Rock, Rail, and Really Good Wine

Visiting old friends...

Three weeks on the road covering in excess of three thousand miles across the great American Southwest... you'd think surely the beast would have let us down, or something would have blown up, caught fire, or in some other manner interrupted the smooth flow of our travels. Yet nothing disturbed us. God rode with us this time, and the worst we experienceed was the loss of the rear air conditioning system in the truck. This minor inconvenience was more than offset by the opportunity for yours truly to worship in the best and oldest church ever made for a coyote like me to have the privelage of attending. For me, this would be the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado.

Our travels took us from the highest trails in the San Juan Mountains to the hottest part of Utah, from Kings Canyon in the western Sierra to Arroyo Grande on the central California coast. This time our faithful traveling companion Clancy stayed home with Granny to keep her company, and Mike was involved with various camps as a worship leader for our church, so it was just The Fox and our two younger pups along for the trip. My folks joined us in Colorado for the four-wheeling adventures. Adam and Katie both brought along digital cameras, as did my mother, so while all images on this page are copyright by me, credit is given to who took them.

Therefore, please note that all images, text, and coding on this page are copyright © Paul J. Lorona, 2005.
Permission to use must be obtained in writing prior to use.
Photos taken with a Fuji 1800 by Paul J. Lorona unless otherwise credited.

Our story opens in Ouray, Colorado. It was a hot summer. Up north in the Uncompaghre Valley the temperatures in Montrose and Grand Junction were in excess of 100 degrees, our camp saw the mid nineties during the heat of the afternoon. We got thunderstorms, too, one afternoon, that prompted us to hastily pack up our screen porch and stow the awning on the trailer.

This image is lifted from a short video my son shot from our camp site in Ouray. The bolt of lightning actually struck a ridge beyond the town to the northeast of our location, perhaps a mile or more away. Image by Adam C. Lorona using his Canon Powershot A95.

Of course, the only reason somefur like me would visit the "Switzerland of America", as Ouray is known, is to four-wheel in the high country. We set about to that end as soon as possible. First trip:

Yankee Boy Basin

Yankee Boy Basin lies approximately seven miles to the west and four thousand feet above the town of Ouray. The road into Yankee Boy is quite easily traveled by passenger cars as far as the Camp Bird Mine, after that the trail rapidly devolves to something requiring a four wheel drive truck or a horse. Yankee Boy is typical of the alpine basins that are common in this part of Colorado above ten thousand feet.

My Fox overlooking part of the old mining camp of Sneffels, about half way between the famous Camp Bird Mine and Yankee Boy Basin at an elevation of 10,650 feet. The rocky crags of Saint Sophia Ridge top 13,000 feet in the background. Tailings from the Atlas Mine flow down the steep hillside to the right, the Atlas Mill is just out of the field of view to the extreme right. The darker gray tailings of The Revenue Mine and Tunnel fill the small valley at the foot of the slopes. While apparently uninhabited at this time, the Revenue Mine appears to have been worked very recently, as the buildings are in good repair, the tailings dump is fresh, and there was a strong, locked gate at the access bridge across Sneffels Creek. The Revenue Mine was originally established in 1876, and between then and the early 1940s produced approximately $27 million dollars worth of gold and silver. (That's in terms of what dollars were worth in those days, not 2005 dollars.)

The ruins of the Atlas Mill. I've been watching this structure decompose slowly for at least thirty years. Sneffels Creek, locked gates, and thick brush protect this area from the casual passer-by. Most of this damage has been caused by winter's snow drifting and sliding. Active from the 1890s to the 1920s, the stamps and ore bins are still visible in the debris.

I'm not certain of the name of these falls, most refer to them simply as "Twin Falls." At an elevation near 11,400 feet they separate Sneffels from Yankee Boy Basin, and have been featured in a commercial for a renowned brewery. The view looks northwest towards Mount Sneffels, scraping the stratosphere in the background at an elevation of 14,150 feet. There is some family history associated with these falls, my mother swears that a gold necklace of hers is still hiding in the river just below here, victim of a spill she took while trying to find that "perfect angle" for a photograph. Image by Gloria I. Lorona using her Canon Powershot A95.

In the upper reaches of Yankee Boy basin, a bit past lunch time. Surface elevation here is about 11,500 feet, Gilpin Peak rises to the west behind Adam to 13,694 feet. Just three and a half miles on the other side of that peak is the town of Telluride. The shortest route there from our location is via the Imogene Pass four wheel drive trail through Savage Basin. It would take the rest of the day to get there.

Potosi Peak, rising to 13,786 feet above the east end of Yankee Boy basin. The upper end of Sneffels Creek passes below, the headwaters of this creek are in the snowbanks still clinging to the high ridges behind us. Photo taken from the same location as the previous picture.

The far northwestern end of Saint Sophia Ridge, southeast of Gilpin Peak. This was the end of our trail, about a hundred yards around the corner seen here it just... stopped. These are the headwaters of Sneffels Creek.

Taking five in lower Yankee Boy Basin. The National Forest Service maintains a chemical outhouse here, the only bit of civilization above Camp Bird Mine. The old coyote swills Diet Coke in the shade while the handsome young son reviews digital images in his camera. The beast is still reasonably clean, and my father's Jeep still looks almost showroom nice. It made a good backrest for a few moments while I contemplated the trip down canyon. Image by Vicky A. Lorona.

They started it! My folks getting ready to leave Yankee Boy Basin. A very good picture of my father, even if he is being watched by my mom. <grins> Somebody has to keep an eye on him! Image by Vicky A. Lorona.

Our next trip took us up the notorious Engineer Mountain Road.