ACGPSY Blog

Ouray, Lake City and Silverton, CO

September 13, 2016

The National Scenic Backcountry Byway is called the Alpine Loop by jeep travelers.  It encompasses 75 miles of road carved through the breathtaking San Juan Mountains. Along the route we encountered the skeletons of numerous mining operations and ghost towns.

Our ride started with 7 miles along the  Mineral Creek connector.  It is a beautiful bumpy ride but this morning we discovered sections lined with golden aspens.

Under the category of “You never know what you will see,”  a herd of sheep came pouring over the mountain ridge toward Mineral Creek.  These areas of BLM land are used for grazing.

This is a view from Engineer pass as we look back on the junction with Mineral Creek.

There is a 360 degree panorama point on a short side trip from Engineer Pass (12,800 ft elevation) and the view of the San Juan mountains is jaw dropping.

On Engineer Pass road we explored Capit0l City which was established about 10 miles from Lake City after silver discoveries in 1877.

Looking back after the climb to Cinnamon Pass at 12,640 ft elevation.

Wildlife was plentiful as we spotted a peregrine falcon, many deer, one moose, and a small herd of mountain goats along the route.  This curious young mountain goat was under the watchful eyes of the herd along Cinnamon Pass Rd.

an unsupervised young moose along Grizzly Gulch.

Yes, the 100 mile day was glorious with good friends, outstanding jeeping and great fall weather.  Priceless…….

Ironton Park, Colorado

September 8, 2015

We got an early start from Ironton Park and drove up the ever interesting Corkscrew Gulch.  The scenic old narrow mining road starts at 9,800 ft and climbs to 12,600 ft of elevation. This is a view near the top looking south to Red Mountain #2.  I can see why the gold rush fever was so strong here.  Had to be gold in a mountain that color.

Onto the Animas Loop, we took a spur road to some glacial ponds with a view of the back ridge of Red Mountain #1.  It was very cold and windy so the reflection is not that great but I love the colors.

a view from 12,840 feet elevation at California Pass.  It was really cold and very windy up here.  The clouds were flying by.

Lake Como at 12,215 ft. below California Pass is like a rare gem in the rough.  You can see the road we jeeped up to the pass on and the still lingering patches of last winter’s snow.

August 18, 2015

Montrose, Colorado

Richard E. Fike founded the Museum of the Mountain West in 1997. He is a retired historical archaeologist having served as state archaeologist for the Bureau of Land Management in both Utah and Colorado. Fike served on committees in both Utah and Colorado for the Federal & State Register of Historic Places and is an expert in historical restoration. Fike began collecting western memorabilia when he was 4 years old. He had his first museum in his parent’s guest room at the age of 8. By age 12, he had begun his card catalog of artifacts. This Museum is the result of Fike’s lifetime dedication to preserving the history of the west.  (excerpt from Museum of the Mountain West)

One of the many interesting old log cabins around the museum.

An old work horse retired.

The old blacksmith workshop that repaired wooden wagons.

August 15, 2015

Ridgway, Colorado

We enjoyed a jeep ride over Owl Creek Pass from Ridgway to Montrose.  The wildflowers were still on display at elevation.  This is a view of the famous field where the final scene from “True Grit” was filmed with John Wayne.

The beautiful Chimney Rock can be seen towering for miles around.

Another view of the Cimarron Mountains in a grove of aspens near Silver Jack Reservoir.  I hope to return here in a month as catch the aspens in autumn gold.

August 5, 2015

Along the Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic & Historic Byway

A small group of jeeps followed the Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic & Historic Byway today.  It was a beautiful drive through the Dolores Canyon carved by the Dolores River.

It was a step back in time to see the remains of the famous Hanging Flume.  Assume it is 1889. “Wealthy Eastern Financiers are betting that the Colorado Gold Rush will pay off for them. The placer deposits near the banks of the San Miguel River and Dolores River are promising, but miners are unable to divert enough water to make the claim profitable.

Nearby, the San Miguel River and Dolores River possessed the volume of water necessary to provide enough pressure for a successful hydraulic mining endeavor. Although these rivers were relatively close to the Bancroft mining claim, they flowed just out of reach.

It isn’t to say that the idea of building a flume was so crazy. Flumes for placer mining were common at the time. Flume construction methods had been used in California for years and required only minimal skills. To cross arroyos and washes, water could be funneled through flume boxes supported by trestles. But in the canyons of the Dolores and San Miguel Rivers, minimal engineering skill was not enough. This flume would have to be ten miles long, and to complete the entire route at the proper gradient, the Flume would have to cling to seven miles of sheer rock walls, at times suspended hundreds of feet above the river.

The Hanging Flume is perhaps one of the most risky and lofty plans in mining history and for the purposes of placer mining, pretty much a complete failure. But as a heritage tourism site, it still holds our attention, long after the memory of its father, the mysterious Nathaniel P. Turner and hundreds of grunt workers have faded. Recent preservation efforts promise that we will enjoy the Hanging Flume for generations to come. ”

(excerpt from “The Hanging Flume” http://hangingflume.org/)

Here is a shot of one of rock walls that still holds the remains of the hanging flume along the Dolores River.

In 2012 a team of historic preservation experts came to together to reconstruct a 48- foot section of the hanging flume. It might help to visualize what it must have looked like back in 1889.

A wonderful overview of the Dolores River as it flows through the Dolores Canyon.

This charcoal oven was used to make charcoal to fire the local steel mill that made the metal brackets for the hanging flume.