Bluff Spring Journal
August/September 2009
I need to back up a little and tell you about my trip to Colorado. We've had such a busy August that I haven't had time/energy to sit down and write.
This year I decided to take Sid (Corgi #2) with me on my annual trip to Colorado. And I decided to leave home in time to get to my camp site around 1 am, sleep some and then get up to catch the sunrise. I usually schedule the drive so that I arrive just as the sun is rising, shoot the sunrise and then crash for a few hours. I'm glad to say that getting to my sunrise spot in time to get some sleep made the rest of the day much more enjoyable.
Maroon Belles Sunrise
Sid and I enjoyed the middle of the day when light is poor for photography just messing around in Aspen. I had breakfast at a place I found last year that has the best pastries and down home cooking in Aspen-Main Street Bakery. Sid got a couple of left over bites and then we headed to the park for a game of fetch. I swear the dog would run for that ball until my arm fell off if I'd let him.
Towards evening we headed back to the Belles for a hike along the river that ran by our campsite. The wild flowers were in bloom all along the trail. It was good to smell the sweet mountain air full of pine, aspen and wildflowers.
After shooting several scenes we headed up Independence pass to catch a couple of water falls and shoot the vista at the top of the pass. The road to the summit of the pass, Hwy 82, goes from 7900 ft in Aspen to 12100 at the summit. Many of the curves are blind and just for fun they throw in a couple of one lane sections that are just begging for you to meet up with a big truck so that you’ll have to practice your driving in reverse skills. It was hazy at the pass so the photography was a wash out. (Pun intended) So I headed back down 82 to where the Roaring Fork River flows under the highway. It was sunny so I had to wait patiently until just the right cloud floated between me and the sun. I think the wait was worth it.
Roaring Fork River Falls
Wildflowers were blooming everywhere. Hard to point your camera without getting one in the frame.
Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia L.)
Harebell, often called “bluebell”, is a flower found around the world in the Northern Hemisphere but most often, associated with Scotland. Harebell has many common names including bellflower, lady's thimble, witch's thimble, heathbells, fairies’ thimbles, and dead men’s bells.
Silverbell Campground with Sid
Sid and I headed back to our campsite and got there in time to cook up some beef stew in the trusty jet boil. Sid enjoyed his usual dinner of rice and hamburger. He also got a bite or two of the rolls I had picked up at the Aspen grocery store. With the pine wood fire crackling and the sound of the dancing river beside our site we were enveloped in our own embrace of nature. It was good just to sit back and gaze at the stars, feel the warmth of the fire and enjoy Sid's company.
Bed time came early as we watched the fire die down. I did have one little chore to do before we retired for the night. It seems that the area has been having trouble with porcupines chewing on tires and more seriously the tubing and electrical wiring of the vehicles. The cure is to surround the entire bottom of your vehicle with a two foot high roll of chicken wire. Of course the rolls weren't long enough to go all the way around my SUV and I had to join three pieces together with zip ties then place rocks at several places around the SUV so that the chicken wire would stay in place. Geez what an ordeal. But, it's better than having your vehicle fail on you while negotiating one of these mountain roads!
Friday 24th
I had set the alarm on my cell phone to 3:30 am so that I could get to Crested Butte Colorado to catch the sunrise and then get some wildflower pictures. I hardly ever use the alarm function on my cell phone but it sure is nice to have that feature. My trusty phone alarm woke Sid and I out of a deep sleep so we piled out of bed, gathered up our stuff and packed the SUV. I also had to take down all the chicken wire from around the vehicle, move the rocks and roll up the wire. It took me about 15 minutes to complete this chore and all because of those pesky porcupines. I got to the main road and headed down the mountain excited about the possibilities of they day's adventures and photographs ahead of us. After driving a couple of miles I looked at the clock in my dash and was puzzled to see that it said 12:35 am. I wondered if something was wrong with the clock so I pulled out my cell phone to check what time it said. My cell phone confirmed that nothing was wrong with the car clock as they both displayed the 12:35 am. What had happened to my alarm. Had I set the wrong time or what. Come to find out that the alert sound for my alarm was also the alert sound for email arrival. I had gotten some automated email during the night and the sound I thought was my alarm was actually some piece of junk mail. Man was I irritated. But there was no way that I was going to go back up the mountain and put all that chicken wire around my SUV just to sleep a couple of more hours. Hey, I thought I'd just drive to Crested Butte and sleep in the vehicle till time to get up and catch the sunrise. Problem solved and Sid didn't care a bit getting up early. He was just happy to be along for the ride. I fired up Debbie Directions (my gps) and headed towards Crested Butte.
