Travelling Home...

Our route through Colorado included our first visit to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in western Colorado.  Shonah is now tracking which of the 59 National Parks we have visited in our travels and makes sure that we don't miss any along the way.  (So far we have visited 26 of the 59.)  The National Park Service turns 100 on August 25, 2016, marking a century of stewardship of America's National Parks and engaging communities through recreation, conservation, and historic preservation programs.  Our national parks are truly one of America's greatest treasures!

Travelling through Colorado almost always includes a stop at Copper Mountain, even if just for a night or two, as it holds a special place in our hearts.  Not so far south of Copper Mountain, we again visited Twin Lakes where we enjoy picturesque camping up a 4-wheel drive road at the base of Mt. Elbert.

Most of June and July have been spent at our home base in Ohio where we've completed a few more small projects, both on Todd's parent's home and on STEV I and STEV II.  August will find us back on the road heading west and joining our first ever EarthRoamer owners rally in early September.
 


Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is a United States National Park located in western Colorado.  The park contains 12 miles (19 km) of the 48-mile (77 km) long canyon of the Gunnison River.





The Black Canyon is so named due its steepness which makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate into it's depths. As a result, the canyon is often shrouded in shadow, causing the rocky walls to appear black. At its narrowest point, the canyon is only 40 ft (12 m) wide at the river.




The Gunnison River drops an average of 34 feet per mile (6.4 m/km) through the entire canyon, making it the 5th steepest mountain descent in North America. By comparison, the Colorado River drops an average of 7.5 feet per mile (1.42 m/km) through the Grand Canyon.

 

Among the various creatures resident in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is this collared lizard perched on a rock.

Beautiful wildflowers alongside the park road in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.




Chip and Todd enjoying a kayak excursion on the Twin Lakes reservoir in Granite, Colorado.



Reflections of the majestic peaks on the Twin Lakes reservoir in Granite, Colorado.



Shonah kayaking on the Twin Lakes reservoir in Granite, Colorado.

Todd and Chip playing in the snow at the top of the ski lifts in Copper Mountain, Colorado.

This is how Chip plays cornhole.  This is the biggest cornhole set we have ever seen and it was fun watching people try to lift and toss the proportionately huge bags.

 

We spotted this marmot while riding the bike trail from Copper Mountain, Colorado to Frisco, Colorado.




The town of Lindsborg, Kansas is known as Little Sweden USA. It was settled by Swedish immigrants way back in the late 1800s and has been making meatballs ever since.  Todd couldn't resist the urge to stop as we drove by and reminisce about his 4 years living in Sweden. 




Sunset over our camping spot in the Wilson Lake reservoir campground near Dorance, Kansas.  After stopping here, we read about the Switchgrass Mountain Bike Trails which have been dubbed "Epic" by the International Mountain Biking Association.  Unfortunately, we did not get an opportunity to explore the trails as the main reason we stopped here was due to an approaching storm which made the trails rather muddy.  We will stop by here again to explore the trails during one of our cross country trips.

 



Todd and Chip enjoying a Stand-Up Paddleboard excursion on the Clinton Lake reservoir near Clinton, Kansas.

Telluride, Colorado...Our New Colorado Favorite?

We've explored much of Colorado during our travels, but surprisingly, had never visited the town of Telluride, Colorado.  It's now one of our favorite places.  Telluride sits in a box canyon in the southwestern portion of the state. Steep forested mountains and cliffs surround it, with Bridal Veil Falls at the head of the canyon. 

The first gold mining claim was made in the mountains above Telluride in 1875 and early settlement of what is now Telluride followed. The town itself was founded in 1878 as "Columbia", but due to confusion with a California town of the same name, was renamed Telluride in 1887, for the gold telluride minerals found in other parts of Colorado. These telluride minerals were never located near Telluride, causing the town to be named for a mineral which was never mined there. However, the area's mines for some years provided zinc, lead, copper, silver, and other gold ores.  Numerous weathered ruins of old mining operations dot the hillsides.

