Buena Vista, Colorado (part 2)

We moved to Snowy Peaks RV Park and start another week here in Buena Vista with the FMCA 4 Wheelers.

Gold Rush Days

Trail sign up 

Everyone is busy picking and signing up for their trails for the week before they fill up

Halfmoon Creek

Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep

Champion  Mine

Champion Mill

This trip to Champion Mill we hiked up the hill to the Mill for a closer look

Aerial shots with the drone

Dave catching the drone

This tall brick smokestack just west of Salida is the most visible reminder of the smelting industry that once employed thousands of workers most of whom lived nearby in Smeltertown. The Ohio-Colorado Smelting and Refining Company operated the smelter from 1902 until 1920. The smokestacks were built ever higher to carry away noxious gases. When this one was completed in 1917, at 365 feet high it was the tallest smokestack west of the Mississippi. But why was it made? The area was found to have a high concentration of valuable ores like gold, silver, lead, and zinc. In order for these ores to be useful, they have to undergo the smelting process, which extracts useful metals from the crude ore found in the earth.

This side has a built in ladder all the way to the top

Sands Lake

Sands Lake is actually part of Mount Shavano Fish Hatchery, just upriver from here.  Water from the hatchery raceways flow into the lake, then into the Arkansas River. Good for fish and for birds.

Arkansas River

Tenderfoot Hill is a prominent landmark just across the river from Downtown Salida. Home to the large, iconic “S” for Salida. Stunning views await from the summit.

View down onto Smeltertown

The Crater

Lunch at the Marble Quarry Gulch

Aspen Ridge

Iron Chest Trail

As we reached the top is started raining.  I guess it's lunch in the jeep.

The rain stopped long enough to get out and take a few pictures

Happy hour - Can you tell which table has the food?

Peekaboo Gulch

Red Mountain

Elevation 13,419 feet

A real colorful group today

An anonymous donor treated us to pizza dinner

Started out to do Bengal Tiger-White Star Mines out of the Twin Lakes area but the Leadville 100 Trail Run an ultramarathon was taking place today which would be accessing the same trail.   Plan B was to do the Bartlett Mine Trail.

Before we reached the end of the trail it got very narrow and tippy.  Not everyone was up for that so we turned around and headed back down to Twin Lakes for lunch.

By the time we reached the lakes the wind had picked up and it started to rain.  We all decided "to heck with it" and headed to the Brewery.