriously expect me to climb up this ladder by myself?

Mesa Verde was pretty cool.  So many ruins.  The ancient people who built these ruins were great masons…..I wonder what they charged per hour?

According to the rangers many of these rooms were used for corn storage.  I wonder if any rooms stored berries, chocolate, or salmon?

After leaving Mesa Verde we made a quick stop in Telluride and I got to ride up the mountain in a tram.  If you haven’t traveled by tram it’s definitely the way to go, especially since this one was free.