A FREE gondola connects the town with its companion town, Mountain Village, Colorado, high above the town, but at the base of the ski area.  Telluride and the surrounding area have been featured prominently in pop culture and are the subject of several popular songs.  It is especially known for its ski resort and slopes during the winter as well as an extensive festival schedule during the summer.  And did we mention that the gondola is completely free AND even has special cabins for pets allowing us to take Chip along for the adventures.

We arrived just in time to catch the tail end of the Telluride Film Festival and stayed through the following weekend's Telluride Balloon Festival. 



Todd and Chip hiking part of the Alpine Loop Backcountry Byway during a lunch break stop while travelling US Highway 550 between Ouray and Silverton Colorado, often called the Million Dollar Highway.  Driving the Million Dollar Highway, is perhaps one of the most breathtaking journeys you can travel by car.

STEV squeezing thru the tunnel on the Million Dollar Highway between Ouray and Silverton, Colorado.

A herd of elk roaming the valley floor as we approached Telluride, Colorado.

A late Spring view of Black Bear Pass (the zig-zag road heading up the mountain) and Bridal Veil Falls (middle right) from Telluride, Colorado.  Black Bear Pass was still closed in May due to 2 remaining snow avalanches blocking the roadway.

Part of what makes Telluride so special is it's location in a box canyon.  The historic town is surrounded by incredible mountain views on 3 sides.



There are great hiking and biking trails in every direction that don't require driving to a trailhead.

The valley floor in Telluride is forever protected from future development, preserving the natural wonder and charm of the area.



Sunset over the valley meadow which was directly next to our camping spot in a free parking lot on the edge of town.  Formal camping is available for a fee in the town park.



Views of the mountains from Mountain Village, Colorado.




Chip and Todd enjoying a hike along the Idarado Legacy Trail starting at the east end of the town of Telluride.



Chip and Shonah enjoying a ride up the FREE gondola between the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village.  We were even able to take our bikes up the gondola for FREE and enjoyed several single track routes back down to the town.



Chip and Todd enjoying some relaxation time around the fire pit at the Hotel Madeline in Mountain Village, Colorado.



Canadian Geese with young goslings in the meadow next to our camping spot in Telluride, Colorado. 



Chip and Todd biking on one of the valley floor trails in Telliuride, Colorado.

 

A herd of Elk is resident in the meadow of Telluride valley.  We enjoyed watching them on an almost daily basis.



Sunset in the sky above the town of Telluride, Colorado.



Bridal Veil Falls and the power plant high above the town of Telluride, Colorado. 




Chip and Shonah enjoying a hike up Bear Creek Pass to the top of Bridal Veil Falls and the power plant near Telluride. Colorado.

The Telluride valley view from the top of Bridal Veil Falls.



We ran across this cute little Pika on our hike up to Bridal Veil Falls.



Chip and Shonah posing for a picture during our hike on the Jud Wiebe Trail.  Since we were visiting in late spring/early summer, the still melting snow produced waterfalls almost everywhere.  The trail was named in memory of Jud Wiebe, a Forest Service recreation manager who planned the trail but passed away of cancer in 1986 before the trail was completed.  Jud's philosophy was that trails had to be easily accessible from town and this trail hit that mark.

Ham-Let, just one of the hot air balloons flying above Telluride, CO during the Telluride Balloon Festival's mass ascension.

The Wicked and Koshare the native Pueblo clown hot air balloons flying above Telluride, CO during the Telluride Balloon Festival's mass ascension.

 

A closer view of Koshare flying above Telluride, CO during the Telluride Balloon Festival's mass ascension.

 

A beautiful hot air balloon with views of the peaks above Telluride, CO during the Telluride Balloon Festival's mass ascension.



A beautiful hot air balloon flying above Telluride, CO during the Telluride Balloon Festival's mass ascension.