Along the way my gps got me off the main road and headed me towards Marble Colorado. It was a crooked road but was what I expected. Then just outside of Marble the road turned to dirt which didn't worry me too much as I could see we were still headed towards Crested Butte. The road was a little steep and slow going but my 4wd SUV had no problems and it was kind of fun. Then after about 45 minutes it started to get real 4w drive-ish but I could see we were still headed in the right direction and thought this wouldn't last for long. I passed through an old mining town Crystal Colorado. It was still dark but I could make out some old buildings with people still living in some of them. Then about 1/2 mile out of Crystal the road became a no turn around road with steep drop offs that I could only catch a glimpse of as my lights would stare off into the darkness where I couldn't see the bottom. No turning around and no backing up the more than 1/2 mile in the dark that I had already come. I just had to press on and hope for a wide place in the road or finally make it back to pavement.
I was ascending a rather steep section and as I reached the top of the incline I rounded a corner just as I was also presented with a narrow bridge in front of me that had no guard rails and was covered with gravel. I was going too fast to chance trying to stop and sliding on the gravel to an uncertain dark drop off that bridge. So I gave the SUV a little more gas to plow my way through the gravel and on to the other side. I can tell you that my heart was racing as I safely reached the other side of the bridge. With the road underneath me again I stopped just to gather my wits and slow down my heart rate. It was then that I realized that crossing the bridge was now the least of my worries as the road had turned very steeply upward with no end to the incline in sight. Being stopped I slowly got out of the SUV to the sound of a roaring river which must have included a waterfall close by. The sound was too intense just to be a flowing river. I grabbed my head lamp and peered around in the darkness to find that I was right. There was a huge water fall to my left that I could just barely make out. What I could see for sure was the steep road in front of me. I followed my experience from being on other 4wd roads and decided to walk the road before attempting it in the SUV. This road was steep and narrow with no place to turn around. The incline was made of up of loose gravel with the occasional stretch of exposed rock that had been polished by wind and water. Those polished surfaces looked really slick and dangerous. I could just see my tires loosing traction going sideways into the loose gravel and then I just quit thinking about what might happen. I was by now convinced that I was not going to attempt this in the dark for sure and mostly likely not in the daytime. I walked back to the SUV to find Sid a little on the nervous side. The sound of the roaring waterfall along with having been tossed around by the 4wd road had upset the little guy. He quickly came over the center console and proceeded to settle himself in my lap. I sat there pondering my fate. It was either back across the narrow bridge or chance the treacherous road ahead of me. Not a good choice so I decided not to make a choice and just wait for daylight. At least more light would let me see clearly what I had gotten into. I put the seat back to give Sid more room as we both nervously drifted in and out of a shallow sleep waiting for dawn.
Dawn came and afforded me a clear look at the possibilities for extracting myself from these mountains. I could now see the top of the incline and was convinced that it was for sure crazy to chance those unsure rocks. I also saw that the bridge was indeed very narrow and that there would only be about 18 inches of clearance on both sides of my tires. One glimpse of hope however. There was a place wide enough to turn around just back across the bridge. So, back into the SUV and with my door open and my seat belt securely in place I cautiously started backing towards the bridge. I stopped just before I got on the deck of the bridge and got out just to check the position of my tires. Good thing I did because my right rear tire was going to be dangerously close to the edge. Back in the SUV I pulled forward and got a little closer to the bridge edge with my left rear tire. This was it. There was no stopping on the bridge. It was too narrow to allow me to get out and around the SUV. I picked up my pace as I backed across the bridge praying that my tires would stay on what ever was solid. As I traveled the last few feet to safety I was filled with relief and a little annoyance at myself for having gotten into this position. I was later to learn that I had made the right decision to turn around. It turns out that I was about to cross Schofield Pass-one of the deadliest in Colorado. The trail is known as the Devil's Punchbowl. Below is a view across the bridge and up the steep incline.
Schofield Pass
Sid and I headed back out towards Crystal on the still very narrow road. I had to occasionally stop and move small boulders off the road so I wouldn't rip the bottom out of my SUV. It was good to see what we had missed in the dark. This valley was very beautiful and picturesque with the road following the course of the South Crystal River. We stopped at Crystal to take a picture of the Crystal Powerhouse. This place would really look breathtaking in the fall surrounded by the golden color of Aspen leaves.
Crystal Powerhouse, Crystal Colorado
On the way back to Marble Sid and I took a break at Lizard Lake.
Lizard Lake near Crystal and Marble Colorado
I'm glad to say we made it safely back to civilization. The SUV was so muddy and dirty I decided to put it through the car wash in Carbondale just as small thank you for having safely delivered us from the jowls of the mountain. I'll never just trust my SUV gps on a new road without checking those trusty topo maps!
Sid and I headed back to Snowmass to catch some lunch and rays. It was nice just to sit back and absorb the warmth of the sun. Our only interruptions were people stopping by to pet Sid and comment what a cute dog he was. Hanging around Sid can be a test of your self confidence. No one ever pets me on the head and tells me how cute I am! After a good lunch and a little ego soothing Sid and I pointed our vehicle east and headed back to Missouri. We were anxious to get back with the rest of the herd.