Trip To Creede and Lake City, Colorado
21
& 22 June 2000
On
the morning of 21 June 2000, Peggy and I left Red River and started a journey
to
Creede and Lake City, Colorado. From Red River we went to Questa, NM and
turned
north on Hwy 522. As we passed through Costilla, NM an entered Colorado
the
highway changed to HWY 159. We passed through San Luis, oldest town in
Colorado,
and proceeded on to Fort Garland. At Fort Garland we headed west on
Hwy
160 toward Alamosa, Colorado. On the North side of the road you can see some
of
Colorado's highest mountains, mainly Blanca and Little Bear peaks.
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We
continued on through Alamosa, Monte Vista, Del Norte, and South Fork. At
South
Fork we turned northeast on Hwy 149. When we arrived in Creede we parked
on
Main Street and had lunch at a local deli. After lunch we wondered up and
down
the street visiting all the shops.
Just
off Main Street is the Creede Railroad Depot, which has been turned into a
museum.
The railroad stopped running trains in the early 1950's. We toured the
museum,
which turned out to be a typical small town museum.
Being
interested in the mining activities of the area we took the Bachelor
Historic
Mining Tour. The tour route is 17 miles long and starts at the south
end
of Creede and travels north through Creede, up West Willow Creek to the
Equity
Mine. From there, the route turns back to the south and follows the
Bachelor
Road back to the south end of town.
Following
the mining tour, we continued on Hwy 149 toward Lake City. My nephew
Jim
Pyeatt and his wife Cindy have a lot in Eagle Nest subdivision that is about
8
miles from Creede. We found the place and drove by and p--ed on their lot.
Boy
was that fun with all the neighbors watching.
The
drive up Hwy 149 goes along the Rio Grande River. The view along the river
is
spectacular.
The
highway has been climbing in altitude and goes over Spring Creek Pass
(10,001
ft) and Slumgullion Pass (11,361 ft).
After passing over Slumgullion
Pass
we came upon a lookout point called Windy Point. The view from Windy Point
was
excellent. The San Juan Mountain range loomed in the foreground.
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From
Windy Point, we drove into Lake City. A city tour was in order followed by
dinner
and over night in a local motel.
On
the morning of 22 June we departed Lake City and drove to Lake San Cristobal.
This Lake was formed 700 years ago when
a large portion of Slumgullion Mountain
gave
way and slid down and blocked the Gunnison River. The drive around the
lake
was winding and narrow but beautiful.
We
left the lake and started out drive back to Creede. On the way we stopped at
the
Clear Creek overlook. This is at the headwaters of the Rio Grande and you
get
a great view of a waterfall as the Rio Grande starts it way to the Gulf of
Mexico.
On
our way back to Red River we stopped in Alamosa to have lunch and shop for
groceries.
At the City Market a 1933 Franklin was parked in front of the store.
It
had been restored and looked like a new one.
We
arrived back in Red River before dark. We recommend this trip for anyone
interested
in seeing beautiful mountain countryside.
We
hope you enjoyed our trip,
Royce & Peggy Raven