Beautiful hot air balloons with more views of the peaks above Telluride, CO during the Telluride Balloon Festival's mass ascension.



A group of hot air balloons coming back to earth after the mass ascension at the Telluride Balloon Festival.

Not only do the beautiful hot air balloons take flight every morning of the festival, they also light up the town's main street on Saturday night during the Telluride Balloon Festival's balloon glow.

Ham-Let all aglow on Main Street during the Telluride Balloon Festival balloon glow. 

We don't think Chip was amused when we took advantage of the "Pet" Parking options available in Telluride.  We were surprised to see several of these stations in the town, village, next to bars and restaurants and in the town park.  They come with posted rules including a maximum allowed parking time.  Telluride is a very pet friendly town.

 

Todd, Chip, and Shonah attempting a jumping photo on our hike to Bear Creek Falls near Telluride, CO.



Todd and Chip with Bear Creek Falls in the background near Telluride, CO.

 



This lucky EarthRoamer appears to be resident of Telluride since it has Colorado tags and a Telluride parking pass.  We passed by a few times, but never ran into the owners to say hello.



Travelling from Arizona to Southwest Colorado...

Following the Overland Expo, we continued our route through Arizona and New Mexico heading toward Colorado.  Our route included an unexpected junction with another section of Route 66 before stopping to enjoy the Petrified Forest National Park and some great mountain biking along the way to our first visit to the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, CO (next post).



While passing through Holbrook, AZ on a portion of the original Route 66, we came across the historic Wigwam Motel.  Built in 1950, the motel is arranged as a square, with 15 concrete and steel wigwams on three sides and the main office on the fourth; there was also originally a gas station on the complex.  The base diameter is 14 feet (4.3 m), with each unit 32 feet (9.8 m) in height. Behind the main room of each unit is a small bathroom with sink, toilet and shower. Current rooms contain the original restored hickory furniture, two double beds, cable TV and a window-mounted air conditioner. In keeping with the authenticity of the restoration, there are no telephones, Internet access or ice machine. Vintage restored automobiles from the 1960s and earlier are located throughout the parking area



Petrified Forest National Park in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona is known for its large deposits of petrified wood.  Downed trees accumulating in river channels about 225 million years ago were buried periodically by sediment containing volcanic ash.  Groundwater dissolved silica from the ash and carried it into the logs, where it formed quartz crystals that gradually replaced the organic matter. 



Beginning about 60 million years ago, the Colorado Plateau, of which the park is part, was pushed upward by tectonic forces and exposed to increased erosion.  In addition to petrified logs, fossils found in the park have included ferns, and many other plants as well as fauna including giant reptiles, large amphibians, and early dinosaurs.

As the ground around it erodes away, petrified trees once buried deep become exposed to the elements and often break into smaller pieces.



Todd and Chip hiking down into the "Blue Badlands" area of the Petrified Forest National Park.  Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water.



"Newspaper Rock" in the Petrified Forest National Park contains more than 650 petroglyph images pecked, carved or etched into the rock by ancestral Puebloan people between 650 and 2000 years ago.



Chip and Todd getting in some mountain biking at "Phil's World" near Cortez, CO.  Our friends Scott and Heather had recently biked there and raved about the "smooth and fast" trails on their blog.  These trails were so sweet, we spent an extra day there just to get in more fun!



Phil's World doesn't have large changes in elevation, but does a great job of making really fun trails through a desert type landscape.




Shonah enjoying the trails at Phil's world.




As Shonah was rounding a corner on the trail, he was met by this guy who didn't want to give way.  There wasn't a good alternative route around him, so a few rocks tossed in his direction and he finally moved off the trail..

After getting our fill of trail riding at Phil's World, we moved on to Durango, CO for the weekend.  Prior visits to Durango did not include enough time to explore their famous river and biking trails, so we made sure to explore them during this visit.  Chip, Todd and Shonah biking the Telegraph, Anasazi, and Sidewinder trails, part of the Horse Gulch Trails System in Durango, CO.