Megan had left for a family vacation in Africa so I figured no sense in moping around the house - time to hit the road! I managed to carve out an extra two weeks before the rally meet dates so this was shaping up to be quite the adventure. Part of the trip was intended to be for mining town photography - wanted to hit some towns I hadn't been to before. I also took the opportunity to take photos of many campgrounds for CampingUSA. So without further ado.....
The first day I headed towards SE Oregon - this is some remote and little travelled territory. I picked a spot on the map that looked interesting - Cow Lakes Recreation area and Jordan Craters Geologic Area:
I could see Jordan Craters from the campground but there was no direct route between A and B. The next morning I had intended to drive to the craters but the maze of ranch roads got me turned around. I decided no time for this on this trip - another day.
On to Silver City, Idaho - a very remote mining town high in the remote mountains of SW Idaho:
Silver City was a really cool place to check out and I highly recommend it for fellow Wanderers. There is also a nice little campground at one end of town:
There is more to the campground than can be seen in this pic. I didn't stay here as I had miles to kill so onward into northern Nevada. Leaving the mountains:
This was a good run but there were a lot of cows which means cow poo everywhere and I'm not a big fan of camping in poo so I don't know if this run would be at the top of my list to do again.
Kokopelli - I filled out the change of address card with the Post Office - if you wouldn't mind throwing my mail in a bag until I arrive I'd appreciate it!
My planned point farthest east was Trinidad so I headed that way and went south on Hwy 12 "The Higway of Legends". This is a great mountain drive in an area I had not been too before. The town of La Veta seemed really neat and the mountains in the area had a lot to see. Purgatoire Campground:
Trinidad was neat to see but it was very hot there and poor Diego was becoming very agitated between the heat and the long hours driving. Back to the mountains - Lake Creek campground near Westcliffe:
Next day - Phantom Canyon road from Canon City to Victor:
Just before I left on the trip the Western Museum of Mining and Industry in Colorado Springs contacted me about possible collaboration on history related stuff so I said "I'll stop by!":
This was a great museum with a lot of heavy machinery that still worked. This massive Corliss steam engine was put in place and then the building was constructed around it:
And that marks the end of the frantic adherence to a schedule of long miles and hours of photography each day. Time to head back into the mountains to relax a bit. My initial plan had been to drive to Great Sand Dunes NP and spend a few days there but I arrived late Friday and the campgrounds were full. Bummer. Plan B - off to lake city. Historic stage route pass:
County Road 788 is a great way to get to lake city - lots of camping and scenery along the way:
