Colorado Day Nine

We woke to a cold drizzle but most of us were looking forward to the jeep rides to Yankee Boy Basin scheduled for this morning, in spite of the chilly conditions.  They had put tarp roofs on but the sides were left open.    Everyone that went along was bundled well and the Jeep drivers provided ponchos and wool blankets so most of us were cozy enough. Those in the front seat were a bit frosty and windblown but they took it in stride.

The scenery was indescribable.  The Aspens were truly at their prime and banks of thick mist lay in the valleys.  Snow is predicted for tonight and our guides had warned us that they will turn around if the weather becomes threatening. 

Anna Mae told us about their adventure last year.  While they were up top it started to snow.  They quickly headed down but the snow coated an icy roadway and at one point everyone who was physically able got out and walked, except the drivers of course.  They walked about a half mile or so until conditions improved and they continued down in the Jeeps. One person claimed they walked three miles but it only felt that way slipping and sliding on a narrow roadway high above the valley below.  Our driver today was also driving on that day last year and he told us there were several times when he thought he was going over the side.  “Going over the side” does not mean a dip in the ditch.  It means certain death on the canyon floor, hundreds of feet below.

There were several places where water was running across the road and there were impressive ruts to be crossed.  We came within inches of the edge several times and drove under a huge rock outcropping at another place.  We saw an old mine, its building only a skeleton of rotting beams.  Thick wooden doors were fastened against the mountain wall indicating where the entrance was.  I wonder, is Gollum down there somewhere whispering to His Precious?

We drove past another mine that is slated to open before long.  Bulldozers were cleaning debris in preparation to reopen.  There was much silver and gold brought out of it many decades ago (in today’s money, around one billion dollars) before it was sold to a company from England and closed down later when production costs exceeded profits.  Government regulations were also prohibitive but with the recent relaxing of those business stifling laws the company is planning to start up operations again.  Seeing the trucks bringing up heavy equipment gave my stomach a few lurches.

After stopping at the top of our tour route we were happy to see a picturesque little outhouse and made good use of it.  On the way back down the mountain we detoured slightly to see two Victorian style houses in great disrepair.  The mining company is planning to restore at least one of them for their offices and maybe the other for a B and B. It would be a breathtaking spot for a vacation.  Miles from anywhere and views that are indescribable.

After we were back down to Ouray and on the bus we turned toward Montrose for a quick lunch on the go.  And that’s where I lost all the equity I had built up over the course of the past week and a half.  We dropped half the bus at a KFC and the rest of us went to Wendy’s.  After everyone had their food and the bus was rolling back up the highway, I discovered I did not have my phone.  I was almost hyperventilating when I realized I had left it on top of the paper towel dispenser in the Wendy’s restroom.  By now we were twelve miles away!  Since we were only a few miles from our next stop at Black Canyon, the decision was made to drop everyone there and Noah would drive me back to pick up my phone.  I called the Wendy’s and yes, they found it.

Driving twenty miles on a curving mountain road and then through town is not the same by bus as it would be in a small car.  The round trip took just under an hour.  Everyone on the bus was so gracious and understanding it almost made me misty.  And I told them they are free to question me every time I get on the bus as to the location of my troublesome cell  phone.  It seems I've switched from absconding with other people's phones to not having any phones at all.  I seriously get weary of myself sometimes.

After we got back to pick up the group I ran to take a look at Black Canyon (WOW!) at Anna Mae's insistance.  It looked like Jurassic Park when the helicopter first lands on the island.  I was the last one on the bus but only by about a minute or two.  I had deliberately left my phone on my seat before I had dashed down to look at the canyon  and it was gone!  I knew right away that one of my loving fellow travelers had swiped it.  They all denied it but when I turned to confront them all it magically appeared back on my seat.  I told them my sanity is hanging by a thread and if I snap it’s their fault.  They didn’t look the least bit ashamed of themselves.

We stopped at another amazing overlook - the tallest cliff in Colorado, the painted rocks.  Just when I think I’ve seen all the beauty I can handle, there’s more.  The cliff walls stretch upward almost twice as far as the Empire State Building and the river below that looks about an inch across is actually forty feet wide. I noticed what looks like a reclining alien on one of the walls.  You'll see him in the photo above.

After a number of people had settled in for a nap and others were reading or quietly visiting, Dave yelled, “Bear!” and everyone sat bolt upright, looking eagerly in the direction he pointed. 

“Those are cows!” someone said and everyone sank back down, groaning and ribbing Dave for thinking Black Angus cattle look like bears.

We drove past the Blue Mesa Reservoir and onto the reservation of the same name, entering through a canyon loaded with more brilliant aspens, mingled with deep green pines and grey rocks; several varieties of shrubs had also changed to autumn colors creating an incredible tapestry, a visual feast.  The dam is at its lowest level since 1987 because of drought conditions the past three years.  The mountains surrounding the twenty mile long reservoir looked like landscapes from another planet (or what I imagine another planet would look like) with little plant life to soften up the harsh terrain.  It was easy to see how low the water level is compared to where it had once been; one of our guides told us that the roofs of houses are visible, jutting from the water in some places.  It would be interesting to know how many people were transplanted and their homes flooded by the construction of the dam.

Earlier today during one of our driving stretches Anna Mae announced the winner of the scavenger hunt.  At the start of our trip she had handed out a sheet of paper with a list of about thirty things we need to look for and the race was on.  Paul has everything but a black and white cat and I'm pretty sure Pearl has everything except a Maryland licence plate. I'm too lazy to even try; I'm on vacation.  Anyway, Anna Mae said someone had handed theirs in last week already and we were all amazed.  Then she started reading the "winner's" paper.  It seems that someone had decided to edit the game to fit his or her own agenda.  Child in a stroller was changed to  read child. Green truck was changed to Blue.  Bird nest now said only bird.  And so on and so on.  Everyone was laughing and trying to figure out who had taken cheating to a new level.  Merv was the proud winner of a children's story book  that Anna Mae thought matched his grade level.  And so the race continues between the rest of the participants.

We stopped for a fast food meal-on-the-go and continued on through the night to our hotel; I'm finishing this as the bus is cruising down the highway; we should reach our hotel in Dillon by 9:30.