The Wheels on the Bus go round and round, round and round, round and round. : Buena Vista, Colorado

Buena Vista in Colorado is pronounced “BEW-na Vista” instead of the Spanish “BWAY-na Vista”. If you can't remember the locals suggests just saying “BEWNIE” or BV.

On top of Mount Antero - Elevation 14,275 ft

Marmot

Upper Browns Creek

Browns Creek

Beaver dam

Baldwin Lake

Chalk Lake

Lunch in Leadville at High Mountain Pies

Doing Birdseye Gulch again in the reverse direction

Drone in flight

Mosquito Pass

Elevation 13,185 feet

In 1864 Father Dyer traveling with 10 foot Norway snowshoes on night's hard snow delivered the US Mail and gold over the pass to Leadville.

Ball Mountain

Rich with mining history

Looking for the squeak

Above the town of Salida stands Tenderfoot Mountain. Spiral Drive is a smooth spiraling dirt road that takes you to the summit for great panoramic views.

Down town Salida

365 foot Smokestack in Smeltertown.

When it was completed in 1917, it was the tallest smokestack west of the Mississippi.

The Crater

Old watering trough near the spring

Marble Quarry Gulch

Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep

Views from Bald Mountain

Arkansas River

Cottonwood Pass - Continental Divide

Elevation 12,126 feet

Lottis Creek

They had picked up long sticks and were pretending to be fishing. They got a big kick out of me taking their picture.

Slaughterhouse Canyon

Oh, look they're ready for Christmas

Water tanks were an essential part of the railroad.

This 30,000 gallon Williams Gulch water tank was constructed in 1885 after an avalanche destroyed the one in Woodstock.

Going up Hancock Pass

The Alpine Tunnel Loop is closed to vehicles due to a rock slide. We parked here, had lunch and then hiked to the Alpine Tunnel.

The next three mile section of railroad is probably the most fantastic bit of railroad construction in North America.

Railroad bed

The Palisades

You are looking at an engineering marvel! The wall before you was laid without the use of mortar. The stones used were cut so precisely that they held in place for more than 100 years.

The stones have become loose in the center causing the road to be closed to vehicles

The Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad was a historic 3ft narrow gauge railroad that operated in Colorado in the late 19th century. The railroad opened up the first rail routes to a large section of the central Colorado mining district in the decades of the mineral boom. The railroad took its name from the fact that its main line from Denver ascended the Platte Canyon and traversed South Park. Founded in 1872. The line went bankrupt in 1889. At its peak the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad had 335 miles of narrow gauge line, making it the largest narrow gauge railroad in the state of Colorado.

This arch is based on the actual tunnel support timbers in size and form. The Tunnel dimensions varied within its length but averaged nearly eleven feet at the widest point and thirteen feet at the tallest. So snug was the fit, that the locomotives and the loaded coal cars often struck the tunnel walls in passing.

The line exited the west portal of the Alpine Tunnel, to the Alpine Tunnel Station, the highest railroad station in the United States. There also was a turntable, water tank, and a two-story frame boarding house that replaced the stone boarding house and engine house, which burned down in 1906.

Telegraph office

Tool shed - 1900

The Old stone Engine House was was one of the first structures for housing crews within the complex. It was constructed in 1881 along with the stone section house beside it. Everything needed to maintain and fuel the locomotives was contained within the massive structure, whose walls originally stood 29 feet high. A disastrous fire gutted the stone building in 1906. It was never rebuilt. In 1907, a wooden turntable and water tank were installed next to the railroad grade closer to the tunnel.

This corner of the Engine House held the water tank

The Telegraph office was built in 1883, shortly after the railroad was complete. This small house was both an office and a bedroom for the operator.

Railroad-owned dwelling for housing a section boss and members of a section gang.

Switch

New Wooden turntable - 1907

The locomotives were turned 180 degrees solely by man power on a well balanced steel turntable platform.

The Alpine Tunnel was "holed through" on July 26, 1881. Location of the tunnel portals and establishing a center line of the bore were completed in December 1879. Construction of the Alpine Tunnel took place between 1880–1881, by Cummings & Co. Construction company. This was the highest and most expensive tunnel built up until that time. It exceeds two miles above sea level, with its highest point at 11,523.7 feet. It is 500 feet under Altman Pass, later to be named Alpine Tunnel to prevent confusion, with a 1,825-foot bore. It took 18 months to complete, with most of the construction done during the winter months. The tunnel only had a thirty-year life span, with the last locomotive passing through the tunnel on November 10, 1910.

Approach to the Alpine tunnel

The tunnel has since collapsed at both ends

Waiting on the train

High Altitude Hospitality

The boarding house was known for its warm food and hospitality. The life of the boarding house was short. It was built in 1906 only to be abandoned by 1910 and to completely collapse in 1959.

Outhouse - 1906

Animal pen & chicken coop - 1906

Hiking back

Halfmoon Creek

Champion Mill

Lunch on Mount Champion

Champion Mine

Headed to Iron Mike

Iron Mike Mine

Looks like this tree was struck by lightening

Notice how there is no rock in the middle of the trail. We bumped the rock loose on the side and it now it's a new obstacle.

Picking a new line.

A perfect end to the day.

Grizzly Lake here we come

Grizzly Lake

St Elmo

St Elmo Town Hall and Jail

Maxwell Schoolhouse

Built in 1912 and welcoming local kids for just over 20 years. Many of the students lived on nearby ranches and would ride their horses or donkeys to school.

Headed up Lost Canyon Trail with Twin Lakes in the background

Can you see me?

Lunch time with spectacular views

Sunset at the RV park

Williams Pass follows an old 1880's toll road up and over the Continental Divide. It was once the route for travelers and goods from St. Elmo to Pitkin. Williams Pass is only open during the month of August, if weather permits.

Sawmill Curve

Beaver hut

By taking Williams pass were were able to drive to the Alpine Tunnel

Drone view

Tight tippy turn

Arrowhead Point RV Park was home to one of the 1800’s Pony Express and Stage Coach Stop. Just one of the 165 way stations on the Pony Express route.

Tin Cup Pass

Elevation 12,154 feet

Mirror Lake

Welcome to the historic town of Tin Cup

The first placer gold was found in the Tin Cup area in 1859, and the first big strike in 1879. Tin Cup got its name from one of the prospectors that carried out his gold dust in a tin cup.