Creede - Silver Mining Boom Town

Creede is a neat old mining town with tons of history dating back to 1890's. The last mine closed down in 1985. Check out the website for the story. http://www.creede.com/creede.htm There are lots of little shops and restaurants, an underground firestation and a mining museum.

Beaver Creek

We are really enjoying this area. The station we are staying at is in a beautiful area surrounded by mountains and streams. Beaver Creek Campground is right up the street from us. Christopher loves to sit on the bank and throw rocks in the water. There are also two reservoirs up the same street from us that are suppose to be great fishing spots.

We're Home......for the next 4 months anyway

We arrived in South Fork this afternoon. I met my new boss, Jody, at the Forest Service in Del Norte. Everyone was very nice and made us feel right at home. Connie and I were a little worried since Del Norte isn't the most beautiful place we have been in Colorado. Its very flat with lots of farm land and not much scenery. I had to do some paperwork and pick up my keys for the new job. We followed Jody 15 miles to the west side of South Fork to the Beaver Creek Forest Service Ranger Station. With all the budget cuts they dont use this area very often. It has a bunkhouse, stable, classroom building and three RV sites. Connie and I were pretty happy with the new place. The scenery is beautiful, there are horses in the pasture outside our window and the Rio Grande River flows along the west side of the property. There is nobody else here right now so we have this whole place to ourselves. Christopher is in heaven playing with rocks and pine cones. He's not sure about the horses yet but they seem to love attention. The town is pretty small. Below is some info. With us here the population has now swelled to a whopping 604.

The Town of South Fork, Colorado is located at the junction of the famous Rio Grande River and its south fork. Where highway 160 & 149 meet in the center of town, you will find the beginning of the historic Silver Thread National Scenic Byway, a spectacular route that follows the winding Rio Grande to its headwaters in the San Juan Mountains. Initially developed as a community to service lumbering and mining, the town is now the center of a rapidly growing tourist and recreation area, making us your perfect "BASE CAMP" for a multitude of outdoor recreation and day trips to area points of interest.


One of Colorado's newest towns, incorporated May 19, 1992.
Current city limit population of 600 with an area population of 1,200.
During the summer we reach a peak population of more than 4,000 residents, and tourists.
Located at the southwestern end of the San Luis Valley.
An elevation of 8,190 feet.
Summer climate can range from 50-60 at night to 80-90 during the day.
Winter brings below zero temperatures, that can rise to the low 40's.
Annual precipitation is extremely variable, with minimal rainfall around .07inches/year.However we usually receive more than 200 inches of snow each year. Most winter snow falls around the summit of Wolf Creek Pass which averages 400+ inches/year.

On The Road Again

We have decided to leave Green Mountain Falls a couple of days early. I have an appointment Friday afternoon in Del Norte and instead of doing the 4 hour drive Friday morning we are going to drive down to the Canon City / Salida area for a couple of days today. We found a place called Banderas Bunkhouse right on the Arkansas River. It looks nice and its really cheap with my Passport America disount. About 40 miles into the drive we drove over Wilkerson Pass. Its 9,507 feet. The view as you go over the peak was just beautiful. You cn see several of Colorados 14,000+ peaks in the distance.

3 Years & 1 Month

I cant believe we have been on the road for 1 month already. Time seems like it has flown by. Everything is going great. Other than a little snow here and there the weather has been perfect. We love the area. Woodland Park is a nice town just west of Colorado Springs. There is so much to do and see within 30 min to an hour from here that we haven't been bored yet.

Christopher turns 3 on Tuesday (5-11). We had a birthday party for him last night at my brothers house. He had a great time playing with his family and all of their toys. He is growing up so fast.

Hayman Fire Area Trail Ride

This was the worst fire in Colorado history. The 2002 western fire season ended with fires burning 7.2 million acres and costing over $1 billion to fight. That same wildfire season is considered one of the most intense of the past half-century in the western United States.

The premiere fire that year was the Hayman which burned 138,000 acres and 133 homes in 20 days. It still holds the record for being Colorado's largest wildfire ever. Most of the fire (72%) stayed on the Pike National Forest south and west of Denver and northwest of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Enough fire escaped national forest lands to cause significant private damage.

Beginning in 1998 La Nina brought below-normal precipitation and unseasonably dry air masses to the Colorado Front Range. Conditions degraded year after year in the predominantly ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forests becoming drier with each passing season. In the Summer of 2002 the fuel moisture conditions were among the driest seen in at least the past 30 years.

A U.S. Forest Service worker, Terry Lynn Barton, started the fire in a USFS campground as she patrolled under a no-burn order. A federal grand jury charged Barton on four felony counts including willfully and maliciously destroying U.S. property and causing personal injury.

It's sad to see so much devastation to a beautiful forest area but it really shows the rugged beauty of the landscape.

Eleven Mile State Park

Went on a great scenic drive today that took us through Eleven Mile State Park. We stopped at Coyote Ridge to hike around a little and admire the reservoir. The wind was unreal. Poor Christopher could barely stand up when some of the gusts hit him. Its a beautiful location with lots of great rock outcroppings and mountain views. On the way back we saw lots of elk and deer.