The alarm on my Blackberry is SO annoying! But I guess if it wasn't, I would sleep right through it. But it's a new day with promise of new adventures...starting with the "free continental breakfast". What a joke that is...some Fruit Loops and Frosted Flakes (and probably the knock-off brand, not the REAL stuff), some bread to put in the toaster, and a few rolls. I'll settle for the beef jerky and Famous Amos cookies I have in the truck, thank you very much. After the truck is loaded and a quick stop for a fill-up of gas, which was by the way $3.16 a gallon, its back to yuppieville...err...Aspen. But luckily it's just to the outskirts of town so we can get to the Maroon Bells area and the ghost town of Ashcroft. Before getting ouf of there we will have passed through the traffic circle 4 times...once on the way through the evening before...then back through to get to Maroon Bells about 12 miles down the road...then back from there to the road to Ashcroft which is about 10' away from the entrance to the road to Maroon Bells, but another 12 miles down a different road...then back through to ironically pass the hotel we just stayed at, which is about 30 miles passed the traffic circle. So doing the math....30 miles each way to/from the hotel...carry the 1...looks like about 108 miles of doubling back. So at about 18 miles per gallon...that's 6 gallons at $3.16...I spent about $700.00 in gas going in circles. OK maybe just south of $19.00 but it was worth every minute and every penny. First stop is Maroon Bells. This is another magical place. I remember camping there when I was a kid...near the lake which, when the water is calm casts a perfect reflection of the maroon-hued mountains. They look like 3 bells sortof crunched up together hence the name (pics coming soon to my "Colorado" gallery on my website). They were mostly covered in snow so there wasn't much of the reddish color showing. And the wind was blowing about 98 mph so no reflection today. Just the clearest blue skies and the sound of the running water as the lake empties into the river. The breeze gave the slightly cool air a cold feel, but it was comfortable and not bad at all. I took some pics and then walked up the path along the lakeside, recalling the same walk on the same path many years ago...and many pounds ago...and hair lacking all the grey color...with my backpack full of water and God knows what junk food. I hadn't seen this sight through these eyes in so long, but I remember it so vividly. It was almost like a dream...not the kind where you are back in elementary school in your underwear...but like I had been there just yesterday. So I made a mental note to myself that I will come back here and plan for more time to take the hike as we had done years ago...from Maroon Lake up to Crater Lake. I might need an oxygen bottle and a winch but I really want to do it. So after some pics, reflection, and letting loose a little flatulence (oops) its back to Maroon Creek Road...and back through the traffic circle...and going 10' through it and on to Castle Creek Road to Ashcroft. Have a mentioned that is must be a state law where everyone must own a bike? And they must ride it on the highways? Ok well, there ya go. Anyway on to Ashcroft, another old ghost town and a "must stop" along the way. There are a few buildings left and an old wagon sitting in a field. According to the sign there is some preservation going on, but it appears mostly aged. The old hotel has some new wooden steps and porch on it, but otherwise everything appears to be original timber. The wagon just fascinates me (again, more pics to be posted on my website but those of Ashcroft will be in the Ghost Towns gallery). It is deteriorated badly, but I wonder who may have rode on it, how did it end up in this spot, etc. When I look around these old towns a million questions go through my mind like that...ok maybe I'm exaggerating...more like 700,000 questions but still. After walking around, taking some pics, flatulence (oops, well you know to scare the bears away), and reflecting on the past it's time to get on the road again. So after passing through the traffic circle for the last time the open road calls. We passed through some beautiful country and took the quick side trip to Marble. Not much going on here, but LOTS of marble slabs all over the place. The quarry here produced the marble that is used for the Tomb of the Unknown Solder. A quick u-turn and it's back to the Highway. We stopped for lunch in the little town of Hotchkiss. Danny got an elk burger at a little local restaurant, and I got a cow burger (for a change). While he said it was good, it was obviously a frozen patty which is what we were not expecting. So much for trying something different...he said it mainly tasted like a frozen cow burger. We then headed down Hwy 92 towards