TUESDAY, 8/14

TUESDAY, 8/14:

        Cool when we got up – turned the furnace on!  Sky was somewhat overcast, but spots of blue.  We thought there was a good chance that most of the clouds would dissipate and sunny, blue skies would prevail.  So we decided to take a second jeep tour.  Bill really wanted to do the Red Mountain tour, as the views from on top of Red Mtn III are supposed to be amazing – 360 degree views.  And he had checked earlier, and a tour was scheduled to go up to Red Mtn this morning.

      So we joined them.  Our driver was Keith again, and he immediately recognized & remembered us.  The other passengers were an unmarried couple somewhat younger than us (he from Dallas, she from Okla), and 4 women who were travelling together.

       This trip took us 13 miles down Million Dollar Hwy (Hwy 550) to start the jeep trail up the mountains.  I didn’t think the ride up the mountains was as beautiful as the Imogene trip, but once you got to the top, it was as advertised – you could see miles in every direction.  It was still somewhat overcast, though, so we didn’t have sharp, crystal clear views.  But certainly clear enough that you could make out most everything.  Bill loved the openness & expansiveness of this trip.

    On the way down, we stopped at a lot of historical mining sites, and could see the remains of mining equipment, buildings, even a railroad.  There was more emphasis on the mining aspect of the entire Red Mountain area.   I think Keith said this was one of the last areas to continue mining, after others had stopped.   Many millions of $$ worth of gold and other minerals came out of this area – worth billions in today’s $$.  One of the claims was by the Vanderbilt family.

       On both this trip and our first, there were portions of the jeep roads where there were steep drop-off’s, but for some reason I felt very little anxiety.  I could actually look down and appreciate the awesome views.  Can’t figure out why  – is it because I was closer to the ground?  Because I had wider views?  Because I somehow trusted a professional driver more?    Or maybe I’m just becoming de-sensitized to the whole height thing, having been in these mountains now for a couple of weeks.  Anyway, I’m just glad and grateful, because I really enjoyed the entire experience of these jeep trips.

        Fixed pb&j sandwiches for lunch, and then napped for a little.  Then did 3 loads of laundry.  Grilled pork steaks for dinner.  It remained overcast & cloudy & cool all day.  Not our first choice of weather, especially for the jeep ride, but at least it didn’t rain on us.   A couple of local people I talked to thought that they might have an early fall here this year (i.e., the aspens would turn in about 3 weeks), because it’s turned cooler than normal.  But they said it was anybody’s guess – the whole summer was not typical . . . first the long dry spell, and now a lot of rain & cooler days.