A Ghost Town and Alta Lake

Jellystone of Black Canyon
Montrose, CO
July 6, 2015

Heading north on Hwy 145 (We were coming from the little town Ophir...that will be another post.), we made a right turn onto CR 64F. Our destination was the ghost town of Alta and Alta Lakes. It's a very nice drive on a county road suitable for most 4-wheel drive vehicles not to be missed if you like meandering through aspen trees, spruce and pine trees and beautiful banks covered in moss and wildflowers.

 At about 3.5 miles of climbing up, we reached the ghost town of Alta. Silver was discovered here in 1864 and by the summer of 1872, the population had grown to several thousand with 180 buildings.  So how did Alta become known as a ghost town? At one point in it's history, it was considered to be the "bloodiest town this side of Kansas" with over 500 murders in one year.

 In 1885, a snowstorm and resulting avalanches killed 15 people and destroyed much of Alta. It is reported that 50 feet of snow was deposited on Main Street.

 By the mid 1930s mining was no longer profitable. So the mayor deeds 1800 acres to the U.S. Forestry Service. A weather station was built and daily weather records were kept. 



The results were obvious, the Salt Lake Winter Sports Association, later known as the Alta Ski Lifts Company raised $10,000 for the construction of a Collins Chairlift. It was not until 1970 that Alta was incorporated as the Town of Alta. Today it is a world renown ski resort with numerous hotels and condos that one can ski to and from each day located on the back side of Telluride Ski Resort.

From there it is less than a mile to reach Alta Lakes. At 11,000 feet this area has become a popular day-use and primitive camping (no fee, no water, no electric...there is one vault toilet) area for summer fishing and hiking. 

Very well camouflaged Mallards were hard to find.

There were several people fishing.

A new bird for me...a pair of Green-winged Teal Ducks

 It was drizzling rain and quite chilly as we wandered around the lake and in the surrounding woods. Looking up...

and looking down...

The highlight for me was a robin. Her movement on the ground got my attention and then I saw her tugging on a worm.

She hopped on the rock and then flew to a nearby tree. At this point I left to join the others for lunch. 

Another good example of camouflage...

 When low and behold, she flew to a branch just above where we were. I didn't even see the nest until hopped over to it.

 Surprised and not wanting to make a sound, I missed the picture of the babies (I saw three of them.) with mouths wide open as she stuffed in their lunch.

An absolutely wonderful day. 

So until next time...

Ophir Pass...I cant wait to share!

HAPPY TRAILS!

Crystal Dam and Rim Rock Trail

Jellystone of Black Canyon
Montrose, CO
July 5, 2015

Last Sunday after a very leisurely morning and a yummy brunch in town (Thank you Ronnie and Carol!), we set out to drive down into the Black Canyon. East Portal Road, a right turn just inside the NP takes you there. The road is extremely steep with hairpin curves...
exciting and a beautiful drive. 



We were pleasantly surprised to find we had a bit of a history lesson. It seems that back in 1905, the community of East Portal brought together a group of people to build a tunnel that would transfer a portion of the Gunnison River water to the fields in the valley. Their work from 1905 to 1912, drove a tunnel 11 feet X 12 feet for 6 miles through the cliffs of the Black Canyon to carry water for irrigation and helped to ensure the survival of communities.  Theodore Roosevelt passed the Reclamation Act in 1902 "for the purpose of reclaiming the arid West by irrigating lands".  
The act charged the appointed Chief Engineer of the new Bureau of Reclamation to proceed with building five projects which included the Gunnison Tunnel. 

Today, irrigation water usually flows through the tunnel from April through October. The river supplies 6 primary canals. From these canals water flows into secondary ditches and eventually into farm lands. 

Even though the tunnel was dedicated in 1909, it wasn't until 1922 that the project was completed. A diversion dam was also built. The purpose of the dam was to slow down the flow of water and catch debris. The end result is a reservoir of calm (well, mostly calm), beautiful green water ideal for fishing. 

The dam is protected by a gate...no public entry so this picture was taken thru the fencing. 

The Gunnison River just past the dam.

The reservoir

And the Gunnison is free to flow wild again...

Our only wildlife for the day.

Riding on the canyon floor was amazing...looking up and up and up.

Looking back on East Portal Road as we climbed out of the canyon.

We also had planned a short hike for the afternoon. 

Rim Rock Trail follows the rim of the canyon lined with sagebrush, Gamble oaks, and junipers. The clouds were all around us, the air was thick with moisture, but that didn't deter us...

until we heard thunder! Our hike was cut short!

The trail meanders thru a thicket of scrub oaks.

I walked as far out on that rock as I could...

We went from this view...

to this view...

to this view in just a matter of a few minutes! 

We were wet and cold when we reached Pearl. 





So until next time...

HAPPY TRAILS!