We awoke in the tent to frost on the car, and numbness in Jane's toes. After a quick stop for coffee and travel info in Trinidad, we set off for a tour of nearby ghost towns in the surrounding hills and mountains. Scenic at first, touring gravel roads and abandoned villages (actually the miners were evicted by the company for refusing to work after several mine "incidents" claimed 121 lves), a series of forking roads in the wilderness led us to dirt roads....then mud roads....then two ruts in the grass....all drawing us deeper into the mountains.
Mining ghost town near Ludlow, CO
These roads were clearly not made for a Honda Civic. The few people we did encounter were either local ranchers or employees of a natural gas company that lived in these hills....all of whom seemed to have large 4x4 trucks. We spent about two hours lost in the bush, guessing at fork after fork with no map of THESE roads, finding mountain passes that were CLOSED due to snow, and a general feeling that we may never make it out again (short of backing UP a one-lane road that wound UP a mountain-side with a sheer drop off on one side!). Finally, we came across a gravel road in the middle of nowhere that led us to a helpful rancher who told us that we were merely needed to continue for 20 more miles on the gravel road and we would be back to the highway.
Regaining the highway, we carried on west across the Rocky Mountains, following the scenic byway from Weston to La Veta, CO. This crazy, winding highway up and down the mountains offered both beautiful vistas and certainly the odd rush of adrenaline. Stopping at the gas station in La Veta, we grabbed some buns and lunch meat, and dined at the roadside for a much-needed break.
The drive from La Veta across SW Colorado to Alamosa was equally scenic, crossing broad plains with towering snow-peaked mountains all around. Crossing the Rio Grande as we left Alamosa, we ascended again into the mountains via Wolf Creek Pass, some 10,000 feet in elevation. Even the smell of burning truck brakes could not ruin the incredible scenery, as we first climbed up and then screamed down the mountain, through avalanche tunnels and beside emergency truck runoffs. A phrase oft-heard hereafter was first coined, "third gear is where the magic happens" - the Honda could certainly not hold fifth or fourth gear climbing the mountains fully laden, but third gear seemed to hang in nicely in both directions.
Wolf Creek Pass in the Rocky Mountains
Down the mountain, we passed west through a variety of foothill villages, and carried on to Mesa Verde, CO, where we camped under the looming presence of Mesa Verde National Park. Camping was not yet open at the park itself (which we did not find out until we got there!), but luckily there was a wonderful private campsite just across the highway. We spent the night enjoying more scenery, eating hot dogs, and writing postcards.
Camping under Mesa Verde in SW Colorado
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