Day 59, Fairplay to Dillon, Colorado.

The old abandoned mine.

Mountain stream near abandoned mine.

Cold as water can get with out a frig.

I was here. Montgomery reservoir, this place was like magic.

Inside the mine.

The river in the park at Breckenridge.

Down town Breckenridge at lunch time.

You like that slow shutter thing, don't you?

Bike week brought out vendors from the bicycle industry for demo days.

What is this? I want one.

Um, no thanks, I have my bike.

Them are snow on those mountains.

See, I told you.

The monument at Hoosier Pass.

Looks cold up there. That peak is over 14,000 feet tall.

Lucky we don't have to go up there.

The bike path kept us safe between Fairplay and Alma.

On our way to Hoosier Pass.

I wanted to check out Mosquito Gulch, but Lisa wouldn't have it.

Lisa Lisa where were you?

This little fella sat there and insisted I take his picture.

And there we are folks, at the top of Hoosier Pass.



Day 59, Fairplay to Dillon, Colorado. “Hoosier Pass”. 45 miles. Total = 2596.52 miles.


Fairplay is a small town with not much in the way of excitement. Of course this is coming from someone who doesn’t really know what he is talking about, only being in the place for not even a full day. I’m sure if I had more time, I would have found this place a very interesting place……………………… We left Fairplay at about 8:00 this morning. We were looking for the bike path that would take us all the way to Alma. We thought we found it, and immediately got lost on some gravel hiking trail. Once we got pointed in the right direction by one of the locals, we were finally on our way. It was great being on a bike path. No need to worry about cars and trucks.
Up here at well over 9,000 feet, the air is dry, and the sky takes on a deeper blue color. The air seems to be clearer, and colors more vivid. A big change from the dull hazy like conditions of Kansas just days ago. The mountain now, were much closer. I could see the unmelted snow on the peaks as we got even closer………………… At the end of the bike path, we came to the town of Alma. A lovely and colorful place with an old west demeanor. There were small shops along the both sides as we passed through. We decided to stop and get some snacks. It was still early. Only about 10 o’clock, too early for lunch. We went tine to this coffee shop/grocery store and looked around. We got what we wanted, but no one was there to collect the money. We waited a bit, and a young lady came down from up stairs to greet us, these small towns are so trusting.
After our snack, we continues on to Hoosier Pass. The climb we heard would be a steady 4 mile grind on a narrow road with no shoulder. We could see the climb coming up as we got closer. By this time, the snow capped peaks we saw in the distance were right next to us. The view was breathtaking. Pictures can not show the dynamics of something like this………………….. As we started the climb, we knew we would be in for about an hour of hard work. But on this day, with blue skies, white puffy clouds, vistas to kill for, and only a slight hint of wind, the climb was not nearly as bad I had thought it would be. I managed to average 6 miles an hour on what I guessed to be a 3 to 4 percent grade. I stopped at a vantage point a couple of hundred yards from the top and got out my camera. The valley below, the mountains across, the foot hills in the distance. It was almost too much to take in at one time. Once at the top, I made my way over to the monument with the official elevation and had my picture taken. I climbed up to an elevated shoulder about 20 feet above the roadway, and had an excellent vantage of the other side of the Continental Divide. Water from the other side all flows toward the Pacific Ocean.
I met an elderly couple who were hiking and told me about this must see area about a half mile from the summit. They described a lake with an old abandoned mine and a mountain stream. And if I was willing to hike a bit, there were numerous water falls. I couldn’t resist. When Lisa showed up a short time later. I told her about this place, but she decided to push on into Breckenridge instead.
I found the place, it was just as they had described. I grabbed my camera and started shooting like a mad man. I took a short walk to check out the mine and the stream. Boy, what a beautiful place. There were only a handful of people there, mostly families with kids.
I joined up with Lisa in Breckenridge where we had lunch. Bracken ridge is one of those rich people’s play ground. There were bikes everywhere. In racks, on cars, in front of homes, everywhere. And lots of expensive cars too. It happened to be bike week, so several bike and accessory manufactures were on hand as well with booths and demos. We hung out in Breckenridge for a while to take in all this excitement. It is a colorful, busy little town. The ski slopes were dry this time of the year, but they cater to mountain bikers in the summer.
The ride into Dillon was on mostly flat bike paths. At lot of people here utilize these. They are fairly wide and even had a divider line down the middle. We rode along Frisco lake, a large body of water with plenty of sail boats and resorts along it’s shores. Eventually crossing Dillon Dam which creates Lake Dillon. Man if that dam ever gave way it’ll be like the biggest tidal wave in history. The dam looks to be over 400 feet high from the valley below. We found the Super 8 Motel where we would be spending the night. Tomorrow we head for Sulfur springs. Sorry about my spelling, some words I never find the use for except for times like these. Aloha, Ted.