Blue Mesa Reservoir. This narrow 2-lane road gave us some spectacular views...and scary too. As many of the other highways around here, one wrong turn and you will not be waking up in the morning. I realize I hadn't mentioned Masayuki yet. Well, she sat in the back and was scared stiff...litterally. After stopping a few places along the way, one of them for me to get my "towering aspen trees" shot (will be posted in the Colorado gallery) we were headed down passed Telluride and to the ghost town of Alta. As we exited the highway and onto Alta Lakes Road, it was soon apparent to Danny that I will go just about anywhere to see what I want to see. The road quickly turns into a steep, one lane, unpaved butt-puckering (that was Danny's term for it) drive up the side of a mountain. The rules of these Jeep Roads, as they are commonly known around here, are that the person going uphill has the right-of-way. If you should meet someone and cannot pass (which most if it was this way) the person coming downhill either has to give way...even if it means backing up. Not something that you really want to do. So as we gain elevation we begin to see snow patches around...then there are some small snow patches in the road...then there are some big snow patches in the road. Not enough to stop me. Then came the point where I realized we were not going to make it to the top. We were at a switchback and could see there was just too much snow covering the road to go any further. Then we see a white Explorer sitting in the road up the hill. I thought they were backing down and we realized they weren't moving. Danny suggested we go see if they need help, which we did. We walked up and saw these women walking around trying to stick rocks under the tires. They had tried to plow through the snow and got high-centered so bad that even in 4-wheel drive they could not budge. There was a couple in a Toyota FJ trying to come down, which they couldn't because these girls had the road blocked. So then I start to think...was the Presidential election controversy in Florida with the "hanging chads" handled properly? After that we tried to push the truck out while the driver gassed it in reverse...then my thoughts turned to "if this thing breaks loose and slided backwards, the next thing it will hit is my truck and they will both be out of commision". But not to fear, that thing didn't budge. We tried jacking it up to put as many rocks under the tires as we could but that didn't work. So then I tried to back my truck up the hill to hook my strap to it and pull it out. Well, I guess the exra pounds from the Nerds just made my ass too heavy to get traction cause I kept getting so far and my wheels would spin. At one point my front tire got close to the edge and I thought Danny was gonna have a heart attack. Not me tho...I knew what I was doing. So after changing my tighty whiteys and taking a deep breath we realized that I just wasn't going to make it. So I drove back down and parked out of the line of fire. So then the decision was made to have the FJ push the Explorer and see if they could free it up. It didn't take much of a push and it was broken free at last. Oh, and that was after the dude coming downhill on the bike said "well, there isn't much I can do for you" and kept on truckin. Gee, thanks for nothing. I was sooooo tempted to get them all to take a pic with Masayuki but I think they had been through enough so I didn't mention it. Everyone got down the mountain OK and I didn't get to Alta. I was very disappointed because I keep reading that this town will be nothing but a memory soon. It is very close to Winter Park where many high-rollers live and word it the property this ghost town sits on is slated for development. I lost all my pictures of the town in Katrina and I was really hoping to get more before it is gone forever. So it's not like I need an excuse to go back to Colorado, but I really want to get to it before someone is parking a Mercedes where the miners bunked a hundred years ago. We passed back through Telluride and stayed in my FAVORITE Colorado town, Ouray. I absolutely love this little town. We checked into the Hot Springs Inn, in which all the rooms have a private balcony overlooking the river. We then drove into town and got some GREAT pizza (for a change) and some ice cold Bud. I quickly forgot about my missed opportunity with Alta and counted my blessings for being back in this town I love so much. It's known as the "Switzerland of America" because of its location in a small area surrounded by mountain peaks. The little bar we ate at was just perfect. I soaked it all in...what a great evening. So when we got back to the room we opened the window and fell asleep to the sound of the Uncompahgre River rushing by just outside...
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