Up to Creede, almost back to normal

Spring is late here in Colorado, even the natives are complaining.  Still cool and cold, highs in the 50's to 60, lows in the freezing 30's.  We have found many of our favorite roads are still closed.  We had an uneventful trip up to Creede, all 24 miles of it, engine temps were absolutely normal, we'll know more when we go farther north up to Blue Mesa Reservoir later in the week, over Slumgullion Pass, 11,530', but right now we are calling it a fluke.

Big Meadows finally opened so we went to take a hike around the lake.

What a beautiful spot

Well, our intention was to hike all the way around, but there was way too much snow, so we went about halfway and came back.

A little pile of snow

Jan, the happy camper

After our hike we came back, had lunch and I tied flies for the rest of the afternoon.

Fun

We poked around Creede, but there is nobody there.  It is so quiet still, I guess the weather has kept the people away.  We had a good lunch at Arp's, and had a nice visit with the owner who commented that every business in town is struggling with the prolonged winter.  We then went up high on the mountain above Creede for our coffee.

It is truly spectacular here!

Even had some deer come through

Just below Creede they have done some reclamation work as the area is just covered with mines, and have made a nice walking path with a stream meandering through.  We got in a nice walk.

Jan had heard about a Natural Arch near South Fork so we went to explore.  We had a nice 35 mile ride getting there, but it was worth it.

Very cool
It was caused by erosion in a "Devil's Backbone" the remnants of a lava flow

We noticed a trail that looked like it eased up and around the corner, so we gave it a go.  Turned out it was one of those that around each corner, just went up and up, and after awhile even I was certain it must have an end to it, so out of character for me, continued until we topped out with gorgeous views, about a mile straight up:-)

The top

Spring has sprung

This gives a great view of the "Devil's Backbone"

A great day!

Back down the hill, then after a picnic, we went to see the wagon ruts.

Back down

Not a bad spot for a picnic

Wagon ruts, we thought they were from one of the famous westward trails, and like most of the examples we have seen over the years were unimpressive to say the least, but we were in the area so off we went.  We found a poorly marked sign that indicated the wagon ruts were down this "path", so we drove to what was a parking area and then read the sign that showed a path that wound up and over a substantial hill and then we were told to look to the right after we headed down the other side.  Well, up we went and down we went, and we looked here and looked there and about the time we were really pissed that the directions were so poor we found them, and what an example they were!  The rock was just soft enough to be cut by the steel rimmed wagon wheels.

Pretty amazing

We did find out that these were not made by Conestoga wagons heading west, but by Spanish woodcutters that used large nimble 2 wheel carts hauled by an ox that cut the tracks.  Still interesting.

So after an amazing day, we came back home to find what?  A leaking galley faucet that must have just started leaking soon before we returned as it hadn't made too big of a mess yet.  Note to self, those folks that shut off the water every time they leave may have a clue.  Jan started cleaning out the wet cabinet and I tore the faucet apart to see where it was leaking, it appeared to be a fatal break, so Jan did the dishes in the bedroom sink.

The culprit

The auxiliary sink:-)

So when you are in Creede, CO, where do you get a decent faucet?  Well, Durango turns out to have the closest Home Depot, only a mere 125 miles away.  What else do we have to do?  We had a beautiful day to make a beautiful drive to get a faucet.  After Home Depot, we went to have a nice lunch before we headed back.

A nice view of the swollen Animas

And delicious brisket and ribs

Then since we were in the "big" city, we hit the grocery store and headed back, and found out the faucet wouldn't fit!!!!!  Different fittings.  Why aren't the fittings standard?  Okay I just need a connector so back in the truck, down to South Fork hardware store 24 miles away that we had just driven by on the way back to find............they don't have it!!!!!  The joys of being in the boondocks.

Okay let's recover and talk about our options, we are NOT driving back to Durango, we need a galley faucet, we will be near Denver in 6 days, let's jury rig the faucet to get us to Denver where can get either another faucet or the fittings we need.  Okay a plan.  So I carefully tear down the faucet, check it out as much as I can, silicone grease the hell out of it, bulk up the O-rings, carefully put it back together, and for now we have a faucet.

Okay so now we want to do a picnic high in the meadows up Pool Table Road, off we go to find the road is closed, okay, let's go back up north near Clear Creek where we can take the road to Bristol Head, but no, that road is closed also.  Well, let's have our picnic behind the bluff near North Clear Creek Falls.

Picnic spot, at least we can see Bristol Head:-)

So you can see we are having a great time, and that Murphy just won't leave us alone, hence the faucet, so now we have been thinking our refrigerator is 13 years old plus, hmmm.  And Lowes is having a sale, and Oregon has no sales tax, and.........

Just remember, life is good!