Well, mostly unplugged. I may have checked e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter a couple of times over the last 3 days on the laptop which is a far cry from business as usual these days and further aided by the fact that there was no cell phone coverage where we were (probably wouldn’t have mattered if there had been, I’ve had a run of bad luck with cell phones lately). And it felt kind of… weird. Actually, it felt like the kind of high country trips I used to take in the ‘old days’, back in the 90’s, long before the advent of instant (and constant) connectivity, Wi-Fi, Google, and Androids.
The idea for the weekend was to just truly get away, unwind… disconnect. Unplug. And South Park is still an ideal place to do that. It’s always been one of my favorite areas in Colorado from the time I got stranded in the small town of Alma overnight during a whiteout in ’92 and stayed at the hotel (and I use the term loosely) down the street.
So here’s a photo essay of the last few days, a rather lengthy one with a little bit of everything including a rare tornado. Click on the pics to enlarge…
Gettin’ outta town, headin’ up to the high country… I-70 Friday afternoon, traffic’s not too bad…Detail of Mt. Lincoln (14,286′)…From left to right… Mt. Bross and Mt. Lincoln, both 14ers, from the summit of Hoosier Pass…Dropping down into Park County from Hoosier Pass… the town of Alma is in the center of the photo.On the grounds of Mountain Comfort B&B… aspens, early season. After coming through the ‘mud’ season, spring is just newly-arrived at 10,578 feet…The town of Alma with Mt. Bross in the background, early morning…The road up to the trailhead… still plenty of snow in early June.Blue Lake, looking west up Monte Cristo Gulch from the dam.North side of North Star Mountain…… and the south face of Quandary Peak (14,265′) at the trailhead.Along the trail…Yours truly… watch out for the glare coming off my forehead.Erin, hamming it up on the trail… more than a few snowfields to cross.At the trailhead…And here they come…Mountain goats are known to be notorious photobombers….
Photo by Erin.We watch them, they watch us. The goats milled about and hung out with us for about half-an-hour, which was a real treat ’cause usually they’re gone in about 5 minutes, back to climbing rocks and cliffs all day and other goat stuff…And another…Erin selfie with goat photobomb…Up close….Looking back down the valley…Clouds are starting to build looking east… Mt. Silverheels is in the background; we’re at about 11,800 feet here.
And then we head back into town…
Late afternoon… pizza, beer and live music at the highest saloon in North America… the South Park Saloon. Will Nights on Venus be playing here anytime soon? Probably not, but we’ll be on the bill for Alma’s Festival In the Clouds in July, 2015.Hummingbirds on the back deck… hot-tubbing with hawks flying overhead…A view with breakfast, from the great room at Mountain Comfort B&B…
We did stay at the Mountain Comfort Bed & Breakfast just outside of town on Highway 9; I highly recommend this bed and breakfast for your own vacation getaway or family reunion. Sandy and Ernie are the perfect hosts and see to it that you have everything you need. Rooms are cozy, comfortable, and rustic, the setting is quiet, peaceful, and beautiful, and the breakfasts were amazing. We will definitely be back!
The weather turned nasty Sunday morning… Storm over South Park, heading up Kenosha Pass…And the storm brought with it, a tornado. We were driving east when Erin was looking out the back windows and said she thought there was a funnel cloud behind us; I said we were up too high… Well, apparently not. We found out the next day that a tornado had, in fact, touched down between Fairplay and Lake George. Yes, the weather can be unpredictable up here.
A recent review of “Summer Madness”: “This slow, instrumental piece relies on creating an ever-changing moody atmosphere to relax and calm you. With slower, jazzier ambiance that collectively builds throughout, this well done Nights On Venus release is one for the crowd that likes to slow dance and take it easy when listening to music.” – Curt Dennis, Bluestribute.net
Craig Carrington / Nights on Venus 